‘I was so shocked the first time I saw him.’

She had been completely convinced she’d seen a ghost. These days she believed, despite the oddities, that he was very much a real, living person — but back then, she’d had no doubt.

“Hah. You have no idea how frightened I was that day, Sir.”

“We’re back to that story again.”

“Of course. I thought you’d used magic. You appeared out of nowhere in a flash, saved me from being run over by a car, and then vanished in another flash.”

“I’ve said this more than once — I walked home perfectly normally that day.”

“Oh, show me the face under that hat and I’ll believe you!”

“There’s a hideous scar. You’d be frightened. I feel like I’ve said that about a hundred times too.”

He said this and spread a handkerchief on the ground beside where he’d been sitting. Alisa sat down on it and made a small tch sound.

No matter how she thought about it, it sounded like a lie. He had to be hiding his face with some kind of mysterious magic.

‘Otherwise there’s no way his hat would stay perfectly still in this much wind.’

She didn’t want to force open what he was trying to keep closed. Alisa knew very well that would be terribly rude. But she couldn’t help the unease.

He hadn’t told her his real name. He wouldn’t show his face. She didn’t even know his age. All she knew was that he had moved into the second floor of Madame Marigold’s one day out of nowhere.

In other words, if he were to leave, Alisa would have no way of finding him whatsoever.

He seemed to notice her looking glum, because he spoke up without preamble.

“Have I ever told you about this place?”

“……No. But I’ve heard things. They say people who resisted when Roben was split into the Kingdom of Eastroben and the Republic of Westroben were executed here. A lot of them.”

“That’s true as well. But the reason this tree was first considered ill-omened goes back further than that.”

“Further back?”

Alisa tilted her head, and the man began to speak.

“Do you know about Leonard II?”

“Hmm……”

She wasn’t sure. After her father died, she’d had to teach herself everything on her own — not just history, but even grammar, poring over books by herself.

The man pressed a sandwich into her hand and continued.

“Leonard II was a tyrant.”

“Why? Did he kill a lot of people?”

She looked back at him, chewing on the sandwich. He gave a small smile — somehow more serious than usual — and held out a handkerchief.

She watched him tap the corner of his mouth, and quickly wiped the sauce from her own lips.

“Leonard II squandered the treasury on extravagance, broke off a betrothal arranged before birth on a whim and destroyed diplomatic relations, and brutally suppressed the parliament that had only just begun to take shape.”

“Ah, so……”

“Yes. He ended up hanging from this tree.”

Alisa glanced up at the tree. The branches of the yew, said to be five hundred years old, spread in every direction like outstretched human hands. She had the feeling that if she looked away, they would snap out and grab her by the collar and hang her upside down.

So that was why everyone said it was frightening…… She rubbed her arms, suddenly feeling the air around her had gone cold.

“I didn’t tell you that to frighten you.”

“Then why?”

“So that when you find out later, you won’t feel sorry for him.”

Feel sorry? Why would she feel sorry? Alisa tilted her head. From what the man had said alone, Leonard II sounded beyond saving.

She was still tilting her head with a look of incomprehension when the man held out a box he’d set beside him.

“What’s this?”

“A birthday present.”

“Oh!”

Alisa shoved the rest of the sandwich into her mouth in one go. Cheeks puffed out, she took the box he offered with both hands.

It was a beige box, tied with a charming lavender ribbon. She flipped over the small card attached to the ribbon’s end first.

[Wishing you a happy 13th birthday.]

She couldn’t hold back any longer and pulled the ribbon loose. She opened the box in a rush and looked inside, eyes going wide.

“Wh, this…… isn’t this men’s clothing?”

“It is.”

“And it looks really old. I’ve seen this in picture books!”

“Yes, it was fashionable a few hundred years ago or so.”

The man had quite good taste. Aside from her mother, who had been an actress, he dressed better than anyone Alisa knew. Most of what she’d seen him wear was formal attire, of course — but even with the same formalwear, the details mattered, didn’t they?

So there had to be a reason for this peculiar gift……

Alisa thought it over and clapped her hands.

“Ah! Sir, you’re giving me this to wear to the festival, aren’t you? But you know I don’t have anyone to go with……”

“Not right now, you don’t. Stop worrying about nothing and take a proper look at the clothes.”

Alisa stuck out her lower lip and lifted the garments out.

A black velvet doublet with elegant silver embroidery caught her eye, along with layers of restrained lace at the wrists. A belt to wear at the waist, knee-length breeches, and a pair of fine leather shoes to complete the set.

This was absolutely not the kind of outfit meant for a neighborhood festival.

“H, h, how much did you pay to have this made, Sir?”

“Why?”

“It looks like it cost a fortune. And it’s a bit big for me……”

“You’ll grow into it soon enough. And Miss, asking the price of a birthday gift is not good manners.”

He said it in a teasing tone and let out a soft laugh. His voice sounded young, but his manner of speaking was as old-fashioned as her great-aunt’s. She’d heard it long enough that she barely noticed anymore — but every so often it came through sharply.

Like right now.

Alisa looked at his legs, stretched out in front of him, crossed loosely at the ankle. He must have walked through the grass and up the hill to get here, and yet the leather shoes hadn’t lost a single bit of their shine.

“But I can’t give you a gift like this on your birthday, and you know that……”

Even selling her long hair wouldn’t be enough to buy something worthy of him.

“Alisa.”

He cut her off, calmly.

“It may be forward of me to say, but I’m quite wealthy. More money than I know what to do with.”

“Even so, this is too much.”

“It’s fine. You already give me many things that money can’t buy.”

He stood up as though he wouldn’t hear any argument, and beckoned to her.

He pressed something into Alisa’s hand as she approached with a puzzled look. A hard candy in a cellophane wrapper. Orange flavor — her absolute favorite.

“Alisa, let’s go have cake.”

“Cake?”

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

He said that, but stood there with his book tucked under his arm, perfectly still. As if to say, what are you waiting for?

Honestly. Every time they met, he couldn’t rest until he’d fed her something.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

On the way home, Alisa walked with her hand in her pocket, fingers fidgeting constantly. The candy the gentleman had given her was in there.

He had felt bad about giving her a gift she couldn’t wear right away and bought her a new dress from Madame Marigold’s as well. A skirt hem decorated with small floral embroidery and generous frills — just picturing it was enough to make her smile.

‘I can’t let Hannah and Mary find out.’

Alisa resolved to sneak back in through the attic window and hide the clothes. She’d managed not to get caught so far, but there was no telling what might happen.

She stopped in front of the gap at the base of the garden wall. Before ducking through, there was something she needed to do. Alisa lifted the bulky gift box over her head and tossed it over the wall.

The box arced through the air, and when it landed — thwack — an unexpected sound followed.

“Ow! What on earth, who did that?”

Hannah’s voice.

Her body went rigid on its own. Why was Hannah out in the garden? She should still be napping with Mary at this hour.

That was when a whimpering cry came from the other side of the wall.

“Y, you! Who are you! Where are my maids? Marie! Marie! Aaah, you’ve kidnapped me! Bring back my maid. My husband Arthur won’t let you get away with this……”

“Oh for goodness’ sake, you old woman! I took you out for a walk because you threw a fit, and now you’re making a scene. Mary! Get over here and take this old woman away!”

‘……She’d taken Great-Aunt out for a walk.’

Beyond the sound of the old woman wailing, Mary’s heavy footsteps thudded closer. Then, gradually, her great-aunt’s cries grew more distant. It seemed Mary had carried her back inside.

The silence that followed sent a chill through Alisa’s chest. She crouched on her side of the wall, holding her breath, and heard a voice.