CHAPTER: 1.9

Here, open them yourself.”

There were several boxes of various sizes stacked on the table.

Audrey rushed over and began unpacking them, her face still groggy from sleep. It was an instinctive move.

“What kind of coincidence is this? Or is it fate?

The man of her all-night love letters, the man who appeared in her dreams, had sent her a surprise in the morning. Just like fate.

My heart sank as I wondered if he had already revealed his feelings before I could confess.

“This is…….”

“Oh my God, it’s a dress! How much is it?”

“Oh my.”

The maids exchanged meaningful glances. Somehow, they were more excited than others.

The orange box contained dresses of various designs. They were plain and boring compared to her usual attire, but perfect for work. Claude realized that Audrey, who had no social experience, had nothing to wear, so he sent her a selection of hand-picked dresses. The moment she realized this, she let out a belated sigh.

“……aahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Audrey jumped up and down the room, hugging the dress tightly.

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!

The dress was in the box, but the real gift Audrey received was his heart. He didn’t forget that she was a little sulky about her outfit yesterday morning, and the next day he gave her a dress…….

“He was thinking of me! He took time out of his day to think of me!

It didn’t matter if it was just a moment. It was a thrill to know that I had stolen a minute of his time in his busy life.

But the joy was short-lived. My stomach began to burn as I remembered the sweet little love letter I had written to him.

“Dear…..!, this is Audrey.

I’ll give you my love, and you can give me your love.

Our union will be stronger than any other relationship.

I love you.

she tried to write it as ticklishly as possible, but all she knows is the concept of magic, which is kind of like an explanation……. Depending on her point of view, it’s either very intimate or very erotic. It oozed with an intimacy that didn’t seem appropriate for a couple just starting.

“Hey, not this!

It’s an emergency.

Audrey desperately realized she needed someone else’s help. She couldn’t just give something like that to someone who had been in her heart for so long.

So, after work, Audrey went to Charlotte’s Bookshop, the largest bookstore in the capital.

“How are you, Drew?”

“Long time no see, Charlotte.”

“You look so…… today and tomorrow. What’s the matter with you?”

“I suppose love is a terminal disease. Anyway, I’m in trouble.”

“What is it?”

Audrey took a long, hard look at her, convinced that she should never laugh. Then she broke down and told her story.

By the time he’d finished reading the clumsy love letter, Charlotte’s face was puffed up like a poisoned pufferfish.

“Pooh-pooh, hmmm. So you want me to help you write a love letter?”

“Yes, please.”

“I have a book that would be perfect for a girl like you.”

Charlotte disappeared like the wind and reappeared in a flash with a book. It was called Love Letters, A Week’s Work and You’re as Good as Casanova. The book was dusty as if it hadn’t been sold in years.

But Audrey’s eyes narrowed and she had other concerns.

“But it’s only tomorrow, not for a week…….”

“Who am I to argue? The bookstore owner will get right to the point, Mae.”

“Thanks!”

The two of them sat down and underlined for a long time.

The trusty Charlotte hadn’t forgotten a piece of advice.

“Always write your letters in the wee hours of the morning,” she said, “when your sensibilities are at their height. You’re the kind of person who needs it most.”

“Thank you so much!”

“You’ll be good at it, right?”

“Sure. I’ll just have to take notes and copy. I can do that well enough!”

“……Why are you so worried?”

Charlotte couldn’t believe her friend was so motivated. She suddenly felt a surge of anxiety, wondering if she was creating a horrible hybrid that was neither rational nor emotional.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

“Third case: old relationship

“If you’re used to each other, you need to freshen things up between you. The easiest way to do this is through a change in titles. Instead of the nickname or title you usually call the other person, choose a title that might be new to them…… For example, you, baby, my star, babe, sweetheart, princess are all good, right?”

Audrey threw her hands up in the air. she wanted to believe she was mistaken.

“Do you want me to give up ……?

But then she remembered Charlotte’s horrified face, “This is what love is supposed to taste like!

Yeah, I can’t betray my friend’s faith. Audrey barely managed to hold back her vomit.

“I told you, if you’re having a hard time, you could at least pick a sentence, let’s see, ‘There’s only one room in my heart…….’ Yuck!”

Immediately, goosebumps broke out from head to toe. Audrey couldn’t take it anymore, and she threw the blankets and pillows around.

“You should have listened to Charlotte!

This must be why she insisted on writing it in the dead of night. It was a storm of emotion too much for the science student, who was not immune to epileptic expressions.

“No, why is there only one room in the heart? The heart has only one room, you die!”

Maybe…… this was a very dangerous book that shouldn’t have come into the world.

Audrey’s face grew grimmer as her rejection intensified. Her face grew sullen, Her overwhelming reason kept pushing away the little bit of emotion she had left.

Was it so hard to write a love letter in the first place?

“I can’t do this anymore.

Audrey pulled out an extraordinary measure.

“Poof.

I’m going to have to get a drink.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Audrey had been lying in the basement archive since Friday morning, looking like she was dying. She looked like she was stretched out from a workday hangover.

“I did it…….”

Still, the thought of the letter in my pocket made me smile. It was a love letter written throughout three drinks, even with the worst kind of alcohol, the kind that makes you give up being human after two drinks.

I honestly didn’t think I could bring myself to open it again, which is why I melted the sealing wax and sealed it as soon as the morning dawned. I was a little worried that the letter would smell faintly of perfume, but I was also a little worried that it would smell like a drunk. …….

“It’s alcohol, so it’ll blow off, right?

Audrey thought, still clutching her sour stomach, and drifted off to sleep.

It wasn’t until much later that the unwelcome visitor arrived.

Drool.

“Hee hee, go, go, Your Excellency!”

The aide looked back at his master without a hint of suspicion.

“You killed another man,” he said, his eyes full of reproach.

“……I don’t remember killing anyone like this.”

“Perhaps it’s because you’ve killed so many you can’t remember?”

“How rude.”

Aide, you have bright ears.

While Lucas was distracted, the most likely suspect quickly surveyed the scene.

Her cherry blossom-colored hair was in disarray, and her black dress was like a wooden beam. Her bloodless, pale face suggested she had been dead for some time. It was strange to see the crime scene so pristine, without a single bloodstain.

The aide who slowly stepped forward also took a look and marveled.

“You’re a master, by the way. You’ve done a very neat job.”

“…….”

“I’ve always wondered, but when you become a Swordmaster, you can kill people without shedding a drop of blood-”

“I’m curious.”

“……!”

But even a millennium’s curiosity is no match for a frosty An Guang.

“There are different looks for Salsu.”

“…….”

“Even poisonous mushrooms are usually much more colorful.”

The aide sneaks a glance back, his mouth set in a tight line as if to ask if that’s why you killed it.

“What are you looking at?”

“As usual, Your Excellency-”

─Rustle.

At that moment, he felt a strange sensation from the back of his head, where there was nothing but a corpse. Lucas turned his head and stumbled backward in horror.

“…….”

The woman he’d thought was dead was sitting upright.

“What if she wakes up like that, yes, yes, without warning, yes?”

Lucas raised his voice unnecessarily. He was quite embarrassed that he had stumbled like a newborn giraffe. The other person was sitting calmly, fluttering her eyelashes, which was understandable.

“……Who are you?”

“That’s what I’m asking! Ugh, my heart…….”

Audrey staggered to her feet as Lucas sighed, clutching his left breastbone dearly. Her face was still sleepy.

Then an unfamiliar voice interrupted from behind the man she thought she was alone with.

“What are you doing here?”

“……!”

The voice was low and chilling, like cold water on the top of his head. I snapped out of my reverie.

“That’s right, this is the Duke’s cast