◇ Chapter 4 ◇
Catherine had only one answer.
“No.”
“Haha.”
The man let out another dry laugh. He laughed only with his throat, without moving a single muscle on his face, making it look strangely unsettling.
“Do you hear any strange or frightening sounds at night?”
“No.”
“Has the mansion ever shaken for no reason? Or have you heard mysterious voices?”
“No.”
“What about nightmares?”
“I don’t have them.”
She wasn’t trying to answer with only one word to embarrass him.
But the truth was, she really didn’t hear anything or have any nightmares.
She had answered honestly, yet the man didn’t seem to believe her at all.
Catherine quietly thought about what his questions meant as she lifted her teacup.
“The broker said something similar too…”
“And you still bought this mansion?”
“Yes. None of those things seemed like a problem to me.”
Suddenly, Catherine found it strange that she was patiently answering such random questions.
“Did you get the answers you wanted? Then how about leaving now?”
But instead of standing up, the man leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
He even looked dissatisfied about something.
“Hmm.”
“Excuse me?”
The man seemed completely lost in his own thoughts while Catherine sat right in front of him.
He had entered someone else’s house without permission, helped himself to her tea, and now acted as if the owner didn’t even exist.
He was the kind of man who clearly didn’t understand common sense.
Catherine knew people like him very well.
Even if she told him to leave, he wouldn’t move.
The best thing to do was simply wait until he decided to leave on his own.
She picked up the book she had left in one corner of the kitchen.
It was Christopher Territory Guidebook, which she had been reading while waiting for her food to finish cooking.
Some time passed.
When Catherine finally looked up from her book, she noticed the man was staring at her as well.
He was a tall man with surprisingly delicate features.
His silver hair was flawless, without a single imperfection.
His bright blue eyes looked exactly like the sea in the middle of summer.
His elegant yet sharp facial features made him seem almost unreal.
So people this handsome really do exist…
Still…
When he kept his mouth shut, he looked quite cold.
No—
Very cold.
He carried himself with even more elegance than the great nobles Catherine had seen countless times at banquets.
His appearance didn’t match the rude way he spoke at all.
For some reason, it was difficult to keep looking into his eyes.
Catherine quietly lowered her gaze and returned to her book.
As if he had been waiting for that moment, the man spoke.
“Very well… We’ll stop here for today.”
Stop what?
All he had done was ask whether she planned to move and whether anything strange had happened in the mansion.
And now, despite being a trespasser, he sounded as if he intended to visit again.
Catherine closed her book.
“Who decided that? I let it go this time, but next time I’ll really report you.”
The man acted as though her words didn’t matter.
Slowly, he stood up and reached inside his coat.
Only then did Catherine realize he was dressed very formally.
Unlike yesterday, when he looked like a wanderer, he now wore a neat gray three-piece suit with every button of his shirt fastened.
If only his behavior matched his appearance…
He would have looked like a high-ranking noble.
After searching inside his jacket for a while, the man finally pulled out a banknote.
He placed the slightly wrinkled note on the dining table and smiled gently.
“It’s for the tea.”
Then he simply turned around and walked away.
“Ha…”
Catherine stood there in disbelief.
Are all city men like this?
Do handsome men from a big city like Christopher really rely on their looks and act this shamelessly?
She walked over to the table and picked up the banknote.
Let’s see how much city people usually pay for tea…
Then her mouth slowly fell open.
“…One hundred Rids?”
One hundred Rids.
The money he had left for tea was enough to hire six maids for an entire month.
Catherine carefully placed the money between the pages of one of her books.
You shouldn’t casually spend money someone else gives you.
Especially when it was such a huge amount.
The next day passed.
Then three more days.
During that time, Catherine often glanced toward the front door and the kitchen.
She kept wondering if the strange man would suddenly appear again like before.
She hadn’t thought much about it at first.
But it seemed she had been paying more attention to him than she realized.
Even on the fourth day…
He never came.
Oddly enough, instead of feeling relieved, she became even more uneasy.
Why…?
Is it because of those hundred Rids?
Then…
Five days after the man had left the money—
“…Hm?”
Catherine was returning from the market after buying ingredients for stew.
She noticed a large crowd gathered around the public bulletin board in the town square.
“Did the Emperor pass away or something?”
A large newspaper headline had been posted there.
“Grand Duke Cesare completes the Imperial mission after a two-year campaign.”
Catherine’s eyes widened.
She quickly moved closer and stared at the portrait printed on the front page.
It looked…
Far too familiar.
If her eyes weren’t mistaken…
The handsome man wearing elegant glasses in the portrait…
…was the same man who had thrown one hundred Rids at her and called it payment for tea.
“No… Wait. The cheeks are a little different. The Grand Duke is handsome too, but that intruder was even better looking. His eyes were colder… and when he wasn’t speaking, he looked much darker…”
“Haha! That’s an interesting thing to say, young lady. Anyone listening would think you’ve actually met His Grace.”
Catherine turned toward the voice.
An older gentleman smiled warmly at her and politely lifted his hat.
“Nice to meet you. I heard you’re the new owner of the mansion on the hill. It seems you’re living there alone. Is there anything I can help you with? Restoring such a large building by yourself can’t be easy.”
“Who are you?”
“Ah, forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself.”
The man laughed awkwardly.
“My name is Mel Pervache, captain of the Northern Christopher Guard.”
After removing his hat, the middle-aged man gave her a polite bow.
Catherine had expected the captain of the guard to be a huge, muscular man.
Instead, Mel behaved more like a refined noble.
The big city really is different from the countryside.
She sincerely admired it.
“Thank you for your kindness. But I’ll be fine on my own.”
“I’ve heard the lights in your mansion stay on until late every night.”
“Well, it’s a huge place. Even after cleaning all day for several days, I’ve only finished half of it.”
After lunch, she still needed to clean the third and fourth floors.
Since she had very little money, she tried not to throw away any furniture, which made everything take much longer.
And because the mansion still didn’t have electricity, it became difficult to work once the sun went down.
“Sir Mel, I’m not very familiar with what’s happening in the capital. What Imperial mission did Grand Duke Cesare complete?”
“Oh? You don’t know that famous story?”
He proudly smiled.
“He defeated the evil dragon, Guarsalov!”
The evil dragon, Guarsalov.
The dragon that had burned an entire kingdom in the southern part of the empire and devoured every member of its royal family.
Could that intruder really have defeated such a dragon by himself?
It sounded about as believable as a cat speaking human language.
“You mean that Guarsalov? The ruler of the southern mountain range?”
Sir Mel puffed out his chest proudly, as though he himself were Grand Duke Cesare.
“Our Grand Duke is the only Grand Archmage who can stand beside His Majesty the Emperor. Even a dragon as infamous as Guarsalov was no match for him. That’s why the people of Christopher can sleep peacefully every night!”
Catherine’s face turned pale.
She remembered the intruder casually using light magic.
If he’s really a mage… then that man really was the Grand Duke.
I actually tried to make the great Grand Duke mop my floor…
Her face lost all color.
She had finally relaxed after several quiet days.
But now she realized…
The one who hadn’t known her place was herself.
Ah… damn it.
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve treated him much more politely.
Regret came far too late.
Still… since he hasn’t shown up for several days, maybe he’s already forgotten about it.
A Grand Duke must have far more important things to worry about.
“Haha…”
Catherine forced an awkward laugh as she slowly walked home.
I haven’t even finished cleaning the mansion…
He’s not going to throw me out of Christopher… right?
Dragging her tired feet, Catherine returned to the mansion and began preparing a late lunch.
Maybe it was because she had finally bought some beef.
Preparing the ingredients made her feel much better.
Grand Duke Cesare…
Maybe…
He has a secret twin brother.
Or…
That man admires the Grand Duke so much that he copied his appearance with magic.
Neither explanation sounded very convincing.
While imagining the man’s true identity, Catherine continued cleaning the mansion.
After sunset, despite her exhausted body, she walked into the neglected garden.
The mansion’s only regular visitor—a stray cat—came running over after smelling the canned food.
“Meow.”
“Sigh…”
“When am I ever going to finish this garden?”
One hundred Rids.
With one hundred Rids, she could hire professionals to restore the garden properly.
Catherine looked down at the cat, who peacefully enjoyed its meal without a single worry.
“You’re lucky.”
“You don’t have to worry about money… or having a place to live.”
At that moment—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion shook the entire area.
Dust poured down from the sky without warning.
The frightened cat puffed up its fur and ran away.
Catherine jumped to her feet.
Then she froze.
Am I dreaming…?
The entire right side of her mansion was collapsing in a cloud of gray dust.
「You dare interfere with my summoning? I’ll tear you apart and make you suffer!」
The terrifying voice echoed from somewhere inside the ruins.
Catherine stared blankly toward the collapsed building.
There…
A gigantic monster with the head of a goat stood proudly among the rubble, laughing loudly.
Its overwhelming presence alone filled the air with evil.
But that wasn’t all.
Standing calmly beside the grotesque monster…
Was a man.
In one hand, he held a beautiful glass-like sword shining beneath the evening sunset.
「Don’t run with your tail between your legs. I’ll slowly chew apart every single muscle in your body!」
That was the monster’s final shout.
The man swung his sword toward the charging beast.
A tremendous impact followed.
The building collapsed even further.
Seeing that, Catherine screamed in horror.
“No! My house!”
She had only bought it a week ago!
