Chapter 5

"Mom, can I read this book?"

"Sure. But I think it's a very expensive book, so it would be best to wear gloves."

"Ugh, that's such a hassle."

"Don't say that. If you dirty it, it wouldn't be right to Mr. Bernard."

"Okay."

Nonna, who had been reading 'The Lost Crown' while complaining about the awkward phrasing and difficult-to-read handwriting, was asleep on the chaise lounge when I returned to the living room after confirming the living schedule with the servants. Nonna's long golden hair, which had been unbraided, flowed like a golden stream over the sofa. Her eyelashes and eyebrows were golden, her lips as red as cherries, and her cheeks like peaches with fine down. My adorable Nonna.

I covered Nonna with a blanket and watched her sleeping face for a while. I wondered if my feeling that she was so cute was just a parent's bias. I sat in the chair next to Nonna and picked up the book. The smell of leather from the parchment, the elegant handwriting, and the meticulous craftsmanship of the binding made me understand a little how book collectors felt.

I wrote down everything I noticed from the spelling mistakes.

Page numbers, line numbers, word positions, and the nature of the mistakes. I tried to find patterns from various angles.

But no matter how I looked at it, I couldn't find a consistent rule in the word mistakes.

"Maybe it's just a simple typo."

Just as I was starting to think that, Jeff came back.

"Welcome back."

"Thanks. I just submitted the report from the Sheng Kingdom's trade guild. We have some free time until the ennoblement ceremony. We can relax."

"We hardly took any breaks for five years there, didn't we?"

"Yeah. I was always in high spirits because I was living with you, though."

He hugged me gently. The mix of Jeff's green cologne and his natural scent was very pleasant.

I had been a bit flustered each time he hugged or kissed me when we first got married. Jeff always seemed to enjoy watching me flustered.

One day, I asked him about it, puzzled.

"I didn't think you were the type to be so affectionate."

"I want to express my feelings whenever I can."

Was it because his fiancée had suddenly passed away? Or because he grew up with parents who had no love for each other?

Thinking about Jeff's past made me feel a pang of sadness, and I gently hugged him back.

"By the way, my brother is coming over tonight. He said he wants to check how comfortable this house is since we were away when he chose it."

"Alright."

Lord Edward arrived around dinner time.

"Hello, Victoria. It's good to see you looking well. How is the house?"

"Lord Edward, it's very comfortable. Thank you."

"Nonna, this house has lots of small rooms, which is fun!"

"I knew Nonna would say that. It's perfect for hide-and-seek, right?"

"Hide-and-seek? I'm twelve now. And there's no one to play with me."

"Hmm?"

Lord Edward laughed and said, "This is a secret," before telling us that Lord Clark had been very depressed and lonely after we suddenly left.

"Really?"

"Really, Nonna."

Nonna's expression softened. Lord Edward then turned to me.

"Hey? Isn't that Uncle's book?"

"Oh, yes. It was a wedding gift."

"Is that so? Uncle might get mad if I say this, but that book is probably worth enough to buy a decent mansion in the capital. Take good care of it."

"Really?"

"Really?"

Jeff put his fingertips to his forehead and closed his eyes.

"It's fine. If Uncle wanted to give it to you, you should accept it gratefully."

"But, Lord Edward, it's too precious to touch."

"At least I wore gloves to read it."

Lord Edward laughed and said, "Don't be so hesitant. Take it," before leaving in a good mood.

That night, I told Jeff about the conversation I had with Lord Bernard about the book.

"I see. Uncle entrusted you with this, then."

"Not exactly, but I don't think the spelling mistakes are a code. They seemed to follow a pattern, but..."

"Hmm?"

We were lying on our backs, talking, but Jeff turned to face me. The light from the bedside lamp made his silver hair sparkle.

"Lord Bernard wanted to visit the setting of that adventure novel. But it's too difficult for him now."

"Yeah. His legs are weak. Are you thinking of going there in his place?"

"Ah, no. I have a lot to do at home. I'll save it for a special day."

Jeff didn't say anything.

I really want to go.

But that forest is tied to Jeff's painful past. It would be too much to ask him to come with me. And I feel guilty about going with just Nonna and me.

I fell asleep while thinking about it.

The next day, when I went to the living room, Nonna was reading 'The Lost Crown' again.

"Good morning, Nonna. Is the book interesting?"

"Good morning, Mom. The phrasing is a bit awkward, but it's interesting."

"I want to read it too. Can you put a bookmark in it?"

"Sure."

That night, after Nonna went to sleep, I picked up 'The Lost Crown.' I prepared paper and a pen, wrote down the positions and intervals of the typos again, and tried to find a pattern.

I tried various old cipher methods, but none of them worked.

"What are you trying to say? Are you trying to convey something to someone?"

I kept muttering to myself and trying different ciphers.

After three days of trying all the ciphers I knew, I had no success.

Nonna, who had initially watched with interest, got bored and left. She was probably reviewing Sheng Kingdom martial arts in her room.

I drank tea a little away from the book to avoid dirtying it.

Every page had a beautiful illustration in the top left corner. The first page had peach blossoms and a small bird. The next page had fish in a stream. The small birds perched on the peach tree were five in number, with three looking down. The fish in the stream were many, all facing upstream, but two were looking at the riverbanks.

While looking at the illustrations, I had an idea and read the text again. I tried the method I thought of. On the fourth attempt, a meaningful sentence emerged.

My heart skipped a beat.

"This book really does have a code. And it's a very simple one. Why didn't I realize it sooner?"

The key to the code wasn't the typos. The typos were a trap to mislead the reader. The key was in the illustrations in the top left corner of each page. It was such a basic key that I had overlooked it.

I had been bothered by the illustrations, which were beautiful but a bit cluttered, and finally noticed it.

The illustrations on each page included various images like birds, fish, and fruits, which didn't seem to relate much to the text.

Some of the birds, fish, and fruits were facing different directions. By skipping the number of words corresponding to the number of items facing different directions and picking up the first letter of the next word, a message emerged. It was even simpler than the first cipher we learned at the training facility.

Once I realized this, my heart started to race. The excitement of decoding a difficult cipher during my active days came back.

'The lost crown found. But I was betrayed and injured. Cared for by a kind princess of Ashbury Kingdom. Recovered from injuries. Will leave information about the crown for the people of Ashbury.'

In sentence form:

'I found the lost crown. But I was betrayed and injured. I was cared for by a kind princess of Ashbury Kingdom and recovered from my injuries. Therefore, I will leave the information about the crown for the people of Ashbury.'

Ah, this is fun.

What kind of crown is it? Is it in the deep forest where the battle took place, as Mr. Bernard speculated? I want to go and check right away.

But I immediately reprimanded myself.

"There's no way I can go. I'm Jeff's wife, Nonna's mother, and a viscountess. I'm not an agent anymore."

Jeff, who gave me a place in the sunny world.

I don't want to disappoint or worry him. Most of all, I don't want to lose his affection. The thought of losing him makes me feel like a large, dark hole is opening up in front of me.

I closed 'The Lost Crown' and placed all the papers I used to decode the cipher under the book.