The Marked Girl

WHEN THE CARRIAGE arrived at the mansion, a woman appeared, supported

on either side by the two maids who accompanied her. She seemed frail and

weak, perhaps ill. At the same time, she was strikingly lovely, and she looked

just like Lady Roxy.

Wait, is this…?

"Mother!" Lady Roxy said. "Didn't I tell you that you didn't need to greet us

on arrival?"

So I was right. She was indeed Lady Roxy's mother.

Over tea, Lady Roxy had told me of her mother, and how she suffered from a

terrible illness. I never would have imagined that same person meeting us at

the front door of the mansion. Even now she looked unwell and fragile, as

though she might cough blood and collapse at any moment. If her condition

appeared so dire to me, then her daughter's anxiety was more than

understandable. This woman was the last parent Lady Roxy had. Of course she

was concerned.

I supposed some illnesses were so serious that even one of the five esteemed

families, with all their status and wealth, could fail to overcome them.

"Mother, please, I beg of you. Please don't push yourself."

"I'm fine, Roxy. I feel much better than usual today. Hm?!"

Lady Roxy stood before her mother nervously as the woman turned her gaze

on me. Her face was…like that of a child who had just received a thrilling new

toy.

"And who might this be?"

"This is Fate Graphite. He's the new servant I hired. I brought him here

because I wanted to introduce you."

In line with Lady Roxy's introduction, I bowed before her mother.

"You've come a long way. Welcome to our home, I am Aisha Hart."

"Thank you, Lady Hart. It is my honor."

"Ah, but the honor is mine. Please, come inside."

At Lady Aisha's instruction, a few maids waiting in the wings appeared and

more or less dragged me into the mansion. I guess this is what being welcomed

feels like.

Unfortunately, that left Lady Roxy standing outside on her own.

"Mother, wait!" she shouted. "Mother! He's my servant!"

The maids brought me to a gorgeous living room and sat me in a chair next to

a little table by the window. Only once I was seated did they release their grip.

Sitting across the table was Lady Roxy's mother. I gathered Lady Aisha was a

woman used to getting her way. Lady Roxy arrived a moment later, her cheeks

puffed up in anger. She was displeased with her mother for so abruptly taking

the initiative.

"Mother!"

"Oh, you've come, too? Please, have a seat, my love."

Lady Roxy hmphed in dissatisfaction but sat obediently as directed. I got the

feeling it was a Hart family tradition to start off Lady Roxy's visits with a cup of

tea. Perhaps Lady Roxy got her love for teatime from her mother. The thought

made me smile.

"Mister Fate," Lady Aisha said, "Do you love my daughter?"

The question caught me off guard, and it was all I could do not to spit out the

entirety of my tea. I had absolutely no idea how to respond. This is the very first

question she asks me?!

Lady Roxy was furious, her face scarlet with rage. "What kind of a question is

that?!"

"Oh, was I out of line? I only wanted to inquire as to whether he loves you as

the master of the manor. If you were forcing him to work, he wouldn't say he

was happy, would he?"

I was still blindsided. Is that what she meant? It had sounded like such a

different question to me. After all, I was a peasant and Lady Roxy was a holy

knight. Our positions were just too distant. Even if we both felt such a thing, it

would be an impossible dream.

Lady Aisha smiled broadly and asked again, but I already knew what I wanted

to say. I'd known for a long time.

"I have nothing but adoration in my heart for Lady Roxy," I said. "If she would

let me, I would gladly serve her until the end of my life." The words expressed

my honest feelings.

"Oh, my." Lady Aisha put her hands together in an elegant display of delight

at my loyalty.

Meanwhile, Lady Roxy choked on her tea, and her face remained a brilliant

crimson shade. "If you'll excuse me," she said, "I'm going to rest in my room."

With that, Lady Roxy fled. I was worried. Had I said something out of line? But

Lady Aisha smiled at me pleasantly.

"It would seem Roxy is tired from your long journey," she said. "She's

certainly kept busy with her duties in the kingdom. But please don't worry. I'm

sure after a rest she'll be back to her usual self."

"I hope so…"

Lady Roxy's abrupt exit had left me stranded. Fortunately, Lady Aisha was a

talented conversationalist, and she told me all about the various work presently

involved in developing new varieties of grape, as well as stories of Lady Roxy as

a young girl.

"That really happened?" I asked after one such tale.

"Yes, indeed," said Lady Aisha. "When she was young, Roxy was every bit the

crybaby. She sobbed even at the sight of a tiny little insect. It's nigh

unbelievable to think that little girl grew up to be the holy knight she is now."

A flash of sadness crossed Lady Aisha's face. She'd recently lost her beloved

husband, and the burden of his responsibilities had fallen on the shoulders of

their daughter's shoulders. Lady Aisha had to be worried, so I plucked up my

courage to speak.

"Lady Roxy is a truly admirable holy knight," I said. "The citizens of Seifort

gladly place their trust in her, and I believe she'll carry out her duties as head of

the Hart family with greatest honor."

"Is that so…? I'm relieved, then. Thank you, Fate."

There were tears in Lady Aisha's eyes. Losing the head of the family had been

a great wound for the Harts, and I had the feeling it still wasn't healed.

Our teatime concluded on this melancholy note as the maids who had

lingered in the corner of the room came forward to inform Lady Aisha that it

was time for her rest. Her health was at the foremost of their responsibilities. I

thanked the lady for the tea, and because I had nothing else to do with my

time, I decided to explore the estate. I asked a maid whether I could go for a

walk on the grounds, and she requested only that I not get lost.

"Don't worry, I won't go far," I said. Then I passed her the black sword Greed

for safekeeping, and I headed out of the mansion.

***

The Hart estate's vineyards were vast, and their sweet scent tickled deep in

my nose. There was a breathtaking contrast between the blue sky and greencovered lands. I wandered as villagers in the vineyards worked earnestly at the

harvest. They looked incredibly busy.

I remembered then that Lady Roxy and I would take part in the grape picking

the following day, together with the people of the estate. I'd never picked

grapes before, and I didn't know the particulars. If I went into it without any

preparation and did a poor job, I would shame my master. This might be a good

chance to do a practice run. Swallowing my fear, I approached the grape

pickers.

"Hello, there," I said. "My name's Fate Graphite, and I'm a new servant of the

Hart family. Would you mind teaching me how to pick grapes?"

There was a long silence.

Uh oh. Did I just put my foot in my mouth? Is this not allowed?

"Oh ho! Are you saying you'll give us a hand?" one of them asked. "We could

use the help! You Hart family servants are all so conscientious!"

The men and women stopped working for a moment and gathered around.

They kindly showed me the proper way to pick the grapes, and where to take

those I harvested. As I should have expected of people living on the Hart estate,

everyone was kind and friendly. Soon enough, I realized I had been working like

a packhorse right up until sunset. Still, nobody stopped, so there was no chance

for me to slip away unnoticed.

As I took a short break at the edge of the field, villagers came up to me,

offering freshly squeezed grape juice.

"You really did us a big favor! Here, drink this, it'll help wash away the

weariness of work!"

"Thank you."

They weren't joking. The sweet grape juice expanded in my mouth with just a

touch of acidity, easing my exhaustion. I'd never drunk anything like it.

"This is incredible," I said.

The villagers laughed.

"We know! We're very proud of it. In the past, we weren't able to harvest

nearly this much."

"Is that so?"

"It is. The old head of the Hart family, gods rest his soul, he put everything

into developing the land. He called in experts from other territories, and all the

villagers came together to learn from them. It's a bit nostalgic to think back on.

Anyway, that's the reason we've got these vineyards now."

The men and women fell into sadness for a moment, drinking their grape

juice as though nursing their hearts with wine.

"Anyway, how's Lady Roxy doing? We've been worried ever since the news of

her father's passing in Galia. She's a kind one, that girl, and surely her heart

must be hurting."

"It was a shock for her, I'm sure," I said, "but Lady Roxy is strong. She

performs her duties for the kingdom flawlessly, and I'm sure she'll be fine. She'll

rise above this loss."

I tried my best to tell the villagers what I felt in my heart. Everyone looked

surprised by my earnestness, but their faces quickly brightened as they poured

more juice into my cup.

"Wait," I said. "I-I can't drink this much!"

"You'll be fine! Drink up, boy! Drink!"

I indulged in a little more time with the warmth of their conversation and

hospitality before heading back to the Hart family mansion.

The setting sun was at my back, and as I walked back toward the main house,

I noticed an unfamiliar young girl walking through the field toward me. She had

messy white hair and tan skin. It was clear she wasn't from these parts—that

much was evident from the giant axe she carried on her shoulder. Not the sort

of thing you expected to see a young girl lugging around! And her body was

covered in white markings, perhaps tattoos? They struck me as ritualistic,

somehow, or ceremonial.

The girl drew to a stop by my side, her face entirely expressionless.

"Hey. You," she said in a sweet, childlike voice.

When she turned to face me, her eyes were so red I almost couldn't hold her

gaze. I'd seen such eyes before, but… How was that possible? I used Identify to

check, but…

What? That's weird… I can't see anything. This has never happened before.

Why?

"Hey. Are you listening?" The girl's voice cut through my thoughts. In contrast

to her meek appearance, she held herself like a person of terrible strength. Her

cool eyes seemed to glare at me.

"Do you want something from me?" I asked.

"No… It's nothing. It seems I'm still too early."

"What?"

The girl ignored my questions; it was like she was having a one-sided

conversation.

"I came here to hunt kobolds, but you can have them. That's one you owe

me," she said.

"Wait—what?"

"We'll meet again. Bye."

The conversation was over as quickly as it started, and the girl left.

Who was that…?

Her red eyes were identical to my own when my Gluttony was starving. My

heart rate picked up, beating ever faster. Is that girl like me? If she is, shouldn't I

chase her down and stop her?

I stared after the girl as she faded into the setting sun, until I heard a voice call

me from behind.

I turned to find Lady Roxy. "I've been searching all over for you, Fay. What

happened? You look worried."

"Oh, really? Ha ha…ha."

I smiled and pushed my worries away. Whatever this was, it was my problem,

and it had nothing to do with Lady Roxy. She was the one person I didn't want

to know about red eyes and soul-eating skills. I would ask Greed later instead.

Lady Roxy's head tilted slightly, and her curious gaze followed my own toward

the girl in the distance.

"What's a Galian doing here?" she asked, surprised.

"Galian? You mean, she's…"

Monsters were out of control on the continent of Galia, where they ran

rampant. But the story went that, long ago, a country of unparalleled martial

prowess had thrived there. That country's people, known as Galians, were a

race with hair as white as snow and healthy tanned skin. For reasons not

entirely clear, they'd perished following a sharp increase in monsters in the

area.

The Galian civilization's few remaining survivors had joined other races, and

over the following generations, pureblooded Galians faded out of existence.

"It's the first time I've seen anybody of Galian descent who still retains so

many of their unique characteristics. Do you know her, Fay?"

"No, she just stopped to talk to me for a moment."

"I see…"

We stood there for a time, watching the girl until she vanished over the

horizon.

"It's a mysterious world out there," Lady Roxy said, smiling. "What have you

been doing, Fay?"

"I asked the people of the estate to teach me how to pick grapes… And then

they kind of roped me into helping them out all day."

Lady Roxy giggled. "Is that so? Well, I hope you didn't overdo it. We've still

got tomorrow ahead of us, too. Come, let's return to the mansion, shall we?"