A Fairy Tales For The Villains

 

I found more lamps and candlesticks in the bathroom, so I

lit them,

too. After that, it was much better. It

had been

so dark that I couldn’t see it before, but now I could see a big lightning-shaped crack on one of the walls.

 

“Good, then let’s start exploring.”

 

With Venya

in the lead

holding a lamp and yelling triumphantly, the three of us opened the door to a room, not knowing if it was a study or a storage room. As soon as we opened the door,

a

musty stench hit my nose. 

 

“Waaah… it’s really big.”

 

Instead of complaining about the stench, Venya cried out excitedly as if he had discovered a new continent. Certainly, he’s an extraordinary fellow in many ways.

 

Anyway, that much was true. In the

lamps’ light,

the

room shape

, which

had se

emed vague earlier, was revealed.

 

The mysterious room beyond the door was so large that it looked like it was several times the size of the bedroom. Bookcases that seemed

tall enough

to pierce the ceiling were lined up along the wall.

 

In the middle, there were long-legged desks attached to one another. When I stepped onto the creaky floor and walked inside, something faint and fuzzy seemed to float around. 

 

“Is it a ghost?”

 

Neither Venya nor I responded to Lettis’

murmurs.

It was because I didn’t feel the question was worth answering.

 

But really, what is that? Is there a bunch of dust floating around? Or is it a spider web?

 

Venya, who had been walking

ahead

and looking around for a long time, spoke in a tone that sounded like it had become no fun.

 

“It just looks like a library. It’s kind of funny to have a library in a place like this.”

 

Certainly,

it wasn’t

a study nor a storage room. I could almost call it a bookstore. 

 

There were bookshelves everywhere! It was a feast of countless ancient-looking books and documents. Perhaps it’s a place where documents containing family secrets

were

kept?

 

Lost in thought, I almost

screamed myself

when I heard Lettis, who was approaching the ‘ghost’ at the other end of the room, suddenly shout in surprise. What’s that sloppy boy doing over there?!

 

“It’s a window!”

 

Aha, is that so? Such a marvelous discovery you made. In this mysterious library, there

was

a window that

was

not in

a

bedroom nor

a

bathroom. 

 

There’s definitely a window somewhere here. At the end of the vertically lined bookcases, between the opposite wall and the bookcase, a small window emitted a dim light. That was why it seemed so gloomy.

 

“I wonder what the outside looks like from here. Shall we take a look?”

 

Venya and I had the same thought, but…

 

“How are you going to do it? It’s too high.”

 

“There’s a ladder over there.”

 

Sure enough, there was a wooden ladder next to the bookcase where

Venya pointed

triumphantly. Since the bookshelves were so high, a ladder would have been needed to place and take out books.

 

I stared

silently while the two boys

ran and

dragged the ladder over because the

sight was

quite absurd.

 

Lettis and Venya had always been the spitting image of nobility itself during my fourteen years living here.

 

Even though we’ve been playing around since we were young and none of the siblings ever talked about my status, I

was always aware

that the wall between us

could

never be torn down.

 

Now, seeing those same boys dragging a ladder and whining like workers about to change a chandelier felt quite… I don’t know if it

was

laughable or pitiable.

 

“You think we look good, don’t you?”

 

“…Not really?”

 

“I think we look kinda cool.”

 

“Letty, that’s your own assumption.”

 

As Lettis stared at me with a suspicious look in his

squinting

eyes, Venya, who was straightening the ladder under the window,

gave us a look

like he was asking what the hell we were talking about and frowned.

 

“This is too old, so it feels very weak. Sasha, what do you think?”

 

It did seem a little dangerous to me too. When I reached out and touched the ladder, the wooden bars felt soft and squishy, as if they were about to break.

 

“Shall we look for another ladder?”

 

“Surely

any

others are in the same condition?”

 

“Aiiish… then what do we do?”

 

“I have an idea. Sasha, you’re the lightest, so why don’t you

climb

up there?”

 

I didn’t even flinch at the comment Lettis made so triumphantly. Instead, Venya smirked.

 

“You pretended to be so polite carrying the tray, but…”

 

“That’s not what I meant! If Sasha falls, you and I can hold her up from the bottom, but if I fall, you’ll all run away!”

 

“Does that mean you’ll run away if I’m the one who falls?”

 

“Isn’t that obvious? You think I’m crazy enough to catch you?”

 

“Ha! And you’re supposed to be the eldest brother?”

 

“Are you going to treat me like a big brother?”

 

…Well, that’s how I ended up

climbing the ladder

. I don’t know how opening that window became the ultimate goal.

 

“You know, do we really have to check that out? I mean, definitely?”

 

Although I asked because I was nervous about

using the ladder

, they nodded their heads vigorously as if they had been waiting.

 

“Of course!”

 

“You can only see the sky from the window upstairs! If we

look

from here, then we’ll know which side of our house this is!”

 

“…Wouldn’t it have been much simpler if I had just asked the Viscount?”

 

When asked that, Lettis, who explained the reason in a lengthy manner, immediately shut up. Venya, too, frowned and lowered his eyes.

 

‘What…’

 

They were silent

for a while. In the abruptly cold atmosphere, I slowly

spoke

again.

 

“You didn’t forget to ask, did you?”

 

The two boys did not answer. They just exchanged awkward glances with each other and mumbled something in a low voice.

 

I could feel the anxiety that had slowly subsided was

rising

again. If you’re that curious, why didn’t you ask? They had the authority to ask the exact location of the hiding place

where we had been

locked up in the manor.

 

It’s not like they didn’t ask because they didn’t think of it. They didn’t want to ask. They

consciously

avoided the question. 

 

‘Why? Because you’re scared to hear the answer? Or because you’re afraid you won’t get an answer?’

 

Did they realize that they wouldn’t get an answer? Apparently, I wasn’t the only one

who was aware of that strange incongruity

the entire time we had been

there

.

 

In the end, I started

mounting

the ladder without saying anything more. There was

nothing good to be achieved

in making them more anxious.

 

Although the fragile ladder was slightly shaky, it remained firmly seated as I reached the top

rungs

. I carefully secured my feet to the crossbar, then reached out and opened the old wooden shutters.

 

Ironically, as soon as I grabbed it with my hand and pushed it away, the sill came off.

 

“Aaaak!”

 

The sound of the old shutters slipping out of my hand and falling to the floor rang out magnificently. Venya shouted out loud.

 

“Hey! You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”

 

I didn’t mean to, but I won’t

deny

it either. Hehehe.

 

The window was small. I could see a small patch of cloud through

an opening that a

child could barely pass through. 

 

Is the sky the only thing to be seen from here? To take a closer look, I opened the white glass and stuck my head out the window.

 

A cool breeze caressed the tip of my nose. Ah… After being trapped in a place full of musty

odors

, I think I’ll live a little longer now… 

 

I heard the two boys fretting under my feet. 

 

“What do you see?”

 

“Do you know where we are?”

 

I don’t know. I stomped my feet in disbelief and

craned my neck to

see as much as I could.  I was expecting to see a clean garden or even a backyard with a glass greenhouse. But all I saw was

blue sky

and a wide roof under the window. The ground below was invisible. What section of the duchy

had this roof

?

 

“Hey, it’s dangerous!”

 

I stood on my tiptoes, leaning my upper body a little more so I could see beyond. Without thinking, I looked up and… Oh, a completely unfamiliar object caught my eye. What the hell is that?  I had been wandering around this magnificent Duke’s mansion since I was a child, but the thing I saw now was quite unknown. 

 

Above was a vague structure; it was either a roof or an ornament. It was like a large and round… tin cover hanging from the blue sky. Like the ones, you use to cover a tray. Thanks to that, I couldn’t even see what was on top of it.

 

It took me a while to recognize what I was looking at. I

only

realized what it was after staring at the giant deck for a long time. 

 

It

wasn’t a roof or a canopy decoration. It was a bell. A huge bell. It made sense that I didn’t recognize it; I had never seen a bell so close up before… 

 

I heard a sudden cracking sound.

 

That’s when the crossbar I was standing on broke.

 

“What’s th- aaaaaaah!!”

 

“Sasha!”

 

Thankfully, I fell backward, and the ladder didn’t fall on top of me. Thump! My body made a heavy sound. 

 

These damn brats! One more expedition, and I’ll kill you both! 

 

“Are you okay!?”

 

You said you’d catch me if I fell, you bastards! I looked at Lettis’ worried and embarrassed face and glared at him with all my might. Only then I realized

there was

something strange under me.

 

“…Venya, are you dead?”

 

“No. You’re heavy. Move.”

 

I jumped up in a hurry. Of all things, I can’t believe I fell on top of Venya… Hehehe. How

did

it taste? It’s karma for tormenting me so much in the past!

 

…I didn’t break any of his bones, did I? I thought he’d throw a tantrum right away, but Venya,

my unintentional cushion,

unexpectedly didn’t say much. He just frowned and rubbed his arms. Feeling a bit regretful, I asked him in a very sweet voice. 

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

“…Do you know how heavy you are? At least you still have a conscience

!

“

 

…Cancel feeling regretful. I should have fallen more heavily. 

 

After a messy expedition, we finally made our way out of the library. Perhaps because we were in a dusty place, we felt a burning thirst. 

 

“How do I get water for drinking?”

 

“There’s water in the bathroom, so drink that.”

 

“What? Drink the water that we use to wash up?”

 

…

Oh, Right.

They don’t know that the water that

flows in

the bathroom and the water served in a luxury glass

are

the same.