CH 45

Chapter 45: Moonlight—Ticket to Lunoa

This unstable and precarious handwriting must have belonged to that man. Just facing those words gives me goosebumps on the back of my neck. As if I were already trained to react so.

There was no information about the sender on the envelope. It’s not a common letter, but the problem was that Julia was too simple. If Mrs. Kerney had received it, she would have asked about the source of this strange letter.

“Is the person who brought this at least looking normal…?”

Well…… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this mysterious man that bought off all types of people.

By the way, my winter?

I guarantee that there will be only one person in the past, present and future whom I compared to winter, that cold season which is brilliant even without color.

That’s how the first verse of the poem I wrote while thinking about him began. If only one season is allowed in my life, I will live through the winter that resembles you.….

There were days when I recklessly threw myself into the arms of winter with that mind. It was the day when the unprecedented heavy snow poured out. That day, I froze coldly at the foot of the harsh winter, and my heart almost stopped.

“It was the winter that saved me..….”

I was still lost in thought. Why did that unidentified man who looked just like Alan Leopold say he was my winter?

Naturally, the flow of thoughts passed by.

He is Alan Leopold. What is strangely different from what I thought of Alan’s true self, or his public persona was all just an act.

And Alan read my letter, which he accidentally picked up at the victory ball, without throwing it away.  He didn’t just read it, he still remembers it, and he may still have it…….

Maybe it was the poem that I accidentally took to the ball that made him fall in love with my words and sentences? Maybe the praise from the academy got to my head to create such a ridiculous hypothesis.

If this hypothesis is questionable, it is the fact that Alan had plenty of opportunities.

He’s my love let…ter. I don’t know when he read it, but if he read it and had a crush on me, he would have been able to contact me at any time.  He knows where I live, so he would have been able to send someone home sooner or if he had held a small charity event in the name of my family…..

Even the coffee shop I go to often belongs to him.

But if he just decided to hide his identity and observe my every move…  …It’s hard to see that he has good intentions for me.

Maybe he was trying to imitate the way I write or the process of getting inspiration, by observing in detail?

It may have been that he noticed my talent and eventually became covetous.  As a member of the Leopold family, he has always lived a life of easily getting what he wants, so it’s not unreasonable to have such a mindset….

“Maybe,”

While I was confused in my head, a certain thought came to my mind.

“Maybe he’s finally trying to reveal himself..….”

No wonder, he, who had never appeared in front of me so far, slowly began to appear, and even revealed the fact that he became my neighbor.

Now that he has come to call himself ‘your winter’..….

My intuition was screaming again and again. At last he was ready to reveal that he was Alan Leopold.

I immediately opened the envelope. My tightly closed lips were naturally tightened.

When I opened the envelope with trembling hands, I could see a finely folded letter, and a stiff paper just the same size as the envelope.

I took at the thin paper that was presumed to be a letter first. Then I unfolded it with a very nervous face.

As always, the letter was not even properly formal, and of course, only three lines were there. My eyebrows frowned automatically due to despondency.

“Congratulations?”

You wouldn’t be happy to see that I gave the novel to the academy, but congratulations? Didn’t he even send a threatening letter to write the novel just for him?

It even contains content that seems to wish me good luck for studying abroad in the Principality, so I can’t help but be suspicious.

I don’t know what the hell changed his mind. Regardless, this same  man, who has made me tremble in anxiety by rolling me in his hand for months, is sending me such a congratulatory message…..  It was simply absurd.

“Did you suddenly repent in front of God or what….”

Naturally, it was not immediately acceptable. Did you think I’d cry and be thankful for this? Do you deserve to say this to me in the first place? Is he being sarcastic for not listening to him?

In the meantime, it was frightening that he even knew the news of my novel’s victory.

What I didn’t quite understand was the last sentence as well.

You’re not going to chase me anymore? That’s because… There’s no need for that?

I felt despondency and bitterness at the tip of my tongue for no reason.

“…Ha.”

Of course, to see him disappear completely from my life is something that I’ll welcome with my open arms. I don’t know how much I’ve been hoping for this to happen.

But the saying that there was no need for it weighed on my heart with a strange sense. that feeling somehow resembles emptiness……….

How should I accept it like this?

He had been holding my breath for several months already, and he was soaking wet in every crack in my daily life.  I was conscious of him with all my senses, both when I was awake and when I fell asleep.

So, this might be the feeling of missing a long-time sick tooth. The pain that has been bothering me has disappeared, so I feel relieved, but I feel empty right now…….

In life, there are often moments when you feel unfamiliar with yourself. So rather than being fully happy that this man finally disappears from my life, it would be just a moment to feel somewhat complicated.

After months of overworking my heart, some aftereffects will be inevitable. Nevertheless, in the end, everything will find its place, and I know everything will be fine.

With that heart, I breathed deeply and exhaled slowly. At the same time as the strength of my whole body was released, the tension that was tense seemed to fade.

It was then that I started thinking about the contents of the envelope. Reluctantly, I pulled out a long, stiff piece of paper. Thinking that it was inevitable to feel reluctant as if a shadow had been cast again.

The paper, which is exactly the same size as the envelope, was very colorful with gilded edges. In the center, a sailboat with a large sail was drawn, and the name of the shipping company, the departure date in less than two months, and the letters ‘Moonlight’ and ‘To the Principality of Lunoa’ were clearly engraved.

“…..Is it a ticket?”

I can’t believe there are all these kinds of fancy tickets in the world. I stared at it for quite some time, because the surface that shines with every gentle tilt is so beautiful that it is mesmerizing.

So, is this the last present from the stalker?

“…….”

In fact, it doesn’t seem like I’ll be receiving the boat fare, so I had to purchase a ticket to the Principality. Moreover, even the lowest-class tickets, not such expensive-looking tickets, are quite expensive.  That was common fact that even a child would know

So, there was no reason to tear up a valid ticket just because it was sent by a suspicious man.

……Such excessive solicitude for my welfare, that’s the only meaning I could derive from this genuine ticket. It’s not like a trap set up by a stalker.

* * *

I wasn’t the only one who had never left the kingdom.  All three women in the red two-story house tilted their heads when I took out the ticket and showed it to them

Among us, my father, who was a soldier, was the only one who went abroad, but the camp was too far away.

My mother, who asked the source of the ticket. I told her that it had been enclosed in the letter from the academy. However, if this is fake, the situation becomes complicated because I have to get the money from my mother.

For proper follow-up, it is necessary to check the facts quickly, but do I really have to go to the port and check it out? The port is too far from the capital.

If it was in the same direction as Piccom, it would be worth visiting Viola before studying abroad, but Piccom and the port were situated in completely opposite directions. Can I ride the carriage to the port?

At that time, Mr. Greg miraculously came. After lunch, I was playing the piano blankly, and suddenly I felt like the sun was shining*.

(* To get an idea/enlightenment)

Greg might have been to the port before!

“…..ahem, wait a minute.”

“Yes, madam.”

When Mrs. Kearney, who carefully examined the meat, disappeared to the kitchen to pay for it, I quietly approached the front door.

“Hello, Mr. Greg.”

“Oh, Melissa! I heard you’re about to study abroad? You’re so passionate. I’ll cheer for you.”

Mr. Greg gave a gentle greeting. I quickly opened my mouth before Mrs. Kerney returned and felt something strange.

“….Well, Mr. Greg.  Are you only going out of the capital to the suburbs? Do you have any plans to go to the port?”

“Port?”

Mr. Greg continued to talk, scratching his gray beard.

“Since I am a butcher and the freshness of the meat is important, I don’t travel far. When I was young, I used to travel and do labor on holidays!”

“Holidays?”

Mr. Greg laughed at my question.

“Yes, I worked as a sailor when I was young!”

“Ah!”

I took the ticket straight out of the apron pocket I was wearing.

“Then, do you know if this is a real ticket?”

“Ho… Where did you get this?”

When Mr. Greg’s bloodshot eyes suddenly lit up, I became nervous.

“C-can you answer me?”

“The ticket to Lunoa is right. The Moonlight written here is the most luxurious passenger ship in the kingdom.”

That too, it’s a first class room.  Mr. Greg muttered with admiration.

“It’s worth it, but it’s not sold to anyone in the first place……. Even if you sell this house, you can’t buy this ticket, Melissa.”

“…….”

“You couldn’t have bought it yourself.”

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Mr. Greg’s gaze became persistent. I said it in a hurry.

“……There’s an anonymous sponsor watching me. It’s from him.”

“What? Who is it?”

“Thank you for letting me know, Mr. Greg. Bye!”

I ran down the stairs, pressing down my pounding heart.