Chapter 61

A letter from Al arrived.

I was told that Mother contacted Al regarding me staying with her. The letter that came to the house for the first time ever was not even an official one. He must’ve written it in a rush. There was no sealing wax. His writing was scribbled like he was pressed for time; only a time and a place was jotted down on the letter.

The letter was received by the house steward of this hideaway named Igni.

“Urm, there’s a letter addressed to Fania-sama…” Igni brought the letter to me while sporting a bewildered face.

I received that letter from Al, and I was at a loss for what I should do. The assigned date was the first Sunday of April. The day when I would depart for my journey.

My trip with Mother would be a cruise trip. On that day, we would need to head to the harbour, lest we missed the ship. Mother had booked tickets for a luxurious cruise trip, so the next time the cruise would sail would be in another half a year. Moreover, although Mother didn’t tell me this, I was sure the cruise fare was sky high.

With Al’s letter on my chest, I pondered. Just what’s the meaning behind this time and date? Is he beckoning me to come to that place? There was nothing else written in the letter.

I only clasped Al’s letter close to my chest. I couldn’t organize my thoughts. Actually, I had written several times to Al. However, there was never a reply. I heard nothing from him until then, so why a letter at this time?

“Fania, what’s wrong?” Mother looked suspiciously at my behaviour.

“No, there’s nothing.” I instantly hid the letter.

There was no reason to hide it, I should show it to Mother. But somehow, I ended up concealing it. Until Sunday, there were only a few days left.

I noticed a gaze on me, so I turned my head around. There was Igni looking worriedly at me. Since Igni passed the letter to me, he had been regretful about it—for passing the letter to me. It was because I specifically asked him not to tell Mother about this.

He must be thinking that he should’ve passed the letter to Mother first before me. Until then, no matter how I wished for it, there was never any letter from Al, and this very first one was resembling a code; Igni must’ve found it suspicious. At this point of time, I didn’t want Mother to discover about this letter should Igni end up slipping his mouth about it. Before Igni could utter anything, I averted my gaze away.

“Fania, please listen to this. Matilda said she heard from somebody that ginger soaked in honey is good to counter sea-sickness. So she wants to bring a lot of it, even though I told her to minimize the baggage. Moreover, is ginger really effective?” Mother thought hard about it.

Matilda was the daughter to Mother’s wetnurse, making her Mother’s milk-sister1. When Mother came to Frialist to marry in, she came along as mother’s lady-in-waiting. She was two years younger than Mother, unmarried and had been loyally serving Mother ever since.

Since Mother started to indulge in food, Matilda was always together during her food tours; her body shape was no less stout than Mother. When Mother and Matilda were together, I had a slight fear of being squished in the middle.

For the upcoming trip, we hadn’t decided on the return date yet. Maybe we wouldn’t return. Mother brought along Matilda, Abel—a veteran lady-in-waiting—and several guards on this trip. Everyone of them were Mother’s direct subordinates.

This hideaway would be disposed of and the remaining people working here would be given more than enough retirement money during their dismissal. Igni, the house steward, was originally His Majesty’s chamberlain; he would return to His Majesty after seeing us off.

All preparations were complete. We only had to set off. There, a doubt flashed in my mind.

“Mother, can you leave the country with no problem? On the surface, you are already deceased, you don’t have an ID now, do you?”

How about the departure formalities at the border?

“Ufufufu. Even if I’m like this, I’ve been a part of the country administration you know? A family register or two, I could always fix them. Even the departure formalities were all done.” Mother gleefully chuckled.

While I didn’t know it, the formalities were all settled. As expected of Mother.

“When I depart from this country, what are the formalities I have to handle?”

Thinking about it, I was still an underage. Would my father be considered my guardian in this case? I hadn’t even told him that I was going to travel abroad.

“I’ve also settled Fania’s. So no need to worry.”

Hearing Mother’s words, I was relieved. In a way, it was as if I was piggybacked and carried like a child by Mother. I was always relying on her. I had been wholly dependent on her, so this time I’d settle my matters on my own. I could not possibly be a nuisance to Mother’s departure.

I gripped the letter I put in my pocket tightly. There was no more time until departure. I also had to make a move. Let’s bring this to an end on this first Sunday in April. And then I’ll depart from this country after I’m clear of any sorrows. I’m only a helpless student (but I no longer go to school), and I lack power to initiate anything. So what should I do with this letter? What am I supposed to do? What’s the best step I should take? If it’s the usual, I’ll reach for Al and ask him for help. But this time, that’s not the option, I have to figure it out by myself.

I renewed my resolve to settle this once and for all.