Chapter 2241: Epilogue - The Disappearance of Jenkins |
Universal Calendar, August 4, 1866. The weather was clear.
Nolan's train station was exceptionally busy this morning.
In a rare turn of events, the days of dark clouds, thick fog, and falling ash had briefly come to an end, blessing the city with a beautiful day. The people had forgotten how long it had been since they last saw the sun. Even now, with the morning sun hiding behind puffy, cotton-like clouds, the clear sky brought a sense of warmth and reassurance.
"A pity this is only because Jenkins dispelled the nearby clouds and fog. It's just for today. The sky will soon return to how it was. He said this weather will last for several more decades..."
Despite the bustle, only a single steam train was scheduled to depart from Nolan station today—the first time this had happened since rail service resumed three days ago.
A little over a week had passed since the day of the final battle. The heir to the northern kingdom, Princess Dolores Stuart, sat in the most comfortable carriage of the royal train. The carriage had been completely opened up, transformed into a single, massive drawing room.
Dolores wore light makeup and a formal princess gown. As she discussed the weather with her maid, Julia, her expression was anything but pleased.
"Your Highness, the farewell ceremony will begin shortly. You mustn't look like this."
Julia was dressed in her usual heavy maid attire. Fortunately, due to the peculiar weather, the global temperature had dropped by nearly twenty degrees Celsius in just a few weeks, so her uniform was not uncomfortably warm.
Dolores complained again, for what must have been the dozenth time that day.
With the Beast of Calamity defeated, Saint Williamette, the Savior, now had to fulfill his responsibilities as king.
The world was still in the midst of disaster, and given the circumstances, the three great kingdoms intended to cooperate on a deeper level. King Salhir II and the young king of the southern Alecio family had already returned to their respective nations through a spatial anomaly near Nolan. As Jenkins's fiancée, Dolores would accompany him to Bel Diran for the time being.
Traveling to the royal capital of Bel Diran would facilitate direct communication with the Church to resolve the apocalyptic disasters. It was also a promise Jenkins had made to the former queen, Isabella, that he would come to live at Coldspring Palace.
Now that their business in Nolan was concluded, it was time to leave.
But Jenkins was reluctant to part with his house; after all, he had spent most of his time in this world living there. Despite Alexia's rational attempts to persuade him, Jenkins, clutching Chocolate, adamantly insisted on shipping all his furniture, decorations, pots, and pans to Bel Diran.
The girls thought it would be better to leave everything in the old house for when they might return to Nolan, but Jenkins was resolute about moving his old furniture into his new home. Coldspring Palace was vast, however, and Dolores had overheard Briny and Jessica secretly plotting to pile all of Jenkins's old things into an empty room once they moved in, confident he would eventually forget about them.
Just as she was thinking of Queen Isabella, a knock came at the door. After receiving Dolores's permission, Queen Isabella hurried in with her maid, the old woman looking to be in high spirits.
"Oh, have you seen Jenkins? Why hasn't his farewell speech been sent to me for review yet?"
"Jenkins was just here a moment ago," Dolores replied, rising from the sofa as Julia, standing behind the princess, gave a slight bow to the former queen.
"Well then, I'll go look for him myself. Honestly, that young man is such a handful."
With that, she turned and left with her servants, remarking to the old duke beside her about how much more efficient she had been in her youth.
"Have you seen Jenkins?"
Not long after Queen Isabella left, Jessica rushed in, asking the very same question. It was all three Jessicas, in fact, each wearing a similar style of formal gown. They, too, were Jenkins's fiancées and were scheduled to appear with him for the farewell speech.
"No, Julia and I have been here the whole time. The last I saw him was around seven."
The five women glanced at the clock hanging on the carriage wall. It was now half-past eight.
"Honestly, where could he have run off to? The matter of the speech still isn't settled."
Miss Windsor complained. J-Miss just shook her head and added, "Then we'll have to revise it for him. I just hope he shows up on time. No one can give that speech in his place."
J-Miss had recently adopted a new hairstyle. While the normal Jessica had a very sharp and capable look, J-Miss had asked Jenkins to help her grow her hair out, which she now wore in a single ponytail, seemingly to distinguish herself from the other Jessicas in his eyes.
"But... what is that scent?"
Jessica suddenly wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air a few times. "It's so strange... yet so familiar."
At her words, Miss Windsor and J-Miss also sniffed the air. Hearing this, Dolores immediately spun around to complain to Julia.
"I told you this morning to go to the lounge over there, but you insisted on staying here. See? Now they've noticed."
"That's impossible. This carriage has had the windows open for ventilation. There shouldn't be any scent," Julia explained, maintaining her maid-like elegance as she addressed her princess.
"What was Jenkins doing in here this morning?"
The three Jessicas understood the exchange perfectly. Miss Windsor asked with a teasing smile. She had been trying to change her own image recently but hadn't yet decided on what to do. Of the three, she was the only one who had never touched the world of the supernatural. Despite having been a queen, her personality was the gentlest.
"Nothing at all," the maid replied, her face flushing this time.
"Hmm? Didn't Jenkins say he would wait until you were eighteen? Did he cross that line so easily?" J-Miss asked Dolores with a grin.
The princess huffed indignantly, "It was them doing... indecent things in here this morning! He didn't even kiss me!"
"And you were just watching?" Jessica asked, her own face turning red. As the original Jessica Windsor, who had never been a queen, she was likely the most thin-skinned of the three.
"Yes, Her Highness was watching the entire time. Even when we asked her to leave for a moment, she insisted on sitting right here," the maid answered again. For a maid to speak so directly over her princess to Jessica might have been considered presumptuous, but given their family dynamics, it hardly mattered.
"Ooh~"
The three Jessicas cooed in unison at Dolores, whose temper seemed to worsen. Seeing this, the Jessicas smiled and took their leave. They still had a mountain of troublesome matters to handle for Jenkins and needed to send someone to find him immediately.
Once the maids had closed the carriage door again, Dolores sank back onto the sofa. The princess, wearing a silver circlet, turned to her lifelong companion with an annoyed look. "Ever since that night, you've been getting more and more out of hand."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, but I don't understand what you're referring to."
Julia clasped her hands before her chest, her poise and grace as impeccable as ever. She was a truly outstanding royal maid.
"Jenkins never... with you. Even when you wore that shameless maid outfit, he refused you. But the night he came back... don't think I don't know what you two did."
She spoke in a huff. Julia circled around the back of the sofa, then knelt gracefully to pour Dolores a fresh cup of tea. Seeing her maid's calm demeanor, Dolores herself began to feel a little embarrassed.
"Honestly," she muttered again, like a child throwing a tantrum. "All of you get to, but I don't."
"What are you talking about?"
The door opened once more, and this time Hathaway walked in, also dressed in a cumbersome formal gown, her maids carefully holding the hem.
"We're talking about that night. After Jenkins came back..." Dolores said, crossing her arms with a thoroughly gloomy expression. Julia covered her mouth with a hand to hide a small smile and signaled for the other maids to bring some refreshments.
"Oh, that night..." Hathaway's face flushed as well, though it was less noticeable thanks to her naturally red hair.
"Yes, that night! I was the only one sleeping in the guest room with Chocolate while the rest of you were all with Jenkins..." Dolores grew angrier as she spoke. "You all are so... promiscuous. Was it necessary for two or three of you? Why did everyone have to go? Truly... you have no shame."
Her chest heaved, though whether it was out of anger at the chaotic state of her family relations or at being left out, the girls had their own opinions.
"Is there something you needed, miss?"
Sensing the conversation was taking a rather unwholesome turn, Julia directed her question to Hathaway, who flicked a strand of hair from her forehead.
"Have you seen Jenkins? Magic Miss and Silver Flute Miss are coming with us to Bel Diran, but there's an issue with Magic Miss's luggage. Some of it is... dangerous and requires a separate freight carriage. It won't be able to ship out until the day after tomorrow."
Since the Williams family was leaving Nolan, it was only natural to invite the "Royal Arcane Consultants" to the capital as well. Neither Magic Miss nor Silver Flute Miss had any unbreakable ties to the city, so they had gladly accepted. Julia remembered Jenkins mentioning he intended to grant both ladies a title.
"I have no idea where Jenkins has gone. But for something like this, the Church can arrange it, can't they? If it's in the name of the Saint, surely the Church won't refuse to transport some dangerous items?" Dolores suggested.
The stunning red-haired young woman nodded. "That's true. I'll go speak with the Bishop later. Honestly, where on earth did Jenkins run off to?"
"Speaking of which, since these two friends of yours are coming to Bel Diran, what about the others? I remember three other gentlemen were a great help in the final battle as well," Dolores asked. Maids pushed a trolley laden with snacks from the connecting corridor, and Hathaway sat down to have some.
"Oh, you mean Mr. Hood, Mr. Black Cat, and Mr. White Cat? They're also going to Bel Diran. They mentioned it a few days ago when we went to the cemetery to pay our respects to MrBirchwood. The three of them are business partners and plan to establish their trade headquarters in Bel Diran. It's the capital, after all, so it's more convenient. Jenkins promised to help them."
Hathaway extended a pale finger, picked up a small, square pink pastry, and delicately brought it to her rosy lips. The sight made Dolores, sitting on the sofa across from her, involuntarily recall the "indecent" events that had taken place on this very sofa that morning, and her face flushed once more.
"Your Highness, a lady should not entertain such improper thoughts," Julia admonished, as if reading her mind. Dolores's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
"If you all hadn't done that, how could I possibly..."
"Oh? What did you think of?" Hathaway asked with interest, before her expression shifted to one of dawning realization. "It's nothing, really. We've all done it. That night, we were..."
She shot a mischievous glance at Julia, who managed to maintain her composure with remarkable grace, not letting the words fluster her.
"Stop talking about it, honestly," Dolores said again, raising her teacup to drink, though it was mostly to hide the blush that had spread across her cheeks as more "images" flooded her mind.
"Speaking of which, quite a few people are leaving Nolan. Aren't Anathasia and Princess Sophia in one of the carriages behind us?" Hathaway steered the conversation back to a safer topic, no longer teasing Dolores.
"I know. They're traveling to Bel Diran. Jenkins said they'll be staying with us at Coldspring Palace for a while, acting as guards of a sort," Dolores nodded, not having any strong feelings about it. "But Jenkins seemed quite sad about his elf friend, Mr. Siannod, leaving."
"Mr. Siannod is very old. He's simply returning to his homeland, to the Prosperous Forest. They can still see each other again. Jenkins is just being overly sentimental. Besides, didn't the elves officially establish diplomatic relations with the kingdom? The delegation has already arrived in Bel Diran. I heard that Miss Silf, who Jenkins knows, is among them," Julia added.