Fish Don't Know About Water - Chapter 47

There were burnt holes here and there, so she had to guess some words from the remaining letters. Thanks to her long editing experience, she could decipher the content without much difficulty.

「Viett carefully covered my tired body with a blanket and asked.

— A-are you hurt?

— Yes, it hurts. Look at this bruise.

I grumbled, pointing at the mark clearly left on my thigh, and he groaned, gently stroking my leg.
Honestly, the pain was bearable, but I pretended to be in more pain to see him worry about me. (I have every right to do so. It’s his fault for ignoring my pleas.)

— It might hurt less if you give me a pillow.

When I pressed my cheek against his thick arm, he let out a low laugh and gently hugged my neck. I liked the smell of his skin, so I stayed like that…」

That was all the content.

“You’re my evidence.”

The editor kissed the manuscript piece and carefully put it in her inner pocket.

‘I was… just like everyone else.’

She gave a self-deprecating smile. Until now, she thought she was the only ‘human’ who could read the first draft of <Pepe>.

While countless people enjoyed the novel edited to Lord Gallant’s taste, she thought she was the only one who could fully peek into the Little Lady’s life.

It was a perfect delusion. Her situation as an editor was no different from the readers. With a bitter smile, the editor hurriedly checked her wristwatch. She had spent too much time here.

“Ugh, I’ll get scolded again!”

The editor quickly left the political department reporter’s office. She climbed the stairs two or three at a time and burst into her private office in the corner of the sixth-floor hallway.

“You’re late, newbie.”

Lord Gallant was floating next to the wooden desk, glaring at her with contempt.

“How lazy.”

“I’m sorry… I dozed off in the break room.”

The editor panted and bowed her head. Lord Gallant moved the hands he had clasped behind his back. He was holding a bundle of manuscripts in his gloved hand.

“Here’s today’s manuscript. Hurry up since you’re late.”

He tossed the bundle of manuscripts onto the editor’s desk. The editor sat down silently. Under Lord Gallant’s fierce watch, she quickly checked the editing requests.

Ensuring the anonymity of the characters and revising the second prince’s lines. At the end of the all-too-familiar sentences, there was an unfamiliar request.

「Hughey Gallant: Please use the real name for this character」

Hughey Gallant? Why use the name of a washed-up actor in the novel? He’s neither family nor anything to the Little Lady…

The editor glanced at Lord Gallant’s expressionless face and quickly scanned the manuscript. The actor’s name was mentioned a few times during the wedding reception speech.

“Lord Gallant. Why the sudden use of your descendant’s name…”

“Did I give you permission to ask questions?”

The ghost’s face grew even colder. The editor hunched her shoulders and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry…”

He looked down at her dejectedly for a moment. Then, Lord Gallant relaxed his stern expression and turned his head. After a short silence, he spoke.

“…If you’re really curious, refer to the editing guidelines.”

He muttered softly, staring at the wall.

“There should be advice left by your predecessors in there.”

The editor found it odd that he added such words so timidly.

“There was nothing about it in the guidelines.”

“Look more thoroughly.”

He replied in a calmer tone. At that moment, his translucent body wavered like smoke. The editor rubbed her eyes in surprise. Then, squinting, she stared intently at Lord Gallant.

“My Lord… You seem a bit fainter than before.”

Could it be that this ghost was finally about to disappear? She looked at him with hopeful eyes. He glanced alternately at his arms behind his back and shook his head.

“My arms are still clear.”

Can you see that with your hands behind your back? The editor held back her grumbling and started editing.

* * *

Viett was in a foul mood from the morning. Various situations troubled him. First, he woke up alone this morning. Although it was the bed he usually woke up in alone, the fact that his wife wasn’t there made his mood plummet.

Secondly, the first face he saw was his younger sister, Princess Rose. He had hurriedly put on just his pajama pants and went downstairs.

As soon as he turned the corner of the staircase, he locked eyes with Rose, who was prancing around the kitchen. Rose adjusted her glasses and gave him a playful bow.

“Oh my, you’re finally up. Your Highness.”

“W-where is Phenelity?”

“She went out early this morning.”

Every time his younger sibling laughed, the smell of alcohol wafted strongly.

“Rose. H-how much did you d-drink?”

“Drink? I drank a lot. From the moment I arrived here yesterday until now, non-stop!”

He stared down at his younger sister, whose cheeks were flushed. He felt pathetic for his still-drunken sister and resentful towards her for being the main culprit who had covered Phenelity in cake yesterday. But what could he do? It wasn’t intentional, so he couldn’t raise his voice.

“D-don’t drink so m-much.”

After giving a casual warning, he crossed the kitchen. He stood in front of the makeshift sink next to the cupboard. It was a simple setup with a faucet sticking out under the wall mirror, a basin, and some shaving supplies.

His frowning face reflected in the wall mirror. As he tried to straighten his messy hair, Rose’s face suddenly appeared over his shoulder. She stood on tiptoe behind him, shaking her head.

“No matter how I think about it, Pepe is too good for you. That’s why I kept drinking out of frustration.”

Viett silently listened to his sister’s grumbling. As he applied shaving cream to his chin, he nodded. Let’s see how far she goes, he thought, staring at his sister in the mirror. Rose sighed deeply, slapping his bare shoulder.

“Honestly, I have mixed feelings. I’m so happy to be family with Pepe, but having my brother as Pepe’s husband is a bit… It feels kind of gross…”

“D-does it, Miss?”

“And please put on some clothes! Are you dying to show off what you did? That beard is really annoying too, so hurry up and shave!”

“I-I’m doing it.”

Just as he grumbled back, another woman’s face faintly appeared in the wall mirror. He stopped applying the shaving cream and quickly turned around. Cecilia Rosti was sitting on the living room sofa with her legs stretched out.

“Good morning, Commander.”

She greeted him while curling her hair with a heated iron.

“This is quite an embarrassing moment, isn’t it? Meeting my fiancé the day after his wedding, half-naked in the living room.”

“W-why are you h-here?”

“I originally planned to leave quietly at dawn, but I missed the timing because of the sudden air raid alarm. We wrapped up the party hastily and turned off all the lights in the house, but didn’t you notice?”

Viett was shocked that neither he nor Phenelity had heard the alarm.

They were so engrossed in each other that they hadn’t heard the siren blaring throughout the camp. Viett felt strange and disappointed in himself for not acting like a soldier.

“By the way, it seems the large hotel in the eastern district collapsed due to a surprise bombing.”

Cecilia nudged a stack of newspapers on the table with her bare foot. Viett put down the shaving brush and frowned.

“The e-eastern district, you mean, the R-Ruimbert Hotel?”

“That’s right. It’s a pity that a hotel with a 200-year history collapsed so easily…”

It must have collapsed easily because it was an old building over 200 years old. Viett turned his gaze to the wall mirror with a disapproving expression.

He couldn’t understand why such a historic building hadn’t been enchanted with protective magic. The biggest problem was the Costonia government. Since civilians couldn’t hire mages privately, the government should have sent mages to the hotel early on. It was unfortunate that people had to suffer because of the government’s incompetence.

“Would you like some of this?”

Cecilia spoke to him, who was lost in sorrow. Viett glanced at her in the mirror while shaving. Cecilia was shaking a glass bottle filled with liquid.

“It’s a magic potion that Phenelity often drinks. It’s very effective for sobering up because of its strong herbal scent.”