PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Vol. 2 (25 page)
Whoops! My mistress seems to be calling me.
It is close to mealtime, come to think of it.
We’ll continue this story next time. It’s rather difficult to tell about what happened to the two of them after that.
I’m off. Oh, but, that’s right. In closing:
Life is long and filled with hardship. In order to see it through without regret, you need a partner who’s irreplaceable. If you’ve found your life partner, no matter what sort of partner they are, I hope you’ll make sure you never lose them. Because that’s…a very sad thing indeed.
All right. We’ll meet again.
Oh, that’s right. Come to think of it, even though it’s our fifth meeting, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I?
My name is
“…Honestly, Snowdrop!”
One evening.
Snowdrop, one of Ada’s pet cats, had disappeared from the mansion, and she found him outside. He was in an alley around the first corner in the avenue that ran past the front of the secondary Vessalius residence. When she called to him, Snowdrop—a cat with white fur—nimbly ran back to his mistress.
Ada picked him up. She lifted Snowdrop until his face was level with hers, then gently scolded him with a “Meh!
“Kitty stays home obediently, but you… You know you shouldn’t do that.”
“Mew!
”
In response to his mistress’s scolding, Snowdrop just mewed cheerfully. “All right, your dinner is waiting for you. Let’s go home.” As Ada was about to turn back toward the mansion, she caught sight of something deep in the alley where she’d found Snowdrop.
There was a cat back there. Its coat was grimy; it was probably a stray. In front of the cat sat a single old plate.
“Were you playing with that little one, Snowdrop?”
Snowdrop’s only answer to her question was a happy
“Mew!” She couldn’t tell whether he meant “yes” or “no.” Ada crouched down where she stood, smiling at the stray. “Would you like some dinner, too?” she asked. The stray didn’t respond. It just watched her, warily.
It probably wasn’t used to people. There was no help for it. Ada gave a little sigh. She’d bring it something to eat later, she thought. “Wait for me, please, if you’d like,” Ada called to the stray. Then she turned away, going back to the mansion.
As Ada left, the stray cat watched her—or rather, Snowdrop—steadily. As they stepped out of the alley, just before they turned the corner that led to the mansion, Snowdrop mewed. The stray cat gave a small meow in response.
It was as if they were saying,
See you tomorrow.
Once Ada and Snowdrop were out of sight…
The stray cat licked the completely empty plate, then turned tail and ran deeper into the alley.
In a moment, it had vanished into the shadows.
~ Fin ~
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PandoraHearts ~Caucus Race~, Volume 2
Created and Illustrated by JUN MOCHIZUKI
Written by SHINOBU WAKAMIYA
Cover art by Jun Mochizuki
Translation by Taylor Engel
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Novel PandoraHearts ~Caucus race~ vol. 2
© 2012 Jun Mochizuki, Shinobu Wakamiya/SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD
First published in Japan in 2012 by SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
English translation rights arranged with SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. and Hachette Book Group through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc.
English translation © 2015 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected] Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: September 2015
ISBN 978-0-316-39006-4
E3