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Chapter 14: Let’s Hide It From Him
“Is it a note, miss?”
As Julia quickly leaned down, I was frightened and snatched the note. I just hope she didn’t notice my trembling hands.
“……No.”
I tried hard to make an insignificant voice.
“It’s just a piece of paper. It doesn’t say anything. I’ll throw it away.”
“Huh? it’s nothing.”
Julia pouted her lips, perhaps thinking this would be like a secret letter of love. Well, how painful must it be to suffer from housework every day at the age of eighteen.
“I’ll do the rest, so you can go out now, Julia. They will need to help prepare dinner.”
“Yes, lady.”
After leaving the room, I heard Julia walking down the stairs. Only then did my body, which had been released from tension, collapsed down as if it were sliding.
My mother has not been feeling well recently due to chronic blood pressure problems. It’s only a matter of time before Julia finds out and my mother finds out about it too, so I hid it for now, but the person who wrote it must be that red-haired man.
I’m sure, because of the circumstances.
“Haa…”
I got goosebumps thinking that he had been near me again today. If he heard my conversation with Toby, it means he was very close.….
Did he catch up to me on the street while I was on my way home?
No, if he left the note to a street beggar, it’s highly likely that he was already watching everything from the coffee shop.
Whatever it was, it was completely unbelievable. My hands trembled from fear. I couldn’t even stand up and just sat on the floor with a devastated face.
“…What do you want from me?”
It wouldn’t be a trick to threaten me and steal my family’s property. If he had watched me closely, he would have clearly seen how I dressed up. Unless he is blind.
Then, does he really admire me?
Well, I got a love letter from Tobias Miller, but it was definitely the first time in Melissa Collins’ 20-year-old life.
It’s hard to comprehend.
Another hypothesis is the probability that the unidentified man chasing me is a weirdo with a strange taste.
For example, when he sees a mysterious woman with brown hair in an old dress, he follows her around…….
“Some kind of pervert..…?”
This third hypothesis was the most terrifying, but at the same time the most likely. That makes it even more terrifying and creepy. It’s completely outside the scope of normal thinking.
* * *
“Mel, this is not normal.”
At my complaint, Viola clenched her fists and added in a low voice.
“As expected, I think it’s right to quit the New Ditch trip.”
“But…”
“I want you to go, too. It’s just that it’s not now. What do you think that crazy stalker would actually do to you?”
“…….”
I buried myself deeply on the sofa with mixed feelings.
“But, he could be just baffling.”
“No, no matter how much I think about it, You’re going to regret it.…. Listen to me this time, Mel.”
“It could be just a joke, but maybe I am making it into a bigger deal then it is—“
“…Melissa.”
Viola said in an unusually stern voice.
“What are you going to do if it’s not a joke?”
“…….”
“You, really… you may get hurt if you ignore this. You can get in trouble if you do that.”
Her determined words suddenly flooded me with shame.
I was used to pretending to be rational with the fact that I was quiet.
(TL/N: well, not being ‘loud’ or ‘flashy’ can make one appear more sensible whether they truly are or not.)
To pretend not to be conscious of my timid personality— this was part of my trivial daily life and couldn’t easily come out in front of others.
In fact, I had a more vulnerable and emotional inner self than anyone else.
Even so, it’s such an ungrateful attitude. I felt pathetic for myself. The fact that I was like an immature child and didn’t want to see the seriousness of my situation and only saw my willingness to travel
I don’t know what the red-haired man’s plan is, but in the worst case, the end may be my death.
“……I should send a letter to postpone my trip.”
“Yes. You’d better watch the situation for a while.”
As I nodded helplessly, Viola’s small hand grabbed my hand tightly.
“Cheer up. Since he’s a stalker who suddenly stuck behind you, he might come off sooner than you think.”
“I really hope so…….”
If this had happened in my previous life, I would have reported it to the police right away. Stalking is definitely a crime.
But unfortunately, in the Sourne Kingdom, the perception that stalking is considered as a bizarre act, nothing more or less. Sadly, most of the victims of stalking are women, and I can’t help but get the impression that the current era with recent women’s rights is fueling this situation.
The point is, even if the culprit is known, it will only end with a light criticism and there will be no significant punishment.  In other words, the victim has no other option but to hide in fear.…….
Of course, there is clearly an agency called the police.  Even because this is Florin, the capital of the Kingdom.
The problem is that they only move for a strictly influential family or person. It is unimaginable here that an individual asks the police for protection.
Then when I thought about who I should be protected by, the first person that came to mind was not my mother, my guardian, or my father—who is far away.…… It was Tobias Miller.
“You know, Viola.”
However, I wasn’t sure whether it would be better to tell him the reason for delaying this trip.
“Isn’t it better to tell Tobias the truth? The reason for delaying travel.”
“Well…”
Viola’s forehead gradually narrowed.
“You and Mr. Miller haven’t talked about the stalker since the day he saw someone near you, right?”
“Yes. Maybe he thinks it’s a coincidence. He wouldn’t imagine that he(Stalker) is repeatedly stalking me.”
“Then you’d better not say it. I think he’ll just worry for no reason. There is nothing he ought to do.”
“…….”
I nodded my head slightly. I want to avoid making Toby worried for no reason.
However, it was somehow uncomfortable to hide the situation after showing such expectations(for the trip). If he asks why, I’ll have to make another excuse, then I’ll have to lie.
Then Viola added,
“It will be a relief if this blows over and the worst thing that happened is just our worries”
“What are you talking about?”
“The stalker might even harm him(Toby). If it is Mr. Miller, he will try to solve the problem, and if he gets caught in the eyes of that crazy stalker for no reason…….”
“…….”
Viola must have sensed that the stalker was not an ordinary person. Seriously, it’s not normal to borrow someone else’s hand to send a note.
At that time, Viola clapped her palms and said,
“Mel! Your stalker might be a gangster? Like the king of the back alley.”
“Well…”
Viola seemed to have made such an inference when she heard that he had used the old woman to get to me. Hmm. It wasn’t a bad hypothesis, but I shook my head.
“Mr. Greg and Toby said that he was dressed neatly and his hair looks like it’s a mess.”
“So, he’s not only just a beggar but actually the leader.”
Viola muttered with a serious face. She nodded her head a couple of times, but my thoughts were different.
“No. She smelled like the streets, I would have known when he was hovering around me.”
“Smelled like the streets?”
“When the old woman came close, I thought my nose was falling because of the terrible smell.”
When I remembered it again, I involuntarily frowned. She smelled like a hundred-year-old sewer.….
“Viola, rather…….”
“Rather?”
It may be an absurd idea, but I continued with a strange conviction.
“I think he may be a wealthy man. If he is able to bribe people for something like this.”
“What is it that wealthy people lack to do this?”
Viola crumpled her nose, putting the teacup down so that it could make a clattering sound. It was an expression that came out whenever she thought deeply.
“Only a person who lacks something or misses someone would commit such a depressing thing. Don’t you think so?”
“Hmm…”
Well, as one of them*, not everyone takes these crimes for granted just because they are lacking or deficient.
[* She is referring to herself since she is also ‘lacking’]
Since I am in that position, it does seem rather objectively or critically suspicious. Though it creates an illusion that it was another low-quality crime, but in real it was quite dangerous
Suddenly, an old saying (quote) came to mind that one should be most wary of being trapped in the framework of thoughts.
Perhaps the man is running around freely using people’s perceptions as a shield.
His real appearance might be rather straight and sane…..
“By the way, Mel.”
As I was sipping my tea while thinking, Viola spoke to me,
“I don’t know when you will be able to go to New Ditch, but if you do, you will owe Mr. Miller, right?”
(T/N: she’s saying melissa will owe toby because she will travel and stay with his family)
“Yes.”
“You that…”
Viola lowered her voice and looked into my eyes.
“Are you serious?”
“Oh.”
But my heart was at peace. Because I knew what she was going to say, and I had already concluded.
“I think I’ll get an official confession in New Ditch.”
“Oh, my god.”
Viola covered her mouth. She had a face that seemed to be deeply moved.
“Are you thinking of accepting it?”
“Hmm… I guess so?”
“Oh my god!”
Viola, who slapped me on my arm, made a fuss. Pushing her slightly, I was rubbing my arms continuously and reflecting on whether my answer was awkward.
I don’t have experience in this field.
“Melissa, your face is so red!”
“It is not…”
“I can’t believe you’re dating! It’s something I’ve waited and wanted to witness for a long time, really.”
Actually, I was surprisingly thinking the same as Viola.  Isn’t it funny that two 20-year-old girls talk about living together for a long time?
“Did you start liking him already?”
“Well…”
I could clearly see what kind of answer the bright-eyed Viola wanted.
“……He doesn’t make my heart tremble. This is for sure.”
Although I can’t give her the answer she wants.
“But Tobias is a really good person. To the point where I realize every moment. He’s not the one who makes me nervous, but he’s the one who makes me relax.”
“…….”
“I’m sure of this, too.”
Then Viola touched my hair with a strange expression and said,
“No matter how much I think about it, He is the person you need right now. “
“Just like fruits ripen…… If I cherish it like this, I may like it in the near future.”
“Did you engraved my words like that? It’s a little touching”
Viola, who began to braid my hair loosely, laughed slowly. Her voice was husky as always, but it sounded very comfortable.
“He’s a really good person.…. to the point where it’s too much.”
“He came to you because you’re a good person, too, Mel.”
* * *
That evening, I wrote a letter to Toby. It was about wanting to postpone the trip a little bit because I caught a mild cold.
I added that I still want to meet his family as soon as possible, and that I am unbearably curious about New Ditch’s lake and potato dishes.
Of course, I didn’t write anything related to the stalker.
***
Comments from Korean Readers:
Ugh ㅠㅠㅠ I’m worried. You don’t even know who the stalker is, whether he is a man or a woman. ㅠㅠ
As expected, I thought the female Lead’s thoughts and actions were weird, but she accepted she is lacking.
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As I read this, there are some touching moments that come into my mind.^^ As expected, the only thing I can think of is your writing skills.
Wow, Toby is the best…
Alan, I don’t like you, you’re a jerk.
It says stalker Alan in the introduction. So, I hope he’s not the real male lead.
No, it’s in the introduction? Then, does the black haired like the main character, too? Well, it’s the worst. ????