THNW 03

To My Husband’s New Wife Chapter : 03

That’s… of course none of my business, but….

She sat down again, hugging her knees.

Even though it was prickly, it was a very pretty voice.

Just hearing it was enough for Anita’s chest to regain its calm, enough to make her forget the gloomy weight that had been pressing down on her heart.
‘Could it be a fairy of books?’
Or a dwarf?

Are dwarfs’ voices all pretty by nature?

It was as she rubbed the ticklish tip of her nose in the shivery cold.

Creeak.

With the sound of a chair being pulled, calm footsteps gradually drew nearer.

As the sound grew louder, the yellow light that had been pooled far off also grew little by little.

The identity of that yellow light was the lantern the boy was holding.

A blond boy wearing a thick cardigan.

Skin as white as a fresh field of snow no one had stepped on.

Green eyes, a height smaller than Anita’s.

Even the expression that reeked of displeasure.
‘He was so pretty I thought he was a doll.’
She even wondered if he was a girl, but he was indeed a boy.

Small and white and pretty, a boy who looked like a girl.

Certain of what he was, Anita jolted and sprang to her feet.
“F-fairy!”
The brows that were already deeply furrowed twisted even more fiercely.
“Hey.”
The boy clicked his tongue with a thoroughly displeased look.
“Don’t sniffle, either.”
Despite looking like warm milk, he was picking a fight with a cold wind whistling through it.

At the astonishingly cold attitude for a first meeting, Anita came to her senses with a start.
‘…So he’s not a fairy?’
No.

Right, of course.

Where in the world would there be something like that.

Of course he isn’t a fairy!

Her face grew hot as if it would burst into flames at the shame of having done something so foolish.

It was clearly a different feeling from the humiliation she’d felt in front of the children.

Back then, she wanted to run away; now, she wanted to hide.
“If you’re not going to read, get out.”
His back, shown as he left that last warning behind, was just as chilly as his front.

As the light that had illuminated the boy’s face moved farther away, the quiet shadow of the study enveloped Anita.

It was darkness she had regarded as nothing before meeting him, yet it felt strangely cold and huge.
‘A study is a place meant for reading.’
It wasn’t right to disturb the boy.

But if she left, she had nowhere to go.

Her father was busy, and all the children were excluding her, so the only places that would take Anita were rooms without a trace of people.

A cold room, because no fire was lit.

A quiet, silent room, because no one was there.
‘…If I read a book, can’t I stay here?’
Her deliberation didn’t last long.

Anita ran at once to the nearest bookshelf and picked up the first book she found.

Then she approached the desk where the boy had settled, carefully.

She deliberately sat far away, but it happened to put her far from the only lantern the boy had brought, making it an environment unfit for reading.

What do I do.

What do I do.

This deliberation lasted quite a while.

When she gathered her courage and took a seat opposite the boy, she had to face a fiercely narrowed glare.
“I-I’m going to read too.”
It sounded like an excuse that slipped out on its own.

Fortunately, the boy’s glare soon withdrew to his book.

Anita let out a sigh of relief and opened her own book.

She opened it, but.
‘Oh no.’
Of all things, she had chosen a foreign-language original.
‘So that’s why he glared at me.’
Again.

I’ve done something that makes my face hot again.

Anita sat blankly, the very first page of the original spread open.

Then, suddenly, the letters in the book the boy was reading caught her eye.

Another original filled with a foreign language.
‘Quils?

It’s a language I can at least read a little.’
Perhaps she had been concentrating without realizing it; with her eyes tightened, she was following along, reading the boy’s book.

It’s too hard.

It was too hard, and yet she was too curious, and after holding it in and holding it in, she finally opened her mouth.
“Hey…. How do you read the last line of the third paragraph on page twenty-one?”
No answer came.

She sat dejectedly, then focused again.

The more she looked at the sentences she couldn’t possibly interpret, the more admiration rose on its own.
“How can you read something this difficult, all of it?”
Still no answer.

How strange.

The repeated disregard instead gave her courage, and her mouth kept opening.
“Um, about this word.

I’m confused, but is it ‘cooperation’ or ‘abandonment’….”
That was when it happened.

The boy abruptly rose and disappeared between the bookshelves, then reappeared soon after.

Carrying a book at least twice as thick as the original he had been reading.

Anita’s complexion went pale.
“T-that book, is he going to hit me with it?

Was I that much of a nuisance?’
Thud.

The boy set the paper weapon down in front of Anita.
“If you don’t know, shut up and look at that.”
This?

Swallowing dryly, she checked the title.

Maybe he was annoyed because I asked too much.

Anita carefully hugged the dictionary the boy had handed her.
“Thank you.”
“And don’t keep talking to me.

It’s annoying.”
Okay….

She sat quietly, burying her nose in the dictionary he’d given her.

There was no way the contents would actually enter her eyes.

After finding the original meaning of the word she’d been confused about, she couldn’t endure the boredom and repeated nodding off and waking up.
‘This won’t do.

It’s late, so I should go back to Father.’
But this dictionary is good.

The dictionary in our house is written in difficult words that are hard to understand, but with this dictionary, you didn’t need to look up another word to understand the meaning of a word.
“Th-this….”
So, can I borrow this?

She was about to ask, but.
[Don’t keep talking to me.

It’s annoying.]
At that sharp warning, she couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth.
“Th-this….”
B-but I really want to ask.
“Th-this, um….”
“What.”
Just then, the boy, wearing a weary face, turned to her.

How much of a nuisance am I to him right now!

He probably doesn’t even want to see me, right?

When she imagined it from his point of view, she felt guilty.

In the smallest voice she could manage, Anita whispered.
“Can I borrow this?”
“How are you going to carry that?”
“I can carry it.”
“You can’t.”
It was such a decisive denial that she was stunned.
“I-I can carry it!”
“You can’t.”
“I said I can!

I can carry it!”
Boasting loudly, she hugged the Quils Language Grand Dictionary to her chest.

Hngh.

It’s really heavy.
“See?

You can’t carry it.”
It was much heavier than she’d expected, making it hard to breathe, but she thought she could carry it down.

The boy swept Anita once over with an irritated gaze and then looked back at his book.
“If you can’t return it within a month, know that I’ll report you as a thief.”
It was his way of telling her to get going.

But Anita couldn’t move her feet, and standing there awkwardly, she asked,
“Um… aren’t you going to ask my name?”
When he turned his head with a look that said what are you up to, she explained the reason as if making excuses.
“You have to know my name to report me.

I’m Anita Beulroeniya.”
She thought he might ignore her.

But unexpectedly, the boy casually tossed out his name.
“Lancelot Edenbahir.”
‘Edenbahir… so he lives in this house.’
There was nothing surprising if she thought about it deeply.

The only one who would come and go through a study like this in comfortable indoor clothes as if it were his own home would be the owner’s child.

Anita hesitated and left the study.

She debated whether she should say goodbye, but in the end, she couldn’t do it.

A night made complete with even the moon hidden by clouds.

Anita took her father’s hand and climbed into the carriage to return home.

A father always dignified, wherever they were.

Even while reeking of strong alcohol, her father’s eyes were still clear as he smoothed down her hair.
“Did you get along well with your friends?”
No.
“Yes.”
“Did you have fun?”
No.
“Yes.

It was nice.”
“You’ll have many occasions to meet them in the future.

Don’t act strangely, and get along well.”
At the fact that they were going home, her mood, which had improved a little, sank into gloom in an instant.

I don’t want to meet them again.

Even if I don’t act strangely, they’ll still exclude me.

In that splendid mansion, there had been only one child who hadn’t excluded Anita.
‘Even that child would despise me if he learns I’m not a noble.’
Thinking so, her gloomy mood plunged all the way to the bottom of the ground.
‘It’s okay.

I have Father and Nurse and Mary and Berry, so.’
It’s really okay.

Even if I have no one else.

I’m happy enough as I am now.

Anita let out a long sigh.