VTGWH 495

495

[She glared at me and asked if those eyes were Alicia-sama's. I never expected to hear Alicia's name come out of my mother-in-law's mouth. Frankly, I was surprised, but then again, knowing her, she would have done her research on Alicia.]

We've never met each other, but I know she existed.

...Rather, in Julie-sama's case, it was possible that she was watching me from somewhere when I visited the palace.

It was a strange sensation.

[She can see it in my eyes, I suppose, and sighs. I still can't grasp what's in my mother-in-law's mind. ...Anyway, I've made it possible for only Alicia to see my memories on this page, and I've been able to use the faint magic that resides in her eyes. It's a small amount, but it's enough for me to cast a spell. Touch this page and chant, in archaic language, "Awaken".]

...Uncle Will must have assumed that someone might try to look at this diary.

I muttered [Awake] in the archaic language of the Duelkis Kingdom, just as it was written in the diary.

At that moment, the memory of Uncle Will poured into my head. It felt as if I was Uncle Will. That was the way I thought of it.

Magic that really used very little magic power... Normally, when showing memories, there would be many magic that would allow for an objective view. But this was a subjective memory.

No, but I felt again the greatness of Uncle Will for being able to leave behind this magic with the little magic power in my eyes that he could use. I knew that he was not an ordinary man, but....

[Did she think that I didn't die, or was she surprised that I was still alive?]

I was surprised by Julie-sama's presence, which I had never seen before. Even though she was a mistress, she had the air of a queen.

She was much older than I had imagined. ...I could imagine that she used to be beautiful. But now she looked like an old woman.

She was beautifully dressed and had dignity. But her back was slightly crooked, and she had wrinkles appropriate to her age. I could tell from her expression that she had experienced a lot of hardship.

I couldn't sense that much cheerfulness in her.

She just stared down at me - at Uncle Will.

[Both of us, didn't die, yet it seems, and stubbornly couldn't die.]

[...I'm glad you're still alive].

Julie-sama said that for sure.

It was a small voice, but I heard it. What did she mean by that?

Was she saying that she wished Uncle Will had never come back, or that she was glad that he was alive, or was she just really moody?

The memory ended there, leaving me confused.

"Alicia? You looked a little dazed."

Gilles looked into my face with concern.

...I was not okay, to be honest, my psyche has been much eroded by this book, for better or for worse.

The last word of Julie-sama's comment almost short-circuited my brain. My mind was flooded with more information than what it could process.

I really did not know what was going on in Julie-sama's mind.

But the look on her face at that moment seemed to me that she was really relieved that Uncle Will was alive.