It’s Not Night - Chapter 180.3

“Could he be waiting for a lover? People often propose there. Maybe they promised to meet under that tree.”

“If he had a promise, he wouldn’t need to wait every day. Perhaps he’s just reminiscing or enjoying some quiet reflection.”

“Or maybe he’s mourning a lost love. Imagine, he’s returned after a long time, only to find that his beloved, whom he promised to love, has died of illness! He might be grieving there in the place filled with their shared memories.”

“Jean, stop reading so many novels.”

“Yes, I noticed that back when you were always glued to novels.”

“Why is everyone picking on me? Miss, what do you think?”

The maid named Jean looked at Andra with a resentful expression. Andra brushed the dirt off her gloves and stood up. As the nanny had said, the sky was growing darker.

“Well, sometimes things that seem like they belong in novels can happen in real life. But Jean, it’s probably best to stop reading so many novels.”

“Oh, even you’re saying that, Miss?”

“Enough. Let’s call it a day. It’s going to rain.”

At Andra’s words, the maids started tidying up. Andra headed back to the mansion to change her clothes before dinner. The nanny had already prepared the clothes in her room.

“Oh, Miss, there was a letter for you. It didn’t have a sender. What should we do?”

“A letter? Just leave it there for now. I’ll check it.”

“Alright, I’ll put it here. Change your clothes and come out.”

When Andra came out after changing, the rain was pouring outside. She glanced at the downpour and then noticed the letter left by the nanny. As she had said, there was no sender on the envelope.

“Who could have sent this letter…”

Sitting in a chair, Andra opened the envelope and read the contents. The first thing she noticed was the rough handwriting, which was unfamiliar to her.

The letter contained only a single sentence:

[I will wait until you remember.]

“What…?”

Andra put the letter down.

“‘I’ll wait until you remember’? Who on earth sent this?”

Andra checked the sender’s information once more, but there was nothing written in that section.

She furrowed her brow and crumpled the letter, tossing it into the trash bin. Whoever sent it, it was clearly a bothersome prank.

“Miss, have you finished changing?”

“Yes, I’m coming down now!”

Andra threw on a shawl and left her room. As she came down to the first floor for dinner, she saw her third brother, Ian, who had just arrived at the mansion and was wiping the wetness from his hair with a towel.

“Did you get caught in the rain? Where did you leave the carriage?”

“It broke down on the way, so I rode a horse instead.”

“You should have waited a bit. Or sent a telegram. The servants would have gone right away. Typical Ian, always so impatient.”

Ian shrugged at Andra’s words.

“By the way, Andra, did you know that Lord Airak also graduated from the same academy as you?”

Andra, who had been heading towards the dining room, stopped abruptly. Her heart began to race suddenly.

Why is Lord Airak mentioned here?

She turned back to look at Ian. Strangely, her voice started to tremble against her will.

“He did graduate the same academy. Why do you ask?”

“Well, I’ve been hearing rumors that people have seen him lately.”

“…In the East?”

“Yes, I heard it from Sir Ben today on the way here… Andra?”

At that moment, Andra recalled the conversation she had overheard earlier among the maids.

The talk about someone waiting under the tree. And the line from the letter she had just read, ‘I will wait until you remember.’

‘This is strange. Why am I so fixated on these things?’

It felt as if everything was moving in slow motion now that Lord Airak had been mentioned.

‘….When riding through the vast wheat fields, at some point you see a hill. There’s a giant tree on it, so wide that even if you stretch your arms out, you can’t take it all. I loved to nap under it or just watch the wheat sway in the wind.’

A faint memory was becoming clearer. Andra blinked and shivered.

What is this?

‘You’d love it, Dustin. It’s such a peaceful place. So if we ever leave Hezel…’

Her mouth went dry. Andra felt her heart pounding as if it would burst any moment. It wasn’t just that. She was having trouble breathing. She looked at Ian and the nanny, who were coming towards her, and the shocked servants.

‘Why does everyone look at her like that…’

With a ringing in her ears, Andra felt her vision flicker.