While You're In Love

A little over a month had passed.

Outside, it was early summer, with people talking about the rising heat. However, Tordell Mansion was still stuck in winter. The air inside the mansion remained chilly, and the ground felt like an icy path where one had to be cautious with every step.

This was because the aftermath of the cold winter had not yet been resolved.

The vacancies left by those who had fallen under the angry master’s blade still remained.

Although Dalton had protested several times, Aslan didn’t hire more people. With the workforce reduced, there were natural limits on how much work could be done and shared.

As a result, the remaining employees were busier than ever, leaving them with no time for conversation. Even if there hadn’t been a backlog of work, the mansion’s atmosphere was so stifling that it discouraged them from chattering.

After the departure of the Duchess, Tordell Mansion had turned into a frozen place where one had to be cautious even while breathing, especially in the vicinity of Aslan’s study.

“…”

The room was so quiet that even the sound of a pen nib scratching against paper had ceased.

Aslan, scanning documents with weary eyes, put his work aside and rose from his seat.

Clack.

Aslan, who stepped out onto the balcony, took out a cigar and placed it in his mouth.

Exhausted, he dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out something he’d been reaching for lately.

He lit the cigar.

Drawing the smoke deeply enough to make his cheeks hollow, he felt the sharp, fragrant smoke fill the emptiness inside him.

“Whoa…”

Exhaling the cigarette smoke slowly, he gazed down at the garden beyond the railing.

Regardless of the atmosphere within the mansion, the summer scene outside was beautiful. Among the fresh leaves, shy flower buds were blossoming, spreading a sweet fragrance everywhere.

The garden was a place that Lyla loved. Perhaps in the vast Tordell Mansion, it was the only space where she truly felt at ease in.

Although the carefully tended garden didn’t particularly impress Aslan, the fact that it held memories of his wife made it special to him.

Aslan stood still, staring at the garden, searching for traces of his wife scattered throughout it.

Whenever he came out here at this time of day, when the sun was setting to the west , he would usually see Lyla, walking around alone in the garden.

Most of the time, Lyla stayed inside her room, but she dedicated a significant amount of time to her garden walks.

She would stare at the water flowing from the statue of the woman with the urn and dip her fingertips into the water.

She would stop to look at the flowers in bloom and bend down to smell them.

Aslan knew the details of her walks, and not just because he often accompanied her on them. It’s because of a new habit he picked up three years ago.

Shortly after they were married, he would come out onto this balcony overlooking the garden at this time every day, just in time for Lyla’s walk.

Or, more precisely, to watch her every step and action.

At first, Aslan was puzzled by this strange habit of not being able to talk to her.

But even after realizing that he had developed an unusual habit, he couldn’t get rid of it.

It was good to see Lyla happy in his space.

It was nice to see her feel a little free.

“The sight of Lyla, as she took a deep breath, her hair fluttering in the wind and her hand holding the hem of her skirt,  was refreshing for Aslan, who watched her.

When his head would pound from the overwhelming workload and accumulating troubles.

Seeing Lyla taking a walk from afar made Aslan feel more at ease.

But now, he could only imagine her in his mind. Lyla was in Elwood’s small house.

“……”

Aslan, who couldn’t take his eyes off the places she particularly liked and stayed in for a long time, went back inside.

The more he looked at the garden without her, the more it became clear that she had left him, and he didn’t want to linger outside, feeling more empty and vain.

Putting aside the ashes of burnt cigar, Aslan returned to his study, and his body was filled with the lingering smell of cigarettes.

“Deodorant…”

As Aslan moved to remove the smell from his body as if it were a habit, he stopped.

He let out a wry smile.

It was the cigarette he had quit just before their marriage, out of concern for Lyla’s fragile health.

If he came home with the scent of tobacco on him from outside, he made sure to get rid of it before seeing Lyla.

Even the faint remaining smell of cigarettes felt abhorrent, especially when it made Lyla cough.

But now, there was no need for that.

Aslan sighed, looking at the overflowing ashtray on the side of his desk.

His throat, which had been sore, was filled with the pungent smell of tobacco.

He rubbed his stiff neck and sat back in his chair, ready to get to work.

But first.

Swoosh.

Aslan opened the first drawer and pulled out a stack of papers from the top.

The first page contained a report with today’s date, sent by the aide staying in Ellwood.

Aslan had been living a precarious life, like a person on a tightrope.

He had been known as a workaholic even before meeting Lyla, but now it was even worse.

Previously, used to  sleep, even though for a short time, but now, he hardly closed  his eyes.

He didn’t even take breaks.

If someone were to scrutinize his daily life closely, they might conclude that he was subjecting himself to a relentless routine, almost to the point of self-torture.

What allowed Aslan to maintain some semblance of normalcy was the daily report sent up to him every morning from the aide stationed in Ellwood.

His handler, planted in Ellwood, would write down everything Lyla had done that day and send it to Aslan every night.

The report detailing her daily activities would arrive on Aslan’s desk every morning after a night of rapid transit.

Aslan sat down in his office at the crack of dawn, exhausted from lack of sleep, and read the report before anything else.

Reading it became his only respite.

As he read the short report , he tried to picture the before Lyla and present Lyla, the one he didn’t yet know.

Though he resented the fact that she was doing so well without needing or missing him, still he was glad that she was well and cheerful.

His wife had always struggled, ached, and suffered by his side.

Her smile was lovely when he saw it, but it was never like the brilliant, dazzling smile he had seen in Ellwood.

Swallowing back the longing to see her again, Aslan finished reading the report.

He read it so many times that he was able to memorize every single detail of the report, now he could naturally imagine Lyla from yesterday doing the stuff written on the report.

“I’m glad to hear you’re doing well, wife.”

With a grimace, Aslan slid the finished report back into the drawer.

He would read it again when he’d get the chance, but now was not the time.

Aslan closed his eyes for a moment.

His only pleasure lately had been reading Lyla’s daily reports, but it had a deadly side effect.

“Lyla.”

Aslan murmured, his wife’s name in his mouth.

“I miss you.”

He always missed his wife, but now he missed her more than ever.

A strong impulse surged through him, even causing a headache. Aslan frowned and unconsciously put the cigarette in his mouth before removing it.

Now, something else might be more effective.

Thump…

Aslan opened the second drawer. The locked drawer contained his newest treasure.

A smooth glass bottle containing blue perfume, a gift Lyla had prepared for him for his birthday.

Click!

Lyla had personally chosen the scent, one that had a cold and fresh scent.

Not a scent that reminded him of her. For her, it was more of a warm, cozy scent.

It was a gift for his birthday, so she thought it would be a fitting scent for Aslan.

‘I wonder if she thought I was cold.’

Aslan thought bitterly, but it wasn’t long before he opened his eyes.

The scent of the perfume was quickly dispersed by the smell of cigarettes in the air.

Aslan furrowed his brows.

“…I should quit smoking.”

With this thought, Aslan picked up a pen once more.

If he was going to give his wife a good, secure life in the future, he had to step up his game.

Aslan Tordell’s days went like this.

Work, work, work.

No sleep, no rest, just work.

His only respite came in the form of reports from Ellwood at dawn each day.

But even that didn’t last much longer.

An event occurred that completely shattered Aslan’s already fragile patience.

He was reading a report on Lyla’s day from Gus, as usual.

“……!”

Aslan stiffened and his eyes widened.

He appeared shocked by what he had read. The reason was in the report he held tightly in his trembling hands.

Today’s report read as follows:

[Apologized to Hans Tegel and smiled once.]

‘She smiled at that bastard.’

Aslan frowned. His heart beat dully in displeasure.

If Hans Tegel was standing right in front of him, Aslan doubted he could remain calm.

Hans Tegel.

The only reason he remembered him was due to a vivid memory etched in his mind.

It was a morning about a month ago when he had secretly watched Lyla.

Lyla had greeted Hans Tegel, the mailman who came to deliver the newspaper that day, with a courteous smile and greeting.

It was a simple act of politeness from person to person, but her kindness seemed to have awoken something in Hans Tegel.

Aslan still remembered Hans Tegel’s stupid face, unable to take his eyes off Lyla.

Any man approaching Lyla, regardless of age or situation, did not sit well with him.

Especially if it were a man of similar age who had ulterior motives, it was only natural that he wanted to keep them far away from Lyla.

“I should have kept him away from her somehow.”

Clicking his tongue, Aslan finished reading the report.

But it was still okay. His composure was not shaken by this.

It was the rest of the report that shook him.

[She went to bed early this evening, it seems she has a cold. Luke Violet went out to get a doctor, and the light was on in Lyla’s room all night. Probably to nurse her, since her fever isn’t going down easily.]

Rip!

Without realizing it, Aslan had gripped the report so tightly that it tore slightly.

But he couldn’t care less about such trivial matters. His gaze remained fixed on the sentences in the report.

Lyla was sick.

While it might be just a passing cold for others, for his delicate wife, it was a potentially fatal illness.

[Ah… it hurts, it hurts…]

At Tordell Manor, Lyla was often sick.

Sometimes it was short-lived, but more often it was not.

He remembers her lying in bed for days on end, weak and suffering, for several days.

In the past, he’d been able to stay by her side, nursing her and watching her condition progress, but now he couldn’t.

Lyla is sick in his absence…….

This was a report about yesterday. Thinking about how much worse Lyla’s condition might have become overnight made his blood boil.

Swish!

Aslan stood up, holding the report.

Today’s important appointments, crucial decisions affecting astronomical budgets, and other matters had completely vanished from his mind.

There was only one thing occupying Aslan’s thoughts: he had to go to Lyla.

 

 

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