#3.
Hello, Liam.
Did you know that this is a really terrible thing?
Did the author tell you to bring back the manuscript?
Even if that was the case, how on earth did you break into my room?
How did you get to the desk right next to my bed, not even right in front of the door, without making a sound? How did you open the bookcase on the desk without making any noise?
I am extremely sensitive. I wake up at the sound of a drop of water. The window is tightly closed, so how did you break in? Why are you playing this kind of prank?
You probably think you can live any way you want because of your handsome face, right? If you think women will like you even if you do this kind of thing, you are mistaken. At least, I don’t find it fun at all.
Please return my manuscript quickly. Not by coming into my room and returning it. Read this letter and give it back to me directly.
I can’t speak well when I’m angry. That’s why I’m writing it down like this. Explain to me why you did this quickly. And apologize to me. Or I will report you.
-Cordelia Gray-
* * *
To Miss Cordelia Gray,
First of all, thank you for revealing your name.
You are very bold.
Secondly, I don’t quite understand what you are talking about.
Are you possibly inhabiting my room, Miss Cordelia Gray?
You say I broke into your room?
This is clearly my room. The Kingdom of Winterton, our Queen Adelaide, and Steward Edmund will prove it (he is in charge of room assignments at Arly Palace. He’s quite a capable person).
On the sixth night of the light green moon, 1314,
The occupant of this room, Archie Albert.
* * *
To Miss Cordelia Gray again,
I carefully read the letter you sent again.
You think I secretly entered your room, opened the bookcase on the desk right next to your bed, and took what was inside.
That’s nonsense.
You say the desk is right next to the bed.
Your servant is out of their mind. Why on earth did they arrange the furniture like that? If you can’t afford to place the desk in another room, I suggest you immediately move the desk at least ten large steps away from the bed.
There’s one more nonsensical thing: I had the exact same thought as you.
There is also a bookcase on the desk far away in my room (from the bed, it looks like a dot in the distance). When I opened the box to put in the book I was reading yesterday, I found your note and manuscript inside. I thought you had secretly entered my room and put them there.
Do you get it now?
Miss Cordelia Gray, I think we are living in different rooms but sharing one item. Is the bookcase on your desk also made of dark wood, with gold decorations on both corners, and a small chain pattern carved in the center, like mine?
I believe this box has played a little trick on us. Through this box, we can now exchange letters as we are doing.
After sorting out the situation, I am increasingly curious about your identity.
Who are you?
How did you come to possess this box? (I just stole it from the monastery.)
What is this “manuscript” you sent?
Why does it contain such detailed information about our Winterton royal family?
I dislike tedious and serious matters, but my curiosity got the best of me, so I wrote a long letter. I will now put down my pen and wait for your reply to come into the box.
P.S. Your letter also shows quite a deep insight. It is true that I have lived carelessly relying on my handsome face.
On the sixth night of the light green moon, 1314, at Arly Palace,
Rereading your letter.
Archie Albert William.
* * *
To Prince Archibald,
Intruder of Arly Palace, Cordelia Gray, greets you.
I apologize for the extreme rudeness of my previous letter. I wasn’t in my right mind then.
I am just a 22-year-old new editor at a publishing company, and losing a manuscript is the worst nightmare someone like me could imagine.
Last Wednesday evening, I went to an antique shop with a green sign on Portobello Street and received the manuscript of Anne Selin from an employee named Liam. I also got a bookcase as a gift. Liam said it was a magic box. I thought he was joking and didn’t take it seriously.
But when I woke up that night, the manuscript and the note I had put inside were gone. Only your letter was there. How could I not be surprised?
I naturally suspected Liam. The guy who joked about the magic box. (The comment about living carelessly because of his handsome face was directed at him, not you. But since I’m talking to you, he was really handsome.)
I was furious, so I scribbled down my thoughts on a piece of paper and went back to the antique shop on Portobello Street. However, Liam wasn’t there; instead, a kind lady with a name tag that read ‘Linda’ was.
I told her,
“Just yesterday, I bought an antique bookcase from a very handsome male employee here. I would like to see him again.”
Linda’s eyes widened as she asked,
“Patrick? We only have one male employee, and that’s Patrick…”
At that moment, a man suddenly popped out from the corner staff room, mumbling something with his mouth full.
His face…
I don’t like judging people solely by their appearance.
So, let’s just say he didn’t meet my standards.
Standing there dazed, feeling like I had been possessed by a ghost, Linda asked if I might have confused this shop with another one. Apparently, the shop is closed every Wednesday. She wondered if I had been to a different shop, which made me even more confused.
“The shop layout is exactly the same.”
“Are you sure you didn’t mix up the dates?”
“Unless I slept for 48 hours, that didn’t happen. I definitely came here.”
“Busy modern people can sleep for 48 hours. Miss, aren’t you a bit too flustered?”
“Are you the owner of this shop?”
“Well, I’m as good as the owner. If I don’t know something, none of the staff do. It seems like you might be mistaken…”
Linda looked at me sympathetically. I suddenly felt like a very disoriented person. But just then, a customer entered the shop.
It was the elderly woman who had come as a customer when I tried to get the manuscript from that handsome young man the day before! I quickly approached the old lady and asked,
“We met here yesterday, right? The incredibly handsome employee sold you a silver candlestick, necklace, and teacup, didn’t he?”
“Yes, I should have bought them one by one. It was so heavy, carrying them was a struggle.”
The old lady nodded.
“You saw him with me here, right? That incredibly handsome employee?”
“Are you talking about that fairy-like young man from another world?”
“Yes, exactly, the man who looks like he doesn’t belong to our world!”
“That young man managed the shop quite well. He had many good items.”
“See?” I said, looking at Linda, but she shook her head from side to side as if the old woman and I were both crazy. Still, I was happy. I had found proof that I hadn’t confused the shop or the date. At least, I wasn’t completely crazy.
But that’s it. In the end, I couldn’t find out who Liam really was. Nor could I figure out why the shop was open on its closed day.
When I got home, I glared at the bookcase. Like you, Prince, I examined the box thoroughly. The craftsmanship was unique and beautiful, but it was simple. There didn’t seem to be any special mechanism.
Could this box really be magical?
I decided to take a chance and put something in the box. The note I had written to yell at Liam was in my hand, so I put that in the box.
Would the note disappear again?
Is there a hole in the back?
Who exactly was that Liam guy?
He had blonde hair and blue eyes like a fairy; could he really be a fairy?
You might laugh, but I believe in fairies. Considering how incredibly handsome that male employee was, everything made sense when I thought he might be a fairy. He was too beautiful to be human.
Even the green sign of the antique shop felt like a clue. As you know, Prince, fairies love the color green.
Thinking about it made my heart race, but even though I believe in fairies, it still seemed too far-fetched. So, I sat down in front of the bookcase again. I decided to take out the note and throw it away to forget this strange incident. When I opened the box, I saw the note I had put in.
But right at that moment, the note disappeared with a swoosh sound. Right before my eyes.
Prince, you must have quickly taken it out, right? Yes, I know that now. But at that moment, I almost fell off my chair.
I was scared.
And amazed.
I stared at the bookcase for a long time. I thought maybe a white hand might come out of it.
After staring at it for about ten minutes with nothing happening, I started to get bored. I remembered I hadn’t eaten a single meal that day, so I went to the kitchen and made tomato spaghetti. After eating, I poured myself a glass of lemonade and opened the box again…
Inside was your letter.
This time I didn’t fall off my chair. I guess I somewhat expected this to happen. I read your letter, Prince, with a pounding heart. And it was…
My goodness, you really are like Prince Archie from the manuscript of “The Princess and the Knight.” The idle, lazy, yet irresistibly charming prince. I can’t believe I’ve met someone from the world of the manuscript I was reading.
How did I come to touch the world of a novel? Or is “The Princess and the Knight” not a novel but a true story? I’m so confused. Regardless, knowing that fairies or unbelievable beings exist in our world makes me excited. I can’t tell anyone, though.
If I were about twelve years old, I would have told my friends. Back then, I had friends who believed in fairies, princesses, and knights.
If I were ten, I would have grabbed my mom and shared this story. She always told me stories about fairies.
But now, my mom is not here, and I don’t have a single friend who believes in fairies. It’s natural. We’re all adults now. Growing up is such a sad thing. Being an adult means having to take responsibility for our work.
So, Prince, I’m asking you a favor. You may not know this, but the manuscript titled “The Princess and the Knight” that you took at first is extremely valuable. The author Anne Selin entrusted it to me with her full confidence. Do you know how hard it is for an editor to tell an author that they lost their manuscript? We’ve already secured an illustrator for it and sent out the contract, and if the manuscript is lost now, it will be a disaster.
Please return my manuscript. I’m begging you. I’m writing this letter on my knees. As an adult, my joints aren’t that great. But I’ll keep this position, staring at the box until you give back the manuscript. Please send your reply and the manuscript soon.
P.S. The furniture arrangement was done by me, not a servant. Surprisingly, I don’t have a servant! Anyway, thanks for the advice to place the desk ten large steps away from the bed.
– Night of June 6th, from a room three steps wide by big steps. Cordelia.
* * *
To the Prince of Winterton again.
Prince, did you receive my letter?
Is it dawn there like it is here, and are you sleeping?
It would be great if this magical bookcase had a notification feature when a letter arrives.
P.S. Is the light green moon called that because the whole world turns light green during that month? If so, it must be the same season where you are as it is here! I really like this name.
Probably early morning, transitioning from the 6th to the 7th of the light green moon, Cordelia.
* * *
To Prince Archie,
I ended up going to work without the manuscript today. That means I almost got scolded badly by my editor-in-chief, Marianne.
If Garrett hadn’t come up with some ridiculous new manuscript to buy me some time, the disaster I would have faced in the morning meeting… it’s terrible just to think about.
I had to buy Garrett lunch as a debt of gratitude. Even after the meeting, I was anxious all day, fearing Marianne would tell me to hurry and bring the manuscript.
Even if I explain it like this, you probably won’t fully understand what I mean. But today, I don’t have the strength to explain more. Let’s just call it the tragedy of being an adult.
I want to go back and tell 17-year-old Cordelia that being 22 is very tough, so don’t expect too much. And also not to trust the prince she meets in June when she’s 22.
P.S. I’ll try trusting you one more time. Luckily, tomorrow is Saturday, so I don’t have to go to work. I hope you read my letter over the weekend.
2019.6.7. Evening. An exhausted adult Cordelia.
* * *
06-08-SAT 11:30 PM
From: Garrett <[email protected]>
To: Cordelia <[email protected]>
Cordelia, did you find the manuscript?
Don’t worry too much. Like you said, if you just clean your room properly, it will show up right away. Unless you spend all day cleaning, how about lunch together tomorrow?
Garrett.
* * *
06-08-SAT 11:35 PM
From: Cordelia <[email protected]>
To: Garrett <[email protected]>
The manuscript is still missing.
Besides, do you really want to have lunch with me on the weekend after seeing me every day at work? I don’t get it.
Cordelia, busy waiting for the manuscript.
* * *
06-08-SAT 11:35 PM
From: Garrett <[email protected]>
To: Cordelia <[email protected]>
Cordelia, busy looking for the manuscript.
You still manage to decline so gracefully.
Then find the manuscript well and see you on Monday.
P.S. Waiting for -> looking for. I made a typo.
* * *
To the Prince,
Prince Archibald, it’s Cordelia again.
All three letters have disappeared. I guess that means you received them?
Or is there another intruder in your room? No, that can’t be.
Are you busy with a ball or fox hunting?
6.9. Sunday
-Sitting at the desk, waiting for your reply since morning, Cordelia.
* * *
To Miss Cordelia Gray,
I have received your letters.
There are no other intruders in my room besides you.
I am absent from the ball and fox hunting for various reasons.
And my response to your urgent request to return the manuscript is as follows:
‘Please wait a moment.’
On the morning of the ninth day of the light green moon, 1314, Archie Albert
* * *
———= Author’s Note ———=
This letter is the reason why my friends started calling this story ‘The Prince Who Leaves You on Read’…
The next letter from the Prince Who Leaves You on Read will be more entertaining, so please look forward to it.
Thank you to everyone who read and commented.
I will be back tomorrow morning at 7:30 with my reserved stock.
Your pre-likes and comments give me the strength to keep writing <3
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