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“Huh? Who is he? It’s my first time seeing her face.”
“Among the rookies, there are no red hair and blue eyes— right?”
Whatever they whispered, Catherine, who took away gloves and sickles, crumpled up the weeds with one hand.
‘Uhm. It’s thin and small.’
The weeds in Catherine’s garden grew so vigorous that it swayed near her shoulder. In comparison, thanks to the Duke’s steady management, the roots of the weeds that had grown were small.
“Look carefully. You don’t do this by force. You have to get it with the rhythm.”
Then, the weeds shortened with a single knife and the roots plucked out, the maids exclaimed.
She never thought there would be a day in her life when she would teach the maid how to pull a weed in the Duke’s mansion. As expected, she never knows what will happen to life.
“Oh, my. Your arms look thinner than mine. Why are you so good? Does your father work as a tenant farmer?”
“You’re young and I’m good at work. You’re like a newcomer who just joined yesterday, what’s your name?”
Although her attire was plain, she was not treated like a thief, perhaps because of her clean face. However, she was a bit confused as to what to answer.
‘I can’t just say I’m Cesare’s contractor. Maybe introduce myself as a colleague to start a business together? if not—.’
When Catherine was thinking about her identity for a long time. A sharp voice was heard on the path leading to the main gate of the mansion with the garden on both sides.
“How dare you kick me out? You don’t know who I am? I’m Rosa Moore. His Highness Grand Duke’s cousin’s child from the Moore family! Don’t touch my body!” (I’m not sure about this but they put it as 종질 and there’s like male cousin’s child.;;)
It’s a great ability to imply every situation in just a few sentences. It would be an obvious story without even having to explain the front and back.
Such things often happen in the castles of high-ranking nobles. This is because, in a slang word, ‘distant cousins who came to beg’ are constantly visiting.
Catherine glanced at the twenty-something kid who fearlessly rampaging in the Duke Christopher’s mansion.
“Hmm.”
“Are you surprised? It’ll be noisy for a few days. As soon as His Highness returns home, distant relatives keep coming to him.”
It’s a noble society.  Now it’s completely someone else’s story. She took off her gloves and asked her maid, who was whispering a little next to her.
“Is it common?”
“Uh-huh. At least here? It’s because His Highness has so many territories and positions. Distant blood ties come to see us without a break.”
“He’s such a kind person, so it’s a problem that he can’t be harsh—. After all, rumors that they won’t let him go again have made it even busier. Ugh! I don’t know how shameless nobles are.”
“—What are you saying about His Highness? Kind?”
Cesare is kind? Everything from the maid to the stable keeper seems to be nothing but cold-blooded.
She had heard that Cesare owned  eleven estates. It is a terrible thing to imagine that relatives from eleven families come to visit tirelessly.
But Cesare’s busyness aside— the strange remarks kept ringing in her ears.
「How can you describe the great devil as kind? Humans here are scary.」
The gargoyle, who had been chewing grass and playing, climbed up on her shoulder and murmured softly.
“Of course! People who don’t even know his face or name come to see him as his relatives, but he gives them a room in the mansion.”
“Still, one week is the limit. If it continues to be noisy after a week, like that—”
Are they getting kicked out?
However, it meant that he was given a grace period of one week. She thought he would kick them out without even having a period of time, but she seemed to have been too narrow-minded towards a man named Cesare.
“Look at this! Look at these vulgar women!”
“O, oh my!”
It was very sudden. The noble woman, who suddenly ran wildly, ripped Catherine’s shirt off.
The woman swung the seized clothes here and there as if it were her own handkerchief. Catherine was wondering what was going on, but she had no choice but to shake as the woman swung.
“This dirty maid lives here, so what’s the reason why I can’t stay, when I’m His Highness’ blood relative?”
Kiing.
Maybe it’s because it’s a cat, Meow’s disgruntled cry is just adorable. But Catherine’s back was chilled by that little cry.
It reminded her of the muscular strength of Meow that sent the bald paladin far away. Still, he is a monster that behaves as he pleases. She didn’t know what was going to happen. There was nothing strange about taking off the transformation here and running around in a mess.
“Excuse me, Lady? This is our child. You have to let go of your hand— Kyaak!”
“Move! If I go out, this will go out, too. Did you understand? I’m just not going out!”
“Please be careful of what you do, Lady! We are all from His Highness Cesare’s people. If you treat me badly, I will report this to His Highness right away!”
“Heh, that’s exactly what I’m looking for. Tell His Highness what I’m doing right now! His Highness’ cousin’s child is being kicked out of the castle. He can’t do this to your bloodline!”
Kiiing.
The cat cried again. This is obviously, no, definitely dangerous.
No matter how indifferent Catherine became to the world, she wanted to avoid the moment when fresh human meat was born right in front of her nose.
“What are you doing? Bring His Highness! He definitely told me to stay comfortable like in my own house. You guys must be just fooling around. Otherwise, this—”
Grrrrr.
At that moment, the cry changed. Catherine raised one arm for now because she had no time to think deeply. Also, the right arm, which is trained in housework and has developed muscles.
“—I will kick this dirty maid—!”
Slap!
A clear hitting sound passes once, and silence falls for a while in the garden. For that short time, only one sentence was repeated in Catherine’s head.
‘Did it stop? Did Meow calm down now?’
Meow.
Catherine breathed a sigh of relief at the next meow’s cry. Even if her palms are a little sore, the catastrophe of hunting humans won’t happen here anymore. It felt like she had contributed to the Duke’s peace, even in a small way.
「Wow. I feel like I’m going to live now! I thought my outfit was going to explode! If it weren’t for Catherine, I would have swallowed it in one bite.」
He expresses his satisfaction in such a loud voice, but everyone doesn’t know. As if only Catherine could hear Meow’s voice.
Either way, she could imagine seeing Cesare’s face. If Meow had grown and churned around the Duke, it could have been a headline in the newspaper tomorrow morning.
Catherine smiled proudly towards the unknown noblewoman after a long time.
“You should be thankful to me. If it wasn’t for me, Young Lady would be killed here today.”
Of course, she didn’t swing her hand recklessly without thinking back and forth.
Catherine had judged that the other party was the child of a family without a noble title. All of the estate and property was said to be a branch of a family subordinated to Cesare, so there is nothing more to see.
In other words, it means that even though she was in a hurry, she did not at least slap a noble’s cheek. And if the opponent was not noble, Catherine would not be inferior.
“What? Thank you? This— who dares this crazy woman hit me!”
However, the probability that the party himself thinks so will not be high. Above all, she was slapped by a girl who seemed to be a maid, there was no way she could calm her heart or soar with joy.
“Do you know who I am? After His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress in the Iterrana Empire, I am the most noble Grand Duke of Cesare’s cousin’s child! I mean, I’m not a woman that can be touched by a vulgar maid like you!”
Catherine was also from a noble family.
‘It’s not fair to pull my hair like weeds, aside from my birth.’
She was worried that it would become a spark for the maids who were taking care of the garden for nothing. Therefore—.
Catherine decided to run away for now.
「Ugh—I’m falling, you should’ve held me properly!」
And she also didn’t forget to take care of Meow that was hanging on her shoulder while running away.
“Argh! I can’t stand it! Do you know who I am? Rosa Moore of the Moore family. The blood relative of the Grand Duke!”
「Is this a land where everything is forgiven if you are close to Cesare? She’s so loud, Catherine should just yell at her! I will tell the whole world that Cesare and you will be together for the rest of your lives!」
That’s a self-introduction that can be misleading.
“How is it, Meow? Is she still chasing me?”
「Hmm, wait— Ugh! It’s like a wild and rough expression like when hunting humans. If caught, Catherine can become meat.」
Meow did not seem to think that he was responsible for the cause. What excuse does she have when she meets Cesare? It was only a few minutes ago that she swore that she could convince him right away if he was in doubt —.
It was a time when she was thinking about whether she should run away from here and return home. Catherine, who was checking the surroundings, was suddenly blocked by something and hit her face.
“Ah—”
“Did you have a sports day without me knowing? Otherwise, there would be no reason to run around like a flying squirrel.”
“—Cesare?”
They’ve got a problem.
「Cesare! It’s a monster! A monster lives in Cesare’s house!」
“You are the only monster that has been released in my mansion now.”
「What? Hehe. All of a sudden, I get compliments like that. Of all the monsters, the monster is definitely this gargoyle, Meow!」
Cesare’s face, looking down at Catherine, was stained with deep irritation. He was holding a thin, small leather bag in one hand, and it was clear that the thick-looking thing Catherine had asked for was the cash.
“I’ve been thinking—it seems better to lend a royal pendant than cash.”
It was not a leather bag that Cesare handed over while blurring the end of the sentence. It was a brilliant golden pendant that was held with it.
Royal pendant. She’ll actually see the stuff she’s only heard of rumors. Handcrafted in gold, this pendant can be easily described as a blank check in movement.
It was a product that was paid only to the top class who were guaranteed a certain status and private property at Imperial Bank. In other words, they don’t have to carry cash and jewelry, because with this pendant—.
“His Highness!”
「Ugh! She’s here!」
Catherine turned her back from the flashing pendant in her hand. The woman who had been pulling her hair was breathing heavily in front of her only a few steps.
Patience is one thing. As Gargoyle said, it was like a beast that would not miss its prey.
“I—Ugh! Uh! I’m out of my mind— His Highness, you can’t leave that crazy maid—!”
“Crazy maid?”
Catherine coughed in vain at the doubtful gaze toward her.
“Now His Highness— I, in front—”
“It’s okay to speak slowly. No matter what you say, I can’t understand the words that are more than half of your breathing.”