Fish Don't Know About Water - Chapter 46

The editor couldn’t resist her curiosity. After hesitating for a moment, she held her breath and approached the office.

“Could it be that the Little Lady is still not asleep? What time is it now…”

Lord Gallant’s worried voice came through the crack in the door. She vaguely heard the sound of him rummaging through his robe pocket. He must have taken out the pocket watch that stopped hundreds of years ago from his silk robe.

“Yes… The banquet ran long? A birthday banquet? Hmm, so that’s why the child who always fell asleep before midnight is still awake. Yes. She must be too excited to sleep. The banquet must have been so fun.”

There was a hint of laughter in Lord Gallant’s voice. The editor forgot to breathe and focused on his voice.

It was surprising that the ghost, who always acted so dignified, laughed, but what was more surprising was that he was muttering to himself.

Could he be talking to the magic typewriter? But there was no response. The only voice heard was Lord Gallant’s. The typewriter just kept clattering away, typing furiously.

The editor’s eyes widened. Was the magic typewriter really moving on its own?

“Cake? Hmm. On the baked pastry… What did they put? Cream? Whipped cream? It was stacked five layers high and fell over the Little Lady… It must have been an unforgettable banquet. Yes.”

Lord Gallant sighed deeply.

“What is a shower room? …A bath? Hmm, a new invention by the young people of this era. Yes… Fortunately, it’s a spacious place. Considering it’s large enough for a man of his size to enter together and still have plenty of room…”

The editor racked her brain, trying to visualize the scene Lord Gallant was describing. The prince and the Little Lady entered the house, covered in cream and wine, and went into the shower room together.

No, at first, the Little Lady went in alone, and the prince handed her a towel, but she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the shower room. And then they were together. What on earth were they hurriedly doing in there, the clattering sound of the typewriter grew insanely fast.

“Ugh? How dirty.”

The editor covered her mouth, hearing Lord Gallant click his tongue. Was he saying the intimate act being broadcasted in real-time was dirty? Or was he referring to the messy state of the protagonists covered in wine and cream? Strange thoughts filled her mind.

“My goodness, how indecent… They’re like animals.”

What exactly is indecent?! Lord Gallant’s disgusted tone piqued the editor’s curiosity. She was dying to know which of the two was acting like an animal.

‘Wait. I have to edit that, don’t I? Great!’

She would have to delete all the excessively lewd parts before publishing it in the newspaper, but anyway, it had to go through her hands and eyes.

Of course, reading the erotic descriptions in front of Lord Gallant’s piercing gaze would be a bit embarrassing. But she was itching to read the historical moment of the prince and the Little Lady.

“What are you writing in such detail? Can’t you stop!”

As the clattering sound of the typewriter grew even faster, Lord Gallant snapped irritably. Amazingly, the typewriter fell silent. The editor hunched her shoulders as if she had been scolded.

“Just write a novel, write a novel. Yes! Of course, this is a novel but… No. What I mean is… This is not vulgar commoner literature!”

Lord Gallant shouted as if he were frustrated and then sighed deeply.

“Lewd and provocative writing from the perspective of a young and beautiful woman. It will sell well, it will sell well. There have always been plenty of pathetic people who go crazy over such primal things.”

He’s talking about me. The editor felt a pang of guilt and licked her lips.

“But you see, the main readership of your and my masterpiece consists of cute and innocent little friends. So, erase everything you’ve written until now.”

Erase?! No way! The editor suppressed the urge to fling the office door open. Amazingly, she really heard the sound of paper being pulled out of the typewriter. Then came the sound of crumpling and tearing paper.

‘Huh? Wait a minute… Erasing the draft…?’

Doubt suddenly raised its head. My goodness. Why had I never considered that possibility? Why had I never thought that there could be multiple versions of the first draft of <Pepe>?

The possibility that Lord Gallant filtered through several versions of the first draft written by the magic typewriter and then brought only one to the editor. It was pathetic that I had never thought of that possibility.

‘There must have been more than just a few drafts discarded this way, right?’

The editor unknowingly bit her nails. Tick! The sound of her biting her nails seemed louder today. Startled by the thought of being caught, she flinched.

“Ha! You worthless… Can’t you just wrap it up simply while I’m being nice?”

Luckily, her sound was buried under Lord Gallant’s sudden outburst. The editor leaned weakly against the wall, relieved.

“We washed together and then lay side by side in bed, exhausted… Yes. This is just about right.”
Lord Gallant said with satisfaction.

“Well done. Continue writing the rest after the Little Lady wakes up and starts her day. Hmm, yes. The first day of the prince and princess’s honeymoon. It’s going to be a very interesting day.”

There was the sound of him pulling the paper from the typewriter and organizing the manuscript into a bundle.

“Hm? Why are you suddenly acting up when only the editor lady will read it anyway?”

The editor’s mouth dropped open in surprise at the sudden harsh words.

‘Did he just say acting up… No, more importantly. Well done, magic typewriter. That’s exactly what I wanted to say! No matter what, the manuscript should formally go through me, the editor!’

“Why?”

Lord Gallant continued indifferently.

“It’s the first experience of a young descendant. As an ancestor, it’s only right to protect them.”

There was the sound of a chair being pushed back. Then, a quiet silence followed. Neither Lord Gallant’s voice nor the typewriter’s clattering could be heard anymore. The editor gathered her courage and peeked through the crack in the door.

The dark office revealed only a desk and a low filing cabinet. A wooden chair was half-turned, as if someone had been sitting there just moments ago.

Lord Gallant was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he had passed through the wall. The editor cautiously stepped into the office.

The typewriter on the desk looked ordinary. It seemed to belong to the office’s owner, with the reporter’s name and department clearly engraved on the side.

With trembling hands, the editor touched the typewriter. It didn’t move or react. It was just an ordinary typewriter. So, the typewriter sounds she heard earlier… Could it be that Lord Gallant took the magic typewriter with him?

“Descendant…”

The editor held onto the desk chair and caught her breath. Who could it be? The Little Lady? Or the prince?

‘It’s not the Little Lady. The Gallant family has no ties with the Cochrun family.’

That meant it was highly likely to be the second prince, Viett. A prestigious family like the Gallant family must have had some connection with the Hartmann royal family long ago.

Somewhere in the complicated royal genealogy, like branches spreading out, Lord Gallant could be there. Or perhaps the Gallant family had ties with the prince’s mother, Queen Liliana…

‘Now I understand. That’s why he tried so hard to keep the prince’s stuttering a secret… Wait? But didn’t he just say first experience? That man… Was he a virgin until now despite being the royal family’s troublemaker…?’

The editor tilted her head and then noticed the trash can full of garbage. Come to think of it, didn’t she hear the sound of tearing paper from the office earlier?

Could it be in there? Filled with anticipation, she crouched in front of the trash can. Clicking her tongue at her own pathetic obsession, she rummaged through the trash with both hands.

“Ugh, it’s not just torn, it’s burnt.”

Black ashes fell from the trash can. After tearing up the manuscript pages describing the prince and princess’s intimate night, Lord Gallant had burned them with fire magic.

“Damn it…”

She sighed in disappointment, but then she spotted a small piece of paper. It was a fragment of the manuscript that hadn’t burned completely. The edges were charred black. The editor quickly picked up the piece.