Surviving as a Writer in the British Empire - Surviving as a Writer in the British Empire chapter 61

＜ Agatha All Along(2) ＞

Dame Agatha Christie.

Queen of Crime.

Like his nickname, he is still a symbol of the genre of ‘mystery novel’, along with Conan Doyle, in modern times.

And there was none, Murder on the Orient Express, Murder Ackroyd, Mousetrap and so on. For more than 50 years, he has written more than 80 mystery novels in his lifetime, and each of them is more than a handful.

In addition, the closed circle where the incident takes place in an isolated space like a mountain hut, the Poirot Finale where the reasoning is over and everyone gathers to reveal the truth, and above all, a narrative born more elegantly than anyone else at her fingertips. Trick is not just a mystery novel, but it can be said that it has contributed to modern literature.

Even in genres that are far from mystery novels, there are countless things that were influenced by her, so that’s all I said.

Right now, I am progressing the story through Agatha Christie-style narrative tricks, albeit crudely.

Even so, if you don’t know how great she is, this one word is enough.

‘The author who sold the most novels in history’.

By the way, such Agatha Christie.

Crackle! Kyaauk!

You said it was Mary? The Mary I used to change diapers for?

Did readers who first saw the Ackroyd murders feel this way? My head was pounding and dizzy, as if someone had hit the back of my head with a hammer.

Originally, there is a custom that middle names are mainly used by British aristocrats and upper classes, and first names are used only in public settings.

Typically, Monty is like that, right? His full name is ‘Lewis’ Montague Miller, not just Montague Miller.

Namely, Agatha Christie. Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller should have noticed that Mary is a middle name in that she has been called just Mary, not Clarissa…!

No, but again, Madge is Margaret Frary Miller. You call her Margaret’s nickname, Madge, not Frary, right? Why is the Miller family’s naming system so messed up?! There is no regularity. Regularity!

Isn’t it unusual to like books from a young age?

This family was originally like that!! All the kids are really serious about reading books! Now that I know it, I can see it. How can I predict that?

‘Huh, let’s calm down. Counting prime numbers, prime numbers.’

I calmed down by lightly doing Lamaze breathing.

And just then.

“Dad, I’m sleepy…”

Mary, who was having fun, rubbed her eyes like a robot whose batteries had run out and started whining.

“Ouch. Mary, are you sleepy?”

“yes······.”

“Well, I think Dad will have to deal with customers a little more, what should I do?”

I approached such a woman.

“Then Mr. Miller, I will bring Mary inside. Let’s see what happens in the meantime.”

“Oh, would you?”

“yes. Come on, Miss Mary.”

“Yes······.”

Mr. Miller passed Mary over to me casually. Mary nodded and naturally fell into my arms.

Maybe it’s because I’ve already hugged them dozens or hundreds of times, so I leave my body comfortably. I swallowed a smile inwardly when I saw it.

Then, holding on to my trembling heart, I went inside, exchanging greetings with the passers-by.

Since the party was being held in the yard of the country house, there were only a few ladies who hastily gathered to help with the cooking.

I passed them and slowly went upstairs to the children’s bedroom.

During the trip, the child was very quiet.

As always.

Originally, he was a shy and quiet child.

It was the exact opposite of Maggie, who was a mess, and Monty, who had recently been on the verge of a second grade disease. So at first, it was so quiet that I was worried about whether it was okay.

“…”

I slowly opened the door

My eyes caught my eye on the bed I had bought with Mr. Miller, which was a little big for a five-year-old to lie on, so he could sleep more comfortably…

I slowly put Mary on the bed. Then he looked down at the mumbling Mary.

As always, the third Mary of the Miller family.

‘okay. To be honest, I was surprised, but it’s in the future anyway, right? It’s still Mary.’

There is no doubt that she is Agatha Christie.

In fact, since I was little, I was smart enough to learn letters alone without being taught.

But even so, to me, I am nothing more than Mary, the cute youngest member of the Miller family, not Agatha Christie, the great writer.

A child who literally changed his diaper first, but now he sees it differently? It’s not even funny.

In addition, I don’t know the exact year, but originally, her father, namely Mr. Miller’s investment failure when she was young, made her family lose her fortune.

But what about now? If you think about the banquet hall you just stood in, wouldn’t the answer come out? Today’s Miller family is more prosperous than ever.

“Ummm…”

“Yes, ko~ ko~ sleep.”

The future has not been decided. Depending on how you do it, you can change it enough.

It may vary depending on the setting, but it has already been dealt with in numerous works, and it is a topic that has created many endings.

Sorry Cat, but Back to the Future is wrong. I’m from the Marvel generation, and I can change the future.

In the end, all I can do is to raise this child well so that there will be no problems.

Like that, I put Mary to sleep and left the bedroom.

Now, what shall we do now…

I went out onto the dark balcony and looked right down.

Anyway, I’ll have to think about a few things. If Mr. Miller is ‘the’ Agatha Christie’s father, then doesn’t that mean he’s going to die soon?

Of course, the reason for his death was acute pneumonia due to the stress caused by his poor financial situation, so there is nothing to worry about at the moment.

money? Originally, Mr. Miller is overflowing with money thanks to his successful business and multiplied his money?

Then what… There’s no answer beyond feeding and sleeping well.

British cuisine is also a problem. Eating that kind of stuff makes me stressed out and I get pneumonia.

Or a mask? Well, the air in London is bad too. Perhaps his tendency to prefer the countryside was a signal from his body for survival.

Then, for the time being, it would be best to limit what you see in London as much as possible.

then······.

It was then.

“Oh, Hanseul?”

“Oh, the old days.”

I turned my head to the old man’s voice.

There, a white-haired old woman, Ho-ho, who I thought would become like this when Mrs. Clara grew up beautifully, was looking at me with blue eyes, holding a knitting thread in her hand.

Surprisingly, this grandmother continues to move naturally even though she is not looking at her hands properly with her eyes. It’s like Han Seok-bong’s mother cutting rice cakes with the lights off.

As far as I know, this is the only person who can perform such a skill.

“What are you doing? madam.”

Madam, Mrs. Margaret Miller.

She is Mr. Miller’s stepmother, and Mrs. Clara’s aunt and stepmother.

She stared at me with a warm smile.

“Did you put Mary to bed? thank you.”

“No, of course I did what I had to do. Like Maggie or Monty, it was very light.”

“Ho-ho, it’s better not to talk about that with them. I’m sure they’ll be jealous if they hear it.”

“hahahaha… yes.”

As someone who has raised five children, you know it well. I guess he didn’t really like me at all.

The first time I saw him, I felt like he was wary, but before I knew it, he seemed to open his heart to me like this.

Well, if it’s natural, is it natural? how hard i worked

In a way, I don’t feel bad because I feel that they truly acknowledged me as a family member rather than pretending to be for the sake of others.

It’s like the satisfaction that comes when a teacher who originally hated me acknowledged me.

when i thought so

“thank you. Hanseul.”

“yes? What are you talking about?”

Mrs. Margaret Miller, with her ruddy-cheeked, gentle, kindly-looking face, suddenly began to say it nonchalantly.

“To be honest, I don’t trust people. In particular, I never trust Fred’s eyes.”

“Eh, um.”

I’ve been successful thanks to that discernment, so I’ve heard a lot about it.

However, it is difficult to refute because it is the mother of the person concerned who said such a thing.

I can roughly guess what you are talking about.

“Of course, there are no eyes to see people. But people are so nice. Common sense tells me how disgusting it is to be a new mother I met at the age of 17. But, smile confidently and confidently mom! there is something to do I was more embarrassed.”

“ha ha ha.”

Uhm, it’s definitely Mr. Miller’s personal power. You are the kind of person who makes friends easily even with people you meet for the first time.

“So, to be honest, I thought that Fred would make a big investment somewhere and ruin his fortune.”

“Ah, hahahaha. Mr. Miller has a little bit of that.”

It’s sad that I can’t refute it.

It’s a pity that Mr. Miller gave me his unreserved trust with his stupid words, because if he got caught wrong, he could have been disgraced.

I didn’t know it at first, but now that I’ve come to see it, it must have been like that in history as well…

Aha, that’s why you hated me in the first place.

From noble mtl dot com

“So all I can really say is thank you. Hanseul, who was able to succeed even if he didn’t have to be under our lacking son, is dedicating himself to our son and his wife like this… For me, I’m really grateful.”

“no. Well, Mr. Miller is my lifesaver. I have to do this.”

“Whoops, do you really think so?”

uh, well It’s a bit difficult to answer when you look at it with those penetrating eyes.

I scratched my head and avoided his gaze.

When I look into this grandmother’s eyes, I feel like I’m naked for some reason. Should I say eyes like the sea, clear and deep blue, as if seeing through everything.

It was the moment I thought so.

Before I knew it, Grandma put down the knitted fabric and said while holding my hand with her wrinkled hand.

“Hanseul.”

“yes. ma’am.”

“I am Hanseul, our son and daughter. And I want my grandchildren to trust me and take care of it.”

“Well, that’s my job, so it’s natural.”

“You know that’s not what I said, don’t you?”

“hahahaha. Is that so?”

Um, how about it? Should I say it’s a bit difficult to put into words? But looking at those sapphire-like eyes, I spit it out without even realizing it.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve only been there for a day or two, and honestly, there’s no need for me to be independent, right? The kids aren’t all grown up yet, and it’s probably more comfortable with Mr. Miller. Should I say that just being together makes me feel free? Eh, anyway.”

For some reason, my heart is agitated. I don’t usually do this, but it’s interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve said anything like this.

But I can’t help it. Do you feel like you want to throw something away? I concluded the long story, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment for some reason.

“It is natural. They are family.”

It’s simply because we’ve known him for quite some time to argue that he’s Agatha Christie’s father or something like that. They have already dug too deep into each other’s lives.

It’s just that I want to protect my best friend and family, Mr. Miller, a foreigner.

“Whoops. That’s enough.”

Mrs. Margaret Miller said that with a wide, incomprehensible smile.

Then I suddenly asked what he thought.

“By the way, why did you suddenly say that?”

“Oh, you mean that?”

It’s like I’ve been treating you well for a while and suddenly I’m leaving somewhere, I don’t even think of that. Then she smiled as if it was nothing.

“That’s right, Hanseul…”

and dropped it

That, a word like a nuclear bomb.

“You know the future, right?