/
Catherine could only give one answer.
“No.”
Haha. The man laughed dryly once more. He can’t look so strange if he’s only laughing with his neck and not moving a single muscle.
“Don’t you hear any strange or scary noises at night?”
“I’m not hearing anything.”
“How about the mansion’s shaking and auditory hallucinations for unknown reasons?”
“No, I don’t.”
“What about nightmarish experiences?”
“I don’t have dreams.”
She didn’t mean to embarrass him with short responses. But what can she do if she can’t hear or have any dreams? She answered honestly and without hesitation, but the man didn’t seem to believe her.
Catherine took the teacup to her mouth as she pondered the meaning of the question.
“Something similar was said by the broker—”
“But you still bought this mansion?”
“Yes, it doesn’t really matter to me.”
Catherine suddenly felt strange because she was answering all of these absurd questions.
“Did you get the answer you were looking for? So why don’t you leave right now?”
Instead of standing, the man leans back in his chair and crosses his arms. With a disapproving expression.
“Hmm.”
“Excuse me.”
With Catherine in front of him, he appeared to be lost in thought. He is caught breaking into someone else’s home without permission, and it isn’t enough for him to drink tea whenever he wants, so he treats the owner in this way. He is a man who lacks common sense.
Catherine was well aware of these people’s characteristics. He won’t budge after she tells him to leave anyway, so it’s best to wait until he discovers the truth and leaves.
She took the book she’d left on the kitchen counter and opened it. It was originally a ‘Christopher’s Manor Guidebook,’ which she briefly used while waiting for the dish to be finished.
How long has it been?
He was staring at Catherine when she unintentionally took her gaze away from the book and turned to look at him.
He had quite delicate lines for a man of his height. Clean silver hair free of impurities, bright blue eyes as blue as the sea in midsummer, and a combination of features that exude both elegance and sensitivity. People like that exist all over the world.
However, with his mouth closed, his impression was pretty, no, quite gloomy. A much more refined elegance flowed than the great nobleman, whom she had grown tired of seeing in the banquet hall. It was a strange environment to be considered a man with a non-gentleman tone.
The man’s eyes were strangely difficult to look at. Catherine carefully lowered her gaze and continued to read.
As if he had waited, the man said. “All right, first— let’s call it a day.”
What on earth was he doing?
All he had to do was ask if she had any plans to move and if the mansion was strange. She didn’t agree with his plan to return. Catherine said as she closed her book.
“Who said you can do what you want? You went over nicely today, but next time I can really report it.”
The man slowly got up and searched through his arms, as if it didn’t matter what she said. Because his face was so beautiful, she didn’t notice, but the man was quite formal.
Unlike yesterday, when he looked like a wanderer, he was wearing a gray three-piece suit with his shirt buttoned all the way to the end. He’s acting, but he could pass for a high-status aristocrat if he used his common sense.
A man who had been searching the inside of his jacket for a long time eventually pulled out a bill. He smiled at Catherine as he placed the crumpled bills on the table.
“It’s the price of tea.”
And then turn around and disappear.
“Huh.”
She can’t believe this!
Is that how all city men are? Do handsome men in big cities, such as Christopher, have the audacity to believe in their own good looks?
Catherine approached the man’s seat and grabbed the bill. Let’s see how much a city man would spend on a cup of tea. And she couldn’t help but open her mouth blankly.
“—100 Rid?”
100 Rid. The tea the man drank was enough to pay for six maids for a month.
First of all, Catherine kept the money from the man between the bookshelf. She shouldn’t spend money that others give her carelessly. Even more when the money is a lot of money, not candy.
Catherine kept looking at the kitchen and the front door even after a day and three days. She was concerned that he would appear out of nowhere, as he did that day, and say something strange. She didn’t think it was a big deal, but she did believe she was more concerned about the existence of a man than she realized.
Even on the fourth day, that man has not returned. Instead of feeling relieved, she felt more anxious.
“Why?”
100 Rid. Maybe it’s because of that crazy man’s 100 Rid.
It’s been five days since a man left behind 100 Rid of tea.
“—Huh?”
She was on her way back from the grocery store, where she had bought the ingredients for dinner stew. Crowds of people were seen on one side of the downtown square in front of the bulletin board.
“Did the Emperor pass away?”
The bulletin board was heavily labeled with Christopher’s newspaper headlines.
「After 2 years long of military campaign, the Archduke Cesare concluded the Great War.」
Catherine’s eyes widened as she moved closer to the square board. With her eyes wide open, she examined the front page of the newspaper.
It’s really, really familiar.
She was used to it, but she was too used to it.
If her eyes weren’t deceiving her, this portrait hung as the Archduke—so, this man with stylish glasses—.
100 Rid.
The intruder who threw 100 Rid at her for the price of a tea was obvious. This isn’t a joke!
“…No. The intruder is a little odd. The Archduke appears to be a formidable handsome man, but the intruder was far more attractive. When he closes his mouth, his eyes become cooler and the atmosphere becomes much darker— “
“Ha ha! Miss, that’s a funny thing to say. Anyone who hears it will believe it to be true.”
Catherine’s gaze shifts to a middle-aged man who abruptly intervenes. The old gentleman raised his hat and greeted her after making eye contact with her.
“Miss, it’s nice to meet you. I heard you just bought the mansion up there. I see you’re staying alone; is there anything I can do to help? It would be impossible to repair such a big building on one’s own.”
“Who are you?”
“Ah! I’m sorry for the delay in introducing myself. Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older and making more mistakes— My name is Mel Perbache, and I’m the head of the security department in Christopher’s North.”
With a smile on his face, the middle-aged man removed his hat and tilted his back slightly. She imagined him to be a tall man with uneven muscles, but Sir Mel was displaying more noble courtesy.
A big city differs from the countryside, as one would expect. Catherine exuded genuine admiration.
“Thank you for your kindness. But I’m fine by myself.”
“I’ve heard that even late at night, the lights in the mansion don’t go out.”
“Yes, the building must be big. Even after cleaning all day for a few days, I’ve only completed half of what I needed to do.”
She has to clean the third and fourth floors after lunch. It took longer because she tried not to throw away as much furniture as possible because she only had a few cents in cash. Furthermore, because electricity had not yet been turned on, it was difficult to move when the sun went down.
“Sir Mel, I’m not familiar with the affairs of the central side, so what is the title of honor that the Archduke received?”
“Ugh, you don’t even know the famous story? What it is, is to kill the evil dragon, Guarsalov!”
Guarsalov, the Evil Dragon.
vicious dragon that devoured the entire royal family and burned a small kingdom at the empire’s southern end. He killed a dragon like that all by himself? It was as difficult to believe as a cat talking about humans.
“Did you just say “Guarsalov”? The owner of the southern mountains of the Empire, Guarsalov?”
Sir Mel responded in a proud tone, as if he were Archduke Cesare.
“Our Archduke is the only Archmage who can compete with His Majesty the Emperor, and no matter how infamous the dragon is, he is no match for it. This is why Christopher’s people can relax and sleep!”
Unbelievable. Even dragons can’t even compete with the powerful wizard? Catherine remembered the intruder who was demonstrating the magic of light with a nonchalant face.
‘If it’s a wizard… then that intruder is right. Did I try to make the Archduke clean with a wet mop?’
Catherine’s face turned blue. It wasn’t enough that he’d left something behind, so she’d been relieved because she hadn’t seen even a strand of his hair. But it turned out that she was the one who was confused about the subject.
Ah, damn it. She would have killed her temper and sent him nicely if she had known it was going to be like this. A belated regret surfaced.
‘However, if I look at the silence for a few days, he might have forgotten about that day. By the time I get to the Archduke, he’ll be busy with more important matters.’
Haha. Catherine took a heavy step forward, a forced smile on her face. She hasn’t even finished cleaning yet, so don’t tell her she’s being kicked out of Christopher.
Catherine had returned to the mansion and was preparing a late lunch with drooping shoulders. Is it because she’s decided to buy beef? She felt much better while trimming the ingredients.
‘Archduke Cesare—’
Perhaps the Archduke has hidden twins.
‘Or.’
Like a man who can magically imitate Archduke Cesare’s beauty. In any case, it was an insincere setting that could be considered normal.
Catherine began cleaning the mansion, imagining the man’s true identity. She went out into the desolate garden after sunset with a hard body. A stray cat, the mansion’s only visitor, jumped at the smell of canned food.
Meow.
“Ha. When are we going to get around to cleaning up this garden again?”
100 Rid. 100 Rid would hire a professional to make this garden look like one.
Catherine gazed down at the cat, oblivious to her heart, at a peaceful meal.
“I’m jealous of you. You don’t have to be concerned about money or your home—”
It was then.
Kwaang!
With a loud roar, dust fell from the sky, making her dizzy. It happened so quickly.
A terrified cat flew out of the mansion, flapping its fur. Catherine sprang to her feet. At the sight, there was a silent scream.
‘Do I have a dream now?’
The right side of the mansion is collapsing with gray smoke.
「Yeah, you… you dare interfere with the summoning of this body? I will tear it apart painfully!」
Where does it come from? Even in her sleep, the voice sounded ferocious. Catherine’s blank stare shifted to the dust-covered interior of the collapsed building.
A huge kidney monster with the head of a goat sticking out his chest burst out laughing. It exuded a sense of excitement just by looking at it.
That wasn’t the only thing. A man with an oddly relaxed figure stood next to the hideous monster. In one hand, he’s holding a gleaming glass sword under the setting sun.
「Don’t run away without your tail. As for you, I’ll chew and eat every muscle fiber very slowly.」
That was the only thing the monster cried out. A man swung his sword at the head of a running goat, and the inside of the building collapsed once more with a powerful blow.
Catherine, who saw the scene, screamed in fear.
“No! My home!”
It was only a week ago that she bought it!