Chapter 004
“I miss my sisters.”
In the darkness of the predawn, a dark mass shifted. Soon, a head popped out from above the covers, and a pair of bright blue eyes blinked.
Lying face-to-face, Shasha could feel Hagenti’s breath and warmth so clearly that the nape of her neck felt ticklish. Or perhaps, it felt like a slight sting.
She fumbled to sit up and reached for her notebook and pen, but realizing she had no matches to light a candle, she turned Hagenti’s palm over. She wrote letters onto his skin with her fingertip.
「Your sisters?」
“Yeah.”
Tickled by the touch, Hagenti let out a low chuckle that vibrated through his chest. Though it was the laugh of a grown man, it echoed with the innocence of a child, bringing a smile to Shasha’s lips.
“Just yesterday, we were all sleeping together. It was winter, so it was freezing. Whenever I said I was scared, Rose-Noona would hold me tight. She’d pat my back, too.”
Rose-Noona. Shasha involuntarily rolled her eyes.
「Do you like her? Is Rose-Noona the prettiest?」
“No, I only look at the heart. I was told that when looking at a woman, you only look at her heart!”
Hagenti answered boastfully.
My goodness. As Shasha smiled, showing her teeth, he pulled the corners of his mouth up to follow suit.
However, his expression soon hardened again. He toyed with his pillow for a long while, hesitating, before cautiously revealing his inner thoughts.
“But you know, Shasha… are you really not going to kiss me? I gave you one….”
Kissing. Again, with the kissing.
Shasha pressed a hand to her forehead as if she couldn’t deal with him.
「Hagenti, why are you so obsessed with kissing?」
“Because getting a kiss makes you happy. My sisters said that all kids with parents get kisses every single day. I’m jealous. It’s unfair.”
「My parents both passed away from illness when I was young, too. So I was raised by my aunt.」
Hagenti let out a small gasp, then quickly bit his lip as he realized his mistake. But when Shasha shook her head to show she was fine, he asked in a voice filled with certainty:
“Then your aunt must have kissed you, right?”
But Shasha shook her head once more. This time, in negation.
「I was the ugly duckling in that house.」
…Ugly duckling? His pure blue eyes blinked rapidly, demanding an explanation.
Even though she was already shrouded in a layer of darkness, Shasha hid her expression with her sleeve. Her fingertips wandered through the dark like lost birds for a while before slowly whispering onto Hagenti’s palm.
「Being the ugly duckling means the whole family disliked me.」
And, to avoid further explanation, she forced her hand into a tight fist.
* * *
Amidst her fading consciousness, a noise broke through.
Someone was screaming.
…A man?
The man’s scream was initially so faint she barely perceived it, but it grew uncontrollably loud, shaking Shasha awake. She instinctively curled up and covered her ears with a pillow, but a few seconds later, she realized his identity and snapped her eyes open.
Hagenti.
She sprang up like a jack-in-the-box and scrambled across the bed to cover the mouth that was screaming.
Hagenti was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking extremely agitated for some reason. A few dying screams burst through the gaps in her fingers before fading into smoke-like moans.
N-no one is coming, right…?
Shasha’s heart thudded.
She checked for any movement outside the bedroom and placed her index finger against her lips. Hagenti’s dilated pupils followed her gesture.
He was drenched in cold sweat and looked half out of his mind, like someone who had seen a ghost. Shasha cautiously withdrew her hand. Hagenti whispered, his voice thick with tears.
“I thought it was all a dream.”
He trembled, looking down at his own two hands.
“It wasn’t.”
Recalling him sobbing the night before, Shasha kept her words to herself. Instead of comfort, she gently stroked his disheveled hair. Watching Hagenti close his eyes and lean into her touch, her heart felt warm once again.
Then, as if recovering from the shock, he kicked off the blankets and said boldly:
“I’m hungry. I want breakfast.”
Wait. You can’t.
Shasha grabbed the hem of his clothes as he tried to get out of bed. She quietly pointed toward the bathroom.
Hagenti, clutching his empty stomach, complained like a child.
“Why? I don’t want to go to the bathroom….”
「Sit back down here.」
Though he grumbled, Hagenti followed the command obediently. Shasha picked up her notebook with determination.
「There are things Hagenti must do when he wakes up.」
Neither Hagenti, nor her, nor even the God in the heavens could have known.
That she would ever end up teaching him like this in her lifetime.
* * *
What should I do about this?
Shasha stared at the notebook filled with drawings as if it were something filthy, then ripped out the page and crumpled it up. Just as she was secretly tossing it into the trash, Aiden spoke.
“I intend to invite the mage, Windsor.”
Gasp.
Shasha was so startled she almost fell on her backside.
Aiden was moving his pen diligently with his back turned. Perhaps because the sunlight was so strong, his blonde hair tied in a round bun stood out remarkably. As expected, the ashtray on his desk was full of cigarette butts.
“Mr. Windsor is a mage active in the medical field. Having once served as the primary physician for a foreign royal family, he can offer a variety of advice. Since the Lord has provided significant research funding to him until now, he won’t refuse our invitation.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned toward Shasha, prompting an answer.
However, Shasha had been staring blankly behind the ashtray for some time. It seemed she hadn’t even realized Aiden had moved.
“…Madam?”
Feeling puzzled, Aiden followed her gaze, but there was nothing there but a dark shadow.
“Madam.”
He waved his hand in front of Shasha’s eyes.
Ah. Only then did Shasha turn her eyes away from whatever it was Aiden couldn’t see and picked up her pen.
「I’m sorry. I’m a bit tired. Is it absolutely necessary to invite Mr. Windsor?」
“I apologize if staying with an outsider is uncomfortable, but I ask for your understanding. Actually, something has come up that requires the Lord to return to his original self.”
Aiden took a sharply angled black envelope from his drawer and handed it over.
“News that arrived this morning. Viscount McLunn’s daughter is getting engaged.”
Viscount McLunn was Hagenti’s longtime business associate. As soon as she saw the beautiful cursive embroidery on the envelope, Shasha frowned.
“Even if I can handle the paperwork, I cannot substitute for him in external activities. If the Lord does not accept the Viscount’s invitation, rumors will surely spread that there is something wrong with his health.”
Ever since she decided on the divorce, rumors about her and Hagenti’s creaking relationship had already been spreading rapidly among the young nobles. In such a situation, if rumors of Hagenti being ill were added, it wouldn’t be good for her own reputation either.
A woman preparing for divorce while her husband is sick. What a perfect subject for gossip.
Especially for her old academy classmates….
“Then I shall send a letter to Mr. Windsor in the family’s name.”
「Mr. Aiden.」
Aiden was about to straighten his posture again, but he waited quietly for Shasha to continue writing.
In the chaos after her marriage, she had completely forgotten. Come to think of it, that man was also among her old academy classmates.
It had been so long since they were in contact, but if it’s him, surely….
「There is a doctor I have known personally for a long time. Could we invite him as well?」
For the first time in a very long time, a large smile, like the sunlight in May, appeared on Shasha’s face.
2. Shock Therapy
To my dear August.
Shasha stared blankly at the greeting she had written with such difficulty.
‘Dear’? No matter how many times I read it, it feels weird.
Frowning, she irritably crumpled the stationery and took out a fresh sheet to write again.
To my old friend, August.
It’s been so long since I wrote to you. We haven’t exchanged news even once since I got married. How have you been lately?
I’m only saying this now, but actually, I was very sad when you suddenly left for a foreign country right after graduation. You didn’t even tell me why you were leaving. I thought we were close enough friends to share each other’s secrets.
I’m sorry. It’s been a while, and my complaints are too long. You must be busy seeing patients, so I’ll get straight to the point.
August, my husband is a bit ill.
He injured his head in an accident. I think I can only tell you about the specific symptoms once I receive an answer from you.
You are the only doctor I can turn to for advice. It might feel like a presumptuous request, but I believe you will reply.
Thank you for reading. Have a good day.
