Chapter : 03
Cecilia silently gazed at the figure of the woman shimmering on the surface of the water.
Lustrous golden hair, amber eyes, and an aura that conveyed something sacred beyond mere beauty.
Cecilia Weberdin, the eldest daughter of the Weberdin family, the Empire’s greatest holy family, was known as the Empire’s “Saint” in keeping with both her appearance and her status.
That was why she wasn’t free to go out, why she lived only in the marquisate far from the capital, and why everyone treated her as if she were made of glass, handling her with extreme care lest she break.
However, no matter how noble and saintly she looked on the outside, unfortunately, on the inside she was a 21st-century Korean who had grown up seeing all sorts of dirty things.
Cecilia brushed back her golden hair floating in the water and firmly shook her head.
“Melanie. You don’t know. The truly frightening thing is inside me.”
“Pardon?”
What I mean is, it’s a good thing I didn’t kidnap that man.
She swallowed the words she could never bring herself to say aloud. She felt a little sorry for Melanie, who was worried about her, but she intended to get closer to this “stranger.”
If possible, she wanted a very private and intimate relationship.
The next day.
Melanie couldn’t shake off her worries, and she continued nagging Cecilia and expressing her concerns until it was time for her to go to bed. So, naturally, Cecilia obediently stayed in her room and rested…
Yeah, right.
Cecilia, who had been waiting for an opportunity, immediately threw off her indoor clothes as soon as Melanie left.
Then, carrying the cat that had apparently noticed the temporary butler leaving and was following her around, she dashed out of the room.
Perhaps thanks to her fluffy companion, it was surprisingly easy to retrace her memories and reach the wall.
The only problem was…
What excuse am I supposed to use for barging into the neighboring house?
Her worries didn’t last long.
The little troublemaker suddenly scratched the back of her hand, as though wondering when it had ever peacefully stayed in her arms.
“Ah!”
Startled, she let go, and the cat landed lightly on the floor. Then, as if deliberately showing off, it leisurely slipped through the small opening in the wall.
Well, I suppose I can’t help it.
She had no choice but to go find the cat before it ruined someone else’s flower garden again.
As though she’d been waiting for this excuse, Cecilia compromised with herself and crawled through the opening once more.
The cat’s adorable little paw prints continued from the entrance of the hole, only to abruptly disappear once they reached the lawn.
Just like yesterday, Cecilia crossed the lush green lawn.
Beyond the long, tall hedge made of evergreen shrubs was the western garden.
I hope the cat isn’t ruining the flower beds again.
Only then did Cecilia start worrying and quicken her pace a little.
And what she saw at the end was not yesterday’s ruined garden, but a flower bed filled with white daisies.
The flowers swayed freely in the direction of the wind, looking almost like sea foam riding on waves.
Amid the fresh scent of spring, Rien stood there as though he had been placed in the scene by some unbelievable coincidence.
He was wearing a gloomy robe that looked completely out of place with his surroundings.
Shouldn’t he be standing here looking like a picture in this picturesque scenery? Then the female protagonist would fall for him all over again. That’s a clichĂ©.
As Cecilia gazed dismally at the one flaw in the perfect picture, the other person seemed to notice her as well and strode toward her.
“Lady Weberdin!”
As expected, he must have been heading toward the western garden too, because a bundle of white fur was nestled in his arms.
“I’m sorry. The cat escaped again… I suppose it really likes this garden. It didn’t damage anything else this time, did it?”
“No!”
When she asked worriedly, he hurriedly shook his head.
Only then did Cecilia’s face brighten with relief.
“That’s a relief. I was worried it might cause trouble again like yesterday… Oh, by the way, the garden has become even prettier in just one day. It’s almost like magic!”
Cecilia clapped her hands and complimented him. Half of her praise was sincere, while the other half was driven by the ulterior motive of trying to close the emotional distance between them.
But Rien flinched as though she had just criticized him and lowered his head deeply.
“Th-Thank you.”
Hmm. That doesn’t seem like a shy reaction.
Because of the robe, she couldn’t see his expression.
Tsk. Cecilia clicked her tongue inwardly whenâ
Rien suddenly bent down, plucked a few daisies at his feet, and held them out to her.
“Here. I thought you might like daisies…”
Cecilia stared blankly down at the unexpected gift.
She did prefer modest wildflowers that bloomed naturally in the wilderness over flashy flowers that had undergone artificial cultivation.
But what surprised her more than the fact that he had perfectly guessed her taste was the fact that he had given her flowers at all.
What? Is he asking me out right now?
As she seriously stared at the gift without taking it, his hand began to tremble slightly.
“If you don’t like them…”
Cecilia belatedly came to her senses and quickly accepted the flowers.
“No. I like them very, very, very, very much!”
She firmly grasped the fresh stems and exclaimed.
Perhaps he finally sensed her sincerity this time, because the corner of his mouth, barely visible beneath the robe, curved into a smile.
It must have been a smile as beautiful as these flowers!
It was simply a shame that his face was hidden behind that damned piece of fabric.
Should I just pretend I don’t know and yank it off?
She was seriously considering how to get rid of that rag when, in an instant, the smile disappeared from his lips as though it had never been there.
“…Your hand.”
“What?”
“Your hand is injured!”
Only then did Cecilia glance at the back of her hand.
The scratch from the cat’s claws was more red and distinct than she’d expected.
“Ah, this little guy certainly has a strong personality.”
She casually replied while lightly tapping the cat on the nose. The cat yawned briefly, completely unaware that it had done anything wrong.
It stung, but it wasn’t as though her hand had been cut off. It was nothing more than a scratch.
Rien, however, seemed even more shocked than the person who had actually been injured. Pressing his lips together, he suddenly grabbed her hand.
The hand covering her wound felt slightly hotter than an ordinary person’s body temperature.
“Rien?”
When she called out to him at the unfamiliar sensation, Rien hastily pulled his hand away.
“I-I’m sorry. I was just so surprised…”
Apparently believing that he had committed a grave offense, he fidgeted before guiding her to sit on a log bench near the garden.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll bring some medicine.”
“It’s only a small wound, so you don’t need to worry about it… Rien!”
Before she could finish speaking, he hurriedly left.
Cecilia stared blankly at his retreating back before lowering her gaze to the back of her hand.
Maybe it was her imagination, but she could barely feel any pain.
Is it because it’s only a minor injury?
Just as she was becoming even less convinced that treatment was necessary, Rien, who had disappeared in an instant, returned at an astonishing speed.
He dropped down roughly at her feet and spilled out a small glass bottle containing liquid, along with some bandages and other items.
“Please excuse me for a moment.”
Rien hesitantly took hold of her fingertips, opened the bottle containing pink liquid, and poured it directly over her wound.
There was a sensation of heat, just like when he had held her hand earlier.
Then, before she knew it, the wound had healed without leaving even a trace.
“Is this… a potion?”
In this other world, there were ordinary medicines prepared by apothecaries, but there were also “holy water” and “potions” that guaranteed immediate effects.
The former were primarily produced by priests, while the latter were produced by mages, and both were extremely expensive.
In other words, they were absolutely not the sort of medicine one should use to treat something as trivial as a scratch.
“There isn’t a healer at the mansion… I’m sorry.”
Perhaps he had interpreted her astonished question as something negative, because his broad shoulders drooped.
Seeing how dejected he looked even after healing her, Cecilia deliberately clenched and unclenched her hand.
“See? Thanks to you, Rien, it doesn’t hurt at all now.”
“But…”
“Come on, don’t sit on the ground. Sit here.”
She grabbed his wrist as he sat at her feet and pulled him down beside her.
Cecilia placed the warm cat on his grass-stained knees, gently stroked the fresh wildflowers, and asked,
“Do you tend the garden yourself? Are you a gardener?”
She had asked because she wondered whether she was supposed to treat him as a gardener for the time being.
After hesitating for quite a while, he timidly nodded.
“My lord!”
At that moment, a man came running from the direction of the mansion. He was dressed in a suit that clung tightly to his large frame.
He was such a big butler that, from a distance, Cecilia had mistaken him for a knight.
The butler was carrying several small bottles, presumably containing other medicines. But when he belatedly noticed the guest sitting beside his “master,” he abruptly stopped.
“…Where did he go? Haha.”
Then he began awkwardly backing away.
Only after the butler disappeared behind the building did Cecilia slowly look up at the man beside her.
Rien had gone completely rigid, and even his breathing had grown faint from tension.
He’s so terrible at this that it’s hard for me to pretend I don’t know.
“You seem to be quite good at lying, my lord.”
“It’s not like that.”
He leaned forward sharply and shouted in a panic.
He was so flustered that his entire body jolted, startling the cat, which jumped off his lap, while the hem of his robe was pushed slightly backward.
“I-I never intended to deceive or trick you, Lady Weberdin…!”
“Woah, calm down. I’m not angry.”
Cecilia raised both hands and tried to calm him.
The violet eyes she finally met were darting around like those of a child who had done something wrong.
“But…”
“I’m serious. Do I look angry?”
“…No.”
She had realized long ago that he wasn’t actually a gardener.
Someone with that face being an ordinary gardener?
That was impossible in a romance-fantasy world where appearance was proportional to power.
He must have another reason for hiding his identity, which is why he bothered to lie.
Yet he looked as though he had taken on all the guilt of every sin in the world over one little lie.
As Cecilia stared thoughtfully at the man who still didn’t know what to do with himself, a brilliant idea suddenly occurred to her.
