LVSFN 60

Chapter 60

That evening, I went upstairs early, making an excuse that I was tired.

Being tired was true, of course, but the bigger reason was that I wanted to write a letter to Jeralac.

“All right, let’s write it now.”

But even though I held the pen, I couldn’t write a single word and ended up getting up from the chair.

“Ugh!”

Inside the bookstore, inside the carriage on the way back, even during dinner, my head was filled with things I wanted to say—but now it felt like all those words had evaporated.

Facing the blank paper, I had no clue where or how to start writing about this situation.

Like Jeralac’s letter to me, I wanted to tell my story clearly and neatly.

But I’m just hopeless at writing!

“Maybe I should just write ‘I miss you’ a thousand times, like a kid’s scrawl.”

I dropped my head on the table and muttered.

“Jeralac’s handwriting was so handsome, though. Honestly.”

By the way, what was Jeralac thinking when he left me that letter?

From its contents, it seemed like he had no idea I’d come to another dimension.

Carefully unfolding the letter he left, my chest— which I had been trying to calm — started to flutter again.

I had read it so many times I almost had it memorized, yet the moment I read the first sentence, I felt a slight fever spreading through my body.

That person who once made me tremble with fear now made me unbearably nostalgic.

Sigh, “Why can he write letters so well?”

After folding the letter back, I gripped my pen tightly.

I have to convey my feelings.

That I didn’t run away because of fate, that I ended up in another place unwillingly.

That I miss him, too.

“Tears again, like a fool.”

As soon as I put the pen to paper, my hand trembled uncontrollably.

Then, voices came from the hallway. I startled, flipped the letter over, and wiped my eyes.

When the footsteps quieted again, I took out the letter, but I couldn’t focus because I kept worrying about what was going on outside.

Ugh, I should really write this late at night when everyone is asleep.

For now, let me organize what I need to do.

My stationery suddenly became a schedule.

The moment I realized Jeralac was looking for me, finding a way back became more important than untangling the mess I’d gotten into in this world.

“Hmm, first… I need to find the astrologer who first mentioned my disappearance. She must know something. Maybe she even knows how to get me back.”

I wrote down exactly what I said.

But how can I find her?

I don’t even know her face, and all I remember is a silhouette wearing a black robe and a distinctive voice.

If I hear the voice again, I might remember, but without a name or face, can I find her?

Thinking that made me lose heart again.

While doodling randomly on the paper, there was a soft knock.

Eclair quietly walked in holding a tray with tea.

Definitely better to write letters in the middle of the night.

“Miss, please have something warm to drink.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve been eating so little lately, I’m worried about you, miss.”

“Mm, I’m fine.”

Just as I was about to put the pen down quietly, Eclair’s eyes brightened as she asked,

“Miss, what have you been doing nonstop?”

“Just… stuff.”

Eclair lingered nearby without leaving, then she even settled down nearby instead of leaving!

At that moment, as she leaned toward me, her eyes suddenly widened.

“Oh? Miss, you’re wearing a necklace I haven’t seen before.”

Reflexively touching my neck, I felt the new pendant Jeralac had given me.

“Oh my, it’s so pretty, miss. When did you get it?”

“I didn’t buy it.”

“Really? No way.”

Eclair suddenly put her hands over her mouth as if she’d thought of something.

“Don’t tell me—Sir Watford gave it to you?”

“What?”

“Well, seeing you in the garden this afternoon was unusual. It was strange how the busy Sir Watford tried to keep up with your pace going back and forth.”

“Keeping up with my pace?”

“You asked Sir Watford to lie for you so you could go out this afternoon. I can tell just by looking at your expression.”

“……”

“But since Sir Watford was going to accompany you, I sent you off. At least he wouldn’t be late or disappear.”

“Eclair, you knew.”

“Of course, I haven’t just been taking care of you for a day or two.”

Eclair looked rather proud and confident.

“Well, putting aside the afternoon incident, this necklace isn’t from Sir Watford.”

I kept fiddling with the pendant and said to Eclair,

“It was from His Highness the Duke.”

Eclair silently said, “Oh my,” with just her lips.

Although she said she was on my side no matter what I did, the fact I’d taken her friend’s man still seemed to sit somewhere in her heart.

At that moment, Adrian’s words from earlier came to mind.

<If something like that happened to me, I’d probably tell someone trustworthy and close the truth and ask for advice. It’s better than struggling alone. Maybe I’d get an unexpected idea or help.>

Someone trustworthy and close.

Right now, there was only one person I could think of who worried about me the most.

“Eclair, this was given to me by His Highness the Duke on St. Ovenly’s day.”

The memory of that day seeped back in.

I had a lot to say to him, but he thought none of it was important that night.

I painfully longed for the warm and subtle affection I had felt at that moment.

“Jeralac was a good person.”

I didn’t mean to say that, but I kept going as if possessed.

“Can I go back? Can I go to the person waiting for me?”

“Miss.”

Eclair finally realized something was wrong.

She took my hand and looked at me with a worried face.

“Eclair, if I tell you this, you probably won’t believe me. So you’ll call the doctor and think there’s something seriously wrong with my head.”

“Miss, that’s not—”

“But no matter how much I think about it, I can’t do this alone. I need help.”

I told Eclair everything I’d been through.

At first, she looked very doubtful. As I went on, she gripped my hand tighter, and when I showed her Jeralac’s letter, she looked completely drained.

“Oh my goodness.”

“Eclair, His Highness the Duke is waiting for me.”

“……”

“Can I go back?”

“W-wait, Miss. I’m so flustered right now.”

Eclair’s reaction was natural.

“If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask again.”

“Everything, from start to finish.”

Eclair glanced at me, then at Jeralac’s letter, with a dazed look.

“I don’t know His Highness the Duke’s handwriting, but I can definitely tell this wasn’t written by you.”

“?”

“It’s not your handwriting. And I’ve never seen such a tear-jerking letter in my life.”

Then, suddenly her eyes became red.

“Eclair?”

“Sniff, Miss. What am I going to do with His Highness the Duke?”

No, can you worry about me who’s right in front of you first?

“Sniff, sniff… Miss, what will you do? I feel so sorry for His Highness the Duke. Boohoo!”

I got up, rolled some tissues, and handed them to Eclair.

She wiped her tears and blew her nose, calming down after a while.

“Eclair, are you okay?”

“Yes… I’m okay.”

“Here, have a glass of water.”

“Thank you.”

But don’t you think something’s changed between us?

The real Eclair gulped down water and let out a long sigh.

“Miss, so we have to find a way to go back to your original world, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And also find that astrologer lady.”

“That’s right.”

There’s a lot to find, but it’s not like looking for a needle in a sandpit, I thought.

“Eclair, how about this?”

Suddenly, I had a pretty good idea.

“How?”

“Make her come find me.”

If she’s hidden somewhere too well to find, make her appear.

“Isn’t that harder than finding her?”

Eclair looked very skeptical.

“Oh, Miss, I just thought of something, too.”

She raised a finger with a determined look.

“In Muton, if there’s something you don’t know, there’s someone you have to ask.”

Eclair and I looked at each other at the same time.

There was only one person who came to mind.

“Elome Buster.”