◇ Chapter 5 ◇
Whatever the monster and the man really were, Catherine didn’t care.
She hurried into the mansion and ran up the stairs.
The unexpected situation had thrown her mind into complete panic.
No matter how she thought about it, that monster didn’t look like the type to pay for the damage.
Then who was going to pay for my house?
“Ha… ha…”
A cold wind brushed across her cheek.
Even though she was clearly inside the mansion.
Catherine stood where her bedroom had been and stared ahead in silence.
It had taken her less than a minute to get upstairs.
But now…
The goat-headed monster that had been shouting so confidently only moments ago was lying on the floor, slowly turning into a pile of ashes.
“Tsk.”
A short click of the tongue came from the man standing nearby.
Catherine carefully walked toward him.
She knew that back very well.
His flawless silver hair, like a mermaid’s scales, glowed red beneath the evening sky.
She grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.
“Hey.”
His clear cobalt-blue eyes calmly met hers.
It really was him.
The man who had thrown one hundred Rids at her.
No—
That man.
“What are you going to do about my house? I spent an entire week cleaning this place like a dog!”
The man looked as if he had expected her to come.
Without showing the slightest surprise, he stepped back and gently removed her hand from his shoulder.
“…Cleaning? Don’t tell me you’ve been cleaning this enormous mansion by yourself.”
The glass sword had already disappeared without a trace.
He slowly looked over what had once been part of her bedroom.
Then he quietly muttered, loud enough for her to hear,
“You certainly have impressive stamina.”
“I asked what you’re going to do about my house, you crazy idiot!”
All the thoughts Catherine had about his extraordinary identity disappeared like dust.
She had worked so hard, dreaming only of a better future.
And now…
Thinking that all her hard work had been destroyed made every bit of strength leave her body.
“Please calm down first, Miss Panya.”
But the man responsible for all of this remained unbelievably calm.
He casually spoke words that offered no comfort at all.
To make matters worse…
He smiled.
A bright, carefree smile.
Catherine felt anger and frustration boiling inside her.
“Calm down? My house just collapsed, and you’re telling me to calm down?”
The man looked puzzled.
“I honestly don’t understand what you’re talking about. Why don’t you open your eyes and look around carefully? Your house collapsed? Were you dreaming while standing up?”
At first, Catherine thought he was speaking complete nonsense.
Holding her aching head, she took a step back.
She even started thinking she should call Sir Mel and have this crazy man arrested.
But then—
“Look carefully. Your house is perfectly fine. The hallway is exactly the same as before. The mansion you worked so hard to clean doesn’t even have a scratch.”
Why…
Why was the mansion perfectly fine?
It was completely destroyed just a moment ago.
Catherine slowly looked around the bedroom.
The collapsed ceiling had returned.
The broken furniture stood exactly where it had been before.
Even the torn canopy that had been hanging crookedly like a swing…
Everything had returned to normal.
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
Am I…
Dreaming inside another dream?
No matter how carefully she looked…
Everything was perfectly normal.
The canopy with the large hole had been restored.
The faded carpet.
The broken grandfather clock.
Everything remained exactly where it had always been.
After carefully looking around the room, Catherine finally turned back to the man.
His silver hair had already returned to its original beautiful color after glowing red beneath the setting sun.
There were only a handful of people on the entire continent capable of using magic like this.
She carefully asked,
“Are you… Grand Duke Cesare?”
She had heard that Grand Duke Cesare Christopher was the great archmage who had even defeated an evil dragon.
If it was someone like him…
Magic like this would probably be nothing.
Maybe her guess had been right after all.
Cold sweat slowly ran down her back.
What would he say?
“That’s right. I am Grand Duke Cesare, ruler of this territory.”
Or perhaps…
“You only realized it now, foolish commoner?”
Surely he wouldn’t deny—
“I’m not.”
What?
“…You’re not?”
That couldn’t be right.
Catherine stared closely at his face.
Once.
Twice.
No matter how many times she looked, he had the exact same handsome face that had appeared in the newspaper.
Besides…
His appearance was so perfect that anyone who saw him once would remember him forever.
Could there really be two men this handsome?
“Well, people do tell me I look like him from time to time.”
He spoke as if it were nothing important.
Then he casually pulled over a nearby chair and sat down.
Was he lying?
But why would someone like him bother hiding his identity from her?
He was impossible to understand.
Catherine silently watched the man touching the furniture as though he were the owner of the mansion.
If he isn’t the Grand Duke…
Then what am I supposed to do with this crazy man?
“…Wait here for a moment.”
At least one thing was certain.
Nothing good would come from getting involved with him.
Catherine hurried into another room and took out the one hundred Rid note she had hidden between the pages of a book.
She had thought he would disappear as suddenly as he had appeared.
Instead…
He was still sitting there waiting when she returned.
She held out the banknote.
The very same one hundred Rids.
“Take it back. I don’t need money for tea.”
The man didn’t take it.
Thinking he would leave her holding it forever, Catherine simply placed the note on his lap.
He looked down at it for a moment before speaking slowly.
“You should use it to buy another mansion instead. I never take back money once I’ve given it to someone.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“If you give something and then take it back, it looks rather pathetic.”
Pathetic?
His pride?
As someone who had spent her whole life struggling with money, Catherine couldn’t understand him at all.
“Sorry, but I have no intention of leaving this mansion.”
If nothing else…
She intended to spend the rest of her life here.
At least until the day she was buried.
“Perhaps you should reconsider. Unless you want to experience today’s events over and over again.”
“Didn’t I tell you a few days ago? If you come here like this one more time, I’ll report you to the guards.”
The man quietly closed his eyes.
It was such a simple movement.
Yet Catherine suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
Silence filled the bedroom.
After a long moment, he slowly opened his eyes again.
But instead of looking at Catherine…
His gaze rested somewhere else.
“If you’re dead, you won’t be able to report anyone… or even open your mouth.”
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Since when had the broken clock started working again?
Catherine looked at the moving second hand.
Then…
She looked back at the man watching the clock.
For just a brief moment…
A brilliant violet light flashed across his eyes before disappearing.
“Of course, I’m not saying that I would kill you.”
“You saw them earlier, didn’t you?”
“Those horrible monsters that aren’t even human.”
“They’re after this mansion.”
“To be precise… they’re after the land this mansion was built on.”
“So today’s incident could happen again at any time.”
His voice remained calm and relaxed.
But Catherine could barely hear him.
Something much more important had captured her attention.
Those violet eyes.
As far as she knew…
A vivid violet eye color was something no human could naturally possess.
No way…
Catherine quickly hid her trembling hands behind her back.
Could his true identity really be… that?
The man seemed to notice her reaction.
However…
He apparently thought she was frightened by his warning.
“I’m only giving you advice for your own good.”
“What would I possibly do with this old building?”
“Mansions like this are everywhere.”
Catherine quickly looked away.
His eyes had already returned to their original cobalt-blue color.
Do they only change when he uses magic?
The man remained silent for a while.
When Catherine finally calmed her racing heart enough to look at him again…
His expression had become as cold as the wind blowing across a snowy mountain.
She didn’t dare ask why monsters wanted her land.
After gathering all her courage, she finally managed to speak.
“…You’re right. It’s definitely something I should think about.”
She understood exactly what he meant.
More than anything…
She just wanted him to leave as quickly as possible.
“I’m glad we’re able to understand each other.”
The man smiled again.
That same mysterious smile.
Only his lips curved upward.
His eyes never smiled.
After the man left…
Catherine stood there without moving for a long time.
A mage with violet eyes.
As her heart grew heavier, an old memory buried deep in the past slowly returned.
“…That’s why races born with powerful magic can be recognized by the color of their eyes. Among them, violet is by far the most dangerous. Catherine, you may forget the others, but never forget this. If you ever meet someone with violet eyes, you must be extremely careful. They are…”
But…
His eyes were normally blue.
They only turned violet for a brief moment.
That meant he usually disguised them.
He was exactly the kind of being her mother had always feared.
Now that Catherine knew his identity…
There was no reason to hesitate anymore.
She had finally escaped Orleans and found freedom after so many years.
It wasn’t worth risking everything just because she hated leaving behind a mansion she had worked so hard to clean.
His true identity was simply too terrifying.
“That’s right… It’s the logical choice. The most reasonable choice… So I’d better start packing.”
She would find an even better house soon anyway.
The man had left her another nine hundred Rids.
Together with the original one hundred…
She now had one thousand Rids.
It was obvious what he meant.
Take the money and leave me alone.
This time…
Catherine had no intention of refusing.
With one thousand Rids, she could easily buy a comfortable home in Christopher City.
She would gladly accept his offer and disappear.
The first thing she packed was the small box hidden beneath her bed.
It contained her mother’s keepsakes.
Nothing was more precious to her.
Next came the bookshelf.
Since Catherine had never really had close friends, reading was one of her few hobbies.
She crouched down and carefully gathered her old novels and books of poetry.
“…Hm?”
Something rough brushed against the back of her hand.
There was a piece of paper stuck beneath the top of the lowest shelf.
Catherine put the books aside and carefully removed it.
It was a painting.
Not a very old one.
It showed a graceful woman sitting inside this very bedroom, quietly looking ahead.
Catherine knew that woman.
“…Mother?”
Her fingers turned white as she tightly gripped the picture.
I know this woman.
Her mouth slowly fell open.
She couldn’t believe it.
The previous owner of this bedroom…
Was her own mother.
The woman who had supposedly died—
Or disappeared—
Ten years ago.
That night…
Catherine couldn’t sleep.
She placed a lamp beside her bed and spent the entire night staring at the portrait until dawn.
Judging by its condition…
It couldn’t have been painted more than ten years ago.
For a long time, she had suspected that her mother’s death was a lie.
But…
She had never imagined she would discover the truth like this.
Mother…
Her mother had been everything to her.
The days they spent together had been brighter than anything else in her life.
Back then…
It had felt as though the whole world belonged to her.
Nothing had frightened her.
Everything Catherine knew had been taught by her mother.
Why did you leave me behind?
For the past ten years…
She had asked that question hundreds…
No…
Thousands of times.
Even after leaving Orleans…
She still couldn’t escape her mother.
Catherine resented her deeply.
Yet at the same time…
She missed her so much that it made her chest ache.
She wanted to see her.
She wanted to find her.
She wanted to cry in her mother’s arms.
This mansion…
Still held traces of her mother.
And now…
There was also a mage with violet eyes who wanted to take it away.
“…Sigh.”
Everything had its priorities.
And ever since the day her mother disappeared…
Catherine had only ever had one.
