Whatever’s the matter? She seems quite tense…
No, “tense” wasn’t the word…
Wary? Is she frightened of something? …Of what? Of me?
But why?
Even as Alice watched Sharon, she kept glancing away. When Sharon followed her gaze, her eyes found a book lying on the sofa that stood against the wall.
It was the book Sharon had rewrapped and left on the vanity.
Aha, Sharon thought, hiding a smile.
While she was alone, Alice had stealthily unwrapped the parcel and looked at its contents, and before she could wrap it up again, the room’s mistress had returned. That was why Alice was flustered. She was afraid Sharon might be angry with her.
…The question of whether Alice really had such a commendable personality did cross Sharon’s mind. However, she couldn’t think of any other reason for this reaction.
“Haah… Alice-san?”
Simply being addressed was enough to make Alice flinch.
Then she looked at Sharon with timid eyes that seemed to beg for forgiveness. She’d teared up just a little.
—My, how adorable! Sharon thought, privately.
Of course, although her arrogant speech and behavior normally canceled it out, Alice was a pretty girl.
Huddled up, she was as cute as a small animal; a squirrel or a rabbit, perhaps.
I won’t shout at her, but I really should caution her.
Not being bound by rules and manners was one of Alice’s charms, but even so…
Sharon crossed to the sofa, picked up the book, and set it aside. Then she sat down.
She patted the cushion next to her, beckoning Alice over.
This is for Alice’s sake. Oz-sama lets her have her own way a bit too much.
Yes, it certainly wasn’t because Alice was so cute when she was frightened that it had put mischievous thoughts into her head.
Not in the least.
“Come, Alice-san. Come here.”
Sharon smiled, encouraging her. However, Alice shook her head.
“N-no, but I —”
“…Alice-san?” Sharon’s smile grew brighter.
“……”
Timidly, fearfully, Alice approached the sofa. She was still sneaking glances at the book. Stealthily, as if to keep as much distance between them as possible, she sat on the very end of the sofa. Sharon promptly moved over, narrowing the gap.
“Wah!” Alice gave a little scream.
Sharon frowned a bit sadly at this oversensitive reaction.
“Don’t be so frightened. You’ll hurt my feelings.”
“I-I didn’t mean to! I-I don’t, but, well, you know…”
As Alice desperately defended herself, Sharon giggled.
“I’m only joking. —Now, then…”
When she lowered her tone slightly, Alice shrank even further.
“You looked at the book, didn’t you.”
“Uhh…”
“You mustn’t peek at others’ belongings without permission. That’s a breach of etiquette.”
“B-but I—”
“Now. What should we do about it?”
Sharon spoke in a whisper, putting her face very close to Alice’s. Alice’s expression was bewildered; she didn’t seem to know how to respond. Sharon thought that was adorable, too. …Her heart began to flutter impatiently.
She was in the mood for a bit of mischief.
Life would be such fun if I had a little sister like Alice-san… Sharon thought, wistfully.
She was sure the days would be pleasant, and boisterous, and never, ever dull.
She leaned even closer to Alice.
“Alice-san—”
“Wh-what are you trying to do, Sharon?!”
“Onee-sama.”
“Huh?” Alice looked nonplussed.
“Call me Onee-sama, please.”
Little by little, Sharon’s engines were warming up.
“It isn’t as if it’s the first time, you know. Go on.”
Sharon’s tone wasn’t at all threatening. On the contrary, it was gentle and affectionate.
…Some things are much scarier that way.
Alice caved easily to Sharon’s mild pressure, obeying nervously even as her face betrayed confusion.
Looking at Sharon with tear-filled eyes, in a voice so faint it was scarcely audible, she said:
“O…Onee-sama…”
Eeeeeek!!
Sharon secretly rejoiced. That’s marvelous no matter how many times I hear it!
However, she didn’t let the emotion show in her face. She gave a faint smile.
“You’re a naughty girl, Alice. Helping yourself to other people’s belongings.”
Sharon began to address Alice informally, without thinking about it. She was in very high spirits.
“We’ll just have to discipline you, won’t we?”
“Discipline?” Alice sounded agitated.
“Yes,” Sharon said, putting her face even closer to Alice’s. However, after that point, she didn’t actually have a plan. What shall I do? she thought. She could tickle her, or poke her soft cheeks… That sounded pleasant.
“Waaaaahh…”
Anxiety. Fear. Worry.
As Alice moaned, all these emotions were plain to see. Finally, she shut her eyes tightly.
She seemed to have resigned herself to the fact that there was no escape. Then, as if something had burst, Alice spoke in a loud, energetic voice.
“A-all right! Do whatever you want to me!”
Her eyes flew open and she stared—or rather glared—right at Sharon.
Her gaze was steady. She was fully prepared.
…Huh?
This time it was Sharon’s turn to feel bewildered.
She’d never dreamed that Alice would take this particular attitude. Although she managed—barely—to keep it out of her expression, inside, Sharon was terribly flustered.
Alice’s next move made Sharon doubt her eyes.
Suddenly, Alice put her hands to her jacket and pulled the front open. Her smooth skin lay daringly exposed. Her face was serious. It was the expression of a soldier heading to the battlefield, prepared to die.
Alice’s skin, which was slightly flushed with excitement or shame, seemed to leap out at Sharon.
“Wh-wh-what are you doing, Alice-san?!”
Naturally, Sharon lost her composure and raised her voice. This was far from anything she’d imagined or anticipated.
She couldn’t bring herself to believe that Alice had masochistic tendencies, but—
As if to say “It’s gone too far, and there’s no stopping now!” Alice lunged at Sharon.
“Th-this is what you wanted, isn’t it, Onee-sama?! All right, come on, Onee-sama, Onee-sama, Onee-sama!”
“Wai–! Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait just a minute, Alice-san!”
Sharon leaned back; she didn’t even have the wherewithal to enjoy the series of “Onee-samas.”
Their positions had been completely reversed.
Sharon could not have been more confused. She had no idea what was happening.
Wh-wh-wh-what’s going on? Is Alice-san trying to…to seduce me—?!
On the sofa, Alice pressed forward, while Sharon drew back.
In no time at all, though, they reached the end of the sofa. Alice’s hands caught Sharon’s arm and pulled it to her. Even if she tried to escape, Sharon could never beat Alice in a physical struggle. She’d only meant to lecture Alice on manners. Yes, she’d let a bit of mischief creep in, but that didn’t explain this particular development. She couldn’t understand it.
…She had a fleeting thought that it might be divine punishment for the mischief.
Alice brought Sharon’s hand to her bared chest. Her voice was feverish and earnest:
“Go on, Sharon…”
She pressed Sharon’s palm flat against her skin.
Ooh, it’s so soft— No! Get ahold of yourself, Sharon!
Finding herself involuntar
ily impressed by the texture of Alice’s skin, Sharon mentally smacked herself.
It was completely incomprehensible, but at any rate, Alice was serious. There was no other possible interpretation.
Sharon had always assumed that Alice preferred eating to romance and was completely indifferent to love, but…
Was Alice-san a girl of “that” persuasion, and I simply never realized it…?!
Sharon’s mind whirled with confusion.
Did Oz know that Alice was a Sapphist? If he didn’t, should she tell him? —No, this was a delicate matter… Sharon didn’t know what to do. For the moment, she thought, she really must say something to Alice.
…But what? She didn’t have time to think at her leisure. First, then—
“Please wait, Alice-san!”
Sharon checked her. She felt she had to explain this properly. There was nothing wrong with falling in love with somebody. She was terribly flattered that Alice liked her.
However, she was unable to reciprocate.
“Come on, Sharon! I mean, Onee-sama!” Sharon hadn’t gotten through to Alice at all.
“Alice-san, listen…!”
“‘Eat’ me!”
“‘Eat’—?!” Sharon blushed, flabbergasted.
“Yeah! —Like in that book!”
Alice pointed sharply at the book, which had fallen off the sofa and now lay on the floor.
…Huh?
Sharon’s mind had sailed past confusion and was now an enormous blank.
With her arm still caught in Alice’s grip, Sharon twisted around to look at the book on the floor, trying to see what Alice was talking about.
The book had opened when it fell.
By sheer coincidence, it was open to the illustration Alice had seen.
Sharon’s eyes took in the meticulously detailed drawing.
Instantly, her mind boiled over.
Two women, kissing…!!!!
“I know. I know all about it now. It’s all right!”
Managing to free herself from Alice, who was speaking emphatically, Sharon stood up, book in hand. She glanced at the text on the page that faced the illustration. It depicted an exchange between two women. In the scene, they kissed and confessed ardent emotions to each other. Actually, in the text, they didn’t stop at kissing.
It was…
The book was…
“A novel of forbidden romance”…!!
Sharon felt dizzy.
Not only that, but the women in the book were canoodling on a sofa in a room somewhere.
On top of that, the older woman was making the younger one call her “Onee-sama.”
In other words, the scene looked
A W H O L E L O T
like Sharon and Alice did at the moment.
I have to explain this to Alice-san right away, Sharon thought.
She had to tell her it wasn’t what it looked like. This was not her book; it belonged to someone else, and had simply been delivered to her by mistake. It certainly did not reflect her personal preferences. Sharon turned to face Alice.
As she did, something struck her as odd.
Before, when Sharon had shown Alice a romance novel and Alice had seen an illustration of a kissing scene, she hadn’t understood what it was.
Alice was terribly naive about all such things—or so she’d thought.
Had innocent Alice understood this book after a mere glance…?
This is…strange.
Privately, Sharon was dubious. Seeming concerned for Sharon, Alice spoke, as if to encourage her:
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. It must be a real pain, though…”
At that point, she hesitated just a bit, fumbling for the words.
“Smoochie Sweetruno Disease… I mean, I hear they haven’t found a way to treat it yet.”
“Smooch…? Could you repeat that?” Sharon was dazed.
“Smoochie Sweetruno Disease. Apparently it’s an incredibly rare illness.”
“…What? What a ridiculous name…”
“You’ve got a rare disease that will kill you if you don’t drink energy from living things, don’t you, Sharon?”
Sharon had absolutely no idea what Alice was talking about.
However, as Alice continued, Sharon understood everything. She understood, all right…much to her regret.
Alice told her, “I heard all about it from the old clown.”
Ohhh… So that’s what it was.
Sharon felt her face cool down abruptly. As a matter of fact, her overall temperature dropped.
At the sudden change in Sharon’s mood, Alice frowned, puzzled. Although, for a moment, the air around her had darkened, Sharon smiled almost immediately and looked at Alice. Then she urged Alice to tell her everything, in detail.
The story she drew from Alice was about what Sharon had expected it would be.
“Sharon, it’s me!”
Having flung open the door with a bang and entered the room, Alice mistook the wrapped book on the vanity for a box of sweets, picked it up, and was disappointed when she realized her mistake. Then, as she absently leafed through the pages, an illustration seemed to jump out at her.
It was a drawing of two women in the altogether: a young woman being pinned down by an older woman.
Alice looked blank.
That particular content was, in a sense, advanced, and as Sharon had guessed, it hadn’t made much sense to Alice. However, just then:
“Hello there, Alice-kun. Welcome!”
Break entered from outside, throwing a leg over the window frame, as if he’d just dropped out of the sky.
Startled by his sudden appearance, Alice let go of the book. It fell to the floor, with the open pages facing down.
As Break approached, waving genially, Alice immediately dropped into a fighting stance, radiating suspicion.
“Hisssssssssssss! Stay back, you old clown!”
Break seemed unperturbed. He crossed to Alice and retrieved the book from the floor.
Alice watched him closely, keeping her guard up.
Break gazed at the open pages. “Oho,” he murmured. And then he said, “Well, well! Would you look at that. …Heh-heh, the lower girl is being thoroughly ‘eaten.’”
Eaten? At the unexpected word, Alice looked perplexed.
Then, understanding it, her expression turned triumphant.
“Ha-ha! Did your eye finally rot out, clown?! What about that looks like a meal to you?!”
However, Break calmly shook his head. “No, no. Alice-kun, ‘eating’ isn’t limited to sinking your teeth into something and gnawing away, you know.”
At Break’s words, Alice forgot her suspicion almost instantly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she’d asked, deeply interested.
Then Break had explained everything to Alice, with brilliant, modulated, highly believable storytelling. This picture, he’d said, showed someone dining by making skin contact with a partner and drinking her energy, or “life force.” The life force absorbed from a partner you fancied was an incredible delicacy, he told her.
After hearing him out all the way to the end, Alice sighed. “Oooh…”
Even Chains weren’t able to absorb life force through mere touch. Alice held the book up in front of her face again, studying it carefully.
Then, with a grave expression, she said, “…Don’t tell me Sharon likes this sort of story, too…”
“‘Like’ isn’t quite the word. …She’s using it as a reference.”
“A re…ference?” Alice echoed. She had a bad feeling about this.
“Yes.” Break nodded, and his face was the picture of sorrow. After telling her, solemnly, that since she’d seen the book there was no help for it, but that he wanted her to keep this a secret from everyone else, he’d said, “My lady is troubled because she has a similar constitution.”
Alice gulped. “She does?” she muttered, hoarsely. She’d had no idea.
Faced with this weighty reality, Alice was
speechless.
Break had bowed his head and covered his face with his hands; his shoulders were trembling. Alice thought he was probably thinking of Sharon and crying.
Finally, Break lowered his hands and counseled Alice.
“It’s more of a disease than a constitution, really. My lady is suffering from an illness so rare it affects only one in several hundred thousand people. Due to that rarity, there is no cure, and my lady would really rather no one knew about it. And so…”
At that point, Break made a request. He was almost pleading.
“If my lady tries to eat you, would you please indulge her?”
Alice felt a horrendous shock, as though she’d been struck by lightning. She was confused, and enraged, and said, “Oh yeah right! Wh-wh-wh-why do I have to do a thing like that for that woman?! It’s not my problem!”
She absolutely refused to be eaten. Alice turned her face away in a huff. Break watched her, steadily.
There was nothing pushy about his gaze.
He just looked at Alice, quietly.
Even so, Alice snorted and closed her eyes, as though trying to escape Break’s stare.
…Sharon, suffering from a mysterious illness.
However, only people who were very close to her knew about it, and ordinarily, Sharon hid her illness, acting as though nothing was wrong.
Of course, that didn’t mean that Alice had to give up her own life force for her.
Obviously not. She absolutely refused.
…But even so, a little pain of unknown origin had begun to prickle inside her chest.
Finally, Alice opened her eyes and looked at Break nervously.
“Y-you’re sure… I couldn’t just bite her cheek, instead of letting her eat me? It’ll cheer her up, you know.”
“Although I appreciate the thought…” Break shook his head, sadly. It wouldn’t do any good, he said.
Alice looked a bit like a cornered small animal.
“I-I’m sorry she’s sick. But, I-I’m just here today because she called me…”
“She called you?”
“Yeah. She said she had some yummy sweets. I-I don’t see them anywhere in here, but still.”
“…I see.” On hearing Alice’s appeal, Break murmured, significantly. Then: “No, they’re here. Or rather, they’ve just arrived.”
Break was watching Alice. In a voice that instilled unease into the heart of its listener, he said, “They’re right here.”
PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 1 Page 13