Chapter 14
It took about thirty minutes to reach the bookshop. As they departed, Luirene wondered whether she should open the book she’d brought in case the journey proved dull. She hesitated, concerned it might seem rude to do so in front of the young master. Noticing her hesitation, Hitaon told her she could read.
He was quiet across from her. She would lift her head from her reading to see what he was doing, and their eyes kept meeting. Each time, Hitaon would turn his head with an unhurried demeanor, showing no sign of being flustered. It bothered her enough that by the time they reached the bookshop, she hadn’t managed to read a single page properly.
“This is it.”
She unlocked the door and stepped inside, greeted by a familiar smell. The faint yet heavy scent of aged paper and ink mingled. Asking his indulgence, Luirene headed to the back of the shop. Piles of cloth-wrapped packages that hadn’t been brought inside were stacked there.
Hitaon, who had been looking around the shop with his hands clasped behind his back, noticed her moving busily and spoke.
“Want me to help?”
“No. Please make yourself comfortable.”
No matter how difficult it was, this was the work Hopper had left behind. Managing the bookshop was something Luirene wanted to handle entirely on her own.
The familiar smell had somehow transformed into the musty odor characteristic of dust. If she’d been alone, she wouldn’t have minded much, but today she had a guest. Before starting proper work, Luirene opened the windows and door wide to air the place out.
After checking the condition of the ordered books, she attached price tags and sorting strings, then arranged them on the shelves. Next, she trimmed the wicks of the candlesticks and lamps, replenished the oil, swept the dust, and gave the shelves a light wipe.
She was about to open the account book she’d set aside while working as the Marquisate’s caretaker when she realized her surroundings had grown strangely quiet.
Young master. Where did he go?
The bookshop was structured like a maze, maximizing the narrow space. She picked her way between the shelves and found Hitaon sitting gracefully on a wooden ladder. The pages of the book in his hand turned with ease.
“Young master?”
“You carry things like this here, too.”
What he held was a forbidden book. In other words, one dealing mainly with secret, titillating affairs between men and women.
Looking closely, this was an area she’d deliberately avoided ever since she’d picked one up as a child without thinking and received a severe scolding from Hopper.
Just then, Hitaon turned a page. The following spread featured an elaborate illustration—a naked woman lying on a bed, legs spread, weeping as she received a man’s member.
Luirene quickly turned her head away. The rim of her ears burned, as if Hopper’s booming scold from childhood were echoing.
“Provocative.”
“…….”
“Luirene. Have you seen these?”
“No… Grandfather disapproved, so I never touched this section.”
“Never been curious?”
After the incident with his shirt soaking when he came out of the bathroom, then the cabin scene from the three great tragedies, and now this—she had the strange feeling that topics forcing her to become conscious of him in a romantic sense kept arising one after another.
Her throat prickled as if she might cough. Luirene shook her head. Hitaon said, “Is that so?” and rose from his perch on the ladder.
“You looked busy. Are you finished with what you needed to do?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I was able to come after so long, organize things, and take the new books with me. Thank you for accommodating me.”
“Then shall we head back?”
“That book…”
Though she’d never read it, she’d diligently maintained the shop every day, so she could tell which book belonged on which shelf, which slot, just by looking at the cover. It happened to be the top slot of the shelf she was standing beside. Worried he might not remember the location, Luirene reached out to take it and put it back.
“I know. Where it belongs.”
Hitaon, brushing aside her offer, stood directly behind her. He followed her gaze and slid the book back into place. At a height she could barely reach even standing on her toes, he reached it without effort. The difference in height, already known, suddenly felt stark.
“Yes. If you put it there…”
As she spoke, his chest pressed directly against her back. The warmth told her he was closer than necessary. Why was he standing so close? It certainly wasn’t because the shelf was hard to reach. In fact, his arm had enough reach to aim for the shelf above.
‘Then why—’
The moment she thought it, something touched her hip. Then pressed.
The illustration from the forbidden book she’d just closed flashed through her mind. The thick, long man’s thing, driving into the woman’s soft flesh…
“It’s strange. You’ve truly never been curious?”
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