Sonatine for the Forgotten · Chapter 9
Remnants
Claire
...Casting it all aside as hollow hypocrisy...
Carnelia
The will to keep living, and the desire for a future.
Your eyes shined so bright, like stars in the night sky.
For some reason, those eyes...
...They filled me with a bit of envy.
Claire
...Was it really all a lie, Ms. Carnelia?
Bell
...
Claire
Bell, are you alright?
Bell
...Yeah.
Quit staring at me like you're worried. I sorted those feelings out a long time ago.
I was simply curious. And now... that curiosity's mostly been resolved.
Claire
...Is that so. I'm glad to hear it.
Now that we know what happened to Ms. Carnelia, we should return and—
...Bell. Did you hear that just now?
Bell
Huh?
You mean that sound? Like something breaking?
Ack?! W-What's happening!
Claire
Bell! Is this another spell from the Rhys family?
Bell
We don't have any freakish spell like this!!
Claire
I-I don't know what this is, but we need to get out of here!
Bell
What do you mean by "here"?!
Claire
The Master Maid's office... no, Candle Square itself!
Bell
And what are we even supposed to find once we leave?!
Claire
I don't know either!
Claire
Bell! Run for the front gate!
Bell
I'm trying! Can't you see I'm sprinting here?!
Claire
Oh, come on...!
Just get out of here first, then we'll—
Claire
...No way...
Bell
Huh? What is it now—
...W-What?! W-What the hell is this...?
What even is this place?
Claire
It's... completely empty. Nothing but emptiness. Almost like space itself.
Bell, is anything standing out to you?
Bell
...Yeah, I do sense something... but I just can't make sense of it.
How do I put this... It feels comforting and unsettling all at once...
???
This place... belongs nowhere at all.
It is neither reality nor illusion.
Perhaps you could call it...
Carnelia
A mental realm created from the lingering remnants of someone's recorded emotions.
So no, this place wasn't created through Rhys family magic, nor was it artificially created.
Bell
...Carnelia?
Carnelia
It's been a while, Bell. Since what happened back at Aganon.
Bell
You're not the version from the book... It's really you...!
Carnelia
Besides...
...It's good to see you again, Claire.
Just as I explained, this place is a manifestation of recorded feelings.
The remnants of regret, sorrow, anger, and guilt left behind by Carnelia, theformer Master Maid...
...All brought into existence through a journal.
Which is why the past recorded within these pages unfolded before you.
...Though it wasn't exactly what I intended.
Claire
So it was all true.
Everything you said... the witch, and even the request she gave you as well.
Carnelia
...Fufu. If you believe it all to be true, then tell me, Claire. What will you do now?
Claire
Naturally, I'll carry out my responsibilities as the Master Maid of Candle Square.
Many still wonder what became of the former Master Maid.
Whether your departure was noble or hypocritical makes no difference.
I will tell everyone the truth, so they may decide for themselves whether to resent you or understand you.
Carnelia
...I doubt many would believe a story about reliving the past through a journal.
But...
Seeing that you've become the person I hope you would be... puts me a little at ease.
After I left with the Witch of Favoritism, I spent my time waiting for my chance.
As you know, the two chances she offered me involved Bell... and Mogulus.
Learning that the Heart of the Star in Chicxulub Hall was the key, I decided to use it as an opportunity.
I knew Bell would immediately realize what was happening there involved the Rhys family's hexomancy.
And even if it wasn't Bell... I could still have died by the hands of Mogulus, our ancestor.
Bell
...You planned all of this from the start...!
Carnelia
Besides that, I found myself curious about the Captain as well.
Admittedly, getting to know him was an unexpected gain.
...But in the end, I used up every chance I had.
Claire
Then... where are you now?
Bell and I can go after you—
Claire
...Ms. Roberta?
Bell
She's in the Astro Sanctum. What are they doing there...?
Carnelia
Bell. Claire.
I'm in NOA right now.
Bell
...What?
Carnelia
And shortly... I will be meeting Lady Alicia herself.
As a criminal.
Claire
...Then the emergency Ms. Roberta mentioned back then...
It was related to you all along?
Carnelia
...Writing a journal is more than taking up a pen and writing on a page.
Pieces of who you were that day are left behind in those pages.
That is precisely what allowed you both to come here through my journal.
My approach to NOA caused what remained in the journal to respond...
...which in turn affected Candle Square, as well as the two of you.
Bell
...Tch.
Don't be ridiculous. Fine, I get that you came back as you pleased!
And after all that... you just let yourself get caught?
There's no way you'd do that...! What are you really after?
Carnelia
Everything up to this point was part of the request I promised the Witch of Favoritism.
All that's left is to strip away the lies.
With this, my role is complete.
...Now, all I have to do is wait.
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