Chapter 24: 23

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Vivian’s POV

In fact, I would rarely go to the fifth floor when I lived in such a luxurious mansion.

Just like everywhere else in the mansion, the fifth floor that’s before my eyes was also unfamiliar. As such, I had stopped for a moment, confused as to where my sister’s atelier was. However, I tried to believe in my body’s memory as much as possible, and blurry memories slowly started to surface as I walked along the hallway.

“My sister’s atelier is hidden.”

“I don’t really come up to the 5th floor often either. I’m a little curious about where it’s located.”

I wasn’t sure why my sister’s atelier was located in such a strange place. It’s not like my sister was painting in secret.

On second thought, however, that place seemed to fit my sister the best, more than any other place in the mansion.

We walked along a hallway lined with paintings of artists that we’re seeing for the first-time, and Edmund tilted his head when we reached the end.

“Is it this room?”

“……I’m not certain, but it seems to be here.”

If it isn’t, we’ll just look back and forth for it!

I unlinked our arms and reached out to pull the door open, and a very small room came into view.

It was a small room that didn’t have any windows as it was located at the far end.

The room, which was small enough that it was the length of five steps from end to end, must have been cleaned regularly as there wasn’t even a speck of dust within. However, it was empty as it was vague to arrange furniture within the room.

Light entered the pitch-black room dimly from the window in the hallway. I entered the room and looked around using that light.

It should be hidden around here. While I continued to sweep the wall with my fingers. I discovered a small groove.

“Found it.”

Follow along the groove all the way down to the floor. Right, the sophisticatedly erected inner wall would be turned inside out after pressing here, and the space inside the wall would be accessible.

But Edmund still remained outside, like something was wrong.

“Eddie, aren’t you coming?”

“……”

He was standing at the door against the light, so I couldn’t see his face clearly.

Normally, he would stand close to me immediately and chatter about whether there would be an atelier in a place like this, but he just stood there quietly. Finding it puzzling, I called for him.

“Edmund.”

“…Is there a secret door?”

“The space between the inner and outer walls can be entered if this location is pushed.”

What’s wrong with him?

His fingers were holding the door frame tightly, to the point where his veins popped out obviously. Just as I was about to ask if he was alright, he opened his mouth stutteringly.

“Is the atelier spacious?”

“Not that much, it’s a little smaller than my room.”

“Does it take a long time to get there?”

“It’s quite close by. Why?”

“……Alright.”

He let out a deep sigh like he had made up his mind, and slowly entered the room.

I was a little bewildered as it was my first time seeing Edmund like this. Could it be that he hates this kind of space?

Perhaps he left the door open on purpose, as light entered the room through a window in the hallway. Does he hate the dark? Even so, to say that…

“So, what’s next?”

His pestering wasn’t out of curiosity, but nervousness, as Edmund placed both of his hands on the wall.

Looking at Edmund, he put his hands on the wall as if he were being chased rather than being curious.

“Stay right next to me. Pushing this will cause the wall to turn over.”

After pressing on the wall with force, it slowly turned over and we were eventually thrown into the darkness.

I fell onto the cold floor with a small shriek. However, my body wasn’t in that much pain, probably because of Edmund, who had grabbed me.

As it’s been a while, I forgot that the wall has a harsh recoil. I became frazzled due to the sudden fall to the ground.

My vision couldn’t adjust to the darkness, and I couldn’t move because of how Edmund tightly held me. Eventually, I gave up on struggling to get out of his arms and asked.

“Eddie, are you alright?”

“……”

Edmund was practically hugging me tightly.

From the way his body trembled so faintly that I wouldn’t have noticed it if it was not for our close proximity, I realised that the reason he grabbed me wasn’t just to protect me.

He was scared.

“…I didn’t expect that you’d be so surprised.”

Edmund’s faint scent enveloped my nose familiarly. My heart, which was pounding due to the unexpected thrill and concern, calmed down strangely. I waited in the dark for my vision to adjust.

My cheeks tickled. Perhaps because Edmund was hugging me from behind, I was completely enveloped in his arms. He was clutching me tightly, as if I were a lifeline, and his head was hung low onto my shoulder.

As such, his soft blond hair was touching my cheek and it tickled me.

“If I had known that you’d be so surprised, I would’ve looked for another way.”

“……No, it’s fine. It’ll get better with time.”

Edmund buried his face in my shoulder while saying that it’s okay, but he spoke in a way that was completely not okay. A small smile formed at his mumbling voice. My vision adjusted slightly, and I managed to vaguely scan the dim surroundings.

This was a narrow gap between the inner and outer walls.

Apparently, this place was created a thousand years ago, where there were many wars between territories. Spaces like this were probably hidden all over the mansion, but it’s unfortunate that I’m not privy to such information.

When I looked around, I spotted a very old magic lamp at a far end. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a magic item. Would it still work? As I quickly flicked my finger with a joyful heart, it flickered several times uneasily, before turning yellow.

Even when the lamp was lit, the strength of the arm that was hugging me tightly still remained.

“Eddie, I’m sorry. Shall we just leave?”

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“It’s okay. I was just a little surprised.”

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He spoke calmly, pretending to be alright, but his face was still on my shoulder.

I reached out and stroked his hair. His soft blond hair wrinkled in my hand. Only then did I feel the arm around me loosen slightly. He held my wrist tightly before getting to his feet.

“I’m fine now.”

I couldn’t observe his expression clearly due to the shadow on his face, but there was a faint smile.

When I looked at him, doubtful of whether he was really alright, he shook his head slightly and pulled on my wrist.

“Really.”

With a chuckle, he relaxed his grip on my wrist and held my hand again. He laughed dryly as he tangled his cold fingers with mine.

“It gets better when I hold your hand.”

“Stop trying to fool me.”

“It’s true though.”

“Yeah yeah, hold it as much as you want.”

I tugged him towards the stairs that lead to the inner wall, and he followed behind obediently. I climbed up the old and creaking wooden stairs. While he was fascinated by this space, Edmund didn’t think about straying from my side.

I climbed through the hole in the ceiling first. The first thing that was captured in my gaze was the skylight and the blue sky that could be seen through it.

My sister used the empty space between the mansion’s roof and the fifth floor as an atelier. I don’t know how it was used in the distant past, but from a certain point forth in my memory, my sister’s atelier was in this place.

“There’s nothing here.”

Unfortunately, this place was completely empty. The place from my memories was always cluttered and all over the place, so I had momentarily thought that I was in the wrong place.

Despite being neglected for almost 200 years, there wasn’t any dust. It seems that my sister had cast a spell. It wouldn’t have been so clean otherwise.

“So this is Sasha’s atelier…….”

This place looked empty, as if it was a sheet of white drawing paper.

As I stood in front of the stairs, staring dazedly at this wide space, a low exclamation came from beside her. The grip on my arm slowly loosened. Edmund gave me, who has stilled, a glance, before climbing up the stairs.

As the roof was directly above us, the high ceiling that was tilted diagonally, as well as the sunlight that poured through it made this place seem as though it was secluded from worldly affairs.

As dust that wasn’t preventable by magic had accumulated over the years, Edmund coughed and walked past me to head towards the window.

After caressing the old-fashioned arch window frame for a moment, Edmund opened the windows one by one to ventilate the room. He continued to check outside each window.

He soon stopped at a corner.

He pressed his upper body close to the window frame, and seemed to be looking outside. He undid the old lock and opened the window widely.

“I think this is where Sasha painted.”

“That’s right. My sister would sit there frequently. She would paint and read books there.”

This point of view was probably higher than the scenery that he has been seeing so far. A breeze brushed past his head, and he closed his eyes reflexively.

His face with closed eyes, hair dishevelled by the wind, and sunlight shining down, was as though time had reversed and this place returned back to my memories of it from 200 years ago.

I remembered that I looked outside like that at that very spot once.

It was the highest window in this mansion, so the wind was much stronger than anywhere else. I sat on my sister’s chair that was in front of me, and looked outside with my chin propped up in my hand.

I moved my feet and stood beside him. We looked out the window together.

It was only a level higher, but the difference when approaching was vastly different. I could see Deer’s beautiful garden, and the well-made road that forms a tranquil path that leads to the wealthy Deer could be spotted beyond the high wall.

Immersed in the mysterious mood, I whispered quietly.

“It’s really beautiful here when the sun sets.”

“It seems to be the case.”

“The light of the sun would enter from the skylight, and the entire space looked like it fell into the sunset.”

“……I’d like to see that.”

Edmund whispered as he looked out of the window that’s right next to him. His fearful countenance from before seems to have disappeared, and he looked completely immersed in this moment.

“As you’d probably know from how we entered here, but it’s hard to reach this place, and Sister didn’t really like me being in here, so I didn’t really come over. But whenever I came, this place was always very hectic. It’s full of canvases and a few easels. Her rough drafts were all set up on the floor.”

“Yes.”

“But strangely enough, I’d be in a good mood. From the smell of paint that can be detected from the stairs, to the scent of new paper.”

Isn’t it weird? My sister was scary, suffocating, and I’d avoid her if I could, but when I think of the name ‘Sasha’, I’m overwhelmed with indescribable emotions.

Yearning.

Wanting to be loved.

Not wanting to hate my sister.

Whenever I sat here, no matter what I was thinking about, in the end my thoughts would always lead to my sister.

As such, I’d occasionally come here, only when my sister would be away for a long period of time.

The butler also doesn’t like it when I’m here, but I had only put up with his mood momentarily. My sister also knows about my occasional visits to this place, but she didn’t impose any restrictions, so I thought it would be okay.

“It would be nice to decorate this place like Sasha’s atelier.”

Edmund said, as he rubbed his toe against the traces of paint that’s on the floor.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to maintain its previous appearance, rather than leaving it empty?”

“……but I don’t really remember what this place used to be like.”

“Anything would be fine, so just tell me whatever that comes to your mind.”

Whatever that came to mind. I ruminated over his words slowly. I leaned against the window frame lightly and gave the spacious and empty atelier a sweeping glance. Sunlight entered through the window and landed deeply in the room.

I fell under the illusion that oil and paint permeated the room. The scenery I had once witnessed was slowly drawn out, of the day when the shadows were particularly long just as the sun was about to set.

It was as if I had gone back in time. With a blink, there was a bookshelf filled with papers. When I turned my head back, there were numerous works leaning against a wall.

There was a canvas placed backwards on the easel in the corner, so that others wouldn’t see it.

“Over here…”

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With a strange mood, I spoke hazily.

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