Coppelia lightly tossed the book into the air.
As it spun, she raised her scythe between her palms, then brought them together, sealing her weapon to a groan of shadowy mist. As swift as she'd made it appear, her towering scythe with a guillotine's blade blinked out of existence.
By the time the book dropped into her palms, she was ready with both a twirl and a smile capable of illuminating even the most drab of backdrops. A useful trait. Aquina Castle was not alone as a bed of drudgery. She'd be exceptionally useful when accompanying me to any function held outside the Royal Villa.
“Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook~”
Holding her book out at arm's length, she spun on the spot like a maiden with a basket of flowers. Except that this wasn't the bluebell meadows outside the Royal Villa she was dancing in. It was a treasury hidden in the bowels of a castle.
And moments ago, it was utterly engulfed in flames.
Now, the magic which fuelled the alchemical fire dissipated.
Flames which threatened my heel now receded like a sea of candles suddenly snuffed to the wind. And I knew that the alchemist was sorely lacking.
True dragon fire? Please. If this was anything of the sort, then the flames would have continued long until dawn. This was merely a replica.
Even so, it was enough for her mischief to have been accomplished.
More than snow had melted to the fanning flames. The piles of crowns were lost to me. Indeed, amongst the bubbling surface, the vengeful flames of a fallen dragon still echoed beneath its surface, its molten heat as undiminished as a brazier fuelled by tar.
Only the bleakness of the ancient stonework had survived.
I groaned as I held my palms to my face.
True. Setting alight to the wealth of a treasonous duke was a point on its own. What better way to demonstrate the gap which existed between us than to lay waste to their wealth and fortune?
The problem, however, was that it wasn't their wealth.
It was the Royal Treasury's.
And that meant the letter I intended to write had just become considerably longer.
After all, I now had to explain how none of this was my fault.
I released the palms from my face, then glanced between Aquina's melted tax revenues and the clockwork doll whose pirouettes were becoming dangerously close to reigniting memories of my unspeakable nausea at the Rimeaux Estate.
“... Coppelia, I don't suppose you have a method for reconstituting gold into coins?”
I pointed vaguely all around myself. Only the melting Duke, now barely a puddle on the floor, offered any respite from the tragedy.
“Weeeeeeeeee~”
Coppelia's answer was to give another spin, a look of pride scribbled on her face as she held her book out. I made no remark as I patiently allowed for her moment of revelry.
It reminded me of myself. As a child, I often held out my published poetry anthologies, at least until I realised that my books were only being printed at the behest of my father. He would order so many copies that publishers would scuffle for the right to print my poems, certain in a healthy return on investment.
My written works now accounted for over half of the books in the Royal Villa's expansive library. A feat I deserved.
“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~”
As I waited for Coppelia to finish her ritualistic dance of happiness, I scanned for the Crown of Winter amongst the golden sea.
I found nothing except the shimmering lights dancing ... winking amidst the ceiling.
I pursed my lips.
Clearly, the Winter Queen was neither in the mood to help or to leave. But that was fine. It wasn't her crown I desired. It was her absence.
The next time I saw her pleading form, I hoped it would be through the correct diplomatic channels. There were easier ways to travel than being stolen. Especially for one with wings. And an invisible glamour.
“Okay, I'm good now!~”
Coppelia stopped twirling just as she almost lost her shoe to a gold puddle. She skipped towards me, easily navigating the steaming liquid with the guile of a goat crossing a mountain trail. She landed just before me.
“–Hieeee?!”
Then, I experienced my second sensation of being hoisted off my feet by her today. She lifted me easily, her arms wrapping around my waist and her book uncomfortably pressed against my back.
“I lied. I'm not done. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~”
And then–
“S-Sttooop!! Cooooppppeeelliaaaaaaa!!”
She swung me around.
Wearing an expression bright enough to illuminate even the corners of Aquina Castle, I now became the basket of flowers as she twirled me around. And around. And around.
The … The indignity! The insult! Why, it was terrible! A disgrace to my royal stature! To touch me without permission was treason! To … To swing me like a peasant's sack was treason for her entire family line!
… And if it wasn't somewhat thrilling and enjoyable, then I would be demanding her cogs right about now … !
As a result, I merely raised my palm as she set me down, waving off her assistance as I gathered my bearings and desperately sought to keep my nausea in check.
“I'm … I'm pleased that you've … ughhh … that you've acquired your book ...”
“My book! Look! Look at it! Isn't it pretty?~”
She pushed the forbidden tome into my face.
Despite my spinning vision, I eyed the cover, then felt a surge of dissatisfaction as I noted its utter lack of … anything.
“It has no title,” I remarked, failing to see even any lines of embellishments, patterns or illustrations of beautiful damsels or shirtless rogues. A cover without any hope of commercial success in today's literature market. “Please inform me that this is your missing book and not the woman's diary you've taken.”
“Pretty sure! I can feel it.”
I raised an eyebrow. Mostly because I could feel something coming up my throat.
“... Do you not wish to check?”
“Sure! I just have to give you the disclaimer before I do, just in case.”
“A disclaimer? To me? Why?”
“Mmh! You see, if you read even a single word of any book you're not entitled to, I'm obligated to issue you with a fine. And, well, you know how you are with money.”
I opened my mouth to retort. Nothing came out.
At least nothing regarding how I was with money. After all, that spoke for itself. I was responsible, dutiful and canny. The couriers I paid for my books informed me as much.
“H-How absurd! I haven't agreed to the terms of your library! It's outrageous to suggest I could be fined for rules I'm not privy to!”
“I mean, I agree, but eh … the big guy is sort of strict.”
“... The who?”
“The big guy.”
“Do you refer to some master librarian?”
“Yup. That's him. I call him the big guy. Others call him the Curator. You know you've made it big when your title becomes your name.”
I nodded, understanding the sentiment at once.
“Well, I hope this … Curator appreciates the effort you've undergone to retrieve this book, even if it does appear to have a hole in it.”
“My scythe does that. It's fine, though! I'm going to be bonked on the head. But books can be fixed. We have people other than just librarians at the library. Including those like me tasked with fines and returns. So–better look away now~”
“... Are you being serious?”
“100% serious. Don't look while I check everything's in there.”
Coppelia smiled as she held up her book.
Even so, the rare note of seriousness in her voice gave me reason to consider her request. Though outrageous that I had to turn my eyes from anything in my own kingdom, I was a princess who understood the pleas of her subjects.
I ignored them, naturally. But it didn't mean I never listened.
“Ugh, very well.”
I offered an appropriate look of indignation, then rolled my eyes before I covered them with my hand.
Then, I peeked between my fingers.
I clicked my tongue as I observed Coppelia's back.
“Done~!” she said, turning around to the sight of my closed hand. “Yup, no embarrassing diary of lacy shopping habits here. We've got everything we came for!”
“Coppelia, we came to tax Aquina, and in doing so, remove the Duke's ability to instigate rebellion.”
“Hey, you got the important half done, right? He's definitely not masterminding any plots while he's a puddle. Except maybe how to get someone's socks wet. Still dastardly, but on a different scale.”
I nodded.
Indeed, that man's fate was a fitting result of whatever wet scheme he had planned. However, I was not one to accept half victories.
Because just as I looked upon a Zelronto and saw it for the woeful replica that it was, I looked upon the sea of gold and also saw it for what it was.
Gold.
“... A hindrance,” I declared. “And no more.”
Indeed … everything had melted. But it was not gone!
I … I could fix this!
Well, not me, but someone could!
Because the gold was still there, its worth undiminished ... and that meant an opportunity to be reforged or reshaped as required, to be used or sold for the greatest profit!
Indeed … was this not an opportunity?
Had the Royal Treasury received the crowns, then it would have kept each coin in reserve until called upon. Yet as prudent as that might be, was it not also a wasted opportunity to invest in skilled craftsmen?
Gold was surely worth more in weight as jewels than as coins!
And now a massive quantity of raw material existed to be leveraged by the kingdom's artisans and smiths! Why, with so much gold, we could create enough luxury commodities to ensure a supply of crowns far greater than if I'd simply hauled the lot to the Royal Treasury! And that was the least of advantages!
Rather than purchasing my jewels from snivelling merchants sent from abroad to line the treasuries of foreign kingdoms, I could simply commission them for myself!
I … I could even have the worst of them sold abroad! Just as we sold the St. Lianes I didn't want at great profit to our neighbours, so too could we sell the necklaces, tiaras and rings deemed too gaudy for me!
Oho … ohoho … ohohoho?
To turn disaster into opportunity like an alchemist turned toads into goo!
It was so simple! So easy! … So genius!
That's me! A genius!
Ohohhohohohohohoho!
“Indeed, Coppelia! The crowns may have melted, but the gold remains gold! Why, with only a sprinkling of imagination, the wealth of the kingdom is practically secure!”
“Sooooooooo … does that mean we should still cart it off or … ?”
I paused, blinking as the logistics of my genius plan instantly assailed me.
Had it been crowns, then I would've been able to fill my bottomless pouch with abandon! But this was molten gold, still alive with steam.
Then, I saw the treasury's door–and I smiled.
Ohohohohohohoho!
Why, what reason was there to transport all this gold? The Duchy of Aquina was soon ours. The Duke was disposed. Both his court and his soldiers would disperse. Most importantly, he already had such a lovely treasury of his own. One certain to remain locked until our kingdom's mages could breach it.
Indeed, the Duke had come expecting to open the door himself.
Whatever key existed, he possessed. And now he was a puddle on the floor.
“A new plan. We'll simply close the door instead and allow our tax inspectors to arrive in due course. Do help. The door looks exceptionally unwieldy.”
“Okie~ just let me deposit my book first.”
“Deposit?” I turned to look at her, puzzled. “How?”
“Like this.”
She put the spine of her cherished book in her mouth.
In that moment, backed up by empirical evidence, I was utterly appalled to think that depositing her book was somehow a euphemism for her eating it.
“'ere 'e 'o~” she said.
I didn't even pretend to understand her.
Especially as a moment later, she brought her free hands together, clapping as though to summon her scythe again.
However, no flash of darkness came over me when her hands parted. No bolt of thunder signalled the appearance of a shadowy weapon.
Instead, what resulted was a window as dark as the night sky, unfurled between her palms like a scroll painted in the colour of midnight.
And through it–she spat her book.
Yes.
This was indeed a highly eloquent way of depositing forbidden tomes.
“All done!” said Coppelia, her smile replacing the spine in her mouth. “Right! Now all that's left is to … hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?”
Coppelia tilted her head slightly, her smile taking on an unusual hue.
Her palms, I noticed, were quivering as she squeezed the ... deposit slot, clearly with a mind to close it.
She failed.
After a few seconds, she blinked at me.
“You should probably cover your ears.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ears. Cover. Probably.”
“Why? Has a problem occurred?”
“No, no problem.”
Coppelia's smile twitched as her hands noticeably shook.
I pursed my lips.
“Coppelia, is something terrible about to occur?”
“Nope.”
“Because this has been quite a tiring evening already. If possible, I would like to eat, bathe and sleep. And I'd like to do so without a calamity occurring in the next few moments. Can you promise me that nothing tragic is about to happen?”
Coppelia looked me in the eye, upped her smile and nodded.
“Probably not.”
I took in a deep breath. And then raised my hands to my ears.
It wasn't enough.
“Coppelia.”
Suddenly, a rumbling voice which shook the chamber washed over me.
Echoing all around, it was a voice which reverberated through my body. Even with my hands tightly clutched against my ears, I could hear it like a drum beat against my pure soul.
“You are late.”
My eyes went wide with shock.
W-What was that?!
It was a voice louder than my mother when she found out I'd expertly hidden from my tutors again! This … This had to be magic, surely? Nobody had a voice so powerful that it rung like the tower bell of Reitzlake's cathedral at midday!
“Hi there!” said Coppelia towards the black window she was still trying very hard to close. “It's me. The all dancing, all singing Coppelia. Am I late?”
“Your instructions are clear. You are to periodically report. Not when it suits you.”
“Ehhhhh. I've been busy. Really busy. You can't expect a busy clockwork doll to always keep in touch.”
“My scrying paints a trail of locations you have visited. Including restaurants, cafes, bakeries and confectioneries.”
“Hey! I go where the rumours go! And nowhere do rumours go more than where hungry people are willing to talk secrets while tasting delicious, freshly cooked food, pastries and sweets! And it worked–see, I got the book back!”
A moment of silence met Coppelia's simple point.
And yet it was no cause for relief.
Because aside from the voice practically bouncing as it echoed inside my head, I could sense as that window of darkness … peered at me.
A deeply unnerving feeling ran up my spine as I knew I was being watched, observed–judged. I knew it with an absolute certainty. Because whoever that deep voice belonged to, their gaze of interest was no different to even a mere peasant's as they spied me trampling over their fields.
“So you have.”
The gaze left me.
Instead, it was Coppelia who once again bore the brunt of the being's attention.
“Right! Soooo … I still need to fetch that fine. But don't worry, I'm pretty sure I'll get it soon. Or soonish. Sooner rather than later. But I'll definitely get it. There's no need to ask me to come back now, right? After all, it'd be terrible if we just let someone off the hook like that.”
Coppelia smiled cheerfully, even as her arms continued trying to shut the black window between her palms.
The answer she received was a pause. I sensed the consideration behind the voice. The musing. And while I didn't know who it belonged to, I knew with every instinct in my body that the stature of the speaker was as high as royalty.
“... Ensure that the full amount is collected.”
“Got it!~”
Coppelia's delight threatened to drown out even the darkness before her.
And perhaps that's the reason it suddenly vanished.
Suddenly, the clockwork doll's palms crashed together from the strength of her push, the noise almost rivalling the echoing thunder of the mysterious voice.
Then, she turned to me.
“I'm hungry,” she said, casually stretching her arms. “Want something to eat?”
I thought about asking a thousand and one questions on the spot.
Instead, I simply nodded, accepting the suggestion of my future handmaiden.
The one who, no matter what some voice from the abyss said, I would not have permitted to leave my side regardless.
“Very well. But I'm choosing.”
“And paying?”
“Do you have any crowns?”
“Nope.”
My hand went to my bottomless pouch.
Still, it was without anything to test it. A few coins clinked inside. And then I knew that the greatest challenge still lay ahead tonight.
Eating a meal which wouldn't be offensive to my taste buds.
kayenano Updates have increased to three chapters a week starting right now! New chapters on Tues / Thurs / Sat. Yay!
Coppelia lightly tossed the book into the air.
As it spun, she raised her scythe between her palms, then brought them together, sealing her weapon to a groan of shadowy mist. As swift as she'd made it appear, her towering scythe with a guillotine's blade blinked out of existence.
By the time the book dropped into her palms, she was ready with both a twirl and a smile capable of illuminating even the most drab of backdrops. A useful trait. Aquina Castle was not alone as a bed of drudgery. She'd be exceptionally useful when accompanying me to any function held outside the Royal Villa.
“Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook~”
Holding her book out at arm's length, she spun on the spot like a maiden with a basket of flowers. Except that this wasn't the bluebell meadows outside the Royal Villa she was dancing in. It was a treasury hidden in the bowels of a castle.
And moments ago, it was utterly engulfed in flames.
Now, the magic which fuelled the alchemical fire dissipated.
Flames which threatened my heel now receded like a sea of candles suddenly snuffed to the wind. And I knew that the alchemist was sorely lacking.
True dragon fire? Please. If this was anything of the sort, then the flames would have continued long until dawn. This was merely a replica.
Even so, it was enough for her mischief to have been accomplished.
More than snow had melted to the fanning flames. The piles of crowns were lost to me. Indeed, amongst the bubbling surface, the vengeful flames of a fallen dragon still echoed beneath its surface, its molten heat as undiminished as a brazier fuelled by tar.
Only the bleakness of the ancient stonework had survived.
I groaned as I held my palms to my face.
True. Setting alight to the wealth of a treasonous duke was a point on its own. What better way to demonstrate the gap which existed between us than to lay waste to their wealth and fortune?
The problem, however, was that it wasn't their wealth.
It was the Royal Treasury's.
And that meant the letter I intended to write had just become considerably longer.
After all, I now had to explain how none of this was my fault.
I released the palms from my face, then glanced between Aquina's melted tax revenues and the clockwork doll whose pirouettes were becoming dangerously close to reigniting memories of my unspeakable nausea at the Rimeaux Estate.
“... Coppelia, I don't suppose you have a method for reconstituting gold into coins?”
I pointed vaguely all around myself. Only the melting Duke, now barely a puddle on the floor, offered any respite from the tragedy.
“Weeeeeeeeee~”
Coppelia's answer was to give another spin, a look of pride scribbled on her face as she held her book out. I made no remark as I patiently allowed for her moment of revelry.
It reminded me of myself. As a child, I often held out my published poetry anthologies, at least until I realised that my books were only being printed at the behest of my father. He would order so many copies that publishers would scuffle for the right to print my poems, certain in a healthy return on investment.
My written works now accounted for over half of the books in the Royal Villa's expansive library. A feat I deserved.
“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~”
As I waited for Coppelia to finish her ritualistic dance of happiness, I scanned for the Crown of Winter amongst the golden sea.
I found nothing except the shimmering lights dancing ... winking amidst the ceiling.
I pursed my lips.
Clearly, the Winter Queen was neither in the mood to help or to leave. But that was fine. It wasn't her crown I desired. It was her absence.
The next time I saw her pleading form, I hoped it would be through the correct diplomatic channels. There were easier ways to travel than being stolen. Especially for one with wings. And an invisible glamour.
“Okay, I'm good now!~”
Coppelia stopped twirling just as she almost lost her shoe to a gold puddle. She skipped towards me, easily navigating the steaming liquid with the guile of a goat crossing a mountain trail. She landed just before me.
“–Hieeee?!”
Then, I experienced my second sensation of being hoisted off my feet by her today. She lifted me easily, her arms wrapping around my waist and her book uncomfortably pressed against my back.
“I lied. I'm not done. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~”
And then–
“S-Sttooop!! Cooooppppeeelliaaaaaaa!!”
She swung me around.
Wearing an expression bright enough to illuminate even the corners of Aquina Castle, I now became the basket of flowers as she twirled me around. And around. And around.
The … The indignity! The insult! Why, it was terrible! A disgrace to my royal stature! To touch me without permission was treason! To … To swing me like a peasant's sack was treason for her entire family line!
… And if it wasn't somewhat thrilling and enjoyable, then I would be demanding her cogs right about now … !
As a result, I merely raised my palm as she set me down, waving off her assistance as I gathered my bearings and desperately sought to keep my nausea in check.
“I'm … I'm pleased that you've … ughhh … that you've acquired your book ...”
“My book! Look! Look at it! Isn't it pretty?~”
She pushed the forbidden tome into my face.
Despite my spinning vision, I eyed the cover, then felt a surge of dissatisfaction as I noted its utter lack of … anything.
“It has no title,” I remarked, failing to see even any lines of embellishments, patterns or illustrations of beautiful damsels or shirtless rogues. A cover without any hope of commercial success in today's literature market. “Please inform me that this is your missing book and not the woman's diary you've taken.”
“Pretty sure! I can feel it.”
I raised an eyebrow. Mostly because I could feel something coming up my throat.
“... Do you not wish to check?”
“Sure! I just have to give you the disclaimer before I do, just in case.”
“A disclaimer? To me? Why?”
“Mmh! You see, if you read even a single word of any book you're not entitled to, I'm obligated to issue you with a fine. And, well, you know how you are with money.”
I opened my mouth to retort. Nothing came out.
At least nothing regarding how I was with money. After all, that spoke for itself. I was responsible, dutiful and canny. The couriers I paid for my books informed me as much.
“H-How absurd! I haven't agreed to the terms of your library! It's outrageous to suggest I could be fined for rules I'm not privy to!”
“I mean, I agree, but eh … the big guy is sort of strict.”
“... The who?”
“The big guy.”
“Do you refer to some master librarian?”
“Yup. That's him. I call him the big guy. Others call him the Curator. You know you've made it big when your title becomes your name.”
I nodded, understanding the sentiment at once.
“Well, I hope this … Curator appreciates the effort you've undergone to retrieve this book, even if it does appear to have a hole in it.”
“My scythe does that. It's fine, though! I'm going to be bonked on the head. But books can be fixed. We have people other than just librarians at the library. Including those like me tasked with fines and returns. So–better look away now~”
“... Are you being serious?”
“100% serious. Don't look while I check everything's in there.”
Coppelia smiled as she held up her book.
Even so, the rare note of seriousness in her voice gave me reason to consider her request. Though outrageous that I had to turn my eyes from anything in my own kingdom, I was a princess who understood the pleas of her subjects.
I ignored them, naturally. But it didn't mean I never listened.
“Ugh, very well.”
I offered an appropriate look of indignation, then rolled my eyes before I covered them with my hand.
Then, I peeked between my fingers.
I clicked my tongue as I observed Coppelia's back.
“Done~!” she said, turning around to the sight of my closed hand. “Yup, no embarrassing diary of lacy shopping habits here. We've got everything we came for!”
“Coppelia, we came to tax Aquina, and in doing so, remove the Duke's ability to instigate rebellion.”
“Hey, you got the important half done, right? He's definitely not masterminding any plots while he's a puddle. Except maybe how to get someone's socks wet. Still dastardly, but on a different scale.”
I nodded.
Indeed, that man's fate was a fitting result of whatever wet scheme he had planned. However, I was not one to accept half victories.
Because just as I looked upon a Zelronto and saw it for the woeful replica that it was, I looked upon the sea of gold and also saw it for what it was.
Gold.
“... A hindrance,” I declared. “And no more.”
Indeed … everything had melted. But it was not gone!
I … I could fix this!
Well, not me, but someone could!
Because the gold was still there, its worth undiminished ... and that meant an opportunity to be reforged or reshaped as required, to be used or sold for the greatest profit!
Indeed … was this not an opportunity?
Had the Royal Treasury received the crowns, then it would have kept each coin in reserve until called upon. Yet as prudent as that might be, was it not also a wasted opportunity to invest in skilled craftsmen?
Gold was surely worth more in weight as jewels than as coins!
And now a massive quantity of raw material existed to be leveraged by the kingdom's artisans and smiths! Why, with so much gold, we could create enough luxury commodities to ensure a supply of crowns far greater than if I'd simply hauled the lot to the Royal Treasury! And that was the least of advantages!
Rather than purchasing my jewels from snivelling merchants sent from abroad to line the treasuries of foreign kingdoms, I could simply commission them for myself!
I … I could even have the worst of them sold abroad! Just as we sold the St. Lianes I didn't want at great profit to our neighbours, so too could we sell the necklaces, tiaras and rings deemed too gaudy for me!
Oho … ohoho … ohohoho?
To turn disaster into opportunity like an alchemist turned toads into goo!
It was so simple! So easy! … So genius!
That's me! A genius!
Ohohhohohohohohoho!
“Indeed, Coppelia! The crowns may have melted, but the gold remains gold! Why, with only a sprinkling of imagination, the wealth of the kingdom is practically secure!”
“Sooooooooo … does that mean we should still cart it off or … ?”
I paused, blinking as the logistics of my genius plan instantly assailed me.
Had it been crowns, then I would've been able to fill my bottomless pouch with abandon! But this was molten gold, still alive with steam.
Then, I saw the treasury's door–and I smiled.
Ohohohohohohoho!
Why, what reason was there to transport all this gold? The Duchy of Aquina was soon ours. The Duke was disposed. Both his court and his soldiers would disperse. Most importantly, he already had such a lovely treasury of his own. One certain to remain locked until our kingdom's mages could breach it.
Indeed, the Duke had come expecting to open the door himself.
Whatever key existed, he possessed. And now he was a puddle on the floor.
“A new plan. We'll simply close the door instead and allow our tax inspectors to arrive in due course. Do help. The door looks exceptionally unwieldy.”
“Okie~ just let me deposit my book first.”
“Deposit?” I turned to look at her, puzzled. “How?”
“Like this.”
She put the spine of her cherished book in her mouth.
In that moment, backed up by empirical evidence, I was utterly appalled to think that depositing her book was somehow a euphemism for her eating it.
“'ere 'e 'o~” she said.
I didn't even pretend to understand her.
Especially as a moment later, she brought her free hands together, clapping as though to summon her scythe again.
However, no flash of darkness came over me when her hands parted. No bolt of thunder signalled the appearance of a shadowy weapon.
Instead, what resulted was a window as dark as the night sky, unfurled between her palms like a scroll painted in the colour of midnight.
And through it–she spat her book.
Yes.
This was indeed a highly eloquent way of depositing forbidden tomes.
“All done!” said Coppelia, her smile replacing the spine in her mouth. “Right! Now all that's left is to … hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?”
Coppelia tilted her head slightly, her smile taking on an unusual hue.
Her palms, I noticed, were quivering as she squeezed the ... deposit slot, clearly with a mind to close it.
She failed.
After a few seconds, she blinked at me.
“You should probably cover your ears.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ears. Cover. Probably.”
“Why? Has a problem occurred?”
“No, no problem.”
Coppelia's smile twitched as her hands noticeably shook.
I pursed my lips.
“Coppelia, is something terrible about to occur?”
“Nope.”
“Because this has been quite a tiring evening already. If possible, I would like to eat, bathe and sleep. And I'd like to do so without a calamity occurring in the next few moments. Can you promise me that nothing tragic is about to happen?”
Coppelia looked me in the eye, upped her smile and nodded.
“Probably not.”
I took in a deep breath. And then raised my hands to my ears.
It wasn't enough.
“Coppelia.”
Suddenly, a rumbling voice which shook the chamber washed over me.
Echoing all around, it was a voice which reverberated through my body. Even with my hands tightly clutched against my ears, I could hear it like a drum beat against my pure soul.
“You are late.”
My eyes went wide with shock.
W-What was that?!
It was a voice louder than my mother when she found out I'd expertly hidden from my tutors again! This … This had to be magic, surely? Nobody had a voice so powerful that it rung like the tower bell of Reitzlake's cathedral at midday!
“Hi there!” said Coppelia towards the black window she was still trying very hard to close. “It's me. The all dancing, all singing Coppelia. Am I late?”
“Your instructions are clear. You are to periodically report. Not when it suits you.”
“Ehhhhh. I've been busy. Really busy. You can't expect a busy clockwork doll to always keep in touch.”
“My scrying paints a trail of locations you have visited. Including restaurants, cafes, bakeries and confectioneries.”
“Hey! I go where the rumours go! And nowhere do rumours go more than where hungry people are willing to talk secrets while tasting delicious, freshly cooked food, pastries and sweets! And it worked–see, I got the book back!”
A moment of silence met Coppelia's simple point.
And yet it was no cause for relief.
Because aside from the voice practically bouncing as it echoed inside my head, I could sense as that window of darkness … peered at me.
A deeply unnerving feeling ran up my spine as I knew I was being watched, observed–judged. I knew it with an absolute certainty. Because whoever that deep voice belonged to, their gaze of interest was no different to even a mere peasant's as they spied me trampling over their fields.
“So you have.”
The gaze left me.
Instead, it was Coppelia who once again bore the brunt of the being's attention.
“Right! Soooo … I still need to fetch that fine. But don't worry, I'm pretty sure I'll get it soon. Or soonish. Sooner rather than later. But I'll definitely get it. There's no need to ask me to come back now, right? After all, it'd be terrible if we just let someone off the hook like that.”
Coppelia smiled cheerfully, even as her arms continued trying to shut the black window between her palms.
The answer she received was a pause. I sensed the consideration behind the voice. The musing. And while I didn't know who it belonged to, I knew with every instinct in my body that the stature of the speaker was as high as royalty.
“... Ensure that the full amount is collected.”
“Got it!~”
Coppelia's delight threatened to drown out even the darkness before her.
And perhaps that's the reason it suddenly vanished.
Suddenly, the clockwork doll's palms crashed together from the strength of her push, the noise almost rivalling the echoing thunder of the mysterious voice.
Then, she turned to me.
“I'm hungry,” she said, casually stretching her arms. “Want something to eat?”
I thought about asking a thousand and one questions on the spot.
Instead, I simply nodded, accepting the suggestion of my future handmaiden.
The one who, no matter what some voice from the abyss said, I would not have permitted to leave my side regardless.
“Very well. But I'm choosing.”
“And paying?”
“Do you have any crowns?”
“Nope.”
My hand went to my bottomless pouch.
Still, it was without anything to test it. A few coins clinked inside. And then I knew that the greatest challenge still lay ahead tonight.
Eating a meal which wouldn't be offensive to my taste buds.
kayenano Updates have increased to three chapters a week starting right now! New chapters on Tues / Thurs / Sat. Yay!
