ā Chapter 7 ā
A low murmur filled the room.
The whispers of ‘those things’ gradually grew louder, as if they were trying to threaten her. The once-quiet drawing room became noisy, as though dozens of guests had suddenly gathered inside.
But Catherine had no intention of backing down.
From years of experience, she knew exactly how cruel and persistent ‘those things’ were. If she failed to drive them away now, they would cling to her like leeches.
She decided to make herself perfectly clear.
“Take one more step, and you’ll regret it.”
The shadows spreading across the ceiling suddenly froze.
“I’ll make sure you can never set foot here again. You may not know it, but when I say I’ll do something… I do it.”
Whisper… whisper…
The shrunken creatures answered in quieter voices.
“How strange.”
“It’s strangely not working.”
“What is that child…? Why doesn’t it work…?”
It seemed her fierce glare had worked.
Their voices slowly faded away until they completely disappeared from the drawing room.
“…Ha.”
That was everything she could do.
The drawing room became quiet again, and the fireplace gave off a warm glow. Although his clothes were still damp, they would soon dry in the heat.
Catherine slowly walked over and threw herself onto the sofa opposite him.
Her wet clothes gradually soaked into the cushions.
I hope the rain stops tomorrow.
Perhaps because she was so exhausted, sleep quickly pulled her under.
She had a dream.
In that dream, Catherine saw faces she knew all too well.
The bedroom door stood wide open.
Her beautifully dressed mother had just returned from going out.
Her father stood nearby with a panicked expression.
And…
That shameless woman!
Her father’s mistress.
Time had buried the memory, but inside the dream it became as vivid as if it had happened only moments ago.
The woman, with pale skin, was almost naked.
She desperately covered herself with a sheet while sitting frozen on the bed.
The moment Mother saw herā
Smack!
She rushed forward and slapped the woman across the face.
“Ahhh!”
The woman’s frail body collapsed sideways like a flower caught in a storm.
Mother narrowed her eyes sharply.
“While I’m still alive and standing here, how dare you crawl into this room!”
“R-Rian!”
At the woman’s cry, Mother’s gaze shifted toward Father, who stood by the door.
“Don’t take one more step, Rian! After I’m done with this woman, you’re next!”
Her voice was sharper than a knight’s sword.
Father flinched.
Without saying a word, he slowly backed out of the bedroom.
Catherine silently watched his retreating back.
Neither of them had expected Mother and Catherine to return from Panya a day earlier.
Otherwise, Father would never have dared do something like this while knowing Mother’s fiery temper.
“I took in an orphan with nowhere to go, and this is how you repay me? I’ll strip you naked and throw you into the gutter!”
“I-I’m sorry! S-Sorry, Madam! Waaaaah…”
The mistress’s thin blonde hair was mercilessly dragged around in Mother’s grip.
Even young Catherine had stared at her mother with slightly frightened eyes.
Even at that age, she understood that her mother’s personality was… extraordinary.
The commotion only ended after the servants dragged the crying woman away.
Mother breathed heavily for a while before calmly taking Catherine’s hand as though nothing had happened.
Together, they walked into a drawing room where warm milk and sweet pastries had already been prepared.
“Catherine. My precious child… watch me carefully and learn.”
As she spoke, Mother looked out through the wide window at the bright blue sky.
This wasn’t the drawing room that overlooked the garden.
The garden could be seen from another room.
“Anyone foolish enough to climb over your head should be crushed immediately.”
“Only then will they understand their place and never dare look down on you.”
She was staring toward the mansion’s back entrance, where servants and supplies entered.
“Aaah!”
A sharp scream echoed from somewhere outside.
Even back then, Catherine had instinctively known that it belonged to the maid who had just been dragged away half-naked.
“Understand, Catherine?”
“Anyone who desires what’s yours… anyone who steals from you…”
“Must pay the proper price.”
Mother’s face remained calm and emotionless as she looked outside, as though watching someone else’s affair.
But her voice was different.
It was firm and clear, as if she were teaching the most important lesson of her life.
Mother slowly turned toward Catherine.
Strange…
She could barely remember Mother’s face anymore.
Only blurry memories remained.
“You have the right to do that.”
Only one week later…
…Mother disappeared.
Bright light filled her vision.
The cold air stabbing into her lungs made Catherine instinctively open her eyes.
“Haa… haa…”
Her head spun.
The strange sensation told her she had returned to reality.
She slowly got up and pulled back the blackout curtains.
Because of the heavy rain that had fallen since dawn, the outside world was covered in thick gray mist.
“…The bed?”
What about that man?
The bedroom she had woken up in was one of the rooms on the second floor that she had carefully cleaned herself.
She stopped thinking and headed downstairs alone.
Why did I dream about that…?
It had been so long since Mother had appeared in one of her dreams.
And of all memories…
Why that one?
If she had to dream about Mother, she would have preferred one of their happier days.
The sofa where the man had been lying was empty.
The fire in the fireplace had completely burned out, leaving only cold ashes behind.
Even the pile of blankets she had covered him with had disappeared.
Rose must have cleaned them up.
As she approached the kitchen, the warm smell of roasted potatoes greeted her.
“Miss!”
Rose had such sharp hearing that she noticed Catherine’s footsteps from far away.
She quickly put down the ladle and hurried over.
“You should’ve rung the bell instead! Are you feeling alright? I couldn’t find you anywhere this morning.”
“I’m fine, Rose. More importantly… thank you for carrying me back to bed.”
“…Me?”
Rose looked completely confused.
Seeing her expression, Catherine frowned slightly.
If Rose hadn’t carried her…
Then there was only one person left.
That strange man who had caused such trouble last night.
“Oh, that’s right! One of your friends came to visit earlier!”
“My… friend?”
Rose gently pushed Catherine into the kitchen.
Catherine wasn’t completely friendless…
But she certainly didn’t have any friends who would travel all the way here.
Besides, who even knew she had settled down in Christopher?
Even Father probably didn’t knowā
“Ah, Miss Panya. Good morning.”
It was him.
The same man who had collapsed at her mansion last night.
At this point, Catherine didn’t even have the energy to be surprised anymore.
He sat comfortably at the kitchen table, reading a book while sipping tea.
Anyone seeing him would think it was his own house.
Rose leaned close and whispered into Catherine’s ear.
“I tried to show him to the drawing room, but he insisted on waiting here in the kitchen.”
“My goodness… when did you become friends with such a handsome gentleman?”
“Although… now that I look closely, he does resemble His Grace the Grand Duke a little…”
Still talking loud enough for everyone to hear, Rose smiled brightly before returning to her cooking.
The man looked perfectly healthy.
Judging from his shirt and vest, he must have stayed in the mansion after regaining consciousness.
Even more surprisingly…
His clothes and hair, which had been completely soaked by the rain, were now spotless.
When their eyes met, he smiled naturally.
Not that chilling smile she had seen before.
This one was calm…
Gentle…
The kind of smile that could make any woman fall in love at first sight.
“Hey.”
His perfectly fine appearance only irritated Catherine even more.
She had nearly killed herself trying to save him from the storm last night.
Today, she decided she would finally learn what this strange man was really after.
“Why do you keep showing up here like some unwanted guest?”
Always appearing just when she had almost forgotten him.
The man slowly shook his head and gave a faint smile.
Then he deliberately lifted his teacup and took another sip.
Out of the corner of her eye, Catherine noticed Rose quietly pricking up her ears while pretending to cook.
“Hm. I didn’t expect you to describe me that way.”
“Was I really that pathetic?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Last night you collapsed in front of my house, and now you’re sitting here drinking tea in someone else’s kitchen first thing in the morning!”
Not to mention those creatures that had appeared because of him.
But whether Catherine complained or not, he simply enjoyed the aroma of his tea.
“Speaking of which, Miss Rose.”
“The tea is excellent.”
“Thank you for treating me so kindly despite my sudden visit.”
“Oh my.”
Rose covered her mouth with a blush.
His face alone was enough to make people smile.
Catherine could only click her tongue.
“Answer my question.”
Her serious tone immediately wiped the smile from Rose’s face.
After nervously looking between the two of them…
“Oh dear, Miss.”
“If you’re going to have a lovers’ quarrel, at least don’t do it in the kitchen.”
Leaving behind only that ridiculous misunderstanding, Rose quietly disappeared.
If she had to misunderstand something, why couldn’t it be a debt dispute instead?
As Catherine frowned, the man called her.
“Miss Panya.”
His gentle voice didn’t match the dangerous light that briefly flashed through his blue eyes.
“I believe I gave you some very important advice.”
“Yet, for some reason, you’re still living in this mansion.”
She had been waiting for this moment as well.
“Wait here.”
Catherine went upstairs to her bedroom and returned carrying the 1,000 Rid she had stored beneath her bed.
“Take it.”
“I’m returning your money.”
She pushed the stack of bills toward him.
The man quietly lowered his eyes and looked at the money on the table.
“Thank you for your advice.”
“But I’m not leaving this house.”
“So please… stop coming here.”
“Hah.”
He let out a laugh of disbelief.
“Do you think I come here because I actually want to?”
“Hey…”
“…No, wait.”
“What’s your name?”
“I can’t keep calling you ‘hey’ forever.”
His narrowed eyes carefully studied her face.
It was only a simple question, yet he clearly didn’t seem pleased.
But only for a moment.
Soon he answered as if it didn’t matter.
“Cesare.”
The moment she heard the name…
Catherine froze.
Cesare?
A storm swept through her mind.
There wasn’t a single citizen of the Empire who didn’t know that name.
Cesare Jean Uld Christopher.
Of course, his full title included ten more territories after Christopher.
Even so…
It was one of the most famous names in the Empire.
Because it belonged to the Empire’s one and only Grand Duke.
“…Cesare.”
“So not only do you look exactly like His Grace…”
“…you even have the same name.”
The manāCesareāsimply smiled quietly.
“I hear that quite often.”
