STGAAB Novel MTL - Chapter 764
Chapter 764: Secret Garden (5)
Before I started reading the Marquess’ diary in earnest, I asked Hyeonbyeol one thing.
“Where did you get this?”
This wasn’t the first time I had seen the Marquess’ diary. Well, to be precise, it was a book written with some sort of indecipherable code that I assumed to be the Marquess’ diary, but anyway.
“Why? Are you worried I tricked you by giving you a fake diary?”
“No. It’s because I find it hard to believe that this is real. How did you manage to get hold of this diary?”
“Are you mocking me, suggesting I’m an incapable woman?”
“Uh…… No, that’s not what I meant……”
“I’m kidding. It wasn’t something I could get just because I’m capable, you know?”
Hyeonbyeol laughed, clearly enjoying my flustered reaction, then continued speaking before I could find the right moment to get upset.
“The Marquess gave it to me.”
“…What?”
“He gave it to me. After he forcibly put Countess Peprok to sleep and locked her up here, he just handed it over.”
Just because she said it casually doesn’t mean it’s easy for the listener to understand.
“Uh… So, you’re saying he just gave you his diary……?”
“Well, he didn’t just give it to me, you know? The Marquess instinctively sensed the end of his life was near, and subconsciously sought someone who could understand the fragments of his life.”
“And… that person was you?”
“To be precise, it was Countess Peprok. The Marquess told her that when she woke up after this incident, she should be given the diary. And if she couldn’t be given it in time, it should be burned.”
“It’s still suspicious that he allowed you to read it……”
“That’s why I said he was a lonely person. When I asked him what if I read it, he just told me to go ahead if I wanted to.”
“……”
“The kingdom’s second-in-command, the Iron-Blooded Prime Minister, the head of the Marquess family…… No matter what they say outside, and no matter how he appeared to you, to me, he was just an ordinary man who loved his daughter. Even the things he usually couldn’t express well.”
The more the conversation progressed, the more I realized that the Marquess that Hyeonbyeol knew seemed like an entirely different person from the one I knew.
But……
‘In a way, it makes sense.’
After all, didn’t I treat the Marquess differently from how I treated Hyeonbyeol? Everyone has unexpected sides. It’s just that the faces we see are limited depending on the relationship.
“So… aren’t you going to read it?”
“I have to. This is a rare chance to peek into the Marquess’ secret diary. Well, it’s not the first time, though.”
“It’s probably not the second time either.”
“…Huh?”
“Eltora Tercerion. A few days ago he came snooping around here and I left this book in a place he could conveniently find.”
“…What?”
“Oh, this is the original. The Marquess has a magical tool he often uses for administrative work. He extracted some of the content to create a copy.”
Uh……
I flinched, not because I was curious whether it was the original or a copy……
“You showed it to him? Why on earth?”
I asked, tilting my head in confusion, and Hyeonbyeol answered nonchalantly.
“Because if Eltora Tercerion learned what he thought, he would undoubtedly betray him. And that would be helpful to you, wouldn’t it?”
“Uh……”
For a moment, I was speechless. Of course, Hyeonbyeol’s logic was sound, and things did indeed play out that way.
But……
“Weren’t you just saying the Marquess was a lonely person……?”
I spoke in disbelief, but Hyeonbyeol responded as if she didn’t understand why I was confused.
“Yes. And I’m a lonely person too, you know?”
Hah… Right, how could I ever win an argument against her? As I smiled faintly, Hyeonbyeol slyly asked.
“I did well, didn’t I?”
I answered.
“You did well.”
Now, let’s get back to reading the diary.
***
Not long after I began carefully reading the Marquess’ diary, my first thought was how irregular the entries were.
July 16th, August 27th, September 22nd……
The dates were spaced apart sporadically. Of course, it wasn’t because it was hastily written all at once, nor was it because the Marquess wasn’t diligent about keeping a diary. It was simply that……
“This is a patched-together diary.”
The diary was a compilation of specific entries taken from what had been written daily, like someone clipping out only their favorite articles from a newspaper to save for later.
“Can you stop nitpicking the external details and just finish reading it, please?”
“Alright.”
Hiding my embarrassment at Hyeonbyeol’s soft rebuke, I resumed reading the diary. The genre of this diary, naturally, was an essay. However, if you were to judge the story itself, the genre would be ‘romance.’ With a dash of supernatural thriller.
[At the royal ball, where I accompanied my father, I encountered the unnamed girl.]
The story began with the Marquess witnessing the girl, from those ghost stories, at the ball. He rushed to ask the girl if she was the one from the rumors, but she seemed overwhelmed and vanished without a trace. Upon returning home, the Marquess pondered whether what he had seen was real or just a figment of his imagination and decided to search for the girl again.
And……
[August 27th, near the end of summer, when chills in the night could be gradually felt.]
[I found the unnamed girl in a maze garden full of slumbering flowers.]
[At last, once more.]
The Marquess met the girl again, but this time, instead of rushing at her, he approached cautiously from a distance. He kept his distance, easing her wariness, and slowly advanced the conversation using the negotiation techniques he had learned from basic theory books.
[The more we spoke, the more I realized there were many things about the unnamed girl that didn’t make sense. She lacked common knowledge, which caused our conversation to frequently stall. However, the pure curiosity shining in her eyes told me one thing.]
[This unnamed girl isn’t a ghost.]
[The question that had plagued me for the past month was answered. But a new question arose. Just who is this girl? What circumstances could lead her to such strange behavior?]
[As dawn began to break, the girl vanished without even saying goodbye, and it wasn’t until I stood in front of the mirror after returning home in a daze that I realized.]
[My eyes reflected the same curiosity as hers.]
The Marquess, now more intrigued than before, found any excuse to visit the palace.
And……
[September 22nd, the third meeting occurred.]
The Marquess finally orchestrated the third meeting he had been eagerly anticipating. Their conversation was nothing extraordinary. Mostly, the girl asked questions, and the Marquess answered. He never asked why she didn’t know certain things. In fact, he avoided asking any questions at all. He feared that if he did, the girl would vanish like mist before him. The Marquess carefully refrained from questioning, and it wasn’t until it was nearly dawn and time to part that he finally asked his first question.
[At that moment, there was a question more important to me than the unnamed girl’s name.]
[Will I see you again?]
[I asked, and the unnamed girl hesitated with slightly startled eyes, before mumbling a reply.]
[Maybe.]
At that moment, Hyeonbyeol spoke up.
“Isn’t it sweet?”
“Not really. I keep picturing the Marquess’ grim face, so it’s hard to feel that way.”
“Then take a look at the portrait on the table over there. That young man in the portrait is the Marquess during his youth.”
“……Are you serious?”
He was incredibly handsome. Was this level of good looks required to make that ghost story girl blush and agree to meet again?
“Anyway, I’ll stop interrupting, so finish reading. The real content is coming up next, you know?”
There was something unsettling in Hyeonbyeol’s tone when she said that. It felt as if she was thinking, ‘You’ll see for yourself soon enough.’ But without delving deeper, I returned to reading the diary.
Summer passed, then autumn, winter, spring……
Even as the seasons changed multiple times, the Marquess continued to meet the girl, and their relationship gradually evolved.
[The girl sat at the edge of the fountain and spoke. But because of the sound of the water, it was hard to hear……]
From opposite sides of the fountain, to the edge of the fountain. From the edge of the fountain, to a bit closer. The distance at which they conversed gradually closed.
[Let’s meet again.]
Before long, it became an unspoken certainty that they would see each other again.
[During General Arkan’s inauguration ceremony, I think I can only come out at dawn……]
They even began setting specific times to meet, and naturally, the intervals between the diary entries became shorter. However, the Marquess still knew almost nothing about her.
The girl’s name, her age, her story……
He knew none of these things, but the Marquess didn’t mind. These moments were so peaceful and precious that he never dared to ask about them first. He thought, someday, the girl would tell him everything. Yes, he was sure of it.
However……
[July 19th.]
In the heart of summer, a year after they first met.
[The girl disappeared.]
The Marquess, who had arrived early at the royal garden where they always met, waited until dawn. Surely something must have come up, and she couldn’t make it today, he thought. But whenever there was an official event at the palace, he returned to the same place, only to find that the girl never appeared.
[I once read in a book that all emotions stem from loss. Only when there is a void do we become aware of our true feelings. Back then, I didn’t understand it. Why not just cherish what you have to avoid regret? I thought people must be unintelligent to feel that way.]
[Yes, that’s how I felt back then.]
The Marquess finally realized his feelings, but by then, it was too late. He inquired if anyone knew about the girl, and made any excuse to enter the palace, but he could not find her.
And……
“Did they meet again?”
“Of course they did, why wouldn’t they?”
Well, judging by how thick the remaining pages are, the story is far from over. Suddenly, I recalled a balance game I once saw online.
There’s still a lot of story left but there is only a few pages remaining VS the story seems to be ending but there are many pages remaining.
It’s one of those eternal dilemmas when reading a novel. Personally, I found the latter to be more frightening. If there are many pages left, it might signal the start of a new genre.
Something unpredictable could be waiting ahead.
Just like this.
[When we finally met again, she was no longer a girl or a young lady. She had grown into a woman, just as I had imagined in my dreams.]
[But instead of feeling joy, the weight of the years crushed my heart.]
[Six years… It had been six years since I last saw her.]
The Marquess, after a long six years, finally reunited with the girl who had become a woman.
[I had imagined this moment many times. I would confess my feelings to her, ask her name, and in my imagination, she would cry and embrace me.]
[Then she would finally confess the shocking story I had always feared, and when she asked if I was alright with it, I would smile and say it was nothing, that I could overcome it……]
[I had imagined this moment hundreds, thousands of times every night, but on that day, I didn’t ask her anything.]
[Because I had a pregnant wife.]
After reading the last line on the page, I couldn’t help but let out a curse.
“No way, what the fuck……”
It seems like I need to add another genre to this story.
“So it’s a story of infidelity?”
To my muttering, Hyeonbyeol shook her head.
“No? It’s a more like a tragic story, I suppose?”
…For some reason, I’m now scared to read the next page.
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