PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 1 (9 page)

Gilbert knew that, behind him, Dahlia was calling him repeatedly, but he couldn’t answer.

The two women gazed at Gilbert with shining eyes.

“Gilbert-sama? What’s wrong?” Dahlia asked.

“…”

“Gilbert-sama?”

“…”

“Are you friends with these ladies?”

“NO!!”

Gilbert whipped around with incredible force and yelled at Dahlia.

At his ferocity, Dahlia gave a small shriek, and Gilbert apologized involuntarily. “Ah—I’m sorry.”

Gilbert’s response made the two women puff out their cheeks in a dissatisfied way.

The young girl clung to Gilbert’s back, catching the tail of his black suit jacket and tugging on it.

“How
mean
, Gil-sama! How could you say we’re not friends?!”

“—Oooooh, but he isn’t
wrong
, now, is he?”

The beauty spoke in a significant tone, circling around to Gilbert’s side. She put a hand up to his jaw, tickling him under the chin with a slim finger. Gilbert had completely frozen up. The beauty shot a sidelong glance at Dahlia.

The glance was so seductive that even Dahlia, a woman, felt a chill run through her.

“Our relationship with Gil-sama is a
special
one, you know. We’re much more than
friends
.”

Gilbert’s mouth opened and shut as though he was trying to say something, but no words came out.

He was mouthing,
You guys.

The beauty and the lovely young girl only looked at him in innocent bewilderment.

As a matter of fact, the well-favored pair was, quite thoroughly:

Oz (lovely young girl)

and

Break (beauty)

—in the flesh.

Oz, in a dress and natural, barely there makeup, put his lips near Gilbert’s ear.

He whispered:

“Just leave it to us, Gil. She’ll give up after this for sure.”

Gilbert seemed petrified. For a moment, Oz looked perplexed. Then he cracked a mischievous little smile and blew in Gilbert’s ear.

A violent shudder ran through Gilbert from head to toe, unfreezing him. The moment he could move again, he shook Oz and Break off with a completely discombobulated expression, grabbed Dahlia’s wrist a bit roughly, and trotted off down the path, almost running.

“G-Gilbert-sama?!”

Pulled along forcefully by one hand, Dahlia kept glancing behind her.

“A-are you sure it’s all right to leave them? Those two women are—”

…Men! Those are men!!

He’d never be able to say it, Gilbert thought, with tears in his eyes.

After they were out of sight…

Oz slumped, heaving an exhausted sigh. Break massaged his own shoulders, working out the stiffness. Both Oz and Break felt as if they’d given it everything they had.

The Anti-Socialization Plan.

Gilbert had said he’d turn the lady down himself, but Oz and Break had no intention of simply sitting on their hands and watching him.

Gilbert wasn’t used to women. Of course things wouldn’t go well. They couldn’t just leave him to his own devices. They had to help.

Ordinarily, cross-dressing wasn’t anywhere on their list of preferred activities, but even so, they’d carried out their strategy, donning dresses they didn’t want to wear and appearing in front of Gilbert. As Oz, who’d come up with the idea, had said,
“This is all to mess with Gil… I mean, to
help
Gil. If it’s for that, I don’t mind if I get hurt.”

And, since they were doing it anyway, they’d decided to go for broke. They’d quelled their sense of reluctance and shame by brute force.

“By the way, Break,” Oz said.

Break glanced over at him. “Hmm?”

“Was Gil crying?”

At Oz’s words, Break delicately pinched up the frilly skirt of his long dress.

“I’m sure he was moved by our kindness. He can’t have imagined we’d go
this
far for him, I’d wager.”

“Oh, I see. So that’s what it was…” Oz looked down at himself and nodded, his expression satisfied. “He didn’t have to run, though. Gil’s so bashful. Ah-ha-ha.”

“Isn’t he
just
. Ha! Ha! Ha!” Break said, laughing airily.

After they’d laughed together for a bit, their faces abruptly went serious, and they exchanged sharp glances.

Then:

“Shall we move on to the next item?”

They grinned.

At last, Gilbert and Dahlia entered the square that held the fountain.

Gilbert was breathing hard. In part, this was because he’d just run a good distance, but most of it was due to his mental upheaval. Beside Gilbert, Dahlia was catching her breath, one hand pressed to her chest.

She didn’t seem as if she exercised much as a rule, and the run might have been hard on her.

“I’m sorry,” Gilbert apologized. Dahlia shook her head slightly. Her cheeks were flushed. “Let’s sit on one of the benches and rest.”

At Gilbert’s proposal, Dahlia, still out of breath, said, “I…I’m sorry…May I ask…?”

“Hmm?”

“Those…women, back there…”

Gilbert considered pretending he couldn’t hear. Dahlia went on.

“Was the smaller one…Oz-sama, perhaps?”

She knows?!

Gilbert twitched.

He was sure he hadn’t called Oz’s name back there. Dahlia was very perceptive.

Dahlia looked puzzled; she seemed to be thinking hard. She murmured, “…But why would he dress as a woman…?”

Gilbert had no hope of explaining that one.

“……What in the world is
that?
” Echo muttered.

She’d been following Gilbert and Dahlia on orders from Vincent, and she’d witnessed Oz and Break’s cross-dressing intrusion from beginning to end.

It had been a terrible brouhaha. She’d nearly gotten a headache just watching it. Still, this morning, Vincent had said:

“It’s likely that some odd characters will show up today, too…”

She’d been told as much before she left. On top of that:

“Watch the whole thing closely and report it to me, would you? It should be rather amusing.”

Echo thought she had no idea what was amusing about this.

As Echo watched, Gilbert ran off, pulling Dahlia by the hand. Oz and Break, who’d stayed behind, put their heads together and began whispering. Echo had absolutely no interest whatsoever in finding out what they were talking about.

Echo must go after Gilbert-sama.

With a small nod, Echo launched herself, beginning to leave the shadow of the tree. Just then…

“Hey, Eko-chan! Here, over here!”

“?!?!”

Suddenly hailed by Oz, in spite of her best efforts Echo came very close to falling. She’d been sure she hadn’t been noticed.

Break, sounding thoroughly entertained, chimed in. “We’d like your help. Come on out.”

To Echo’s ears, his voice seemed like venom so lethal it would kill on contact.

That night.

After Gilbert parted with Dahlia and returned to his apartment, carrying a shopping bag filled with the makings of dinner…

“Man, Gil, that’s not safe. You forgot to lock up.”

Oz sat up from where he’d been sprawled on the bed, tossing a casual welcome Gilbert’s way.

Gilbert’s eyes went wide with shock. Then, on reflex, he scolded, “You’re the one who’s not being safe!”

He’d thought Oz had gone back to Pandora with Break.

…And yet here he was, in the apartment, by himself.

That meant Oz had walked through town on his own to get here. Apparently nothing had happened, but he could conceivably have run into all manner of trouble.

Oz looked as if he had no idea why Gilbert was yelling at him.

Almost immediately, though, he broke into a proud smile.

“Heh-heh! What did you think of today, Gil?”

“…”

Gilbert’s only response was a weary silence. His shoulders drooped. Then, looking a bit sullen, he walked into the kitchen and set down the shopping bag.

There were a million things he wanted to say, but stupefaction and a feeling of exhaustion weighed on him even more heavily. Even if he opened his mouth, the only thing likely to come out was a sigh.

Oz and Break’s plan had consisted of more than simply surprising Gilbert in drag.

What had followed had had enough force to blow the cross-dressing clean away.

Gilbert and Dahlia had reached the fountain square. Then, right there—

No. He didn’t want to remember. Gilbert shook his head, banishing the scene from his memory.

…They’re terrible. They’re the worst combination ever.

He was gloomily, pessimistically sure of it.

He didn’t even have the energy to get mad. In the kitchen, he made tea for himself and Oz, then handed Oz’s cup to him.

“Thanks,” Oz said, artlessly. He blew on his tea to cool it, then raised the cup to his lips. With a glance at the shopping bag in the kitchen, he said, “What’s for dinner?”

“Pasta. …Or that’s what I was planning on. What would you like?”

“Pasta’s fine. Everything you make is delicious, anyway.”

“…All right. Wait just a bit.”

Nodding in agreement, Gilbert unpacked the shopping bag.

“Did that Dahlia lady give up for you?”

“…”

At Oz’s casual comment, Gilbert fell silent for a moment. Then: “She wasn’t interested in the first place.”

“…Huh.” Oz’s eyes widened slightly.

“We’d already settled things before you two showed up in weird clothes.”

“You had, huh?” Oz muttered. He seemed disappointed. “We had lots of other stuff planned.”

Oz looked up at the ceiling as he spoke.

“So, what, it’s over already…?”

“I’m meeting her tomorrow. We promised when we parted ways today.”

Gilbert’s muttered words brought Oz’s eyes down from the ceiling. He looked straight at Gilbert.

Gilbert slightly averted his gaze from Oz.

“Please don’t cause trouble tomorrow.”

Oz blinked. Then he laughed. “Oh, I see, I
see
.” Then, in a very nonchalant tone: “Gil, are you getting married?”

Now why did he make
that
leap?!
Gilbert thought, startled. He choked a bit, then realized Oz was teasing.

I knew it
, he thought. His mischief-loving master was just having fun with this, using it as a reason to mess with him.

Gilbert scowled a bit.

“…I might. If I did, I’d prefer a lady like her.”

At that…

Oz turned his face away from Gilbert and murmured “—Huhn…” in a small voice.

“…And that was what happened.”

Echo had gone to Vincent’s room, late at night, to give him a brief report of the day’s events.

“I see,” Vincent said from the bed, between yawns.

Echo had told him about what Dahlia had done at the Garland mansion (which Echo had been watching since that morning); about Dahlia’s rendezvous with Gilbert; about Oz and Break intruding in drag; and about the rest of Dahlia’s day, from the time she’d said good-bye to Gilbert and returned to the mansion until she’d gone to bed. That was all.

Vincent hadn’t been particularly interested in Oz and Break’s cross-dressing.

“So Gil’s meeting her again, hm…?”

“—Yes. Tomorrow.”

“Fine. That aside… Echo.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wasn’t there something else? Something you should tell me…”

“…No, nothing.”

“The Hatter spotted you…trailing him. Didn’t he?”

Vincent spoke as if he’d seen it himself. Echo was speechless.

“Make your report, Echo…”

Vincent’s voice was sleepy and perfectly casual.

Even so, his words held an absolute compulsion for Echo. There was no way she could deceive him. Echo dropped her gaze to the floor as she mentally reviewed the incident she wanted so badly not to remember (and not only because she’d been seen while tailing someone).

The ghastly happening at the park, which she would have loved to wipe from her past.

“We need your help, Eko-chan.”

That was what Oz had said to Echo when she emerged from the shadow of the tree. Naturally, Echo had turned him down without a moment’s hesitation. Oz had looked disappointed and said she could at least hear him out before saying no, but she knew it wasn’t necessary.

She knew it wouldn’t be anything good.

“Echo refuses,”
she’d repeated.

“You’re going to be Gilbert-kun’s child!”

Break’s tone had been smooth and assertive. Echo thought,
Is this person deranged?

However, speaking in a perfectly calm voice, as if he were discussing matters of universal common sense, Break said,
“His
illegitimate
child, you know. You are a child Gilbert-kun fathered with a working girl. Today, by sheer chance, you’ve happened to see Gilbert-kun in the park, about to get his hooks into a new woman, and you are unable to stand by in silence. Oh, I know, I
completely
understand how you must feel.”

It made no sense. Echo was convinced it wasn’t “
Is this
person deranged?” but “
This
person
is
deranged.”

“Aristocrats hate scandals like that.”

Oz chimed in after Break.

“If you show up and call Gil ‘Father,’ that lady’s bound to give up on him. I was planning to do it myself, but then Break said you were here today, too. And in that case…”

Echo couldn’t fathom what “in that case” was supposed to mean.

“Gil’s a pushover. He’s never going to be able to turn her down well on his own. …So.”

This was all for Gilbert’s sake, Oz—wearing a dress—said emphatically.

Echo looked at him coldly.

“You are quite clearly enjoying yourself.”

“Ha-ha-ha! No, no, not at all…”

Oz denied the accusation with an expression that said, quite clearly, that he
was
enjoying himself.

“That’s right,”
Break agreed.

“Please, Eko-chan. Do it for my valet!”

“Echo refuses. Echo wants no part of this. It’s impossible. You’re annoying.”

“Don’t be like that!”

Oz leaned forward so that his lightly made-up face was very close to Echo.