It would be so very exhilarating to hit her with those.
…However, it would mean throwing away all the time and effort he’d spent so that he could use her.
Vincent faked a kind expression.
“Well, not…to the extent that you do. I do appreciate them purely as art.”
He spit out words he didn’t feel at all.
As Ada heard these words, the unease immediately vanished from her expression, and her face shone with relief and delight.
Inwardly—Tch!—Vincent clicked his tongue.
In his mind, he cursed at her.
Simple imbecile of a woman. She really does irritate me…
Then the two of them entered the museum.
“Eeeeeek! Summoning of the Demon King is right here to welcome us! ”
“……………!” Vincent took a mental hit.
“Oh! This is the great work Corpse Embraced by Death and Destruction! How perfectly splendid! ”
“…………!!”
“Eeeeek! This one is Maiden with Grimoire, and this one is Black Procession. ”
“…………! …………!! …………!”
“There are accursed masterpieces over there, too, and there! I-I-I’m so happyyyyyy! ”
“………………………………………”
The hour that they spent touring the museum wore away much of Vincent’s mental stamina.
3
“A-are you all right, Vincent-sama? You look rather pale…”
Ada’s question came when they left the museum, as if she’d returned to her senses.
Vincent’s face was ashen, and his cheeks seemed somehow hollow. However, he responded to Ada’s concern instantly:
“No, I enjoyed myself. Heh-heh, now then, where will you take me next…?”
He wore a very clear, crisp smile.
And, after he’d spoken, with the smile still on his face, he regretted it enormously.
Ada looked relieved. “In that case, next—” She took out a folded memo, opened it with her fingertips, and scanned it eagerly.
Vincent glanced at the contents of the note, and was promptly bored stiff.
The memo held the day’s program. It was densely written, over several lines, in a soft, feminine hand.
Apparently Ada hadn’t thought up the agenda all by herself; the note also held scribbled messages of support, most likely from her friends. “I hope it’s a day straight from your dreams.” “Isn’t love wonderful?!” “We’re cheering for you, Ada-sama. ” And so on, and so on.
…I’ll pretend I didn’t see that, Vincent decided.
Soon, after reading over the memo several times, Ada nodded.
“L-let’s go, Vincent-sama.”
She set off, firmly. In a faintly wary voice, Vincent asked:
“Where are we’re going…?”
“Um, well, it isn’t far. It’s very close.”
Possibly because she was embarrassed, Ada was evasive, and Vincent grew even warier.
They walked along the street in front of the museum, and soon came out onto a wide avenue lined with all sorts of shops.
Stylish restaurants, jewelers, and clothing and accessories stores that supplied the aristocracy stood shoulder to shoulder on either side of the redbrick road.
Vincent didn’t like crowded places, and he grimaced slightly.
Out on the avenue, Ada looked around the area, finding what she was searching for almost immediately. “There it is,” she said cheerfully. She took the lead and began walking. As Vincent followed Ada, he glanced at her destination, and the frown lines in his forehead deepened.
……………You must be joking.
Ada was headed for a small shop.
It was an adorable little place, and its walls and roof had been painted in bright colors. It was obviously the sort of shop young women would like, and its sign held the words:
MATTHEW’S APPLE PIES ~ BAKING THE SWEET-AND-SOUR TASTE OF LOVE ~
In a moment, Vincent’s face turned sullen, as if he’d gotten heartburn.
“—Vincent-sama?”
Ada turned around.
Instantly, Vincent put on a gentlemanly smile.
“Apple pie, is it…?”
“Yes, a friend recommended it—Um, I…”
“That’s nice.” Vincent smiled back, but inwardly, he didn’t think it was the least bit “nice.”
It doesn’t matter, he thought. Let’s just get through the plan.
Approaching the shop’s counter, Ada ordered a variety that had custard in it and seemed even sweeter than the others. The shop clerk wrapped thin slices of the apple pie in stylish paper, then gave them to Ada. Apparently you were supposed to eat it just like that, without using forks.
There was a bench in front of the shop, and the two of them sat down on it, side by side.
“Here you are.” Politely, Ada held out a piece, and Vincent took it.
The sky was a pure, clear blue.
When he looked straight ahead, he noticed that many of the passersby who were walking up and down the avenue seemed to be young couples.
Every face wore a bright smile, as if something about all this was fun.
A bright world.
I hate bright places, Vincent thought.
“It’s nice and sweet, isn’t it?”
Ada’s voice made him look over. She was nibbling at her piece, eating elegantly.
She had one hand to her cheek, and she looked happy.
This broad avenue might be a standard date spot. The scene fizzed with young energy, and the fact that he was there, right in the middle of it, made the situation feel utterly unreal to Vincent.
He looked down at his own apple pie.
What am I doing…?
A feeling like irritation, and also like confusion, monopolized his heart.
“Vincent-sama?”
Vincent was staring at what he held in his hands, and Ada spoke to him. Her tone seemed to ask, Aren’t you going to eat it?
Vincent smiled back at her. Of course, there was nothing sincere about it.
“Thank you…” he said, and put it to his lips. He took a bite, then swallowed.
Piecrust, apples, custard. All the flavors seemed unremarkable to him.
Then Ada murmured, “Oh.”
At the sound, Vincent looked at her. Ada giggled softly.
“Vincent-sama, you have cream on the corner of your mouth.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m not used to eating this way…”
At Ada’s comment, Vincent moved to wipe the corner of his lips with a fingertip.
But then Ada said, “Please wait.” Her tone sounded slightly feverish.
What? Vincent looked at her, questioningly. For some reason, Ada was blushing.
She screwed up her courage and spoke eagerly:
“I’ll get it for you. Please don’t move.”
“No, that’s—”
“I-it’s all right. Um, hold still.”
“…Sure.”
Thinking that if this was what she wanted, he’d let her do it, Vincent waited for Ada to make her move.
He’d assumed she’d take out her handkerchief or something, but he was wrong. Gently, she stretched her hand out toward Vincent’s lips.
Then, nervously, she stroked the corner of Vincent’s mouth with her index finger, wiping away the custard. Ada drew her hand back.
Just as Vincent was wondering what she was planning to do about that finger…
“………Mm.”
Heart pounding, cheeks flushed, Ada softly put the fingertip into her mouth.
Vincent watched her, wordlessly.
With her fingertip still in her mouth, Ada held very still. Time passed: one second, two seconds, three…
And then:
“!!”
Suddenly, Ada blushed so red it was as if her face had caught fire.
She gave a pretty little scream—“Eeek!”—and leapt up from the bench.
> Then:
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
With a long shriek, she took off.
She moved incredibly fast.
In no time at all, with enough force to kick up a dust cloud, she’d run to the end of the avenue, disappearing from Vincent’s view.
Vincent had been silent the entire time.
Finally, he got up from the bench where he’d been abandoned, looking in the direction where Ada had vanished.
He muttered one word:
“……………Hey.”
What was that? Exactly what kind of development was that…?!
The situation was beyond comprehension.
Ada had probably wanted to flee from the shame of what she’d done; that much he understood. She wasn’t the type to go off on her own and leave someone behind, so it was likely that even she didn’t understand what was going on.
For a moment, Vincent considered just going home. …But that wouldn’t do.
Five minutes passed, then ten.
He’d waited because he’d thought she’d come right back, but there was no sign of her.
Was Ada still running around somewhere? Had she gotten lost?
He should probably go look for her. Common sense said that was what he was supposed to do, and ordinarily, he would already have been doing it, without hesitation.
But.
“—I am absolutely not going,” Vincent declared, decisively.
I don’t want to go today, no matter what. She’s already dragging me around and causing me trouble with her arbitrary plans. Why should I have to do a thing like that? On the contrary, if she’s managed to get herself into a sticky situation somewhere, I’ll sneer at her. I’ll applaud. The woman needs to realize just what a foolish creature she is…
As he muttered to himself silently, Vincent kept waiting for Ada.
Twenty minutes passed.
What is that dullard doing? How long does she intend to make me wait? Go to hell!
Thirty minutes.
Vincent was standing in front of the bench. Even he didn’t know why he wasn’t sitting down to wait.
It might simply have been pride.
Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell, go to hell, go to hell.
Forty minutes.
Go to hell, go to…hell… Go to—
Fifty minutes.
………………………………………………………………………………
Vincent, who’d been standing the whole time, was completely exhausted.
Because he’d stood stock-still and kept silently hurling abuse, his head had grown hazy. His eyes were getting dim.
…What am I doing…?
Once again, a basic question welled up inside him. And then:
“I-I’m so sorry…Vincent-sama…”
By the time Ada returned, it had been an hour.
Had she run around for the whole hour, or had she lost her way and walked?
Ada’s forehead was faintly sweaty, and she cowered apologetically in front of Vincent.
“I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I left you alone, Vincent-sama, and I—”
“………………”
Vincent’s face seemed drained of all life. He was silent.
“Vincent…sama…?”
Vincent was unresponsive, and Ada called to him timidly:
“U-um, are you…? You are angry, aren’t you…?”
At this question, Vincent somehow managed to pull a frail smile onto his weary face. The delicate smile went right to the hearts of a couple of women who happened to be passing by, and they staggered.
Vincent barely managed to force out the words:
“No, I’m just glad you’re all right, Ada-sama…”
He felt like complimenting himself on his own self-control.
“—All right, what do you youngsters want me to divine?”
In a cramped room filled with blue tobacco smoke, a wrinkly old woman shrouded in a robe held her hands poised over a crystal ball.
This was the Hall of Divination. He’d been brought here by Ada, and as he stepped into the suspicious-looking booth, Vincent’s face wore an indescribably complicated expression.
I’m tired, and now this? …Fortune-telling?
Colorful stones had been placed on the table where the old woman sat, and the room was decorated here and there with animal skulls. The walls held several tapestries with magic circles drawn on them, much to Vincent’s disgust.
When he looked at Ada, she was faltering in response to the old woman’s question—“I, um, well”—and stealing glances at Vincent.
Tell her anything. I just want to get this over with and go home…
He kept it out of his expression, but internally, Vincent grumbled.
By this point, the only thought in his mind was how to end this sheer nuisance of a date.
I see, he thought suddenly, and he spoke:
“Do you suppose you could divine our compatibility, madam?”
Ada looked startled. Apparently she hadn’t expected Vincent to broach the subject.
He smiled back at her, coolly.
The old woman’s lips twisted into a smirk, and she laughed: “Fuo-fuo-fuo!
“Your compatibility, hmm? Oho! Hubba-hubba!”
“Yes, it’s very important to us, you see…”
“Vincent-sama.”
Ada called his name, softly. Vincent spoke a bit more firmly, as if to drive his point home:
“Tell us the unvarnished truth, please.”
At Vincent’s words, the old woman nodded solemnly.
“Of course. My crystal ball speaks nothing but truth. I’m simply the messenger.”
“That’s fine.” Vincent nodded, looking satisfied.
Ada had clasped her hands in front of her chest. Her expression was a mixture of unease and anticipation.
Slowly, the old woman began to move the hands that hovered over the crystal ball. She wiggled her fingers as if stroking the globe’s surface and began to chant an incantation in a mumbling voice that was hard to make out. He heard Ada gulp.
She was gazing at the crystal ball so eagerly it was as if she could see something there, too.
Vincent only watched them, quietly.
It’s bad. It has to be bad. It could never be good. There’s no way this woman and I are compatible. It has to be the worst ever. If that’s the case, this dunce of a woman will be discouraged, and no doubt she’ll think it’s impossible to spend the whole day having fun. Seeing her face like that will cheer me up a bit, too. Then this useless time will be over. I worked very hard today—
As he was patting himself on the back this way, the old woman, who was peering into the crystal ball, cried out: “Oh, oh, ohhhh!” Startled, Ada asked:
“Wh-what’s the matter?”
The old woman’s hands trembled where they hovered over the crystal ball, and her expression was flabbergasted.
“…How can this be? I don’t believe it. Th-this much… This much? Impossible! I’ve never seen such a result in all my born days! How terrifying—”
Vincent’s lips threatened to curve with delight.
Heh-heh-heh! I see! It’s bad, is it? So very bad it yet frightens the fortune-teller. It is. Of course it is. Go on, say it! Smite this woman with despair!
Even as he came close to laughing in triumph, he asked dispassionately:
“What truth did the crystal ball tell you, then?”
The old woman spoke in a voice that was filled with confidence and certainty:
“Mm. Your affinity is—”
““Our affinity is?””
Vincent and Ada’s voices overlapped, each made intense by their different emotions.
Then the old woman declared:
“It’s phenomenal!!”
Vincent blinked rapidly. All he could do was mutter, “Huh……?”
“—Not only that, I’ve never seen a couple who are this compatible. That’s how fantastic it is. It’s so go
od it’s terrifying. Your personalities, your interests, your tastes: Every little thing is perfect. Your luck in marriage is also prime, no doubt about it. It says you’ll be blessed with children, too.”
On the verge of screaming “That’s impossible!” Vincent stepped forward.
What he actually wanted was to close in on the woman, haul her up by her shirtfront, and shake her violently as he demanded an explanation.
“A-are you sure there’s no mistake? Your crystal ball truly…truly said that?”
Vincent’s voice was trembling.
That can’t be! There must be some mistake— There has to be!
However, as if to strike the final blow, the old woman spoke. Gravely. With a solemn face.
“Your fates…
“They attract each other. By now, I doubt you could separate if you tried.”
…………That’s insane.
He was dumbfounded. The phrase “as if he’d lost his soul” most certainly applied to Vincent right now.
When, cautiously, moving creakily, he looked over at Ada…
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeekk!”
Without warning, she gave a pretty scream.
Her face was burning with embarrassment, and she broke into a run, leaving the Hall of Divination.
He didn’t even have time to call for her to stop.
In the Hall of Divination Ada had vacated, Vincent stood all alone.
The old woman nodded several times with a worldly-wise expression. Then she spoke to him, pityingly:
“You look like a popular one…but you’ll just have to resign yourself. Hoo-hoo-hoo.”
Senile old hag. Should I kill her?
Vincent seriously considered it.
Outside the Hall of Divination, Vincent waited for Ada.
Pride wasn’t the reason he hadn’t gone to look for her this time. He just didn’t have the strength or the energy for it.
…………………………………………………………
In a little while—he’d stopped keeping an eye on the time—Ada came back.
“…I’m sorry. I was flustered…”
As he looked at the apologetic girl, irritation began to well up inside Vincent.
This woman and me, compatible? Impossible. Fortune-telling is never accurate; it was a mistake to rely on it. It just made her get more carried away. “Phenomenal affinity”? What an awful joke. Me, with this imbecile? As if I’d ever stand for that!
Ada’s voice didn’t reach his ears. He railed inwardly, at length.
PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 3 Page 12