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Fascination – Part 02

“Mandrake?”

“Yup.”

After wandering through the maze of flowerbeds, Kazuya finally arrived at the candy house.

He was talking to someone in a soft voice, elbows propped on the window sill and chin resting on his hand. The house was a two-story structure that looked like an elaborate dollhouse, where everything was built a size smaller. There was a pretty little spiral staircase outside. The door to the first floor was green, while the door to the second floor was pink. The doorknobs were shaped like a cat, looking up at visitors with round eyes shaped like almonds.

Kazuya was standing by the window of the candy house with his back straight.

“I never thought a single mandrake could cause so much ruckus,” replied an elderly-sounding, husky voice. “No wonder it sounded noisy outside.”

“You heard them all the way here? Hmm, they were screaming loudly.”

“I see the farting newt is still an oddball.”

There was no one in the room. Peering through the window, Kazuya saw an emerald-colored couch, where a porcelain doll lay, magnificent and exquisite as though decorated accordingly by its owner.

Her long golden hair, like an unfurled silk turban, was hanging down to the floor. She had rosy cheeks and deep green eyes. The girl looked like a living doll, her eyes the only thing moving occasionally on her cool, emotionless face. She was wearing an exotic dress made of jet-black French lace and a veil of thin black lace adorned with corals. Her bare feet, tiny, chubby, yet pale, swung up and down, as if trying to distract herself from boredom.

Chocolate bonbons, macarons, red and yellow and transparent candy bars in the shape of animals were scattered on the floor and cabriole-legged table.

Standing by the window, Kazuya waved the muddy carrot at the girl—Victorique de Blois.

“Are you there?” he asked.

“What in the world is that?”

“This is the mandrake in question.”

The blonde girl in black exhaled sharply. “That’s clearly a carrot.”

“Thought so. Definitely looks like one to me.”

“It looks like that to anyone.”

The girl yawned, seemingly bored. Her glossy, cherry lips slowly parted.

Sluggishly she turned over on the couch. Her golden hair swished as it formed a magical pattern on the floor.

“Mandrake in Persian means ‘wildflower of love’. There’s no need to fear it,” Victorique said. “It’s just a kind of aphrodisiac. Some say it looks like a human being, with two legs and hair-like cilia.”

“But it doesn’t actually exist, right? It’s just a thing of legends.”

“Indeed.” Victorique gave him a glance. “It’s nothing but fantasy.” Her moist eyes turned to Kazuya. She still had a fever, it seemed. “There’s a legend that says it grows when the tears of an innocent in death row mix with soil. An evil vegetable with immense power, it screams when you pull it out. Those who hear the scream die, so criminals and animals are made to pull it out of the ground.”

“Avril and Ms. Cecile pulled it out earlier.”

“It’s a carrot. They’ll be fine.”

Victorique grinned. She rose slowly, then snatched the muddy carrot from Kazuya’s hand. Holding it with both hands, she brought it close to her eyes, scrutinizing it.

Kazuya smiled at the interest she showed. Then, he saw dirt falling from the carrot.

“Your dress is getting dirty.”

“…”

“It’s such a wonderful dress, too. You should keep it clean. Are you listening?”

“Oh, quit your nagging.”

Victorique wiped the surface of the carrot with her chubby fingers, then sniffed it. Wearing a perplexed look, she bit into the carrot with her tiny mouth.

“That’s raw!”

“…” Victorique was silent.

“Hello?”

“…”

Her brows knitted. She threw the carrot, and Kazuya quickly caught it mid-air.

“It tastes awful,” she said. “Unbelievably awful.”

“Because it’s raw. Do you even eat vegetables? You’re always nibbling on candies. You should eat a variety of foods. Bread, meat, vegetables. Are you even listening?”

Victorique turned her back to Kazuya wearily.

“Hello?”

“Nag.”

“Are you serious?”

“Pumpkin-head.”

“…”

“The Reaper.”

“Now, look here.”

“I will never eat carrots!”

“You can’t just eat what you want to eat. Eat some carrots too, okay?”

“I’d eat it if it were sweet.”

Victorique suddenly rose. She stared at Kazuya.

Kazuya instinctively straightened. She was small, yet she exuded the elegance of a queen. Her deep, melancholic green eyes looked like they belonged to an elderly who had lived for a hundred years. Though they had grown quite close, his friend still sometimes surprised him, as was the current case. As Kazuya stared back at her, Victorique, who looked like some lonely queen, pointed toward the doorway arrogantly.

“Come in through the front door.”

“What? You want me to come in? Are you sure?”

“Not in this room, of course. I am Victorique de Blois, and I will not be seen in the company of an insignificant mortal in my own home.”

“Says the one with the fever.”

Victorique grunted. “Stop whining and come inside. There’s a mini kitchen over there. Make me some glacé. What are you waiting for? Get on with it.” Her voice lowered. “I’m craving some carrot glacé.”

“It could be a mandrake, you know.”

“Impossible. Buffoon. Pumpkin-head. Get yourself to the kitchen, cut up some carrots, and boil them with sugar. Work like a servant. Come on, Kujou. Chop-chop.”

Kazuya clicked his tongue. “Fine. You sure come up with weird ideas out of nowhere, snotty brat.”

“Hmph!”

Kazuya, carrot and book in hand, reluctantly went inside.

---

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the flowerbed maze.

Avril Bradley stood alone under the light of the setting sun, looking confused. In front of her were colorful flowers in full bloom, swaying in stunning flowerbeds clearly shaped like a labyrinth.

She listened carefully.

But she couldn’t hear anything.

“I believe it’s here where he always disappears. But where does he go? Hmm…”

Avril inclined her head.

Then, without thinking too much about it, she nodded to herself.

“Let’s just get in there for now.”

---

Several minutes later.

“H-Huh?”

Avril jumped out of the flowerbed maze, puzzled. She was completely stumped.

“I’m back outside. I got a bit lost.”

She looked confused.

“Let’s give it another try.”

She entered the flowerbed maze once more.

Several minutes later.

“Huh?”

She came out.

“Argh, why? Where did Kujou go?” She cocked her head. “Somehow I think that Gray Wolf is behind this,” she huffed. “I’m not entirely sure why, but that incredibly pretty little demon is involved.”

She rolled up her sleeves.

“Again!”

Several more minutes later…

“Ugh…”

Avril stumbled out of the maze on the verge of tears, as though pushed out by some unseen force. Her short blonde hair and dashing uniform seemed to be in tatters. She placed a hand on the bench, the other on her hip, out of breath.

“What’s going on?!” she shouted.

She looked up at the evening sky.

“I hate mazes. They’re so confusing. I always get lost. Maybe it’s a curse? The Gray Wolf must be casting curses to keep others away. Cursed flowerbeds! Yeah, right…”

She hung her head, a little dejected.

“Ah…”

Avril slowly walked along white gravel path, away from the flowerbed maze, looking back a few times. The rosy evening sky shone on her softly.

---

“Hey, Victorique. Speaking of mandrakes.”

Kazuya was standing in the kitchen of the candy house, chopping carrots.

In the Orient, boys were not allowed in the kitchen after the age of ten, even if they had business with their mother. But there was no such rule in this country. Though a little hesitant, he knew that Victorique was waiting for him, and being a serious person by nature, he cut the carrots precisely, carefully rounded the edges, and put them in the pot.

As he began simmering it over a slow fire with sugar, he turned to the feverish Victorique, who was lying on the couch, looking bored.

“Speaking of mandrakes, I just read an old tale in the library that contained the plant. It’s a rather strange story from the warring times in China. What do you think, Victorique?”

Victorique gave a faint groan. Her expressionless face turned to him, her tiny nose twitching. She probably caught the nice aroma coming from the kitchen.

“Talk to me,” she said. “It will serve to stave off the boredom while the carrot is cooking.”

“Okay.” Kazuya nodded. He kept his eyes on the pot to make sure it didn’t burn. “We begin in the same land in the East from yesterday, and from there, we go further east via the Silk Road to the Chinese mainland. Walking along the Silk Road, we head much further back in time. It’s said that this story is the origin of the flower language of the mandrake.”

“I see.”

“Here I go, then. ‘A long, long time ago, the enormous continent of Asia was engulfed in the flames of war. Several nations perpetually fought over the vast land of China.’”

Victorique, lying on the couch, was staring up at the ceiling. It wasn’t clear whether she was listening or not. Her cheeks were bright red and slightly hot. Her tiny feet swung around, and her jet-black French lace dress shifted occasionally.

The wind blew outside the window, and a few dark-colored petals drifted into the evening sky.