“Where am I going…! No…”

I quickly changed the subject, afraid he would pester me about it again.

“But…! Shanette was right. Stroking my hair helps me sleep well.”

Reus reacted somewhat indifferently.

“The person stroking it?”

“What? No… Of course I’m talking about you, Reus.”

The eyes that were staring intently at me became a little drowsy.

“For that to happen, didn’t you fall asleep first?”

“What? When did I…”

Huh…? Considering my memory of last night isn’t clear, I guess that might be the case…?

But if I fell asleep first, how did Reus fall asleep? I thought I was helping, but was I not…?

“You just sleep deeply sometimes, right? I thought I was being helpful…”

Reus, who paused for a moment, soon spoke.

“…It was a joke.”

“What?”

“Thanks to you, I slept deeply.”

I don’t know which words to trust when he says different things. As if sensing my feelings, Reus spoke again.

“Didn’t you also feel that I usually can’t fall asleep?”

“That’s true, but…”

I nodded my head, although I felt a bit uneasy.

“But how long has it been since you slept soundly?”

Reus seemed lost in thought for a moment, then answered nonchalantly.

“I think it’s the first time.”

“That’s a joke too, right?”

“Excluding when I was young, it really is the first time.”

“…”

I was at a loss for words at Reus’ serious face.

Despite it being a huge problem, he seemed completely unfazed. Moreover, it seemed as if he considered not being able to sleep as normal.

If what he said was true, how long had he been living in the agony of being unable to sleep?

It upset me that he seemed to have lived an even more difficult life than me, a supporting character.

“If you ever need me… Please tell me anytime.”

“Anytime.”

Reus, as if savoring my words, followed along and smiled faintly.

“It’s pointless to make promises you can’t keep.”

“It’s not just empty words.”

“What if I ask you every day?”

“Well…”

I haven’t really thought about that.

‘Every day…’

As I hesitated to answer for a moment, an expression of “well, of course” appeared on Reus’ face.

“I…! I can do it. No, I can definitely do it.”

When I think about it, there’s no reason to hesitate with this answer. If he says he can sleep comfortably just with this, what’s so hard about stroking his hair?

I made an expression as if to say he can really tell me anytime.

“I’ll remember that well, Roel.”

“Yes, you can tell me anytime.”

Reus chuckled lowly at my answer. I answered seriously, so I don’t know why he’s laughing like that.

* * *

Yesterday, we ended up lying down longer and going to eat a late dinner. And after taking a short walk to aid digestion, we went back to sleep a little early.

Since I wasn’t very tired from sleeping a lot the previous day, I fell asleep a bit late, while Reus fell asleep much earlier than me.

Perhaps because the fatigue had accumulated for too long, he didn’t budge even when touched. So these days, we both unintentionally woke up much later than usual.

Today, we leisurely had lunch together at a late hour again. Afterwards, Reus headed to his office, and I, having nothing to do as usual, made my way to the library.

The sunlight touching the wooden desk felt particularly warm today. Suddenly, I thought of the attic room at the very top.

‘It must be even warmer up there, right?’

Without much deliberation, I picked up the book I was reading and headed straight to the attic under the glass dome. As soon as I set foot inside, a warm, sunlit scent and cozy air enveloped my body.

Wondering where to read the book, I decided to read it right on the sunlit carpet.

The book I’ve been reading these days is a long novel spanning 9 volumes, a mystery with elements of horror. When I read it, I lose track of time.

While completely immersed in the book, my body gradually leaned back in the cozy atmosphere of the attic. And when I came to my senses, I was almost lying on the floor, hugging the blanket from the sofa.

I needed to get up to grab the next volume, but I felt too lazy. I waved my hand around, trying to reach the book.

But as soon as it bumped against my fingertips, the book collapsed towards the large frame hanging on the wall.

“Ah… I should have put it a little more to the side.”

Grumbling, I put down the book I was reading and raised my body. Of course, I didn’t get up completely, just lifted my upper body.

As I was roughly organizing the books, I turned my head and noticed a strange mark on the edge of the frame.

“Huh? What’s this? Don’t tell me… It wasn’t made by the book, right?”

But upon closer inspection, it didn’t seem to be a mark left by the book. On the very left bottom corner of the frame, there seemed to be a gap that could be opened. As I touched it this way and that, the gap widened, revealing something hidden.

There was a groove carved under the wooden frame. It wasn’t carved haphazardly, but looked as if a sophisticated pattern had been deliberately engraved.

Looking closely, the pattern resembled a flower shape.

‘But this pattern seems somewhat familiar.’

It kind of looks similar to the shape of my ring.

‘…No, it’s exactly the same as the shape of my ring?’

The ring worn on the fourth finger of my right hand was given to me by Reus at our wedding.

According to Shanette, this ring has been passed down for generations in the Rochester family.

At that time, I said I wanted to receive a different ring because it was burdensome, but Reus said it would be more unnatural to give me a different ring and told me to just wear this one.

It was burdensome even then, but seeing this pattern now, I felt even more burdened.

‘This ring doesn’t seem to be just an ordinary ring…?’

For now, I took off the ring. On a hunch, I inserted the ring into the pattern, and it fit perfectly, smoothly sliding in. Then, a sound of a strange mechanism moving was heard from somewhere, and soon, a piece of metal poked out from under the frame.

“What’s this again…?”

I touched it a little, then applied force in the direction it moved and pushed, and a clicking sound was heard.

“Ah!”

And the frame suddenly opened like a door, directly hitting the right side of my head.

Thud! A dull sound rang out, and my body swayed greatly. Without even a chance to regain my balance, I collapsed onto the floor.

As the blood flowing through my veins rushed entirely to my head, I felt dizzy, and a piercing pain spread widely from the point of impact. As the pain gradually became more distinct, a groan involuntarily escaped through my clenched teeth.

I just lay there for a long time, holding my head.

“Ah… It hurts… It hurts so much…”

Only after the loud vibration ringing in my head gradually subsided could I properly open my eyes.

I lay in a daze for a moment, then slowly lifted my upper body.

But I felt a thick liquid slightly flowing from my forehead. When I fumbled the spot where the frame hit with my hand, something smeared on my palm.

“Is this… blood?”

I thought the frame had hit my head directly, but to the point of being cut and bleeding…

“That’s what you get for messing with strange things.”

I felt absurd at myself for regretting it now when I was the one who caused the trouble.

Still, I thought I should check what I had touched, so I regained my senses and fully got up from the spot.

“Oh…”

I expected a hidden safe or something to be revealed when the frame opened like a door. But when I turned around, what I saw was a pitch-black space gaping behind the frame.

‘What the heck is that space…? Is it not just a hole, but a passage leading somewhere?’

But as I stared at it intently, it felt like a ghost would pop out of the dark hole at any moment.

Having just read a horror mystery novel, I felt twice as scared as usual.

Fear crept up on me, and I kept backing away until I reached the attic entrance. Then, my back hit the wall, and I trembled greatly, startled without realizing it.

I thought I should check it out, but I changed my mind.

Passage or whatever, it’s too scary.

I just trembled in the corner, then turned my head away from the gaping dark space. And I approached as quickly as possible and returned the frame to its original position.

Then, a sound of something clicking into place was heard between the frame and the wall. The frame returned to its original state as if nothing had happened.

And soon, the ring fell to the floor and rolled away.

I should have picked it up right away, but startled by the sound, I left the attic without looking back.

* * *

Only after leaving the attic did I realize that the source of the rolling sound was the ring.

Since it was a wedding ring, I should have taken it with me, but I couldn’t bring myself to enter that place alone again today, so I gave up.

Somehow, even the library itself felt a bit scary, should I say…?

Since there was nothing I could do even if I stayed longer, I immediately returned to the bedroom.

‘What was that dark space?’

When I tried to recall, the two protruding pieces of metal and the straight metal connecting them looked just like a ladder. If so, it could really be a passage leading somewhere, as I predicted.

‘I want to ask Reus about it.’

But I was worried if I could directly bring up the topic of the library.

Of course, if it was just a simple conversation about the library, we could talk comfortably.

However, what I wanted to mention was the very top floor of the library.

Anyone could see that it was a place filled with memories of his parents, so there was a high probability that Reus wouldn’t welcome the topic of the attic.

‘But if he knew that, I don’t think he would have given me the ring…’

I was deeply pondering how to casually bring it up when I heard the sound of the door opening behind me.

Actually, I was still startled, so even that small sound made my body shrink.

Still, I thought I should greet the person who came first, so I got up from my seat, faltering.

“Reu…”

“Roel!”