146. Sunset Time
The village doctor who had come to visit returned looking haggard, as if he had aged several years.
He had been calm until he crossed the threshold of the Baden House, but when he learned who his patient was to see that day, he turned pale and began to tremble. The doctor's complexion seemed even more gloomy than that of the patient lying in bed.
A deep silence enveloped the bedroom as he left, having sweated profusely and even hiccupped in the cold weather. The Prince of Letzen, the man who had so captivated the village doctor, sat listlessly against the headboard, his eyes closed.
Erna stood by the sunlit window and watched him.
It was this morning that she learned of Bjorn's unwell condition. The servant's expression darkened as he suggested he had a severe cold and that a doctor should be called. It was news that upended the peaceful morning of the Baden family.
The startled Baroness Baden hurriedly summoned her coachman and dispatched him to the village hospital. Madame Greve immediately rushed to the kitchen and began boiling chicken soup, while the other servants busily moved about the house, tending to the patient's needs.
Erna paced the noisy house, her mind at a loss. After braving the blizzard, it wasn't surprising he'd caught a cold. Come to think of it, she'd had a fairly high fever since yesterday afternoon, when he'd built the snowman.
As that memory surfaced, Erna felt even more embarrassed. It was ridiculous to ignore someone in pain, but she couldn't bring herself to look Bjorn in the eye with composure. What pushed Erna back was the snowmen standing outside the window, a glance she'd casually cast. A large snowman smoking a cigar, another with a flower. And between the two, a tiny snowman stood a baby, Dneister, whom he'd made for her.
“Please lie down now.”
As the servants who had been coming and going quietly all retreated and the door closed, Erna uttered the words she had been pondering for so long. Only then did Bjorn open his eyes and look at Erna.
Without a word, Bjorn let out a quiet sigh, took a sip of water from the nightstand next to his bed, and slowly lay back down. Erna approached him hesitantly, awkwardly adjusting his pillow and pulling up the quilt. Even just his breath brushing past her made it clear that his fever was quite high.
“You really are troubling me in so many ways.”
Erna threw out a sharp remark and sat down in the chair next to the bed. Bjorn looked at her with narrowed eyes and gave a sigh-like smile.
“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to get rid of the husband who won’t divorce you?”
“What did you say?”
"When I die, my inheritance is all yours, Erna. It's better than alimony."
Bjorn chuckled softly at the absurd joke.
Erna, who had been looking stunned, belatedly snapped and struck his arm. The blow was far more forceful than she'd expected, and her hand stung, but she didn't regret it.
The two stared at each other in silence for a long time. Then, without a word, they glanced away. Perhaps because the heater had been turned up high for the patient, the air in the room felt incredibly stuffy.
“If you need anything...”
"Go."
Before Erna could even finish her courageous words, he threw out a flat rejection. Erna's eyes widened in surprise.
“If you’re not going to date me, then go.”
Bjorn whispered in a tired voice, then turned around and lay down, closing his eyes.
Erna stared at his back, bewildered. It took her a few blinks to realize she'd been rejected.
Erna, her lips quivering, clenched tightly, stood up. His breathing was ragged from the heat, and his forehead and hair were damp with cold sweat.
Erna looked at the basin and towel the maid had brought with a worried look, but she couldn't reach them.
She doesn't know.
Just right now, everything is so confusing and confusing that it's hard to make any clear judgments.
Erna drew thick curtains to block out the sunlight and left the room. Quietly closing the door and turning around, a sigh she had been holding back escaped her lips.
“Your Highness.”
As Erna walked the hallway, tracing the patterns on the floor, she was startled by a familiar voice calling her, and raised her head. It was Bjorn's attendant. Erna accepted his greeting with a calm, silent nod.
“The Prince is thinking a lot about you, Your Highness.”
Just as she was about to take another step, he spoke urgently.
"He pushed himself too hard to finish his Schwerin itinerary to return here a little earlier, knowing he wouldn't even stay a week before he had to leave. So, wouldn't you be able to stay with the Prince just a little longer?"
He bowed his head deeply again, showing an unusual expression.
“I know I am not qualified to say this, but I dare ask.”
“Does he have to go back to Schwerin soon?”
Erna, her face deep in thought, asked a soft question. The attendant, sensing a glimmer of hope, nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, Your Highness. The Prince must return to Schwerin by next Monday at the latest. While preparing for his trip, he's been able to coordinate his schedule in advance, allowing him to continue his work here. However, many matters at the bank and the royal court can no longer be postponed, and he can no longer afford to remain in Burford for an extended period."
“A trip?”
Erna furrowed her eyebrows slightly as she questioned. A look of embarrassment crossed the servant's face as he realized his belated slip of the tongue.
"That's... The Prince had planned a second honeymoon for Your Highness's birthday. He was planning a trip to a warm tropical country. However, his sudden arrival in Burford meant that the plan was canceled."
He opened his tightly shut eyes and confessed the truth.
Honeymoon.
Erna, who had been repeating those absurd words, finally chuckled. While she was preparing the divorce papers, he was engaging in such absurd behavior. He was truly a self-willed and arrogant man.
“Your Highness.”
The servant, who had been observing her, called Erna again, this time in a more earnest tone.
Erna looked back with a sigh, a mixture of emotions. The sunlight streaming through the window at the end of the hallway had a bright platinum hue, resembling the man himself.
He had a dream.
It was a dream that disappeared the moment he opened his eyes, but its afterimage remained like a very warm and cozy light.
Bjorn opened his eyes, overcome by a sense of unease. The ceiling, no longer unfamiliar, was the first thing that came into view.
“I was just about to wake you up, and you just happened to wake up.”
As he was catching his breath, he heard an unexpected voice. It was Erna.
Bjorn frowned and turned to look at Erna, who was sitting in the chair next to the bed. He must have fallen asleep after seeing her departing figure, but Erna had already returned to her seat.
“Have a meal.”
Erna, who met his eyes, spoke to him bluntly.
“Are you trying to date?”
"No."
“Then I said go.”
Bjorn sat up with a deep sigh.
Thanks to the medicine and a deep sleep, his fever had gone down a bit, but he still felt heavy. He didn't even need to look in the mirror to see how pathetic he was.
“Have a meal.”
Erna repeated the same words as if she had not heard anything.
“Leave it.”
"No, I do not want."
Erna, giving a firm answer, put down the handkerchief she was holding and stood up. Bjorn, who had been staring blankly, realized belatedly that his body had been thoroughly cleaned. A soft curse escaped his lips, mixed with his hot breath.
“You said you wouldn’t date, so why are you acting like this?”
Bjorn looked at Erna, who was carrying a tray of soup and white bread, with slightly annoyed eyes.
“I’ll do whatever I want.”
"What?"
“You do as you please.”
Erna responded calmly and carefully placed the tray on one side of the bed.
“Have a meal.”
Erna repeated the same words in a more determined tone.
The sigh that Bjorn let out as he looked at the deer that had become a wall quietly seeped into the silence.
After the maid left with the empty dishes, the bedroom became quiet again.
Having achieved her goal, Erna finally left the bedside. She approached the window and opened the curtains, allowing the sunset to flood in.
Bjorn leaned back against the cushion, gazing at his wife's rosy back. Only by avoiding eye contact did he finally feel at ease.
It felt quite awkward to confront someone who had exposed your true self. This was unprecedented, and he had a hard time deciding how to properly face this feeling.
Erna's gaze, which had been staring at the setting sun for a long time, slowly drifted downwards and finally stopped at a certain point. She could tell where it was without even looking.
Bjorn quietly got out of bed and put on a robe. His body, still not fully recovered, ached, but not to the point where he could hardly move.
“Take a rest.”
Erna's gaze hardened as she saw him approaching the window. Bjorn smiled faintly and leaned against the windowsill.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give you an inheritance of this magnitude, so don’t worry.”
In contrast to his lighthearted, joking tone, his gaze as he looked down the window was deep and quiet.
Erna's expression was dubious, but she didn't insist any further. The sunset streaming between the two people standing at one end of the window, looking down at the garden, grew increasingly crimson.
“Erna.”
As the three rose-tinted snowmen sank into the darkness, Bjorn whispered her names in a soft voice. Erna turned to look at him, her eyes shining brightly, free of tears.
Unable to find the right words, Bjorn simply stared into her eyes. Erna met his gaze calmly. Ultimately, it was Bjorn who averted his gaze first.
It was a truly ridiculous feeling. It was like being stripped naked. No. It wasn't a feeling he's ever felt, even when he was naked and doing all sorts of things, so that metaphor didn't seem quite right.
“Take a rest.”
Erna punctuated Bjorn's thoughts by repeating the same command again.
“Come on in.”
As the darkness deepened, the light in the room became clearer and illuminated Erna, who was standing upright and staring at him intently.
Bjorn let out a sigh of relief and obediently followed the order and headed to the bed.
This feeling is more than just being naked.
He could now be sure.
The village doctor who had come to visit returned looking haggard, as if he had aged several years.
He had been calm until he crossed the threshold of the Baden House, but when he learned who his patient was to see that day, he turned pale and began to tremble. The doctor's complexion seemed even more gloomy than that of the patient lying in bed.
A deep silence enveloped the bedroom as he left, having sweated profusely and even hiccupped in the cold weather. The Prince of Letzen, the man who had so captivated the village doctor, sat listlessly against the headboard, his eyes closed.
Erna stood by the sunlit window and watched him.
It was this morning that she learned of Bjorn's unwell condition. The servant's expression darkened as he suggested he had a severe cold and that a doctor should be called. It was news that upended the peaceful morning of the Baden family.
The startled Baroness Baden hurriedly summoned her coachman and dispatched him to the village hospital. Madame Greve immediately rushed to the kitchen and began boiling chicken soup, while the other servants busily moved about the house, tending to the patient's needs.
Erna paced the noisy house, her mind at a loss. After braving the blizzard, it wasn't surprising he'd caught a cold. Come to think of it, she'd had a fairly high fever since yesterday afternoon, when he'd built the snowman.
As that memory surfaced, Erna felt even more embarrassed. It was ridiculous to ignore someone in pain, but she couldn't bring herself to look Bjorn in the eye with composure. What pushed Erna back was the snowmen standing outside the window, a glance she'd casually cast. A large snowman smoking a cigar, another with a flower. And between the two, a tiny snowman stood a baby, Dneister, whom he'd made for her.
“Please lie down now.”
As the servants who had been coming and going quietly all retreated and the door closed, Erna uttered the words she had been pondering for so long. Only then did Bjorn open his eyes and look at Erna.
Without a word, Bjorn let out a quiet sigh, took a sip of water from the nightstand next to his bed, and slowly lay back down. Erna approached him hesitantly, awkwardly adjusting his pillow and pulling up the quilt. Even just his breath brushing past her made it clear that his fever was quite high.
“You really are troubling me in so many ways.”
Erna threw out a sharp remark and sat down in the chair next to the bed. Bjorn looked at her with narrowed eyes and gave a sigh-like smile.
“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to get rid of the husband who won’t divorce you?”
“What did you say?”
"When I die, my inheritance is all yours, Erna. It's better than alimony."
Bjorn chuckled softly at the absurd joke.
Erna, who had been looking stunned, belatedly snapped and struck his arm. The blow was far more forceful than she'd expected, and her hand stung, but she didn't regret it.
The two stared at each other in silence for a long time. Then, without a word, they glanced away. Perhaps because the heater had been turned up high for the patient, the air in the room felt incredibly stuffy.
“If you need anything...”
"Go."
Before Erna could even finish her courageous words, he threw out a flat rejection. Erna's eyes widened in surprise.
“If you’re not going to date me, then go.”
Bjorn whispered in a tired voice, then turned around and lay down, closing his eyes.
Erna stared at his back, bewildered. It took her a few blinks to realize she'd been rejected.
Erna, her lips quivering, clenched tightly, stood up. His breathing was ragged from the heat, and his forehead and hair were damp with cold sweat.
Erna looked at the basin and towel the maid had brought with a worried look, but she couldn't reach them.
She doesn't know.
Just right now, everything is so confusing and confusing that it's hard to make any clear judgments.
Erna drew thick curtains to block out the sunlight and left the room. Quietly closing the door and turning around, a sigh she had been holding back escaped her lips.
“Your Highness.”
As Erna walked the hallway, tracing the patterns on the floor, she was startled by a familiar voice calling her, and raised her head. It was Bjorn's attendant. Erna accepted his greeting with a calm, silent nod.
“The Prince is thinking a lot about you, Your Highness.”
Just as she was about to take another step, he spoke urgently.
"He pushed himself too hard to finish his Schwerin itinerary to return here a little earlier, knowing he wouldn't even stay a week before he had to leave. So, wouldn't you be able to stay with the Prince just a little longer?"
He bowed his head deeply again, showing an unusual expression.
“I know I am not qualified to say this, but I dare ask.”
“Does he have to go back to Schwerin soon?”
Erna, her face deep in thought, asked a soft question. The attendant, sensing a glimmer of hope, nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, Your Highness. The Prince must return to Schwerin by next Monday at the latest. While preparing for his trip, he's been able to coordinate his schedule in advance, allowing him to continue his work here. However, many matters at the bank and the royal court can no longer be postponed, and he can no longer afford to remain in Burford for an extended period."
“A trip?”
Erna furrowed her eyebrows slightly as she questioned. A look of embarrassment crossed the servant's face as he realized his belated slip of the tongue.
"That's... The Prince had planned a second honeymoon for Your Highness's birthday. He was planning a trip to a warm tropical country. However, his sudden arrival in Burford meant that the plan was canceled."
He opened his tightly shut eyes and confessed the truth.
Honeymoon.
Erna, who had been repeating those absurd words, finally chuckled. While she was preparing the divorce papers, he was engaging in such absurd behavior. He was truly a self-willed and arrogant man.
“Your Highness.”
The servant, who had been observing her, called Erna again, this time in a more earnest tone.
Erna looked back with a sigh, a mixture of emotions. The sunlight streaming through the window at the end of the hallway had a bright platinum hue, resembling the man himself.
***
He had a dream.
It was a dream that disappeared the moment he opened his eyes, but its afterimage remained like a very warm and cozy light.
Bjorn opened his eyes, overcome by a sense of unease. The ceiling, no longer unfamiliar, was the first thing that came into view.
“I was just about to wake you up, and you just happened to wake up.”
As he was catching his breath, he heard an unexpected voice. It was Erna.
Bjorn frowned and turned to look at Erna, who was sitting in the chair next to the bed. He must have fallen asleep after seeing her departing figure, but Erna had already returned to her seat.
“Have a meal.”
Erna, who met his eyes, spoke to him bluntly.
“Are you trying to date?”
"No."
“Then I said go.”
Bjorn sat up with a deep sigh.
Thanks to the medicine and a deep sleep, his fever had gone down a bit, but he still felt heavy. He didn't even need to look in the mirror to see how pathetic he was.
“Have a meal.”
Erna repeated the same words as if she had not heard anything.
“Leave it.”
"No, I do not want."
Erna, giving a firm answer, put down the handkerchief she was holding and stood up. Bjorn, who had been staring blankly, realized belatedly that his body had been thoroughly cleaned. A soft curse escaped his lips, mixed with his hot breath.
“You said you wouldn’t date, so why are you acting like this?”
Bjorn looked at Erna, who was carrying a tray of soup and white bread, with slightly annoyed eyes.
“I’ll do whatever I want.”
"What?"
“You do as you please.”
Erna responded calmly and carefully placed the tray on one side of the bed.
“Have a meal.”
Erna repeated the same words in a more determined tone.
The sigh that Bjorn let out as he looked at the deer that had become a wall quietly seeped into the silence.
***
After the maid left with the empty dishes, the bedroom became quiet again.
Having achieved her goal, Erna finally left the bedside. She approached the window and opened the curtains, allowing the sunset to flood in.
Bjorn leaned back against the cushion, gazing at his wife's rosy back. Only by avoiding eye contact did he finally feel at ease.
It felt quite awkward to confront someone who had exposed your true self. This was unprecedented, and he had a hard time deciding how to properly face this feeling.
Erna's gaze, which had been staring at the setting sun for a long time, slowly drifted downwards and finally stopped at a certain point. She could tell where it was without even looking.
Bjorn quietly got out of bed and put on a robe. His body, still not fully recovered, ached, but not to the point where he could hardly move.
“Take a rest.”
Erna's gaze hardened as she saw him approaching the window. Bjorn smiled faintly and leaned against the windowsill.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give you an inheritance of this magnitude, so don’t worry.”
In contrast to his lighthearted, joking tone, his gaze as he looked down the window was deep and quiet.
Erna's expression was dubious, but she didn't insist any further. The sunset streaming between the two people standing at one end of the window, looking down at the garden, grew increasingly crimson.
“Erna.”
As the three rose-tinted snowmen sank into the darkness, Bjorn whispered her names in a soft voice. Erna turned to look at him, her eyes shining brightly, free of tears.
Unable to find the right words, Bjorn simply stared into her eyes. Erna met his gaze calmly. Ultimately, it was Bjorn who averted his gaze first.
It was a truly ridiculous feeling. It was like being stripped naked. No. It wasn't a feeling he's ever felt, even when he was naked and doing all sorts of things, so that metaphor didn't seem quite right.
“Take a rest.”
Erna punctuated Bjorn's thoughts by repeating the same command again.
“Come on in.”
As the darkness deepened, the light in the room became clearer and illuminated Erna, who was standing upright and staring at him intently.
Bjorn let out a sigh of relief and obediently followed the order and headed to the bed.
This feeling is more than just being naked.
He could now be sure.
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