n

n

nThe moonlight cut through the dark, illuminating a slender form on the floor from the window. The moon was bright enough that one could read a newspaper off its light alone whereas the darkness around it was thick enough that it could contain anything in its inky pits.

nJust beside the puddle of light in a quiet space, Rachel opened her eyes and raised her body from the cushion it was buried in.

n“Uun…….I slept too much during the daytime.”

nHer eyes were clear and sleep had become impossible.

nShe had gotten too excited because there was nobody there to get angry at her, so she took a long nap. She had become overwhelmed by living alone.

nRachel gave up on trying to sleep and rose to her feet. She was able to see with just the moonlight coming through the ventilation.

n“……..a good moon huh. I wonder if tonight’s moon is a full one.”

nRachel narrowed her eyes as she gazed up towards the brightly shining circle in the sky, and rather than returning to her blanket once again, she came up with a grand idea.

nTransporting a couple of the wooden crates, she made a makeshift staircase to the bottom of the window.

n“Good idea.”

nTaking up her carrying case with her, she climbed up the wooden stairs she had created. Sitting on the top row and looking out the window, she enjoyed the nighttime breeze.

n“I feel emotional playing towards the moon.”

nRachel then pulled out her favorite instrument from its case, and with a dreamy look on her face, brought it to her lips.

nIn the starry night sky, a light tone echoed throughout.

n♠

nThe pajamas Prince Elliott wore to bed consisted of only a nightgown. But after slipping on a pair of nearby slippers, he still jumped out of bedroom and rushed to the dungeon just like that.

nHe was making quite the intense face, yet his voice was quiet when he asked,

n“Rachel, do you have something you want to say to me?”

nRachel was there holding her instrument with the iron bars separating them, and seeing that they were wearing matching nightgowns, she shyly covered her front with her arms.

n“Your Highness………coming to a maiden’s room this late at night, you know it’s not something to be praised right?”

nOne beat, two beats of silence passed.

nElliott kicked the iron bars with his slipper covered toes.

n“That’s not it!? You have something to say, other than that! Something like, sorry for causing trouble!? Even though it’s late at night, I shouldn’t have been blowing out all these bleatings from a trumpet!”

n“Your Highness…….do you believe this to be a trumpet? Although it is in the brass family, in a narrow sense it is actually different from a trumpet……..”

n“I know! Do you think I care about such things!? Are you feeling sentimental seeing the full moon, so you decided to start making this racket at midnight!?”

n“Yes.”

n“In such a situation, why are you playing Sing Sing Sing and Little Brown Jug!?¹ What kind of feeling are you going for!?”

n“My……..Your Highness, you’re quite well educated.”

n“Don’t be a fool! Okay, then how about we go with this next!? This time we’ll mobilize the knight’s order, and we’ll turn you into a hedgehog!”

n“That could be a good look for me if I do say so myself……..”

nElliott stomped back to his room in a huff while Rachel put her trumpet back in its case chuckling to herself.

n“The probability of it reaching him was about fifty percent, but since the direction of the wind looked good, it was worth the effort.”

nMelting into the cushion, Rachel gave it a few *PonPon* pats, and feeling satisfied, lied her head back down.

n“Ah………because I was able to enjoy the magnificent tearful face of His Highness, I should be able to sleep well tonight.”

n♠

nObserving the wall for some reason after breakfast, Rachel suddenly remembered she had brought some paints with her.

n“That’s right. I thought the walls in here would look dreary and thought to bring in some paint to decorate them.”

nShe felt like enjoying a little art would compliment last night’s performance. Rachel slowly stood up and eventually found the box that contained her painting tools.

nLaying out some of the old newspapers that had been used to fill out the gaps in the box, Rachel opened up one of the paint cans she’d need. Turning towards the stone wall, she started off primering it with a coat of white before tilting her head.

n“Nnn……..it’d be kind of wasteful to just paint it like wallpaper.”

nThe original plan was to paint the whole thing her favorite peppermint green color, and afterwards she would draw in some flowers where she wanted to………but looking at the whitewashed wall, she now thought that would be a shame.

n“Yosh, let’s challenge ourselves to make a masterpiece!”

nInspiration had struck. Since she couldn’t go outside, it might be good to draw a landscape painting with the image of a scenic spot.

n♠

nHis elbows resting on the desk, Elliott stared at the documents in front of him and grimaced as George tried to speak to him.

n“What’s wrong Your Highness……….are you feeling sleepy? You have some bags under your eyes………”

n“Ah………”

nElliott had a downhearted look on his face with his head turned down, and rested his forehead on the back of his hands.

n“Curse you Rachel………! Even when I got back into my bed, I couldn’t sleep because that melody was endlessly playing in my head.”

n“Hah?”

n“No, I was saying…….”

nElliott managed to stretch out his back, but Sykes burst through the door before he could say anything else.

n“Sykes……you should knock before entering a room.”

n“Ah, I see.”

nSykes turned around, about to go back out the door to redo his entrance, but Elliott stopped him in frustration.

n“Practice your manners at home! Is there something wrong!?”

n“Oh yes. No, it’s just that we received a complaint about a strange odor coming from the direction of the dungeon.”

nElliott and George shared a look.

n“…….no way, you’re older sister’s already become a decayed corpse……..?”

n“That’s just Your Highness’s wish. You met her in the middle of the night last night didn’t you? The smell wouldn’t spread in just half a day.”

n“No, it’s not such a stuffy smell. It’s something, something more irritating.”

n“……….?”

n♠

nThe three men who had come down to the dungeon had to force their mouths closed after seeing the changed walls.

n“Y-you………this……….”

nOn the dungeon wall which had been a mass of cracked stone just the day before, had now become a flowery meadow and majestic canyon with a sea of mountains stretching out across a white background. Perspective and shadows, this was a three-dimensional landscape painting from a single point perspective that had such a touch of realism, it made those who saw it take a breath and think they were looking at a portal to another world.

nHowever.

n“This, even though it’s a dungeon…….”

nEven if such a picture were to exist, for it to be in a place where no one could see it………

nThe offensive smell flowing out of the dungeon was the smell of the paint. Because Rachel had used a lot of paint in a single day, the chemical smell had fill the underground space.

n“However, it smells awful……..Rachel can’t you smell, this”

nAfter finishing some touch-ups to a flower garden, Rachel looked back over her shoulder at Sykes’s question.

n“It was amazing at first, but after smelling it for half a day, it no longer bothers me as my nose has gotten used to it.”

n“Didn’t you hate it in the beginning………..?”

n“I was worried at the start, but………”

nHaving finished, Rachel moved to the other side of the room to get as good a look as she could…….

n“Perhaps…….”

n“Perhaps?”

nThe girl tilted her head.

n“I wonder if my bedroom didn’t need this picture.”

n“Be aware of that in the first place!”

nWhile Rachel and Sykes were discussing the painting with each other through the bars, George suddenly noticed there was another person here who had been quiet until now.

n“Hm? Your Highness?”

nGeorge looked back over his shoulder.

n“Your Highness!?”

nOn the floor was the figure of Elliott who had groggily collapsed to the floor.

n“Your Highnessssssssss!!”

nIn a hurry George and Sykes picked him up, noticing that his eyes had completely rolled back becoming completely white.

n“I wonder if the smell of this place has combined with his lack of sleep.”

n“The cause doesn’t matter right now!? Get him outside quickly!”

nThe men left the room in a racket. In the end, Rachel made a conclusion.

n“Well, was it so good that it killed His Highness in one shot?

n