TMM 29

“I was wondering whether some ill magic had been cast upon Lady Fran and yourself.”

“In that case, why not investigate the magic mirror?” Alicia replied coolly.

She found the suggestion rude.

“I already have,” Samuel said.

His words startled her.

“You sent someone to examine it?”

“No. I went myself.”

“Alone, at two in the morning?”

Samuel laughed.

“Hardly. There was an unexpected class cancellation, so I went in the morning.”

What a strange man, she thought. Or perhaps Fran’s and her own condition troubled him that much.

“And what did you find?”

“It doesn’t seem to be a magical artifact at all. It’s just an ordinary mirror.”

Alicia had not yet been in the magic department at the time, but she distinctly remembered it as a magical object.

She had sensed a strong presence of mana.

“If it is merely a mirror, then there is no need to remove it, is there?”

“Some people fall under suggestion. Women, especially, tend to be concerned about their future spouses, don’t they? A few years ago, three female students went to look into that mirror at night and became deranged. Two recovered within a couple of days, but the remaining one has shut herself away ever since. This is not rumor—it is fact. I suspect that the greater the number of observers, the easier it is for suggestions to take hold.”

If it could truly be dismissed as suggestion alone, how comforting that would be.

“Was the mirror not examined at that time?”

“They saw no need. A mirror on the fourth floor of an old clock tower, viewed at midnight under a full moon. Is there any better setting for unmarried, emotionally unstable girls to experience hallucinations?”

Alicia smiled faintly before responding.

“Then why not try it yourself—alone—at two in the morning?”

“Come with me. I’ll need a witness.”

“The more people there are, the more susceptible one becomes to suggestion, did you not say?”

“So you want me to play at a test of courage?”

“Fortunately, I am as tight-lipped as you are, Lord Samuel. I won’t tell a soul.”

“……”

For once, the normally silver-tongued Samuel fell silent, so Alicia pressed on.

“You said it should be at two in the morning on the night of the full moon. Conveniently, tomorrow is a full moon.”

“You remember the lunar cycle?” Samuel asked, a sardonic smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Magic and the moon are closely linked. Mana grows stronger on the night of the full moon, as do magical artifacts. Any student of the magic department keeps track of it.”

“I see. Do you require a report on whether I actually go at two in the morning?”

Though he looked amused, there was a hint of challenge in his tone.

“If we are to share secrets, it would put my mind at ease to know.”

“So you appear fragile, but you’re actually quite strong-willed. Very well. My errand here is done, so this messenger will take his leave.”

Samuel rose from his seat with an easy smile.

Alicia could not tell whether he was angry or not.

(Lord Samuel is utterly inscrutable. I must not let my guard down. Could he be the one who fabricated my crime?)

And yet, that did not explain his expression in the mirror.

That gaze—mingled with pity and disappointment. What, she wondered, had it truly meant?