Chapter 19
Dick asked with a surprised expression.
“Young Lady, how did you know Falcon House needed something like this?”
Ellen looked a little flustered. She’d just remembered hearing it somewhere back in Korea, so she ordered it. Was it not normal for a noble lady to know these things?
Well, maybe it was weirder if she did.
“Uh… well, I think I saw you using something like that when you were training Nash before.”
“You’re very observant, my lady.”
Dick smiled as if he accepted her explanation, and she let out a discreet sigh.
“This is much better than the one I’ve been using. Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Nash will come find my room even if I’m not in it, right?”
She waved her hand as she asked.
“Yes. If the mansion door isn’t open, he’ll go to your window and tap it with his front paw.”
“Alright. When Nash comes to my room, I’ll take out the letter and send it off to Falcon House. I’m heading in.”
Leaving the bowing Dick behind, Ellen quickly ran back into the mansion.
Ugh. I’m so on edge, I can’t even give a gift in peace.
Just as Dick had said, Nash returned about two hours later. She had left her window open, and Nash slipped in through it, landing right on Ellen’s desk as she worked on her homework.
“Meow—”
Sitting on the desk, Nash scratched his head with the claws of his front paw. Scratch, scratch, scratch.
‘Huh? That’s a bit different from normal cat grooming, isn’t it?’
As Ellen watched Nash’s odd behavior, she noticed a note hanging from his neck. It wasn’t the same paper she had sent, so it looked like he’d made it to Roy and back.
“Oh, you’re so cute! How is my Nash so smart!”
She gave him a treat and gave him plenty of pets before sending him off to Falcon House again.
“I hope this one’s not just another ‘Okay, got it’ reply…”
Ellen muttered as she unfolded the note.
Commemorating Nash’s first official message flight.
Now that I try to write something, I can’t really think of anything to say.
Our cook made a new orange tart today—it was really good. I think you’d like it. I’ll bring you one next time.
Sometimes I think about it—you kind of feel like a friend to me.
—Roy
P.S. Nash hit me in the face again. It didn’t hurt, but… is there no way to train that out of him?
What does he mean by that? Aren’t we already friends?
Ellen’s head was full of question marks.
Was he trying to say “don’t get too close” just because she was acting cheeky? But that didn’t really match Roy’s personality. He never tried to lord over her with that nine-month age gap.
Or… maybe he just meant they’d gotten closer?
After thinking it over and getting nowhere, Ellen decided to let it go. Maybe he just wrote nonsense because he’s still young.
Smiling warmly, she looked back at the letter and imagined the orange tart.
‘If it’s from their cook, it’s bound to be good. Our chef is pretty skilled too, but when it comes to dessert, theirs is better. I wonder if I can make them give lessons?’
✿ ✿ ✿
Tap, tap, tap.
Roy, working on his homework in the study, raised his head at the sound on the window.
“A message hawk?”
Seeing the bird tapping on the window with its beak, Roy jumped out of his chair.
“That’s odd. Who would send me a message?”
He opened the window, and the bird flew in, landing on the back of the study’s sofa.
Maybe it’s from one of Paulette’s friends? Did something happen?
Roy quickly approached and untied the letter from the bird.
Nash’s first official message flight—what a milestone!
Don’t forget to apply the medicine once a week.
—From your beautiful and lovely Ellie
The note started like that, but continued for quite a bit. She must’ve written up to there first and then added more later.
Ellie, huh.
Roy scanned the note with dazed eyes. More than the content, it was the handwriting that caught his attention.
The person who wrote this was definitely Ellie, but her writing had traces of Hyesuh’s habits.
In this world, there was no rule that said the first letter of a sentence had to be capitalized. Instead, punctuation and spacing were used to distinguish sentences clearly.
But Roy noticed the unusually large first letters and the way the last letters trailed off—and it reminded him of Hyesuh. She had that same habit.
‘Thanks to that, I knew it was her when I got that “lucky letter” in elementary school.’
He’d opened the chain letter and immediately recognized the handwriting from the large consonants at the start of every sentence. He’d grumbled about how she didn’t even try to disguise her handwriting if she wanted to stay anonymous.
Back then, he’d even stared at Hyesuh’s window, lights still on, wondering if he should return the letter. But in the end, even after realizing it was her, he’d kept quiet and let it be.
Now, with a note that held both of Hyesuh’s handwriting quirks, Roy couldn’t think straight.
Memories of Hyesuh and thoughts of Ellen filled his mind, knocking around like they were jostling for space.
He felt guilty for projecting Hyesuh onto Ellen, for not seeing Ellen as her own person. But even with the guilt, the memories of Hyesuh still hurt.
As Roy stood there staring blankly at the note, the bird pecked his finger gently, as if urging him for a reply. That snapped him back, and he tried to focus on the contents of the letter.
Dabbing the medicine onto his hand, he grabbed a new sheet of paper and sat at his desk. But maybe because his chest ached, he couldn’t think of anything to say to Ellen.
In the end, he scribbled a short reply, barely aware of what he was writing, tied it to the bird’s leg, and sent it off.
He sat down slowly, his gaze fixed on the retreating bird, and stared again at Ellen’s letter on the desk.
Running his fingers over the paper, Roy leaned back in his chair and tilted his head up, closing his eyes.
A low, melancholic whistle filled the room.
✿ ✿ ✿
“Why isn’t Nash back yet?”
Ellen was pacing on the terrace in the middle of the night.
Wrapped in a light shawl, she looked up at the sky to gauge the time. The two moons had long since crossed paths—so it was already well past midnight.
One of the things that had surprised her when she first came here was the fact that this world had two moons.
The two moons rose from opposite ends of the sky, crossed above her head, and then moved apart again. The moment they met in the sky marked midnight.
Nash had left to deliver a letter to Serel in the Bourbon territory.
He had only gone as far as nearby Karzelga before, but now, after lots of training and growth, he could deliver letters even to friends living farther away.
As soon as she heard this from Dick, Ellen made sure to share the special medicine with the other girls during the last Paulette gathering.
“Didn’t they say it takes about two days to get to Bourbon?”
Ellen narrowed her eyes and searched the dark sky.
According to Dick, Nash had become fast enough to make the trip in two days. It had taken him three days to get to Erica in the capital, so two days should be enough this time.
“Then why isn’t he back yet?”
Still pacing, Ellen finally sat down on one of the terrace chairs.
Was this what parents felt when their child stayed out too late? With him already a whole day late, she was too worried to sleep. What if something had happened?
Half-drowsing on the terrace with the heart of a worried parent, Ellen suddenly opened her eyes at a strange black burst in the distance.
‘Hmm? What was that?’
She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the light was gone.
‘No way it was fireworks… maybe I imagined it?’
Maybe she was just seeing things. And really, what even was “black light,” anyway?
Stretching with a long yawn, Ellen shot up.
“Nash!”
A cream-colored cat was flying across the night sky.
“Meow—!”
The sound echoed from above as the cat landed smoothly in her arms.
Purring and rubbing against her, Nash was clearly in a good mood.
Ellen pet him as they returned to her room and handed him a treat.
“Nash, why are you so late?”
He ignored her and focused on devouring the treat with his front paws. Ellen took the letter from his neck.
Ellen, how have you been?
Nash has grown so much. He can carry full letters now, not just little notes. I used to cram tiny writing onto scraps—now I can write freely on a whole sheet.
Ellen, give Nash lots of praise. He worked really hard at our place for two whole days.
Ellen tilted her head. Worked? What kind of work would a cat do at the Bourbons’ estate?
Mother lost a brooch she inherited from Grandma. It’s been passed down for generations—from great-great-grandmother onward. Then one day, it just vanished.
The whole house went into panic mode. Mother took to bed, the staff were suspicious of each other, and we couldn’t even tell Grandma we’d lost it… The whole place was on edge.
Everyone was searching quietly, and for some reason Nash kept wandering all over the house. So I told him, “We lost a brooch that looks like this—can you find it for us?” Just sort of venting.
And guess what? He actually found it!
He came back all dusty, dropped the brooch on my bed, and—no joke—I thought he looked cooler than a spirit king.
“Nash, Serel says you’re cooler than a spirit king. You’ve made it big, kitty.”
Ellen glanced at Nash and chuckled.
But seriously, Nash—do you understand everything people say? How else would you find exactly what I described? It’s like you understand more than just a few words.
I’m jealous! I wish I had a narugo like him.
Mother’s sending a gift to Countess Quinter. I’m thinking of slipping in some treats for Nash. Don’t you dare sneak a taste again just because you’re curious! They’re all for Nash, okay?
Ellen winced and glanced at the window.
How did she know? She really had been sneaking some of Nash’s treats for herself. They were good!
‘Come on, can’t your big sister have a bite now and then?’
Nash gave her a look like, “Huh?” then scratched his head and yawned.
His grooming really is weird.
She turned back to the letter.
It’s boring here on the estate. I hope the next Paulette meetup comes soon.
At least your mansion is close to Karzelga. You can hang out with Roy whenever you want.
…
Serel’s letter continued on.
As she read, Ellen lay back on her bed, a smile on her face.
She missed her friends.
