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“Sir Damian.”
“Yes.”
Damian answered Cesare’s call. The tense, attentive posture seemed as if he was dealing with the knights’ superiors.
“How does it feel to cut grass in someone else’s garden?”
“I’m satisfied.”
“More than protecting the Imperial Castle?”
Damian looked worried for a while. Catherine was dumbfounded by the appearance and had to laugh in vain. Is this something to think about? Of course, it wouldn’t be good compared to his duty.
“I think it’s better in that I don’t have to deal with annoying people.”
“Better?”
“Yes.”
Cesare said, rubbing his chin.
“You still haven’t come to your senses. I need to extend the punishment period by three more months. Don’t even think about going back to the Imperial City for the next three months.”
“What?”
The counter-question came from Catherine, not Damian. She’s still on the verge of breaking down, so she has to feed one more person to make a living? As her gaze was focused on him, she tried to express her position.
‘Wait. This may not be just a bad thing.’
Money is enough to go out and earn. But what about safety? Whenever something happens, she can’t go to Cesare every time. Even in pajamas!
“Oh, I’m fine.”
The protection of the Imperial Knights Templar, where can she find such a reliable person? Even though the person is a bit, no, it’s quite simple.
Cesare, who was quietly looking into Catherine’s face, opened his mouth again. He looked like he noticed something late.
“Come to think of it, it seems that Miss Phanya was carrying a burden under the pretext of punishing him. I’ll have to pay for the damage caused by it, is that okay?”
As soon as she heard the offer, this was the first thought that came to her mind. Could this be a proposal that takes care of her now? Of course, Catherine wasn’t honorable enough that she refused for the sake of face.
“Of course.”
As soon as she answered, the discomfort that had remained on Cesare’s face disappeared.
“How about you, Sir?”
“I’ll follow your order.”
Even after three more months of being scolded, Damian didn’t seem to shock even the slightest bit.
Does he hate working in Imperial castle? If he had that kind of mind, it would have been enough to understand. But isn’t it the same as managing the garden of this big mansion by himself? It was difficult to understand in many ways.
“It looks like you’re sweating, Sir. It looks like you’ve suffered a bit. It seems that all your skills died after picking up a sickle instead of a sword for a few days.”
“I can’t help it. I was lucky enough to get him out without much trouble, but this horse head was one of the most dangerous guys I’ve ever seen.”
Damian’s toe touched the half-horse head. Then there were goats, and then horses. Then it may be a pig the next time, and then a pig’s head rolling through the hall. It was terrible.
“Cesare, will this continue to happen in the future?”
When asked by her, who seemed to be tired of it, Cesare crossed his arms and answered.
“Then why would I have tried to drive Miss Phanya out? You don’t think it’s because I want this old mansion right?”
There was no feeling of fear, perhaps thanks to the great wizard and knight by her side. But what if this happens in the next month when the two of them are away?
“How often do you wake up?”
“There are no signs or rules for something like this to happen today. The only certainty is that this time the interval was quite short.”
No rules, no symptoms. Then there was only one way to deal with the worst case scenario. Let’s keep the cat next to her. If she has the cat, she will at least be able to run away on it.
“This mansion has been hidden from the Vatican and the Imperial family for nearly a decade. As I said before, to protect a very dangerous bomb.”
Even in front of Damian, a member of the Imperial family, Cesare did not hesitate to speak. Damian pretended not to know, stroking the back of his head with a face he knew earlier.
“But Miss Phanya, didn’t you say you could take it all? Well, I can’t help it if you’re really scared. If you have a problem, come to my mansion.”
“Thank you for your consideration. I’ll try my best to solve it by myself.”
It was a mansion where she wanted to stay for as long as possible. Someday, someone who knows about her mother might visit her. However, it seemed like nothing to endure in a state of complete ignorance about the identity of the underground magic circle.
‘He said it’s a bomb, so it’s enough that it won’t cause any problems—.’
To do that, where on earth does she need to get any information? The traces of her mother, as well as the things that she had to find out but couldn’t find out, seemed to gradually increase.
“There’s no need to try.”
Cesare’s voice seemed to be dissatisfied, but it was only for a moment.
“The mansion has been put back. You can have a good time with peace of mind.”
Cesare’s face turned away from view after a while and disappeared. He probably went back to his mansion. With Cesare’s consideration, peace returned to her mansion.
“Ah, Miss Rose is coming with a cat. Ha, please don’t make onion stew today.”
Damian returned to the mansion’s gardener form and was attached to the window.
‘I was wondering where the cat went. So you followed Rose.’
Every corner of her chest was prick. Recently, due to lack of finances, it was tea and only stew was boiled and eaten. It’s because Rose has only stocked up on cheap groceries, noticing her situation.
Now that she’s decided to get Damian’s ransom, she thought they should have a decent dinner.
“You’re tired of stew, right?”
“No, I just don’t like onions.”
Contrary to expectations, however, Damian didn’t seem to mind at all. It made her feel less guilty. Demian’s disadvantage of living without thinking came as an advantage today.
“But, what kind of a woman walking next to her?”
With those words, she walked to Damian’s side and looked out the window. Rose was bright and lively as usual. It was as if the mansion had not collapsed, nor had she heard that great roar.
The goat’s head was similar to what it is now. There was such a big incident, and no one in the neighborhood knew what happened. It seemed that Cesare had cast a spell on this site.
But, as Damian said, that tall woman next to Rose—.
“Do you know her?”
“I think so, and I don’t think so.”
“What is that strange answer?”
Exactly who it was, it seemed that she had to check her face up close. Still, one thing was certain.
This woman had a relationship with Catherine when she was the eldest daughter of the Viscount Orléans. But she came to Christopher, far away from Orléans? This was definitely a bad sign.
Rose, who returned home, smiled brightly as soon as she met Catherine. The cat yawned and hid itself in the bushes.
“Lady, you were at home! I thought you left in the meantime.”
Catherine asked, glancing behind Rose’s back.
“Why?”
“The guests are waiting in front of the mansion. Even if she ring the bell, there is no one to see her, so I brought her in—”
Soon after, a familiar woman appeared behind Rose’s back. It’s not just familiar, but a very, very familiar woman.
“How come the Young Lady never said that you had a younger sister? Well, your younger sister came to see you from afar!”
Bright blondes that bend like waves and distinct yellowish brown eyes. Her eyes are quite different from other twin sisters. Up to the long chin that is snugly pulled.
“Hello? It’s been a while, sister.”
“Magi.”
The visitor was Catherine’s half sister, Anne’s twin, Magi OrlĂ©ans.
“Hmm. It’s old and pathetic, but well. It’s not bad if it’s a mansion. First of all—Can you postpone the fun reunion later and guide me to the drawing room? I climbed the hill like this, and I’m about to go crazy.”
Along with the words, Magi pushed her feet forward. It was a pair of shoes that were tall enough for one cheek. Seeing this, Catherine secretly breathed a sigh of relief in her.
Among the many mischiefs, if it was Magi, it was fine.
Maggie had the strongest personal tendency among the three sisters, and was a child who was more at odds with Anne than Catherine. There was a high probability that there was no reason to visit Catherine as someone hated to interfere and she was not interested in other people’s business. Even if there is, it’s not the purpose of turning her stomach upside down.
“Come in.”
Maggie walked without disruption even with swollen feet. As she looked around the hall, her gaze stopped at Damian sitting on the window.
“Who’s on that side? Ah— is it the guy you’re dating with?”
Damian left the mansion with a rotten face. Anyone who sees it would think he was the only one who felt bad for himself.
Catherine pulled Maggie by the neck and dismissed it.
“Don’t say nonsense, Maggie. He’s Damian, the gardener.”
What a boyfriend. Laura, the stepmother, seemed to have explained Catherine’s marriage in that way.
An aristocratic woman with a fiance ran away after eye contact with an outsider. It was a very Laura-like idea, so it was not new.
“A gardener? Such a young man? Come on, you’re lying. The garden doesn’t look good though.”
“That’s because he just started taking care of it.”
“Hmm, I won’t ask you anymore if you say so. I have that much sense. Ah, give me chrysanthemum tea. Warm tea brewed by Edinburgh’s finest chrysanthemum.”
“There’s nothing like that, so just drink water.”
“What? There’s nothing like that? Is this a house?”
As soon as Maggie entered the drawing room, she threw her shoes and sat on the sofa with her knees gathered.
“I want to take something with warm water.”
There’s a lot to ask for anyway. However, she was able to understand this as much as her sister’s grumbling.
“Haa. Rose? Please wet the towel with warm water.”
“Ah, yes!”
Rose, who had been following her all the time, left the drawing room as if she had been waiting. She probably knew to some extent. That the relationship between her and Maggie is not as friendly as other sisters.
“What are you doing here?”
Maggie wrinkled her face at Catherine’s question.
“How can you be so cold-hearted, sister? Is it hard to ask how you’ve been?”
Catherine stared silently at the maggie’s eyes. She knew she didn’t mean it to say hello to Catherine. As she thought, Maggie quickly said what she had said.
“Okay, good. The atmosphere is so bleak after the sisters’ pleasant reunion, but it can’t be helped. Then, I will tell you the news that my sister would be interested in.”
Maggie continued, rubbing the blistered feet slowly.
“I’m talking about Anne, she’s getting married soon.”