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The Lavender Flowers of Sympathy and Sleep - Episode 5
⭠ last episode | Episode 5 | next episode ⭢
[ Present day ]
Rutile: Oh, there she is! We’ve finally caught up to her.
We followed after the young noblewoman until we found ourselves in a room that looked like it had once been an office.
A large desk stood between us and the noblewoman we had chased down. She seemed to have been waiting for us to catch up.
Quietly, she shifted her gaze upwards.
Rutile: We didn’t mean to corner you like this, sorry.
My name is Rutile, and I am a Sage’s Wizard. This person here with me is the Great Sage, Akira.
You’ve been watching us all along, haven’t you? If you need our help with anything at all, please tell us.
The noblewoman’s gaze wavered at Rutile’s words.
There was a raw emotion in her gaze that didn’t suit her station. Her pale lips trembled and then parted as she spoke.
Lady in Blue: … This…
… is all my fault.
Once those words left her lips, she disappeared like a wisp of smoke.
At the same time, something sparkled and fell from one of the bookshelves.
Rutile & Akira: Oh…!
Akira: S-She disappeared… W-Was she actually a ghost…?
Rutile: What was it that fell from the bookshelf… It’s a key. Did she want us to find this?
Rutile picked up the key in question.
He stood where the lady had just ’stood’, and he glanced around the room as if he were in her shoes.
His gaze stopped when it came upon a particular spot on the desk.
Rutile: The lock on this drawer has an emblem that matches the one on this key! Let’s see if it’ll open…
[ Click! ]
Akira: It worked!
Rutile: What do we have here… A bouquet of lavender flowers, and… a book?
I approached the drawer. We retrieved the bouquet and book from its depths.
I gently cradled the bouquet in my arms. Strangely enough, the lavender flowers smelled fresh, as fragrant as the day they were plucked, though this bouquet must have been locked away in a drawer for who knows how long.
Akira: I wonder if she wanted us to find these?
Rutile: Yes, I think she must have… I’m going to take a peek at the contents of this book.
Rutile took the book and gently flipped its cover open.
His brows furrowed as he read the contents of the first page, but his eyes soon widened in surprise.
Rutile: This is… I believe this might be penned by the Maiden of Tears herself!
Akira: No way?! Didn’t Heath say that the Maiden left nothing behind, no letters or diaries…
Rutile: Considering how the drawer was locked, she may have passed on without telling anyone about its whereabouts.
The writing in this book is as antiquated as some of the texts in my Father’s room… but I’ll try my best to summarise.
Rutile: … ‘Today’… ‘I connected’…? Oh, wait, ‘I contracted the witch’…
Rutile haltingly summarised aloud the contents of the pages:
The day the Raven Witch was hired.
The ritual of sleep, as taught by the witch.
Rumours circulating among the people, and an order to fetch lavender flowers.
The day the Raven Witch transformed into the Great Raven.
And the days that came after.
Rutile’s eyelashes fluttered as he closed the book of memoirs.
Rutile: ……… So that’s what happened…
That means the Maiden of Tears was actually…
[ Castle of Maiden's Tears ]
Faust: … I see. Someone that resembled the Maiden of Tears led you to this book…
After returning to the hall, we filled the other wizards in on our discovery and showed them the items we found.
Owen: But didn’t the Maiden of Tears die forever ago? Was that her ghost?
Figaro: It might be a remnant of the Maiden’s will, dredged up by the Great Raven’s presence. I can sense that the lavender bouquet has been influenced not just by the Calamity but by the Great Raven too.
Arthur: Even after so long, I suppose the Maiden of Tears is still worried about whether the Great Raven harmed her people.
Rutile: That may be true, but…
More likely, it’s the Great Raven — the Raven Witch herself — that the Maiden is worried about.
The Raven Witch became that thing because of her.
Chloe & Heathcliff: Huh?
Mithra: The Great Raven turned itself into a monster, didn’t it? Grudge against the Maiden and all.
Rutile: No. The Maiden witnessed it happen and wrote everything down.
I’ll summarise the contents briefly, alright?
Rutile: … ‘Today, the witch arrived at my castle. I ordered her to serve me from today henceforth. She said she would work herself to the bone for me.’
‘I see no reason for her to work herself to the bone. Regardless, she seems to have a more pleasant disposition than the rumours would indicate.’
Chloe: Wait… A pleasant disposition?
Rutile: ‘After the witch concluded her report about the matter of the ghost, she asked if she was of use to me.’
‘Perhaps she feels that the rewards I granted her for her accomplishments were insufficient. If so, I must reevaluate her earnings.’
‘I shall ensure her just payment, for I will not be able to find another witch as capable and humble as her.’
Arthur: … It sounds like the Maiden thought very highly of the Raven Witch.
Faust: Based solely off the legend, one would assume that the Maiden and Raven Witch did not get along. Perhaps reality differed?
Heathcliff: Then what was the legend even based on…?
Rutile: These next pages are about the day when the Raven Witch turned into the Great Raven.
Rutile: ‘I’ve had a petition brought directly to me by the people. This means…’
[ The day the Raven Witch turned into the Great Raven ]
[ Castle of Maiden’s Tears - Office ]
Male Farmhand: My lady! Please listen to us!
Woman in Apron: The plague is all the witch’s fault! Those sinister raven corpses she carries with her were surely used to curse us all!
Maiden of Tears: Please calm down. I have explained this many times now: the cause of the plague is contaminated water from the mountains.
I have already ordered the witch to seal away the disease at its source. Those raven corpses she uses are components for her invocation—
Male Farmhand: You hear that? We all heard that! The witch uses raven corpses for her invocations!
How can anyone know that she’s not using the raven corpses to cast plague invocations? No one here’s a magic user! No one here can know!
Maiden of Tears: I said——
Male Farmhand: M-My lady, if you will not protect us, then we must protect ourselves. Right, everyone?! You’re with me, right?!
Woman in Apron: W-Why yes, of course we all are! I have three children at home with me — I can’t allow a witch to harm my little ones!
Hoe-Toting Man: Hear, hear! If it is kill or be killed, then——
Maiden of Tears: Silence, all of you!
Peasants: …!
Maiden of Tears: ………
… I have heard all of you loud and clear.
As your ruler, I shall make a reasoned decision. All of you are dismissed.
Hoe-Toting Man: Ohh…! Thank you very much!
Woman in Apron: My lady, we are indebted to your kindness…!
[ The people leave. ]
Maiden of Tears: ……
— Bring me the Raven Witch.
Raven Witch: Y-You summoned me, my lady…?
Um… If it’s about the ritual to purify the water from the mountains, I’ve just finished doing that. Now the disease will—
Maiden of Tears: We don’t have time to waste. I’ll get to the point.
—— I, Adeline, as the rightful ruler of this land, hereby decree: the Raven Witch Yolanda is now exiled from this land.
Raven Witch: ……!?
Y-You’re lying… All lies, lies, lies…
Maiden of Tears: It’s true. You need to hurry, pack up and go.
There’s a mansion that my family owns in the old capitol. As soon as the plague subsides, the people’s paranoia will leave with it. Until then, you can go—
Raven Witch: I—! I did no such thing! I never cursed anyone, no, not me!!
B-But even you, my lady, even you would chase me away!
Maiden of Tears: I know you haven’t cursed anyone, but…
Raven Witch: I-I-I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG! YOU’VE ALWAYS HATED DIMWITS LIKE ME!!
Maiden of Tears: (helpless gasp)
Raven Witch: I-I thought even if you did hate me, my lady… You are not like the others. You did not stone me.
You kept a witch like me by your side. It… It doesn't…
It doesn’t matter if you hate me. I still want to devote myself to my lady Adeline…
But now— You— You have forsaken me……
Maiden of Tears: ……!
Yolanda, Yolanda! You’re turning into a raven…!
Raven Witch: Ahh… Aᴀᴀᴀʜh, ᴀᴀᴀ… How unforgivable! I’ll kill you, ᴀᴀdeline…!
I’LL KILL YOU! Kɪʟʟ— ᴋɪʟʟ … Aᴀ-ᴀᴀᴀ, ᴀᴀᴀᴀAAʜ……
AᴀAAᴀ… ᴀᴀdeʟ……
… I’m s… oʀʀ… ɢʜ… ᴀ… … (caws)
[ The Raven Witch starts to morph and warp. ]
Raven Witch: (pained groaning) (cawing)
Maiden of Tears: No, please…!
YOLANDA!!
[ Present time ]
[ Castle of Maiden's Tears ]
Rutile: … ‘This is all my fault.’
‘At least once, I should have shown her my appreciation of her. I should have communicated how thankful I was to her.’
‘I should have said to her that I am so grateful to have her as the witch who serves me. Instead, I only wrote down words on parchment.’
‘It is my fault that she has become that monstrous thing.’
The Wizards: ………
Rutile: ‘And at last, I now hold the bouquet of lavender flowers I sent for in my hands. But there will never come a day where she can breathe in the fragrance of this bouquet.’
‘I have put the Great Raven to sleep using the ritual that the Raven Witch taught me. I must make an official decree to ensure that its sleep remains undisturbed.’
‘I shall pray that one day… her wounded soul will heal, and she will be released from the grudge that binds her.’
Mithra: … Hn? What he just read is very different from the legend..
Owen: Well, legends are spread by humans that think like, ‘What a creepy witch, obviously evil, therefore,’ so on and so forth.
Figaro: That’s because back in those days, human prejudice against magic users was far more extreme than today. They were xenophobic too, so outsiders often became the target of suspicion and hate.
Faust: … All that aside, we finally know why the ritual we’re supposed to perform is so imperfect.
Firstly, the Raven Witch probably didn’t have any formal magical knowledge to begin with.
Then she taught the ritual to the Maiden of Tears, a human. The intricacies of the ritual were further lost in that transfer of knowledge, resulting in what we have today.
next episode ⭢
[ Present day ]
Rutile: Oh, there she is! We’ve finally caught up to her.
We followed after the young noblewoman until we found ourselves in a room that looked like it had once been an office.
A large desk stood between us and the noblewoman we had chased down. She seemed to have been waiting for us to catch up.
Quietly, she shifted her gaze upwards.
Rutile: We didn’t mean to corner you like this, sorry.
My name is Rutile, and I am a Sage’s Wizard. This person here with me is the Great Sage, Akira.
You’ve been watching us all along, haven’t you? If you need our help with anything at all, please tell us.
The noblewoman’s gaze wavered at Rutile’s words.
There was a raw emotion in her gaze that didn’t suit her station. Her pale lips trembled and then parted as she spoke.
Lady in Blue: … This…
… is all my fault.
Once those words left her lips, she disappeared like a wisp of smoke.
At the same time, something sparkled and fell from one of the bookshelves.
Rutile & Akira: Oh…!
Akira: S-She disappeared… W-Was she actually a ghost…?
Rutile: What was it that fell from the bookshelf… It’s a key. Did she want us to find this?
Rutile picked up the key in question.
He stood where the lady had just ’stood’, and he glanced around the room as if he were in her shoes.
His gaze stopped when it came upon a particular spot on the desk.
Rutile: The lock on this drawer has an emblem that matches the one on this key! Let’s see if it’ll open…
[ Click! ]
Akira: It worked!
Rutile: What do we have here… A bouquet of lavender flowers, and… a book?
I approached the drawer. We retrieved the bouquet and book from its depths.
I gently cradled the bouquet in my arms. Strangely enough, the lavender flowers smelled fresh, as fragrant as the day they were plucked, though this bouquet must have been locked away in a drawer for who knows how long.
Akira: I wonder if she wanted us to find these?
Rutile: Yes, I think she must have… I’m going to take a peek at the contents of this book.
Rutile took the book and gently flipped its cover open.
His brows furrowed as he read the contents of the first page, but his eyes soon widened in surprise.
Rutile: This is… I believe this might be penned by the Maiden of Tears herself!
Akira: No way?! Didn’t Heath say that the Maiden left nothing behind, no letters or diaries…
Rutile: Considering how the drawer was locked, she may have passed on without telling anyone about its whereabouts.
The writing in this book is as antiquated as some of the texts in my Father’s room… but I’ll try my best to summarise.
Rutile: … ‘Today’… ‘I connected’…? Oh, wait, ‘I contracted the witch’…
Rutile haltingly summarised aloud the contents of the pages:
The day the Raven Witch was hired.
The ritual of sleep, as taught by the witch.
Rumours circulating among the people, and an order to fetch lavender flowers.
The day the Raven Witch transformed into the Great Raven.
And the days that came after.
Rutile’s eyelashes fluttered as he closed the book of memoirs.
Rutile: ……… So that’s what happened…
That means the Maiden of Tears was actually…
[ Castle of Maiden's Tears ]
Faust: … I see. Someone that resembled the Maiden of Tears led you to this book…
After returning to the hall, we filled the other wizards in on our discovery and showed them the items we found.
Owen: But didn’t the Maiden of Tears die forever ago? Was that her ghost?
Figaro: It might be a remnant of the Maiden’s will, dredged up by the Great Raven’s presence. I can sense that the lavender bouquet has been influenced not just by the Calamity but by the Great Raven too.
Arthur: Even after so long, I suppose the Maiden of Tears is still worried about whether the Great Raven harmed her people.
Rutile: That may be true, but…
More likely, it’s the Great Raven — the Raven Witch herself — that the Maiden is worried about.
The Raven Witch became that thing because of her.
Chloe & Heathcliff: Huh?
Mithra: The Great Raven turned itself into a monster, didn’t it? Grudge against the Maiden and all.
Rutile: No. The Maiden witnessed it happen and wrote everything down.
I’ll summarise the contents briefly, alright?
Rutile: … ‘Today, the witch arrived at my castle. I ordered her to serve me from today henceforth. She said she would work herself to the bone for me.’
‘I see no reason for her to work herself to the bone. Regardless, she seems to have a more pleasant disposition than the rumours would indicate.’
Chloe: Wait… A pleasant disposition?
Rutile: ‘After the witch concluded her report about the matter of the ghost, she asked if she was of use to me.’
‘Perhaps she feels that the rewards I granted her for her accomplishments were insufficient. If so, I must reevaluate her earnings.’
‘I shall ensure her just payment, for I will not be able to find another witch as capable and humble as her.’
Arthur: … It sounds like the Maiden thought very highly of the Raven Witch.
Faust: Based solely off the legend, one would assume that the Maiden and Raven Witch did not get along. Perhaps reality differed?
Heathcliff: Then what was the legend even based on…?
Rutile: These next pages are about the day when the Raven Witch turned into the Great Raven.
Rutile: ‘I’ve had a petition brought directly to me by the people. This means…’
[ The day the Raven Witch turned into the Great Raven ]
[ Castle of Maiden’s Tears - Office ]
Male Farmhand: My lady! Please listen to us!
Woman in Apron: The plague is all the witch’s fault! Those sinister raven corpses she carries with her were surely used to curse us all!
Maiden of Tears: Please calm down. I have explained this many times now: the cause of the plague is contaminated water from the mountains.
I have already ordered the witch to seal away the disease at its source. Those raven corpses she uses are components for her invocation—
Male Farmhand: You hear that? We all heard that! The witch uses raven corpses for her invocations!
How can anyone know that she’s not using the raven corpses to cast plague invocations? No one here’s a magic user! No one here can know!
Maiden of Tears: I said——
Male Farmhand: M-My lady, if you will not protect us, then we must protect ourselves. Right, everyone?! You’re with me, right?!
Woman in Apron: W-Why yes, of course we all are! I have three children at home with me — I can’t allow a witch to harm my little ones!
Hoe-Toting Man: Hear, hear! If it is kill or be killed, then——
Maiden of Tears: Silence, all of you!
Peasants: …!
Maiden of Tears: ………
… I have heard all of you loud and clear.
As your ruler, I shall make a reasoned decision. All of you are dismissed.
Hoe-Toting Man: Ohh…! Thank you very much!
Woman in Apron: My lady, we are indebted to your kindness…!
[ The people leave. ]
Maiden of Tears: ……
— Bring me the Raven Witch.
Raven Witch: Y-You summoned me, my lady…?
Um… If it’s about the ritual to purify the water from the mountains, I’ve just finished doing that. Now the disease will—
Maiden of Tears: We don’t have time to waste. I’ll get to the point.
—— I, Adeline, as the rightful ruler of this land, hereby decree: the Raven Witch Yolanda is now exiled from this land.
Raven Witch: ……!?
Y-You’re lying… All lies, lies, lies…
Maiden of Tears: It’s true. You need to hurry, pack up and go.
There’s a mansion that my family owns in the old capitol. As soon as the plague subsides, the people’s paranoia will leave with it. Until then, you can go—
Raven Witch: I—! I did no such thing! I never cursed anyone, no, not me!!
B-But even you, my lady, even you would chase me away!
Maiden of Tears: I know you haven’t cursed anyone, but…
Raven Witch: I-I-I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG! YOU’VE ALWAYS HATED DIMWITS LIKE ME!!
Maiden of Tears: (helpless gasp)
Raven Witch: I-I thought even if you did hate me, my lady… You are not like the others. You did not stone me.
You kept a witch like me by your side. It… It doesn't…
It doesn’t matter if you hate me. I still want to devote myself to my lady Adeline…
But now— You— You have forsaken me……
Maiden of Tears: ……!
Yolanda, Yolanda! You’re turning into a raven…!
Raven Witch: Ahh… Aᴀᴀᴀʜh, ᴀᴀᴀ… How unforgivable! I’ll kill you, ᴀᴀdeline…!
I’LL KILL YOU! Kɪʟʟ— ᴋɪʟʟ … Aᴀ-ᴀᴀᴀ, ᴀᴀᴀᴀAAʜ……
AᴀAAᴀ… ᴀᴀdeʟ……
… I’m s… oʀʀ… ɢʜ… ᴀ… … (caws)
[ The Raven Witch starts to morph and warp. ]
Raven Witch: (pained groaning) (cawing)
Maiden of Tears: No, please…!
YOLANDA!!
[ Present time ]
[ Castle of Maiden's Tears ]
Rutile: … ‘This is all my fault.’
‘At least once, I should have shown her my appreciation of her. I should have communicated how thankful I was to her.’
‘I should have said to her that I am so grateful to have her as the witch who serves me. Instead, I only wrote down words on parchment.’
‘It is my fault that she has become that monstrous thing.’
The Wizards: ………
Rutile: ‘And at last, I now hold the bouquet of lavender flowers I sent for in my hands. But there will never come a day where she can breathe in the fragrance of this bouquet.’
‘I have put the Great Raven to sleep using the ritual that the Raven Witch taught me. I must make an official decree to ensure that its sleep remains undisturbed.’
‘I shall pray that one day… her wounded soul will heal, and she will be released from the grudge that binds her.’
Mithra: … Hn? What he just read is very different from the legend..
Owen: Well, legends are spread by humans that think like, ‘What a creepy witch, obviously evil, therefore,’ so on and so forth.
Figaro: That’s because back in those days, human prejudice against magic users was far more extreme than today. They were xenophobic too, so outsiders often became the target of suspicion and hate.
Faust: … All that aside, we finally know why the ritual we’re supposed to perform is so imperfect.
Firstly, the Raven Witch probably didn’t have any formal magical knowledge to begin with.
Then she taught the ritual to the Maiden of Tears, a human. The intricacies of the ritual were further lost in that transfer of knowledge, resulting in what we have today.
next episode ⭢