Antagonized Bachelorette Enjoying a Simple Life - Chapter 7
Murmurs. The whispering of those things grew gradually louder, as if they meant to threaten her.
The once-quiet parlor began to grow chaotic, like dozens of guests had suddenly arrived. But Catherine had no intention of backing down. From years of experience, she knew just how vicious and tenacious those things could be. If she didn't drive them off properly now, they'd cling to her like leeches.
Catherine decided to hammer in one final nail.
"Take one more step from there, and see what happens."
The shadows slowly spreading across the ceiling froze, stiffening.
"I'll make sure you never set foot here again. You might not know it, but I get things done when I say I will."
Whispers. The shrunken things replied in smaller voices.
"That's weird."
"It's not working for some reason."
"What is she...? Why isn't it working...?"
Her gritted teeth and glare seemed to have hit the mark. Their voices gradually faded, until they finally vanished completely from the parlor.
"...Haa."
That was all she could do. The parlor fell silent again, the fireplace crackling warmly. Even though his clothes and hair were still damp, they'd dry quickly enough. Catherine shuffled slowly across the room and collapsed onto the opposite sofa. The spot where she lay grew damp bit by bit from her rain-soaked garments.
I hope the rain stops by tomorrow.
Perhaps from sheer exhaustion, she slipped helplessly into sleep.
She had a dream.
Familiar faces appeared in the dream—faces Catherine knew all too well. An open bedroom door. Her mother, elegantly dressed as if just returning from an outing, her father with a look of panic, and...
That insolent woman!
Her father's concubine. Time had buried the memory, but in the dream, it revived with vivid clarity, right before her eyes.
The concubine, with her pale skin, was half-naked. The woman lay rigid on the bed, clutching a sheet to cover herself. And when her mother saw this...
Slap!
She charged forward and struck the woman's cheek.
"Aaaah!"
The woman's slender body toppled sideways like a flower petal in a typhoon. Her mother then narrowed her eyes sharply.
"With my eyes wide open and alive, you dare crawl into this place?!"
"L-Lian!"
At the woman's cry, her mother's gaze turned to her father standing near the door.
"Don't take a single step from there, Lian! I'll deal with this wench first—then it's your turn!"
Her mother's voice toward her father was sharper than a knight's blade tip. He stiffened and backed away, fleeing the bedroom.
Catherine stared blankly at her father's retreating back. He must not have expected her mother and her to return from Panya a day early. Otherwise, knowing her mother's fiery temper, he wouldn't have dared such a thing.
"I took in an orphan with no connections, and this is how you betray me? I'll strip you bare and toss you in the sewer!"
"S-Sorry! S-Sob... I'm sorry, ma'am!"
The woman's thin blonde hair whipped helplessly in her mother's grasp. Catherine watched her mother with slightly wide-eyed dismay. Even as a child, she had fully grasped that her mother's temperament was uniquely fierce.
The commotion died down only after the servants dragged the woman away like a hostage. Her mother, breathing heavily for a while, soon composed herself and took Catherine's hand. She followed her mother to the parlor, where sweet pastries and warm milk awaited.
"Catherine? My lovely child, watch your mother closely and learn."
As she spoke, her mother gazed out the window at the vast blue sky. This small parlor's window didn't overlook the garden. The parlor with the garden view was elsewhere.
"Things that crawl up without shame should be crushed without hesitation. That's how they learn their place and stop looking down on you."
The direction her mother gazed was the mansion's back gate, where food supplies and servants came and went.
As she spoke, her mother gazed out the window at the vast blue sky. This small parlor's window didn't overlook the garden. The parlor with the garden view was elsewhere.
"Things that crawl up without shame should be crushed without hesitation. That's how they learn their place and stop looking down on you."
The direction her mother gazed was the mansion's back gate, where food supplies and servants came and went.
Aaah! A sharp scream echoed from somewhere. Catherine vaguely assumed it came from the half-naked maid being dragged away.
"Got it, Catherine? Those who covet what's yours and steal it must pay the appropriate price."
Her mother's gaze beyond the window was indifferent and detached, as if watching someone else's affair. But her voice was different—strict and clear, as if conveying the most vital matter of a lifetime.
Her mother's high, refined nose turned toward her. Strange. Her memory of her mother's face was so hazy.
"You have the right to do that."
Just a week later, her mother...
Her vision brightened, and the air filling her lungs stabbed like needles with cold. Catherine's eyes snapped open instinctively as she bolted upright, gasping for breath.
"Hahk, hahk."
Her head spun, and the unfamiliar sensation confirmed she was back in reality. She staggered to her feet and pulled back the blackout curtains from the window. Outside was dim and misty from the dawn rain, shrouded like fog.
"...The bed?"
Where was that man? The bedroom where Catherine had lain was one of the second-floor rooms she'd cleaned meticulously. She stopped thinking and left the bedroom, heading downstairs alone.
Why did I dream that now?
It had been ages since she'd dreamed of her mother. And of all things, the time her father had cheated with the maid.
If she was going to dream of her mother, something bright and cheerful would have been nicer.
The parlor sofa where the man had lain was empty. The roaring fireplace had died to cold ashes. Even the mountain of blankets she'd piled on him showed no trace.
Roze must have cleared it away.
As she neared the kitchen, a warm, nutty aroma wafted out. Roasted potatoes.
"Miss!"
Roze, with ears sharp as ever, must have heard her footsteps from afar. She set down her ladle and hurried over.
"You should have rung the bell! Are you alright? I woke up and couldn't find you—spent ages searching."
"I'm fine, Roze. More importantly, thanks for moving me to bed at dawn."
"Huh? Moving you?"
Roze's face held only pure confusion. Catherine's brow furrowed slightly. If not Roze, then only one other person remained.
That bizarre man who'd committed a huge faux pas last night and vanished.
"Oh, right! Your friend stopped by earlier!"
Friend? Catherine lived without close friends, but not as a total hermit—though none would visit this place. Who even knew she'd settled in Christopher after leaving home? Not even her father...
"Ah, Miss Panya. Good morning."
It was him. The man who'd shown up at her mansion last night and made a huge mess before leaving. Catherine was beyond even surprise now.
He sat at the end of the kitchen table, book open, sipping tea. He looked perfectly at home, like it was his own house. Roze whispered softly in Catherine's ear.
"I told him I'd show him to the parlor, but he insisted on waiting in the kitchen. How... When did you make such a wonderful friend, miss? Though up close, he kinda looks like His Grace the Grand Duke..."
Roze, muttering loud enough for all to hear, grinned and returned to her cooking. The man, in a word, looked perfectly fine. From his simple shirt and vest, he'd clearly stayed after regaining his senses. Of course, his rain-ruined hair and clothes were astonishingly pristine for it.
When their eyes met, he smiled casually—not the eerie grin she'd seen before, but a calm, serene one. The kind that would make any woman fall at first sight. A gentle smile.
"Hey."
And his composed, handsome state only irritated Catherine more. She had no idea how much she'd suffered saving this madman from the storm last night.
Today, she resolved to uncover the dark depths of this man's intentions.
"Why do you keep slinking back here like a stray?"
Especially right when she'd forget! He shook his head with a subtle smile, then deliberately drained his teacup with a slurp.
She could feel Roze perking up her ears, eyes rolling curiously.
"Hm. Didn't expect you'd put it that way. Have I been that clingy?"
"You think not? Showing up last night in that state wasn't enough—now you're sipping tea in someone else's house at the crack of dawn!"
And she'd even upset her stomach dealing with those things drawn by him. But whether Catherine vented or not, he savored his tea's aroma with a soft smile.
"Come to think of it, Miss Roze. This tea is excellent. Thanks for hosting me so kindly on such short notice."
"Oh my."
Roze blushed, covering her mouth as she laughed. His charm was laugh-inducing, but Catherine just tsked.
"Answer me."
Her voice carried weight; Roze hurriedly smoothed her upturned lips. She glanced between Catherine and the man, then...
"Whew, miss, really. Doing lovers' quarrels in the kitchen?"
Leaving that bizarre remark, she turned and vanished far away.
If she was going to misunderstand, at least mistake it for a creditor-debtor thing. As Catherine's brow twitched, the man called to her.
"Miss Panya."
A feral glint, at odds with his gentle tone, flashed through his blue eyes and vanished.
"I seem to recall giving you some very important advice. Yet here you still are, lingering in this mansion."
Just what she'd been waiting for.
"Wait a sec."
She hurried upstairs to the bedroom, grabbed the 1,000 lire she'd stashed under the bed, and came back down.
"Here. I'll repay the money."
She shoved the 1,000 lire toward him. He calmly lowered his eyelids, staring at the bills on the table.
"Thanks for the advice, but I'm not leaving this house. So please, stop dropping by."
Ha. He let out an incredulous laugh.
"You think anyone wants to keep coming here?"
"Hey... No, wait—what's your name? I can't keep calling you 'hey' forever."
His narrowed eyes meticulously scanned her eyes, nose, and mouth. Just asking his name, and he didn't seem pleased. But the expression passed. He soon replied nonchalantly.
"Chezare."
Moments after hearing the name, Catherine's face hardened.
Chezare? A typhoon whipped through her mind.
No one in the empire didn't know that name. Chezare Jean Uld Christopher. Though ten long territory names followed Christopher, it was one of the empire's most famous.
The name of the empire's sole grand duke.
"...Chezare. Not just the face—even the name matches His Grace the Grand Duke."
The man, Chezare, smiled demurely at her words.
"I get that a lot."