Our Make-Believe Ends Here - Chapter 7

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The ‘Arnoba Tenbra Academy’ was not so easy that one could finish by sacrificing a mere one or two years. It was a place where the graduation process was just as demanding as the admission.

While most academies would grant a diploma simply after a set period of attendance, this place would not issue one unless the difficult conditions, such as passing the graduation exam, were met.

The standard enrollment period was four years, but it was common for that period to multiply several times if the conditions were not satisfied. I’d heard there were also no small number who, having barely gained admission, ended up turning back in defeat at the threshold of graduation.

An uncertain honor to abandon this place and leave for. Unfortunately, Hitaon had little interest in such opportunistic glory.

“I’ll let the tea cool a little. If you’re thirsty, please let me know. Then… um, shall we start from where we left off yesterday? That day, too, as usual, in the bushes…”

Just as he was about to light it, a soft voice drifted over the windowsill.

It was a voice he’d never heard before. Who was it? Had he ever heard such a lovely voice in this mansion?

“That face holds countless stories. It was once a stage of life where love and betrayal, hope and despair intersected. On an overcast day, a woman stood before that dust-covered portrait. She, to the figure within the portrait…”

Now, was someone reading a book?

A plausible deduction. The grandmother Hitaon remembered always had a book in her arms. Rather than to broaden her knowledge or horizons, she typically sought out poetry collections or novels to satisfy her own interests and desires.

“Please tell me your story. So that you may not be forgotten. As if the figure in the faded painting was slowly beginning to breathe, time, too, started flowing again. Those stories rode the wind and traveled far, far away…”

The slender, beautiful voice, so fragile it seemed it might waver with the slightest breeze, was surprisingly crisp and precise, not a single syllable slurred. It was light and clear, as if a willow leaf were reading a book.

Perhaps that was why. The tension in his body, which had been lent to his ears, gradually drained away. ‘I’m getting drowsy.’ Hitaon had even forgotten to light his cigar.

It felt like only a few minutes had passed since he’d lent his ear, but when he pulled out his pocket watch, over an hour had flowed by. It was a voice that made him wonder if it had been coated with some hallucinogen. Any further deviation would be far from the ‘moderate life’ Hitaon pursued, so he brushed himself off and stood up.

Before leaving, he glanced into the bedroom.

With the window open, it was easy to see inside. The auxiliary chair beside the bed. The back view of the woman seated there. Her long black hair was loosely tied with a purple ribbon. The way the ends curved in a round curl was rather cute.

Circling the rear garden and entering the mansion’s front entrance, Hitaon happened to run into the head maid, who oversaw the maids.

“Young master, why are you here?”

“I was a little thirsty.”

“If so, you could have called… Young master, surely you haven’t snuck out again, have you?”

Hitaon grinned without answering, and she pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Cut me some slack, Nanny.”

“Why do you keep doing this? If the lady finds out, she will be very upset.”

“If Nanny keeps quiet, she won’t have a way to find out.”

“Young master…”

“Ah, there was the tutor too. When you leave, make sure to see to it that he’s not disappointed, and get him to keep his mouth shut.”

Not wanting to hear any more nagging, he was about to excuse himself and leave when he paused.

“By the way, Nanny.”

“Yes, young master.”

“There was someone in Grandmother’s room.”

“Her Ladyship’s room? Ah, you must mean Miss Luirene.”

“Luirene?”

“She’s the caretaker and companion for Her Ladyship that was brought in recently.”

Due to the aftereffects, which caused her to lose her memory as time passed, Grandmother sometimes became irritable and hysterical. With even the attending physician and medical staff restricted from visiting for fear they might agitate her, what was this about a caretaker? And what was a companion supposed to be, anyway?

“Her Ladyship has always loved books, after all.”

“Come to think of it, it seemed like she was reading one.”

“Yes. Miss Luirene originally worked at a bookstore in the city, delivering books to the mansion. Her Ladyship was quite fond of her even before. When Her Ladyship had a moment of clarity recently, she apparently asked Miss Luirene to read to her. That led the master to formally hire Miss Luirene. I believe he had been thinking Her Ladyship’s room was too lonely, anyway.”

“Hire? So she’s staying in the mansion now?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”