#085
On the left was an illustration and on the right was a page with the story written. I immediately noticed something different. First, the language was different. It was Korean. Even in the game, content translation was provided, but the cipher itself had been composed in English, yet this was Korean. This meant it was a special edition made entirely for me.
‘Is this consideration for the player they drew in…’
I glanced back at Carlisle. I wondered if he’d find it strange seeing a cipher written in Korean. But the guy seemed to have no interest in the puzzle, looking only at me rather than the book.
‘He’s really not the usual Carlisle…’
I swallowed a sigh and turned my gaze back to the book.
[The misunderstanding we couldn’t resolve
Became piercing resentment lodged in your heart
Our love that was red like roses froze blue
Lost its meaning and withered in the white snow
Left alone in bewilderment, I can only scatter tears of regret]
The text was closer to expressing Licht’s feelings rather than the protagonist girl’s emotions. But whatever the content was, that wasn’t important right now. What mattered was solving the cipher.
The original cipher was a simple trick of combining the first letter of each line to make a word. I tried taking just the first letters this time too, but.
‘Mi-sa-jang-ui-mak.’
It didn’t make sense. I was a bit disappointed. This wasn’t it… Do I need to do some complex calculation again? Or another hint…
Ah, wait. Come to think of it, each letter is quite familiar. I tried rearranging them a bit.
“Rose, desert… Desert Rose?”
I got the answer!
But that didn’t mean the problem was solved. I couldn’t help but frown. What did Desert Rose mean? The fairy tale book “Desert Rose”? Or the model that was in the study?
I first checked the cover of the nearby fairy tale book. In the vast sandy field there were cacti, an oasis, and a desert fox. And there was also that model I’d seen in the study.
The “Desert Rose” model in the study wasn’t actually a model of a real rose flower, but a model of a crystal formation shaped like a rose. It was a unique product made in the desert, so it had its own meaning in that regard.
‘But it’s not real.’
If this was the key to solving Celia’s problem, there was a high probability it would require the real thing.
‘If it was going to be like this, they should have given hints or quests in advance to find it from the desert.’
Though of course, it seemed like there hadn’t been time to search for all that.
‘Should I call Bisang?’
I hadn’t used the summoning button Bisang gave me yet. I didn’t know if Bisang would respond 100% to summoning, and even if I summoned him, I didn’t know if he had desert rose crystals among the items he sold. But I should think about it just in case.
‘For now, let’s take everything and place it in front of Celia.’
I gathered the fairy tale book and tried to head to the study. Carlisle suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Where are you going, honey?”
The captured wrist felt colder than before. Even though it was grabbed over gloves. Goosebumps rose while my heart became urgent. At this rate, wouldn’t Carlisle really turn into ice?
“I need to solve the problem. I’m thinking of bringing something to Celia’s ice statue.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
Carlisle (inappropriately) gently suggested.
“We have to stay up all night anyway, so we have plenty of time. Rest a bit before doing it. Aren’t you hungry?”
It’s not like we came on a picnic, how could I be hungry in this situation? My mind was chaotic and the cold wasn’t normal either, so my stomach had been frozen for a long time. It was more efficient to solve stamina issues with potions.
Carlisle suddenly thrust something in front of my bewildered face.
“…An apple?”
I looked up at Carlisle with suspicious eyes.
“It’s more delicious than it looks, honey.”
Carlisle tried to entice me with a sweet smile. Of course, if we weren’t trapped alone in a ghost mansion, it would have been a smile and voice I’d willingly and gladly fall for… but not now. Besides, what’s with calling me honey? He only called me honey when he was being sarcastic or mocking me.
Right now it was like, well how should I put it, like the Queen bringing an apple to tempt Snow White hiding in the forest? (Of course, I know it’s an absurd comparison since the Queen’s beauty far exceeded Snow White’s.)
I stepped back.
“Thanks, but no. I’m not particularly hungry right now… Actually, I don’t really like apples.”
Actually, I couldn’t get enough apples. In reality, I liked them so much I’d eat one almost every day.
Carlisle tilted his head.
“You don’t really like them… Wasn’t it your favorite fruit?”
“……?”
How do you know that?
I felt somehow creepy. I unconsciously stepped back again. Had I shown any particular behavior of collecting apple-related items while playing the game? I don’t think so.
An unpleasant uneasiness remained, but it wasn’t a situation to dig into it, so I decided to make do with an appropriate excuse for now.
“My… tastes changed, something like that.”
Whatever the case, I had no intention of being foolish enough to accept and eat this suspicious thing. Whether it was Snow White’s apple or Persephone’s pomegranate, food that shouldn’t be eaten shouldn’t be accepted.
“Really? That’s a pity. It’s delicious though.”
Fortunately, Carlisle didn’t insist further and withdrew his extended hand. But then.
“Wait, no!”
Unexpectedly, Carlisle himself bit into the apple with a crunch.
“What are you doing?”
I shouted in surprise at what happened in an instant. Carlisle raised his eyebrows slightly.
“Hm? What?”
“If, if you eat that…”
Won’t you collapse? Like Snow White? I just barely woke you up!
But contrary to my outcry, Carlisle showed no change. He just looked at me puzzled. I became embarrassed.
‘Ah, is it not? Is it okay?’
But it didn’t seem like it would be okay at all. What good could come from eating an apple prepared by a ghost monster?
“…I’ll find something more delicious, so don’t eat that.”
Having nothing to say, I roughly mumbled.
“Hmm…”
Carlisle examined me with an interested gaze as if hearing something amusing. But fortunately, he obediently put down the apple he’d taken a bite of.
“Alright, if you say so. I’m looking forward to what you’ll bring.”
“…Wait just a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
I said that and tried to leave the bedroom. I thought Carlisle might try to follow, but unexpectedly, Carlisle sat back on the bed and waved his hand obediently.
“Go ahead. I’m sleepy so I need to sleep a bit more.”
“……”
Since he said he’d sleep again after eating the apple, anxiety began to creep up.
I can wake him up again, right? I should be able to. Actually, once Celia’s problem is solved, Carlisle will come looking for me in perfect condition without needing to wake him up. I reassured myself.
“Okay, I’ll definitely come back, so wait for me.”
Saying that, I forced my reluctant steps to move and left the bedroom.
Returning to the study to find the model, I looked at Celia’s portrait once more. Something I hadn’t paid much attention to before caught my eye. After staring at it intently, I left the study and headed back to the garden where Celia was.
Outside, snow was still falling silently.
I stepped on the freshly accumulated snow and stood in front of Celia. Her sad-looking face remained the same. I placed two fairy tale books and the rose crystal model in front of her. Just in case, I also placed the desert fox model I’d brought next to the life-sized desert fox ice sculpture.
Actually, though I’d brought various things, the most likely prop was the fairy tale book. There was a story behind why adult Celia had fairy tale books that only children would read in her bedroom.
The desert-born bride who came to the north through an arranged marriage had hurriedly learned speaking and listening, but was still very poor with letters. So she studied letters with easy fairy tale books. The mansion owner, who found this endearing, gave her various fairy tale books he’d read as a child as gifts, as well as desert region fairy tales she’d loved since childhood translated into the northern language. The bride particularly loved the snow spirit story among the northern tales, in addition to her own beloved translated fairy tales. So the mansion owner would read these fairy tale books to the bride every night before sleep, or ask her to read to him.
I watched expectantly, thinking there would surely be a reaction since these were props with such background story. However.
“……”
A sigh escaped. There was no change at all.
‘What do I do now?’
I chewed my lips and fell into thought again. What was I missing? Should I light a fire to melt this? But what if this was really an ice sculpture and it all melted away – wouldn’t both Carlisle and I be finished? Like being trapped in this mansion forever?
I picked up the “Desert Rose” fairy tale book and carefully examined the cover again. I carefully looked at a plant drawn small in the corner that I’d simply thought was a cactus flower. I’d thought about it when I last looked at the portrait too, but the flower in the pot in the portrait seemed similar to the flower on this cover.
‘Could this be…’
I quickly flipped through the pages of the fairy tale. Since the book was thin and didn’t have many words, I could quickly find and read the necessary content. And as I read it, some story came to mind as if fog was lifting.
“Desert Rose.”
I muttered and began wandering around the garden. I found what I was looking for where the mansion owner’s statue was. Behind him, in an invisible spot, was the pot from the portrait as if it had been hidden.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
