<– The beginning of the letter –>
#2.
“Cordelia Gray.”
When the man called her name with a bright smile, Cordelia couldn’t help but stammer, even though she knew she must have looked foolish.
The man was incredibly handsome, almost too handsome.
“Uh, uh, yes? I am Cordelia Gray, but, um, so.”
“How did I know? I heard that a young lady with red hair and a pretty face would be coming.”
Saying this, the man smiled. His eyes, a mysterious blue like a fairy’s, curved as he did.
Wow…
Cordelia unknowingly gaped.
He really looked too fresh to be working in an antique shop.
“I’m Liam.”
“Liam, Liam. Ah, I’m Cordelia Gray.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“You just told me.”
Oh, yes, right.
Before she could even feel embarrassed about her stupid remark, Cordelia had to tightly shut her eyes due to the power of Liam’s smile, which he added to the end of every sentence like a period. His dazzling looks made her think that if she kept her eyes open, it might cause critical damage to her eyeballs.
While Cordelia was trying to protect her eyesight, Liam went behind the counter to look for something.
“Wait a minute, the manuscript was here.”
“Take your time!”
When Cordelia exclaimed urgently, Liam replied with a smile.
“I have it right here. No need to look for it.”
“Ah, yes.”
The manuscript was quite thick. Cordelia took it, putting it into her bag as slowly as possible, and slowly fastened the bag clasp. She had nothing more to do now.
But it was too regretful to leave after seeing that handsome face for such a short time.
As she hesitated, trying to say something more, Liam stared directly at her face. Just then, the bell at the entrance rang. A new customer had arrived.
“Welcome.”
After greeting the customer, Liam turned back to Cordelia and whispered.
“Look around for a bit. I’ll be right back. Don’t leave. Absolutely, definitely not.”
Sure, even if you push me to leave, I’ll still look around….
Cordelia watched Liam’s back as he walked towards the customer, holding back what she wanted to say. This was totally amazing.
Not even when she saw a Hollywood actor filming on this street a few years ago did she feel this kind of admiration.
That man literally looked like a ‘prince from a fairy tale.’ No, should she say a fairy from a fairy tale? Anyway, it was clear he wasn’t human.
Cordelia wanted to quickly take out her phone and snap a picture. [A guy who looks like this is asking me not to leave, does this mean he likes me?] She wanted to post it on all social network services she used, even the ones she didn’t use. Holding back this desire, she thought about privacy laws and portrait rights laws.
After a few seconds of fundamental contemplation on whether laws must always be obeyed, Cordelia abandoned the idea of owning the man in her smartphone storage, deciding instead to fully enjoy this moment with her naked eyes.
The new customer was an elderly lady. Liam was kindly explaining various things in front of the glass display case with a gentle smile. The elderly lady kept nodding her head and eventually picked up what were surely expensive items: an antique teacup, a silver candlestick, and an amethyst necklace. At the checkout counter, the elderly lady looked at Cordelia and said,
“Goodness, with that face recommending things, you just can’t resist buying.”
“If you plan to come back, you shouldn’t spend so much money at once.”
The elderly lady laughed heartily.
“That’s right. This young lady is more shrewd than me.”
While receiving such a compliment from a stranger, Liam, who had finished the transaction, returned to Cordelia.
“Did you have a look around?”
“Yes….”
I looked at your face….
Cordelia swallowed these words and nodded.
“Then pick something.”
“What?”
“Pick one thing from here that you want. I’ll give it to you.”
“Ah, yes… yes?”
“You made the effort to come all the way here. Now it’s time for a reward. Anne told me to give you anything.”
“Oh, it’s fine. This is my job.”
“No, if you leave with nothing, my heart will ache.”
Liam said this with a truly pained expression. Actually, he just slightly furrowed his brow, but that alone made Cordelia’s heart feel like it was being torn apart.
Then I’ll take you.
…she swallowed these words too and looked around.
The Victorian-style elaborate tapestry was beautiful, but it was too large for Cordelia’s small room.
The oak armchair looked quite nice, but it also seemed very heavy due to its sturdy build.
The items in the glass display case were all fine antiques and must be very expensive. She wasn’t bold enough to pick something like that just because it was offered for free.
“How about it? Have you chosen?”
“No. But I’m starting to really like this shop.”
“Isn’t it great? It seems ordinary, but there are real treasures hidden everywhere.”
Indeed, as she regained her composure from being mesmerized by the fairy of Portobello, Cordelia noticed that this antique shop had more interesting items than she initially thought.
“Shall I choose for you?”
Would you mind?
Cordelia nodded. Liam smiled again.
“You’re thinking of something reasonably priced and easy to take home and store, right?”
“How did you know?”
“I have a bit of magic. How about this?”
Liam brought out a small dark wooden box. The box, shaped like a slanted trapezoid, was only about the size of Cordelia’s briefcase.
The golden metal that wrapped around the edges was probably just gold-plated metal, and aside from a small intricate chain-like design carved in the center, there weren’t any particularly fancy decorations. Yet, it had a strangely compelling quality.
“What is this used for?”
“It’s a book storage box. You put books inside it to store them.”
“It looks like it would be full with just two or three books.”
“In the past, books were precious items, so even two or three would make a considerable collection.”
“It seems very old. Is it from the Victorian era?”
“Maybe even older. It might have drifted in from another world.”
Compared to the detailed explanations he gave the elderly lady about items estimated to be from certain decades or dynasties and where they were sourced, this was quite vague. Cordelia liked it better that way. She always loved things that left room for imagination rather than being perfectly precise.
“I like it. I’ll take this.”
“Really? Just like that?”
“Yes, you chose it for me.”
“I chose well. This is a truly magical item.”
“Didn’t you say the same thing to the previous customer?”
Liam laughed again. Seeing his fresh smile, Cordelia almost felt as if flowers were floating around his face. She suppressed the urge to joke that the magical item wasn’t the book storage box but Liam himself and managed a clumsy smile. Without knowing what Cordelia was thinking, Liam continued as he placed the item on the counter.
“In fact, this is a portal to another world.”
“A portal? This size couldn’t even fit a cat if it gained too much weight.”
“People say if a cat’s head can fit, its whole body can.”
“But even my head wouldn’t fit.”
For some reason, Liam found this extremely funny and burst into laughter. Cordelia felt oddly proud that she had made such a handsome person laugh. After his laughter subsided, Liam spoke with playful eyes.
“I didn’t say a person could enter. Cordelia, do you know about things like mailboxes that transcend time?”
“Like in the movies?”
“Yes. Do you believe in that?”
“I do enjoy fantasy novels, but I’m not so far gone as to believe in them.”
“Sometimes those things actually happen, Miss Cordelia Gray. If you’re going through a tough time, try writing a letter and putting it in this box. Someone will reply.”
“Are you going to sneak into my house and check the box to write a reply?”
“There’s no address field on the customer card, so rest assured.”
Saying this, Liam deftly handed her a customer card. Cordelia, naturally taking it, rummaged in her bag for a pen.
“This is a clever way to get me to fill out the customer card. Impressive technique.”
“Here’s a pen. It’s a gift too. Use it to write letters for the box.”
“It’s an honor. Here, I’m done.”
He stared at the card as if checking her handwriting. Cordelia was relieved that his gaze was focused there. Her face had turned red from the brief touches when handing over the pen and card.
“Cordelia F. Gray.”
The man read her name from the card.
“It’s a grand name.”
“No, it’s a perfectly elegant name.”
A handsome man was naturally good at giving compliments. His manner of wrapping the storage box was oddly clumsy, but when he carried it to the shop entrance and saw her off, he was very gentlemanly. Cordelia gave him a nod, feeling a bit regretful.
“Be sure to write a letter.”
“Will you really come to my house to write a reply? You didn’t secretly attach a tracker to this, did you?”
“Pardon? A tracker?”
Liam, not understanding her words, asked again.
“Never mind.”
Cordelia said, smiling.
* * *
Meeting such a handsome man wasn’t a frequent occurrence, so even after she came home, Cordelia was immersed in the lingering impression.
She wanted to call someone and recount what had just happened, but looking back, she realized all she did was exchange a few words with an incredibly handsome man she met on a rare sunny day, walking past the green signboard on Portobello Street. She didn’t understand why it felt so special.
Waking from her sweet reverie, Cordelia quickly unwrapped the book storage box.
Like most office workers, Cordelia’s desk had long lost its original purpose and had become a place to throw the clothes she wore that day, but today, she cleared her desk and placed the book storage box neatly on the right side of the now tidy desk.
“It suits well, doesn’t it?”
Sitting at the organized desk, Cordelia suddenly felt like doing something. She quickly turned on her laptop to check her emails.
—
06-05 20:50
From: Garrett <[email protected]>
To: Cordelia <[email protected]>
Passionate editor Cordelia Gray,
Did you enjoy the Wednesday night treasure hunt at Portobello?
Tell me tomorrow what treasure you found.
It would also be good to hear if the manuscript was worth the effort.
P.S. I found a nice pub near the office. Let’s go there for lunch tomorrow.
—
The next email was from the editor-in-chief, Marianne.
—
06-05 19:50
From: Marianne <[email protected]>
To: Cordelia <[email protected]>
Cordelia,
Report on the manuscript received today in tomorrow morning’s meeting.
Marianne.
—
Reporting on the manuscript in the morning meeting after receiving it today dampened her excitement about having lunch at a nice pub.
But perhaps meeting the most handsome man in the world gave her some kind of strength, as Cordelia sat down at her desk and began to read the manuscript without a sigh.
The princess embarks on a long journey to find the knight, and in the kingdom of Winterton, where the sole heir has disappeared, the grief-stricken king falls ill, and the princess’s cousin, Adelaide, becomes the new ruler of Winterton.
Queen Adelaide marries a handsome duke, gives birth to a daughter, Cecilia, and a son, Archibald, and after her husband’s death, she rules the country alone while raising her two children.
Many years pass, and one day, a cabin is discovered in the forgotten forest, where the missing princess and knight lived. Behind the cabin is a mound, a grave with a headstone bearing the names of the princess and the knight, signifying they died and were buried there.
Inside the cabin, there’s also a painting. It depicts the red-haired princess and the blond knight, with another person between them. The child, with the princess’s fiery red hair and the knight’s bright green eyes, is their son.
The aging king wants to find the princess’s only child, his grandson. The queen also believes she should return the throne, which was never truly hers, to her nephew.
The queen’s son, Prince Archie, sighs.
No matter what, he must find the boy before his sister Cecilia does.
If the ambitious Cecilia finds him first, she’ll surely kill him.
And so, the sequel to the tale of the princess and the knight began.
After reading the 40-page manuscript, Cordelia took out a notebook and jotted down some brief notes.
1. Princess Cecilia, the eldest, is portrayed as too villainous without any justification. Is there really a woman who is purely evil? How did she become like this?
2. The queen wanting to return the throne to her cousin’s son is too kind. It lacks realism.
3. I like the description of Prince Archie being handsome, but he seems a bit pathetic. He’s too idle and lacks ambition, which disqualifies him as a male protagonist. Even if he finds the red-haired child, can he handle things properly? He just plays around all day.
After writing, it seemed like too harsh a critique. She would have to rewrite it with some compliments and flattery for the author. But that was a task for tomorrow. For now, having read it all and prepared her initial impressions for the morning meeting with Marianne was enough.
[If the areas lacking coherence are supplemented slightly, it could become a richer story.]
Yes, that’s what she would say.
With that in mind, Cordelia decided to put the manuscript and notes in the book storage box for now.
Until then, there was no problem. The problem arose the next morning when she opened the book storage box.
The manuscript had disappeared!
Cordelia’s hastily scribbled notes were also gone. Inside the empty book storage box, there was only a single faded piece of paper. The old-fashioned paper seemed so thin that it might crumble if she held it too tightly. On it, a few lines were written in elegant cursive. Cordelia quickly read it aloud.
—
To the unknown intruder,
Who are you to dare enter my room and leave such a letter in my document box?
If not for your insightful evaluation of my sister Cecilia’s character, I would have immediately reported this document full of royal slander to my mother.
I do not know how you entered my room, but I admire your boldness.
Thank you for the detailed compliments on my appearance. I also agree with your assessment that I do not handle matters properly and just play around all day. I believe this is the best way to fully enjoy the joy of life; what is your opinion?
Despite our differing views on how to enjoy life, I am pleased to meet someone who can mock cheerfully. Therefore, I will overlook this incident. Please enjoy your time peacefully.
P.S. I fully agree with your assessment that my sister Cecilia is implausibly evil. As for your question on how she became like this, I would like to answer that she has been this way since birth. At least since I was born (that is, since I was four), she has consistently been like this. She is a person of great consistency, isn’t she?
On a sunny morning on the sixth day of the light green month in the year 1314, at Arley Palace.
– Archibald Albert, son of the impeccably kind queen and brother of the implausibly evil Cecilia –
———= Author’s Note ———=
To the readers,
Thank you for your support and recommendations. I hope you enjoyed reading.
– Dawn’s Author.