A Monodrama for Carolyn August - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 41.
Following his gaze, she noticed the Fairy Tale Books scattered across the box.
.
Caroline nodded.
“I loved that Fairy Tale Book so much. And the character Toby.”
“Yes, I remember adoring that character named Toby who appeared in it.”
“So I decided to become Toby.”
And so he had mimicked the character of Toby and begged.
He met a Director who noticed his talent for Acting.
…….
Once the story had ended.
The boy turned his gaze from the Fairy Tale Book and looked at Caroline.
A smile played across a face bearing a maturity beyond his years.
“That’s all I have to tell you about Aiden’s past.”
Caroline couldn’t find words.
The reason Aiden had first taken up Acting.
While mimicking Toby to solicit sympathy, he had met the Director who came to borrow items from the Mansion, and through that chance encounter, he had made his debut.
She never would have imagined such a hidden story beneath the brilliance of such a celebrated actor.
“And everything you said before was right.”
Unlike Caroline, who sat speechless, the young Aiden continued calmly.
“You’ve uncovered so much, Caroline. Truly remarkable. You’re almost at the end now.”
…….
“As a reward for finding this story and learning my identity, I’ll give you this.”
The young boy rummaged through his overall pockets.
“You’ll need this last thing to complete the Quest.”
A beautifully crafted Silver Key emerged from his hand.
It was small enough to fit in the palm of Caroline’s hand.
“Thank you for uncovering my secret. Please take good care of Aiden to the very end.”
“Wait, hold on, just a moment…….”
The boy’s body began to fade white.
Caroline reached out in panic, but the boy closed his eyes with a tender smile.
When he vanished, only the key remained where he had stood.
* * *
Caroline sat blinking, stunned by what had unfolded in an instant.
The child who had saved her from the servant and hinted at the Maze was Aiden from his childhood.
She had assumed that because the Mansion was grand, his life had been nothing but comfortable.
Her heart ached with a peculiar tenderness.
Caroline picked up the Silver Key the boy had left behind, her lips pressed tight.
!
Then the Bag on her right side of vision stirred as if it had been waiting.
‘So I can put this in there too.’
As she pressed the Bag to slip the key inside, Caroline’s hand froze.
She saw the Red Book she had found in Will’s room.
The one she’d wanted to open but couldn’t unlock.
‘The size seems just right?’
The palm-sized key looked as though it might slide into the book’s upper section and open it.
Caroline removed the book from the Bag and inserted the key the boy had given her.
Or rather, she tried to insert it.
The end of the boy’s key had been crafted thickly, so it wouldn’t fit into the hole itself.
‘Could it be a key meant for a different book?’
This book belonged to Will.
It might be a key to a book belonging to one of Aiden’s other three characters.
Or perhaps…….
“Aside from the locked rooms, all spaces are open to you, I assure you.”
It might be a key to another locked room.
‘But where on earth could that be?’
Caroline had explored the Mansion extensively.
From the first floor to the third, and from the Garden to the Maze.
She had discovered a room staged like a theater set for the plays of Will, Friedman, Ifros, and James, and had seen much, but there was only one locked room.
Michelle Velota Dearwell’s room.
Where could the other one be? And what would it be?
Caroline decided to search through the room once more.
As she was surveying the first floor of the Mansion, she noticed an unusually large stack of boxes piled in front of one room.
Inside them, things crammed tightly together.
‘Is someone organizing?’
The moment Caroline tilted her head in curiosity.
Crash!
Something collapsed inside the room with a thunderous sound.
“?”
Startled, she squeezed through the open doorway and found a disheveled floor and Aiden standing in the middle of it.
“Aiden?”
He looked somewhat bewildered.
Dust rising in the corner of the room, objects piled haphazardly everywhere.
“……Ah, Caroline.”
He swept his hair back with a hand clad in White Gloves.
Then he noticed his hand was covered in dust and let out a sigh.
“What are you doing? Why is it like this in here?”
“I was organizing the room.”
The first items he’d taught Caroline the necessity of a Bag for.
He seemed to be continuing the organization work.
“You didn’t even open a window?”
Caroline furrowed her brow and strode purposefully into the room.
She went to his side where he stood listlessly like a lost child, and flung open the window he’d forgotten.
The dust that had shimmered around the man like a stage effect gradually dispersed.
“You must be tired from the uninvited guests today, and yet you’re not resting.”
“It’s fine. I just wanted to finish the organizing quickly.”
“Let me help with the organizing.”
Caroline rolled up her sleeves for him and surveyed the room.
Only then could she understand the source of the loud noise and dust from earlier.
The room was filled with paintings in large frames.
Those that looked unmistakably expensive hung on the walls, but unable to accommodate them all, they were stacked thickly on bookshelves and stands, wrapped in paper packing.
“Are all of these artworks?”
“Paintings by renowned artists. Some are from those long dead, and some from those who are flourishing now.”
Aiden wiped the beads of sweat gathering on the back of his hand.
His body temperature had risen considerably and his breathing had grown slightly ragged.
Noticing how his appearance had become somewhat disheveled, Caroline caught herself staring.
It was a look she’d seen very rarely on stage when he performed intensely, but seeing it before her now was far more striking.
‘He’s handsome.’
And here she was thinking such things after having just heard about Aiden’s past.
Caroline shook her head to dismiss the thought and picked up another pair of gloves beside him.
“Is there a selection criteria? Or should I just pack everything?”
“It will be difficult. This is not appropriate work for a guest.”
“Why does that matter? We’re already close.”
At Caroline’s words, his expression grew complicated.
Then, judging it better not to refuse further, he pointed to a large paper box.
“There’s no particular criteria. I’m going to organize all these paintings that fill the room, except for the ones hanging on the walls.”
“Good. I’m confident with organizing.”
“Are you?”
“I volunteer as a librarian at the Academy.”
Whenever the shelf numbers changed, she had to remove all the books on them and reshelve them.
She’d done that work many times.
Caroline was brimming with confidence.
“Ugh!”
And soon enough, she was forced to become humble.
“……This is difficult work. I’m not comfortable asking a guest to do this.”
She hadn’t known that the canvases and frames were far larger and heavier than expected.
Aiden hastily caught her as she eagerly pulled out a bundle of paper and bent at the waist.
“……I actually needed strength training anyway.”
Caroline spouted that excuse.
No yellow exclamation mark appeared, and the Bag gave no response.
In any case, it wasn’t mealtime or teatime, so the timing hardly seemed crucial.
But now that she’d encountered Aiden, she didn’t want to leave him alone here.
Perhaps it was because she’d learned of his past—she simply wanted to believe that being together with him might help.
‘Though I’m not sure how much good it will do.’
“But why aren’t you having the servants do this?”
Caroline applied a bit more force to her movements and attempted conversation.
“The servants are occupied with tidying the other rooms. I suppose I could have assigned them this one as well, but… I wanted to move my body a little.”
“I understand. I feel the same way.”
“You do, Miss Caroline?”
“Of course. When my mood feels restless or sour, I always throw myself into something difficult—suddenly scrubbing the entire house from top to bottom, that sort of thing.”
“A situation much like the present one, then.”
“Exactly. I already said I was confident about this.”
As Caroline placed her hands on her hips with bold certainty, the man holding the large frame burst into genuine laughter.
He showed no sign of strain from the weight he carried—only a childlike, crystalline joy.
And watching him laugh, Caroline found herself smiling in turn.
It felt good to see Aiden smile.
Thinking of the suffering he’d endured in the past, she found herself now wanting only to make him laugh endlessly.
‘Why must he face death again.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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