Chapter 005
“…….”
Shasha wrote ‘From your loving Shasha’ at the very bottom of the stationery, then drew thick lines through the word ‘loving’ to erase it.
But then, she tore that entire section off and finished it quite bluntly with ‘From Alexandra’ above the jagged edge.
She hadn’t intended to send such a messy letter.
Feeling upset, Shasha chose a particularly pretty string and tied a ribbon as carefully as possible. She even gave it two sprays of rose perfume—the kind she only took out for special occasions.
Her small pigeon was perched on its roost, preening its feathers and waiting solemnly for its errand. As she tied the letter to its neck, Shasha’s lips moved silently.
Don’t lose it, okay?
As soon as the window opened, the pigeon set off on its long journey. Shasha only locked the window again after its form had completely vanished.
A man who had turned seven overnight.
Anyone who knew Hagenti’s secret would surely wonder: if Aiden was handling the mansion’s affairs in his stead, what was Hagenti doing all that time?
The answer was simple.
He followed Shasha around all day.
Hagenti was like a chick that had just hatched. If anything happened, he would call out Shasha’s name first, and he insisted on sleeping right next to her until the butler dragged him away.
Sometimes he even tried to follow her to the bathroom, making Shasha’s daily life quite awkward lately.
It was no different now.
“…….”
Strolling through the sun-drenched cloister, Shasha suddenly stopped and looked back. Hagenti stopped in his tracks as well, his eyes wide and looking up at her.
She could feel the curious gazes of the servants passing outside the cloister.
After much deliberation, Shasha moistened her dry lips, then walked over and linked arms with Hagenti. She hurried him along, pulling him closer to her side.
The letters on the notebook she held out were crooked, clearly written in haste.
「Don’t walk behind me from now on. It makes the picture look strange.」
Hagenti didn’t understand the last part and muttered, “Picture?”
Since he hadn’t memorized the mansion’s layout yet, Hagenti would follow Shasha submissively, only to suddenly try to guess the path and veer off into strange corridors. Because of this, Shasha had to engage in a constant physical struggle with his overflowing strength.
“What is this place? Is it Shasha’s secret spot?”
「It’s not a place I hide from others.」
When she opened the old oak door in the mansion’s basement, white dust blew out from the darkness like a snowstorm, coating them.
Being a basement, it was always like this regardless of regular cleaning.
Shasha lit the oil lamp she had brought, then transferred the flame to the wall lamps one by one. The surroundings brightened instantly, revealing the interior.
High wooden bookshelves surrounded the stone walls, from which a chill seeped out, like a fortress. The shelves were packed with old books and documents, giving off a musty smell of mold.
A small chandelier hung from the ceiling, its pulley broken so it couldn’t even be lit. It hadn’t been used in a long time, but for one specific reason, there were no cobwebs.
Shasha once again intentionally ignored the small ‘entities’ giggling as they rode the chandelier.
At the end of the room was a small arched doorframe, but the door had been forcibly removed, leaving it to serve only as a divider for the space. Beyond it sat a cozy desk where two adults could barely sit side-by-side.
A workshop modified from what was originally a storeroom. This narrow basement, away from the eyes of others, was Shasha’s space of perfect freedom.
Shasha reached up to a high shelf and took down an music box. After winding the key a few times, the delicate angel ornament in the center began to spin, and a mysterious melody flowed out.
Since her mother had died of a plague, all her belongings had to be burned according to the city’s regulations. Fortunately, however, this music box had been spared and ended up in Shasha’s hands.
It was a special item, one she had clutched in her hands even as she first entered this mansion after marrying Hagenti.
“…….”
Shasha was about to put the music box back when she noticed Hagenti’s curious gaze. She knelt and placed it on the shelf closest to the floor.
Hagenti was currently boasting about his suddenly tall stature. She had heard from Aiden this morning that he had already broken an ornament in the study; there was no guarantee this music box would be safe.
Hagenti awkwardly put his hands behind his back like a child mimicking an adult and acted pompously, as if sharing a great truth of life.
“Is this Shasha’s secret place? See, I always said so! Adults live such boring lives!”
Dummy, were you expecting toys? Shasha laughed silently.
She stepped through the archway and pulled a thick epic poem from the desk drawer. The leather-bound cover was embroidered with gold thread depicting a shirtless hero.
She had majored in piano at the academy, but that was merely following family tradition. The field she had truly been interested in since childhood wasn’t notes, but human culture composed of words.
Shasha loved old stories and had become an anonymous myth interpreter.
“Wow, but did Shasha read all of this? This is the first time in my life I’ve seen so many books!”
Shasha burst into silent laughter again. Compared to his massive library, this place was nothing more than a humble corner shop.
Was it going too far to find it fascinating that Hagenti was here? It felt as if a piece of a perfectly fitted puzzle had fallen out, and a completely discordant new piece had taken its place.
In fact, even during the early days of their marriage when things were relatively fine, Hagenti had never visited this place. It wasn’t that he disapproved of what Shasha did.
He simply had no interest.
You wouldn’t know. How much that grey indifference gnawed away at me throughout our marriage.
But Hagenti, who had been looking around the workshop, suddenly became aware of something and headed toward it. Just as he grabbed the doorknob—
Shasha ran over breathlessly and slapped the back of his hand sharply.
“Ouch! Why did you hit me?!”
It didn’t hurt, but it startled him.
Suddenly feeling wronged, Hagenti clutched his hand and shouted as if he were venting his soul.
“My sisters said you should always close doors! Quietly, without making a sound!”
「Don’t close the door. I never close the door in a room without windows.」
In truth, it was closer to “cannot” close it…. The fact that there were no wardrobes in her bedroom was for the same reason.
After thrusting the notebook at Hagenti, Shasha wedged a piece of asbestos into the doorframe so the door couldn’t close even by accident. Hagenti’s pure eyes demanded an explanation, but she buried her old wounds deep once more.
However, like an innocent child, Hagenti quickly regained his spirits as if he had never been discouraged.
He picked up a canvas that had been leaning face-down against a bookshelf and let out an audible gasp.
“Look at this, Shasha! There’s a picture here, too!”
At those words, Shasha had to run once again.
In this world, there were things that a seven-year-old should not see for ‘certain’ reasons.
Myth interpretation involved studying the internal meaning of myths by linking them with the context and history of the era, but it wasn’t interesting enough for a seven-year-old boy to find appealing.
Though he was bound to be bored, Hagenti, who insisted on staying by her side, moved restlessly and distracted Shasha. Being in a cramped space with a man built like a bear meant that even a slight turn of his body caused their sides to touch.
“Shasha, how long are you going to do this? Is it homework? Do you have to finish it all today?”
Stop that and play with me. Playing is fun. She could practically hear the unspoken words.
Hagenti tilted his head close to the desk so Shasha would look at him, blinking his eyes cutely. Shasha wrote on a corner of the paper and pushed it toward him.
「It is homework. I have to send it to the publisher by next week. If you’re bored, would you like to read this?」
She took a thin fairy tale book from the drawer and handed it to him. She had heard it was a story from the distant East, read to children to teach them the lesson of not being greedy.
However, despite her thinking it was an interesting story, Hagenti—hunched over—didn’t look very pleased. Yet, he didn’t let go of the book.
It was strange. He was clearly bored, yet he kept pretending to read. And he was stealing glances at her every now and then.
Could it be….
Is he acting because he’s afraid I’ll be hurt?
My goodness, Hagenti. Shasha bit her lip to hide her smile.
At this unfamiliar kindness that didn’t match his appearance, she felt as if thousands of butterflies were fluttering in her stomach.
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