Subliminal Wayfarer

“And your family?”

Carynne, thinking of Nancy, tried to sound affectionately nostalgic. She was like family, after all. And she’s already dead, too.

“I lived with wandering gypsies. They’ve all passed away.”

“Hah!”

Verdic scoffed and grasped Carynne’s chin. Her cheek was pressed in his hand. Verdic glared at her, almost trembling with rage as he spoke.

“You think I’m a complete fool.”

“…It’s true. I come from a nomadic background and owe a great debt to Sir Raymond…”

“Take off her shoes. And untie her.”

One of his men, confused, asked,

“Sir?”

“Hurry up. Don’t tell me you think this woman alone is dangerous.”

“Ah, yes. Yes, of course, Master.”

His master was impatient.

“What are you doing?”

Regardless of Carynne’s confusion, the man removed her shoes.

“And the socks too.”

“Yes.”

“What… What exactly are you…”

Her bare, pale feet were revealed. And so were Carynne’s delicate, unblemished hands. Carynne realized why he had done this. It was immediately apparent that her lie wasn’t well-crafted.

“A wandering gypsy servant girl? With hands that look like they’ve never lifted anything heavier than a book? And feet without a single callus?”

Verdic pointed at Carynne’s hands and feet as he spoke.

“Lord Raymond has been very helpful to me.”

“A noble helping a maid!”

“He’s different from the likes of you.”

Carynne raised her head and stared directly into Verdic’s blazing eyes. Thinking about it, she had nothing more to fear. And she didn’t want to fear. Whether he believed her or not didn’t matter.

And she somewhat understood why Raymond had done this.

Carynne found it amusing to see Verdic so helplessly furious. And she had no intention of telling him the truth.

“Yes. I was a wanderer, with no one to rely on. Only Lord Raymond showed me kindness.”

Hold back your laughter, Carynne.

Verdic was desperate to kill her but couldn’t lay a hand on her. Carynne responded calmly. I don’t know.

“Carynne, Carynne Hare. It’s not good to keep this up.”

Lind, adjusting his glasses, began to speak to Carynne in a softer tone. Was this an attempt at playing the carrot after the stick? How unamusing.

“You’re being deceived. The daughter of Master Verdic Evans here, Isella Evans, has been missing for almost half a year now. The prime suspect is Baron Raymond Saytes.”

“……”

She knew. Carynne closed her eyes. She didn’t want to hear it.

“Suspect, you say.”

“……”

That was a lie.

What they were saying wasn’t about a legitimate suspect. She was sure of that. Because, in this place, Raymond held an aristocratic position, and they were intruding without permission while pressuring Carynne.

They had no right to do this. But as Carynne was playing the role of a maid named Carrie, the best she could do was to keep insisting on her story.

However, thinking she might have understood, Lind continued talking.

“Think about it. Living alone in such a grand mansion—it doesn’t look right. This isn’t normal.”

“Lord Raymond doesn’t like people.”

That was a lie, of course.

Carynne chuckled inwardly and answered. But Lind, unaware, earnestly continued to speak to her.

“A place like this needs at least a hundred people to be managed properly. And as a baron of this region, he’s not fulfilling his duties properly. Carynne— Alright, Carrie. I understand your desire to trust Sir Raymond, but you should not.”

“……”

Whether Carynne stayed silent or spoke, he continued. His words seemed more for Verdic behind him. If Lind wasn’t speaking to her, it looked like Verdic, losing patience, might slap Carynne any moment.

“Lady Isella was his fiancée. And then she suddenly disappeared. Shortly after that, all the servants of this mansion were dismissed. Among them were his relatives and the gamekeeper who had looked after him since he was young. How can you trust a man who shuts himself away alone in a house after driving everyone out?”

“……”

Raymond did that entirely for Carynne’s sake.

“I believe you are Carynne Hare. You disappeared, and you look exactly like that Carynne.”

“I already told you. I am not Carynne. My name is Carrie.”

“…Enough.”

Verdic growled from behind. Lind urgently spoke to Carynne again.

“Gentlemen, as I’ve said several times, I cannot agree to something that’s not true. I am not the person you think, and neither is Lord Raymond.”

Though she knew they wouldn’t believe her, Carynne had no choice but to repeat those words like a parrot.

“Carynne, you must be Carynne.”

“I cannot give you an answer, so there’s nothing I can do. Your Lordship, you should go back and seek the truth.”

Lind looked back at Verdic with a troubled expression. Verdic Evans nodded.

“Tell her. That woman is definitely Carynne Hare.”

“Understood.”

The man lowered his voice.

“…Miss Carynne Hare, your father has passed away.”

Lord Hare couldn’t overcome the grief of your disappearance. You must return.

“Miss, please answer. Are you Carynne Hare? We believe that you are. And you must leave this place with us. You should see Lord Hare’s face one last time before his burial.”

“……”

Carynne was taken aback by this unexpected news.

After such a long time, here was a familiar dilemma.

She had to think about what expression to wear, what reaction to choose. It was hard to know what she was feeling at the moment. It was a sense of detachment from the world, once again.

“…I am.”

To maintain her response so far, Carynne had to only show the mask of Carrie, not Carynne.

No matter how much Verdic disbelieved and rebuked her, she had to stick to that attitude.

She had no father. She was raised by nomadic gypsies. Her only family was Raymond.

But Verdic did not believe her. He was convinced she was Carynne. She knew it too. But she had to continue with this lie that he wouldn’t believe.

Without Raymond here, she didn’t know what else to say. She could only repeat the same thing over and over. Should she now reveal herself as Carynne?

But was she sad now? However, Carynne wasn’t sad. It was difficult to suddenly mourn her father’s death for the nth time. He had died too often. To her, the father was just a character in a book. It had been so for too long. Mourning his death felt too unnatural.

 

“You will fall in love, and all your hardships will come to an end.”

 

She was never someone’s child but always someone’s lover, enemy, or the scorned. Carynne felt more familiar with Verdic than her own father.

What meaning did her father’s death hold for Carynne, suddenly? His death was merely another plot device to more easily gain sympathy from Raymond.

But these men did not know the kind of woman Carynne was.

So, they were treating her like a normal, love-struck, somewhat reckless, maybe even slightly mad teenage girl.

Carynne looked at Lind, who was trying to soothe her. He was speaking as if he were addressing Isella.

“Lord Hare wandered in search of you, weary from sorrow, and passed away. This is not a lie. If you come downtown with us and send a telegram to the Hare estate, they will respond. Or, by tomorrow, this news will likely be published in the local newspaper. We can bring that to you.”

Carynne shook her head.

“I’m not saying that you’re lying. I’m just saying that I am not the person you think I am. I am not Carynne Hare. I am Carrie. And the only person who matters to me is Lord Raymond.”