72 – The Art of Paper
It had already been a month since Hannah left the mansion.
Hannah had adapted to academy life.
She had even sent a letter saying that she would no longer return to her family.
“It’s already December.
It feels like I just met the butler the other day, and now the end of the year is approaching.
The weather has gotten chilly, did you take out your winter clothes? I’m fine because I have a school uniform. It’s surprisingly warm, as it’s made by the royal family… Have you tried wearing it? hahahaha…
I don’t think I’ll be able to visit during this winter break. I have personal matters to attend to.
Don’t worry, it’s nothing dangerous!
I’ll write another letter next time.
Thank you… Butler.
Oh! Please give my regards to Lady Gongnyeo as well!”
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Hannah sent a handwritten letter filled with sincerity, along with words saying that it would be difficult for her to show up during this winter break.
“She said she has something to do…”.
I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t seem like she’ll be returning to her family. She didn’t mention anything about them last time either.
Furthermore,
Malik even mentioned it himself.
“I’m sorry for my behavior.”
“It’s alright. I also have something I feel guilty about…”
“I’m glad you know.”
“Do you see me as someone without any dignity?”
“That’s how it seems.”
“…Anyway, I’ve told Father about the ownership of Terving. I vaguely mentioned that my life was in debt when I captured Pascal, so there shouldn’t be any problem using it with peace of mind. And Hannah… decided to leave the family.”
“…I see.”
“I will keep her household registration. It was both Father’s wish and mine. Maybe someday, the name Histania might be needed.”
“Well, that’s a problem that Hannah resolved on her own.”
About a week after Hannah left the academy, Malik personally visited the mansion.
Carrying a bag filled with gold coins.
The Story of Hanna.
I had told the story of how I stole the Tyrving.
It was a nourishing story.
Rowen was greatly shocked, or so she said. It wasn’t my concern, but knowing that Rowen, who had tormented Hanna, was suffering gave me great satisfaction.
Before Malik left, he offered me a small word of advice.
“But why the Tyrving? There are plenty of other good swords.”
“Because it looked touchable.”
“You crazy fool. Anyway, be careful not to go mad. The Tyrving is a cursed sword.”
He was a cool and caring water-supplying guy until the very end. He made excuses about how being possessed by a cursed sword made him tired, but I could vaguely sense his genuine worry.
Indeed, he was a water-supplying guy.
I should keep him as my older brother for the rest of my life.
Hanna’s and Tyrving’s story came to an end like this. Now, all I can do is root for Hanna’s wallet to grow fat.
Thinking of Hanna’s future wallet, I unfolded a piece of letter paper on the desk.
“I wish you the best ahead.”
I said softly to the young lady sitting at the desk.
“Your. Best. Ahead.”
The young lady holding a pen repeated my words as she wrote. Then, she raised her boring face.
Seemingly displeased about something, the young lady pouted and put down the pen.
“Well, Riccardo. The lines are too bland. Do you have any more stimulating lines?”
The young lady who worked for fair compensation in the form of chocolate rebuked her employer’s opinion with strong defiance.
The young lady asked if there were more sophisticated lines because the current ones seemed too old-fashioned.
Feeling hurt, I gave a condescending response.
“There’s nothing I can do about it. Sometimes, bland lines are the best.”
“It’s boring. What if I fall asleep while reading the letter?”
“Letters are not meant to be read for entertainment.”
“It’s boring.”
The young lady yawned, turned her stiff shoulders, as if she were venting her frustration. It seemed like her body was getting tired from writing after a long time. I cautiously approached her from behind and massaged her shoulders.
“If you write well, I’ll give you an extra piece of chocolate.”
“…Two pieces.”
“That’s right. Two pieces.”
The young lady giggled and had a pleasant smile.
“The contents of the letter seem interesting. Nowadays, young people use outdated words, making them seem old-fashioned…”
“It’s already late.”
“…Tsk.”
She was an unskilled young lady.
The young lady was writing a letter to Hanna on behalf of me, who had a despairing handwriting.
I thought that if I had hands, my handwriting would improve, but the despairing handwriting remained unchanged, displaying a consistent appearance.
It was still miserable, to the point where only an ancient language interpreter like Malik could barely read it.
After a moment, the young lady, who wrote with such passion that it felt like holes would be punched in the paper, straightened her hunched body and said.
“I’m done.”
“Oh…”
I noticed neat handwriting.
Writing that seemed like it was typed on a keyboard.
Unconsciously, I admired the young lady’s handwriting, which seemed to have reached the level of a machine, surpassing the realm of talent.
“Do all nobles write like this naturally?”
“No. I’m special.”
“Of course…!”
“There are times when even Ricardo can’t write decently.”
“…I’ll do it for just one chocolate.”
“Whyee!”
The young lady said with her sinister chest in the center. I had a reasonable suspicion that it was proportional to the size of the talent for writing.
I took out two chocolates from my bosom and placed them on the desk, satisfying my curiosity.
“Here’s the commission fee.”
“Heehee!”
Unaware of the disapproving gazes, the young lady put the chocolates on the desk into her breast pocket.
Feeling satisfied with the spectacle, I smiled happily and sat across from the young lady.
The weather had become quite cold.
The fur clothes I had put away in the closet were experiencing the cold so severe that they saw the light of day after a year.
The wood-burning stove in the room was diligently doing its job, filling the room with a warm heat.
I didn’t want to leave.
The young lady, myself, and the hairy bear soup.
As expected, whether it’s an animal or a person, it seems that we all become bothered by the cold.
What can I do at home?
I don’t want to go out.
I don’t want to spend my time idly either.
I want to do something, but since I made bath bombs last time, let’s skip that…
Should I try making a doll out of straw?
For a moment, I thought it would be interesting to make a voodoo doll and torment someone who dislikes it with black magic, but I decided to give up since I don’t have any talent for magic and the young lady had failed at black magic before.
“Hmm…”
I sat at the desk for about 10 minutes, lost in thought.
When a good idea came to me, I took out a cardboard box from the mansion’s warehouse.
A box covered with a thick layer of dust.
On the surface of the box were drawings made by the young lady in her innocent days.
It was a picture of the young lady stepping on the head of a red-haired boy, representing her timid revenge from the times when she always lost in fights against me.
The young lady’s eyes widened when she saw the box.
“Oh… an ancient artifact!”
“It’s from 10 years ago.”
“That’s an ancient artifact.”
The young lady was giving a blunt evaluation about her memories.
With a little laugh, I opened the box.
Although it had a musty smell, the contents inside the box preserved their original appearance.
Toys I used to play with as a child.
An album filled with past photographs.
And…
“I found it.”
There was colored paper.
The young lady watched me take out the paper from the box with curiosity-filled eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to do origami.”
“It’s boring.”
She was a woman whose interest had faded away.
With a smile filled with memories, I extended a piece of white paper towards her.
“If you do it, it’ll be fun after a long time.”
“I don’t think it’ll be fun.”
“If you make it fun, I’ll give you a chocolate.”
“It sounds fun!”
She was quick at calculations.
Placing a cup of tea on the table, the woman and I began to fold the paper.
She created strange objects while I carefully folded the paper, bringing back memories from a past life.
A calm atmosphere flowed around us.
Tap. We heard the sound of crackling firewood and started to focus on our respective tasks.
*
There is a famous tale from a previous life.
It is said that if you fold one thousand cranes, your wish will come true…
With time on my hands, I was in the midst of folding what is known as origami cranes to enjoy my life as an unemployed person.
It could also be used for interior decoration.
A simple hand game that allows you to make small wishes.
When the woman saw the paper folded into the shape of a crane at my fingertips, her expression became intrigued.
“What is it like?”
The woman frowned.
“What did you fold?”
“A crane.”
“…That?”
The paper crane was folded neatly.
Perhaps it looked a bit awkward to call it a crane after folding it after a long time.
The woman spoke seriously.
“It looks like an oak.”
“No, it’s a crane.”
“A twig?”
“Do not ignore the soul of my art.”
“Okay… However hard I look, it’s not art.”
The young lady, with a concentrated effort of 30 minutes, crushed the dream of origami I had created.
“It’s like chewing gum.”
“Even gum can be art if you chew it.”
“That’s impossible.”
“…”
I was unable to continue writing or folding paper skillfully.
The young lady picked up a piece of red paper on the desk, wet her lips, and began to concentrate.
“I’ll show you.”
She started folding the red paper with a good mood.
“Ik…”
Halfway folded.
“Iiik!!!”
Folded in half again.
“Iiik!!!!!”
Folded in half once more.
I looked at her concentrated expression and asked, “What are you making?”
“What do you think I’m making?”
“…?”
“Did you make it well?”
“…..?”
She was calling it art, holding up the square piece of paper.
She was amused.
Calling it art, I couldn’t help but wonder about the creation, which was as random as a memo.
“Are you hungry?”
“…Yes.”
She was honest about her feelings.
“Do you have something you want to eat this evening?
“Meat.”
“No.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“…..”
I regretted asking, knowing the answer would be meat.
A thousand-paper crane.
It carried the warm folklore that first love would come true.
It sounded absurd.
Childish.
I didn’t live in a world where I believed in such superstitions enough to fold a thousand-paper crane. I would rather earn money and succeed in the time it took to fold a thousand-paper crane. That would be much more valuable than a thousand-paper crane.
A means to appeal to a woman with a kind heart…
“Ricardo is working very hard at folding cranes.”
The lady said as she saw me concentrating on folding paper on the desk.
I smiled at the lady and said,
“They say your wish will come true if you fold a thousand cranes.”
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“A wish?”
“Yes. If you fold them neatly and beautifully, they will fly to the sky and deliver your wish.”
“But who fulfills the wish?”
“Well… the goddess?”
“…”
Lost in thought, the lady nodded and picked up a new red piece of paper on the desk.
“If it’s the goddess, it’s worth believing.”
The lady was generous in her evaluation of the goddess. Truly a follower of the empire’s state religion. She had the sacredness that could open the skeptical heart of someone who didn’t believe.
As I put the folded paper crane into a glass bottle, I asked the lady,
“What wish are you making, Miss?”
“A chocolate palace.”
“It’s a wish that can be granted.”
I resolved to earn a lot of money.
As the lady also put her neatly folded paper crane into the glass bottle, she asked,
“What about Ricardo?”
“Me?”
That’s right.
What wish should I make?
I folded a piece of pure white paper, smiling foolishly.
“It’s a secret.”
It was a wish that was embarrassing to say.