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Maze – Part 01

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Translator: Kell

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—Bedroom 6—

Light from the sultry sun streamed in through the French windows along with a cool breeze. The bobbin lace curtains, with its floral pattern, billowed.

Victorique, in her nightgown, was perched in the middle of the canopied bed. Her eyes were still a little hot and moist, and she was staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Victorique?” The door opened, and Ms. Cecile entered uneasily.

Victorique frowned. “What is it?”

“Phone call for you.”

“Again?! That weirdo.”

Ms. Cecile chuckled. “He said he’s catching a train back here soon. But there’s something that’s been bothering him, so he called.”

“Why not ask once he’s back? Oddball.” Victorique snorted, then got up reluctantly.

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“Hello, Victorique? Oh, good. I’m glad you picked up. Something’s been bugging me about your brother.”

“Could you stop asking me about Grevil?”

“Why?”

“I don’t really like to admit that we’re blood-related.” She pulled a small chair and sat down. “So what’s this about Grevil?”

“The inspector was acting weird the whole time.”

“He always acts weird.”

“Good one.” Kazuya hesitated for a moment before asking. “We met Jacqueline, the police commissioner’s wife. Who on earth is she?”

Victorique frowned and let out an annoyed groan. “She’s Grevil’s childhood friend, and the love of his life. She doesn’t seem to feel the same way, though. Did you call me just for that?”

Kazuya let out a surprised grunt. “Love of his life?! Really?”

“Yeah. And by the way.”

“What?”

“She’s the reason for Grevil’s hairstyle.”

He grunted again. “Right. He mentioned something about his hairdo, yes. But wait, why?!”

“Hmm…”

“And she commented on his hairdo, looking real serious.”

“Why, of course. She doesn’t know that it’s her fault.” Victorique chuckled.

A cruel, bone-chilling expression crossed her pale face, lingering for a while before vanishing. Her usual expression returned, and she sighed.

“That was five years ago,” she began. “I was still locked in the Marquis’ tower. No one came to see me except when they brought me books, dresses, and food. Except Grevil. For some reason, he climbed up the tower every night and silently observed from a distance, as though he thought I would bite. It was really creepy. I took advantage of the fact that he believed in the Gray Wolf lore to scare him. I told him that I had demonic powers and knew what he was doing despite not seeing him. Of course, in reality, I was only using the Wellspring of Wisdom to reconstruct the chaos from him. But he had no way of knowing that. Eventually he avoided the tower in fear of me.”

“Ahuh…”

“But about six months later, he suddenly came back. He told me that his childhood friend, a girl named Jacqueline, was to be married, but that just before the wedding, she was accused of a horrible murder. Her fiancé, a young man named Signore, was a police officer, but he couldn’t exonerate her. Grevil has always had a crush on Jacqueline. While wondering how to help her, he thought about me, his terrifying sister, a Gray Wolf.”

“So you helped Jacqueline, right? ‘Cause I saw her, and she was doing great.”

Victorique shrugged. “Of course I did.”

“So in the process, Inspector Blois became pointy-headed. How did that happen?”

“I told him to do it.”

“Hmm…?”

Victorique snickered as memories came back. “A demonic demand, so to speak. The Blois family knows that, and that’s why they don’t ask for my help unless they’re in dire straits.”

“I see. So you’re really the reason behind that awful hairdo.”

“I thought it would be painful for a fop.”

Kazuya was silent for a moment. “You can be so immature sometimes.”

It was Victorique’s turn to be quiet this time. Then in a soft voice, she said, “Grevil didn’t refuse. With a straight face and a pointy head, he asked that I save Jacqueline’s life. He told me the details of the case and I told him who the real culprit was. Grevil gave an anonymous tip, and the real culprit was arrested. Jacqueline’s name was cleared.”

“Anonymous?! You mean the Inspector Blois? Impossible!”

“Is it?”

“Yeah! He always takes credit for the cases you solve. There’s no way.” Kazuya hesitated a bit before continuing. “Is Inspector Blois so eager to make a name for himself in the force because of Mr. Signore?”

“Who knows?” Victorique shrugged. “Anyway, five years later, and Grevil still has that hairstyle. He’s being stubborn.”

“Is that why you two don’t get along?”

“No idea. Well, I suppose that’s part of it.” Victorique smiled thinly. “Kujou, don’t you have a train to catch?”

“Yeah. Oh, shoot. I lost track of time. Inspector Blois is supposed to be stuck in Saubreme for a while, but I’m a student, so they let me go early. I’ll be back at the academy by evening. I got you a souvenir by the way.”

Victorique let out a faint groan. Kujou’s weird souvenirs flashed in her mind.

“I’ve got to go. See you later, Victorique.”

The call ended.

Victorique sighed and put down the receiver.

---

For a while, Victorique didn’t get up. She just stayed in her small chair, thinking about something. Despite all the frills and ribbons, she was still quite small.

She shuddered.

Victorique recalled the conversation she had had with her brother Grevil when she was still locked in the tower.

She did not remember much about that time. It had been buried in the recesses of her memory while she read countless books, satiating her Wellspring of Wisdom. But today, for some reason, she remembered it well.

Victorique, the little Gray Wolf that everyone, family and servants alike, feared. They feared the child who knew everything, even things she had not witnessed herself. Indeed, the Blois family had many secrets.

Family secrets were no different. Political secrets—the occult, the Great War, the missing Cordelia, the scandal surrounding the Leviathan.

The Marquis finally locked the little Gray Wolf up in his tower. Grevil, who later returned home from boarding school and learned that he had a sister, also feared and hated her.

But back then, Grevil mocked Victorique. He was the only one ever to call her a fool.

“You’re an ignorant princess locked in a tower,” he had growled. He had already sported the pointy hair back then, so whatever he said really should have had no effect. “If you wanted to throw me into the pits of despair, you should have asked me not to love Jacqueline anymore.” He laughed. “Didn’t think of that, did you?”

Victorique did not answer. She was much smaller then and much less human than she was now. She had never had a normal conversation with anyone. All she did was verbalize chaos in her husky voice and scare those around her.

“This hairstyle is no big deal. I saved Jacqueline, so that’s all that matters. You have no power to put anyone in despair. Because the little Gray Wolf has never loved anyone.”

Victorique swayed in her chair as she cast her mind back to that time. The little Gray Wolf did not understand the meaning of Grevil’s words back then.

Will I understand now?

For some reason, the image of her odd oriental friend came to mind. He should be on the train now, on the way back to the academy.

Victorique’s few memories of adventures in the outside world, out of the tower and the academy, always had Kazuya Kujou in them. He wasn’t as smart as Victorique, but he was wise enough, and above all, kind-hearted. He was always there to help Victorique. She also saved him from falling off a cliff.

Victorique softly opened her hand.

The wound on her small palms from her adventure a few weeks ago had not yet healed. She found the wounds curious. Why did she reach out to grab him back then? Why did she not want to lose him? And why did she not want Kujou Kazuya to see the wounds after that?

What did the hands grasped for the lonely Victorique?

“The little Gray Wolf has never loved anyone!”

Victorique tried desperately to block her brother’s voice out of her mind.

That’s not true…

She rocked in her chair. Faint sobs mixed in with the chair’s squeaking.

“That’s not true,” she murmured in her low, husky voice.

Rocking in her chair, she sobbed softly.

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Epilogue: Maze

That afternoon.

After undergoing questioning and giving his testimony at the Sauville police headquarters, Kazuya left his partner, Inspector Grevil de Blois, in Saubreme, and took the train alone back to St. Marguerite Academy.

Upon disembarking at the small station, he sighed, straightened his back, looked serious, and started walking.

A shaggy horse passed by, pulling a cart.

As usual, the village was filled with a laid-back atmosphere. Girls chatted and laughed as they walked along. Crimson geraniums in bloom hung from wooden frames, swaying in the dry, early-summer breeze.

Kazuya’s face gradually softened, and a smile appeared on his face. On arrival at St. Marguerite Academy, he passed through the main gate, relieved. Stepping onto the gravel path, he strolled through the gardens, making his way to the office in a corner of the school building.

“Ms. Cecile…” he called.

Ms. Cecile lifted her head from her desk. When she saw Kazuya standing there, she rose to her feet and approached him.

“Kujou! The police called. They said there was trouble.”

“Yes, but I’m fine now. I’m sorry for making you worry. So, uhh… ” He began fidgeting.

Ms. Cecile eyed him curiously. “What’s wrong?”

“I was so busy with the case that I couldn’t buy a Blue Rose paperweight.”

“Oh, it’s totally fine!” she exclaimed, fixing her round glasses. “You don’t have to worry about that. Oh, by the way, Victorique’s fever has gone down a lot.” She smiled.

“That’s good to hear.”

“You can go see her if you want. She was complaining about being bored.”

Kazuya’s face instantly turned dark. “I don’t know… Nothing good happens when she’s bored. If only I could see her when she’s not bored, but unfortunately, that’s never the case.”

Ms. Cecile shot him a glare and pushed him out of the office.

“Wh-What are you doing?”

“Just go see her, okay?”

“O-Okay…”

Confused, Kazuya went out the hallway. He glanced down at what he was holding. Ms. Cecile looked at it too.

It was a small package with a red ribbon. Ms. Cecile nodded, as though she knew what it was.

Kazuya bowed. “I’ll be going, then,” he said, then started down the hallway.

Ms. Cecile fixed her glasses again. “Oh, Kujou…”

She returned to the office and took out Kazuya’s records from among the student files, sent from an island country in the Far East.

The documents detailed his grades and conduct. It was accompanied by a family photo of him in formal attire.

Ms. Cecile stared at the picture. A strict-looking father and two older brothers. Kazuya was flanked by two slim-figured women. His mother and older sister, most likely. His older sister, who seemed to be not much older than Kazuya, was rubbing her cheek against him, while Kazuya was looking down in embarrassment. She was beautiful, with jet-black eyes and glossy hair.

“He gets good grades, is industrious, and overall a nice, straight-laced boy… but he can be dense sometimes.” Ms. Cecile sighed. She watched the trees swaying in the breeze outside. “I think bored means she’s lonely.”

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Kazuya left the school building and strolled along the gravel path, when he heard someone call his name.

“Kujou!”

He stopped and saw Avril waving at him from the vast green lawn. She was sitting cross-legged, the pleated skirt of her uniform billowed out like an open umbrella.

“Welcome back!” she greeted with a bright smile. “How was Saubreme?”

“It was a disaster.”

Kazuya walked toward the grass, scratching his head. Avril, noticing his gloom, got up and scuttled toward him, looking worried. She left the magazines and notebooks scattered all over the lawn.

“What do you mean disaster? Did something happen?”

“Uh, well… Oh, by the way.” Kazuya remembered something. “I need to apologize. Things happened while I was in Saubreme, and I couldn’t buy what you asked for.”

“Did I ask you to buy me something?” she asked curiously.

“You did! You asked me to buy you a Blue Rose paperweight.”

“Ah, right!” Avril nodded. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Really? That’s good to hear.” Kazuya stroked his chest in relief.

If it had been Victorique, not Ms. Cecile or Avril, he would’ve dashed out of the academy at full speed. Victorique would not have listened to any excuses, and proceed to torment him with joy.

“You’re a nice girl, all right.”

Avril’s face turned red, and she shrank back in embarrassment. “Wh-Where’d that come from?!”

“You don’t get mad, that’s why.”

“I do. I just won’t get mad at you for that. Hmm?” She suddenly found her gaze drawn to something. Her expression changed little by little.

Kazuya, on the other hand, was completely unaware. Avril was staring at a wrapping paper with a red ribbon that Kazuya was holding under his arm.

Avril’s face gradually, slowly, puffed up.

“Wh-What’s wrong?” Kazuya asked.

“Now I’m mad!”

“Why?! You literally just said you won’t get mad!”

Avril groaned, then snatched the package from Kazuya’s hand and started running across the lawn. Kazuya watched her go, mouth agape. After running for about ten meters, she turned around and put the package on her head, laughing boisterously.

“Bwahahahahaha!”

“What are you doing?”

“Wahahaha!”

Then her spirits dampened, and she sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said, running back. She handed the package back to Kazuya. “It’s really fine. Please forget what you just saw.” There were tears in the corner of her eyes.

Kazuya remembered how she had once put a golden skull on her head. She’s nice and cheerful, but she sure loves putting weird things on her head.

Avril walked back to her spot, dejected. Then she stopped and looked at Kazuya. “Kujou…”

“Hmm?”

“I just wanna ask something.”

“What is it?”

“What kind of girl is Victorique?”

“Victorique?” Kazuya stared at Avril, confused. He found the question odd, but Avril looked serious. And sad.

Kazuya stayed quiet for a while, not sure how to answer her question.

What should I say? Kazuya mulled it over.

“She’s a good girl…? No, I guess not. But she’s not bad either.”

Then he remembered Victorique’s own words from the other day. It described her perfectly.

“She’s demonic.”

“Demonic?” Avril cocked her head curiously.

A dry, early-summer breeze whistled past between them.

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After Kazuya bid her goodbye, Avril returned to her spot on the grass, still curious about what he meant.

“Demonic?” She sat down. “How could he call a girl demonic? Does that mean they’re good friends? Hngh, I have no idea.”

She crossed her legs and continued pondering the matter with a serious face.

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