One of the club mbers playing Hamlet began to recite a passage with deep sorrow.
“Oh, I die, Horatio!”
Who was that? They could have been an actor. The performance was so moving that everyone forgot to be silent and let out sighs of admiration.
After maintaining my composure for a while, I quietly stood up. Clara stood up too. As she followed out into the hallway, she asked,
“How are you doing these days?”
“How am I doing?”
“You know, about Mr. Moore. You ntioned before that he was on your mind.”
“Oh, we’re just… friends.”
Clara didn’t seem to believe . She raised her eyebrows and glared.
“Is that really just a friendship? You’re so naive.”
Well, what could I say? It’s unfortunate to keep secrets from a friend, but the fewer people who know about the growing closeness between Liam Moore and , the better.
Clara hailed a carriage for and watched until I got in. Before the door closed, she whispered while holding onto it.
“Be careful. There’s been so unsettling rumours at the club lately.”
“Unsettling rumours?”
“People have claid to see a dead person.”
What? Before I could ask more, Clara closed the door and tapped the side of the carriage. The horses started moving. Through the milky glass, I watched Clara fade into the distance.
She waved.
Feeling uneasy, I waved back.
＊ ＊ ＊
Since Christmas, my seizures have beco rare. Honestly, I think I’ve managed to reconcile the disconnect between my mind and body. More accurately, I accepted what had happened to .
‘Honestly, what choice do I have?’
As I welcod the New Year, I let go of my obsessive fixation on escape.
I might need to think long-term. Maybe I’ll have to live here until I die to return. After all, it seed undeniable that I had to see the ‘ending’ to leave, and there was no need to rush when I hadn’t fully understood the world yet.
That’s right. If I’m going to see it, I want a happy ending. A bit more effort for the true ending. Or maybe a hidden ending. It seems like I’m asking for a lot, but I just need to avoid the bad ending. So I’ll make friends and utilise every relationship I can.
Thinking like that, the changes didn’t seem so scary. I could remain composed even when mories of a sibling who never existed surfaced.
Honestly, it wasn’t all bad for . Thanks to it, I was able to adapt safely to this world, and people around didn’t notice any discrepancies between and Jane. In fact, I was grateful for Jane’s mories.
So I might need to view these changes as a blessing. Although it’s a bit uncomfortable to have past and present mories mixed, I could slowly sort them out over ti. anwhile, I would be one step closer to the ending.
I could now naturally accept my changed life. I am Jane Osmond, a 21st-century person living in the 19th century. At the sa ti, I was still ‘.’
Of course, much of my adaptation was thanks to Liam Moore. Without his unwavering dedication, I wouldn’t have endured playing this ga up to this point. Though he seed to be getting a bit overzealous…
Since the kidnapping incident, he refused to leave alone and protected the house with every charm he knew. Honestly, I half-expected this reaction.
‘But trying to sleep together is a bit much…’
I was appalled.
“Are you a nine-year-old child, coming to sleep with a pillow in hand?”
Liam Moore hugged his pillow and smiled shyly.
“Oh, Jane. I’m more afraid than you think…”
“I rember you chopping up that strange squid like it was a chop steak.”
“Damn it.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
It happened to be raining in London. It had been gloomy since the day, and by night, there was thunder. Using the thunder as an excuse, Liam Moore was now camping out in my room.
“Honestly, Jane. I’m really scared of thunder.”
Good grief.
I couldn’t help but laugh at his shalessly pathetic face hugging the pillow. It was endearing how he tried to stay by my side even by making himself out to be a thirty-year-old man afraid of thunder. Even though there were no significant threats to after dealing with Philip Peterson and welcoming a peaceful New Year.
‘Of course, the Black King is still a major threat…’
That’s a problem I have to solve gradually. As I learn more about this place, I need to approach it cautiously.
But I couldn’t completely dismiss his anxiety. I also experienced his disappearance. It was natural for us to care about each other’s safety. Considering how Liam reacted when I went missing, his overprotectiveness made sense. This sensitive man probably blad himself for everything.
I still rember his large eyes brimming with tears as he collapsed after rescuing . Because of that mory, I couldn’t be too harsh on Liam when he acted this way.
“Alright, I give up.”
When I patted the bed, Liam climbed up with a delighted smile, neatly taking off his slippers.
I sighed, looking at the man who snuggled up to .
“It’s strange. You’re thirty now, why are you acting so childish?”
Liam muttered,
“So what if I’m a bit childish? As long as I do my job well outside.”
Yeah, be cold outside and soft at ho. You do it all.
Thank goodness the world didn’t know about this soft side of Liam Moore.
Liam, leaning on his elbow and looking at my face, smiled slightly. His long fingers played with my stray hairs. I didn’t know what he was building up to with this pause.
“…Actually, I think it’s ti we shared a room.”
What? This scoundrel!
As my gaze turned icy, Liam hurriedly explained.
“No. It’s just that having separate rooms ans I might not notice if sothing happens to you. Especially if soone intentionally breaks in like last ti…”
“So your solution is to share a room?”
“…I had no ulterior motives.”
Yeah, right.
I stared at him for a while, then covered my eyes with my hand. Why do I feel like an idiot every ti I talk to you? I lanted to the air.
“Oh my gosh, Herschel. Your godson is such a scoundrel…”
Liam chuckled a bit, then shifted to find a comfortable position and buried half his face in the pillow. He blinked quietly. The small oil lamp’s fla was dying, leaving the room lit only by the fireplace. Silence prevailed. I felt the warmth of his breath beside .
“I’ll think about it.”
When I finally said that, Liam Moore smiled gently.
The rattling of the window was loud. Rain lashed against the glass. Feeling a bit scared, I asked,
“The Thas won’t flood, right?”
“It’s okay. This much rain won’t cause a flood.”
Thank goodness. From Jane’s mories, the Thas often swelled with heavy rain every year, so I worried on rainy days. After all, the Thas was not far from Bailonz Street.
He patted and urged,
“Let’s sleep now. You’ve been awake too long.”
“Ah, wait….”
Liam, who was about to fall asleep, slowly lifted his eyelids.
“I have a lunch appointnt on Thursday with a friend. We’re having a al with her partner, the three of us.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to co?”
Knowing his nature of not leaving alone, he probably would want to.
“Where?”
When I gave Clara’s address, Liam frowned in thought. He pondered for a while, then shook his head.
“It wouldn’t be polite to join a lunch like that, so I’ll wait outside with the carriage.”
“Alright then.”
“If I follow you inside, it might look…”
“Overprotective?”
His warm hand ca up to stroke my cheek. I felt drowsy. Despite calling him a scoundrel, Liam Moore was a very effective… human heater. I couldn’t deny that. My vision blurred.
As sleep overtook , I faintly heard Liam’s voice.
“I just don’t want to make it obvious to everyone how much I care about you.”
His voice was tender, as if it would disappear any mont.
＊ ＊ ＊
When I woke up, Liam was still beside . Fearing I might vanish, he held onto my sleeve even in his sleep. Yet, he maintained a respectful pillow’s distance.
Really, I’m not going anywhere.
As I tried to gently remove his large hand, he seed to wake at the rustling sound. The sleepy thirty-year-old, half-awake with one eye open, mumbled. His voice was muffled and hoarse.
“What ti is it?”
“Hmm. Nine o’clock.”
I checked the clock and answered. Liam groaned and held his head.
“You idiot.”
I laughed and rubbed Liam’s face. It was warm and soft. Under my hand, he complained, his face squished.
“Why do people have to wake up in the morning and sleep at night?”
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