🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 31
The stair railing was chipped, the carpet was frayed and worn, the picture frames were dusty from neglect, and the floor creaked underfoot.
May absentmindedly wiped the dust from the stair railing with her hand as she climbed the stairs.
Count Porco, who barely managed to maintain his position, had long been bedridden due to a chronic illness. Even after exhausting the family fortune to pay for treatment, he still could not rise.
Struggling to cling to life, the count raced toward death, while his delicate wife had never so much as gotten her hands wet in her life.
The count’s younger brother, Toren, who was supposed to inherit his title, was reckless and constantly causing trouble, while the youngest sibling, Eren, was still too young.
Since her father had collapsed, May had to take charge of the household. If she did not earn money, the entire family could be thrown out onto the streets.
She had always believed that life would improve someday and had done everything a noble could do.
She had forced herself to smile brightly and persevere, but on days like today, when Toren caused trouble, even the optimistic May felt drained.
With heavy steps, May opened Toren’s door without knocking, wearing an unusually stern expression as she entered the bedroom.
She roughly threw back the old blanket covering Toren on the bed.
“Why! Seriously, leave me alone!”
It was May who should have been angry. She had just apologized to the store Toren had damaged in a fit of rage and compensated for it with the emergency funds she had saved.
May let out a deep sigh and silently stared at her younger brother.
“If you have something to say, say it quickly and leave! If not, get out.”
Biting her lip to hold back her anger, she finally spoke.
“I’m not going to fix what you’ve done anymore. You’re responsible for your actions.”
“What did I do! What did I do wrong? You’re saying it’s wrong that I, a noble, had to pay the price because a lowly commoner disrespected me?”
The words “what makes us better than commoners?” rose to her throat, but she only moved her lips and closed them. Her immature, ignorant brother, seeing her silence, grew even more defiant.
“How dare you ignore the future Count Porco! That store deserved to disappear anyway.”
“I warned you. Don’t come to me no matter what happens. Handle the consequences of your own actions.”
May threw the blanket she had been holding and left Toren’s room.
As soon as she returned to her room, she sank into the couch. To ease her frustration, she thought of something pleasant—Harna.
She liked how, despite her blunt words, Harna had warmth inside. May envied her confidence in standing up to injustice.
“I could have spent more time with her…”
She regretted parting ways abruptly because of Toren’s latest mess. Harna was the only person with whom May could be completely carefree.
“I miss her.”
She wished she could spend time alone with Harna, without the duke pretending to be close. Thinking of being with Harna even briefly lifted her spirits slightly.
“Let’s keep going.”
Determined to rebuild her emergency funds so she could one day treat Harna to tea, May energetically began reviewing the letters containing her tasks.
I had stayed up all night worrying about Arsen, and my eyes were red when I greeted Vera.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Pressing my tired eyes, I heard her surprised question.
“I had a lot on my mind, so I stayed up late. How about you and the guest?”
“Urgent news came for Master Haren. He had no choice but to return to the palace at dawn.”
“What?”
“He left a letter before he left.”
Stunned, I took the letter from Vera.
The short note explained that he had to visit the palace and asked me to take care of the guest, Arsen. At the very bottom, in tiny writing, he wrote, “Be careful even with men of the clergy!” which made me smile.
“So, I’m supposed to entertain Arsen?”
Rubbing my dry, tired eyes, I finished getting ready. Once prepared, I spoke to the servant at the door.
“Breakfast is ready. Could you escort the cleric to the dining room?”
The servant bowed and went to Arsen’s room. I followed after confirming he had gone.
“If I can’t avoid it, I’ll deal with him.”
Early in the morning, Arsen washed and completed his morning prayers, then sat on a chair in the room. Thinking of Harna’s surprised face, he rose at a knock on the door.
A young servant greeted him.
“Breakfast is ready. I will guide you.”
“Thank you.”
Smiling slightly, Arsen followed. Since he had played a little prank, Haren had surely returned to the palace. The dining room would have only Harna and him.
Soon, the servant opened the door to reveal a large dining table. Harna, seated at the head, greeted Arsen politely.
“Did you sleep well last night, Cleric?”
“Thanks to your care, I had a good night, Miss Juern.”
A small spark of tension ignited between their smiles.
“Please understand that I am receiving you on behalf of my father and brother, who had urgent matters and were absent.”
“Not at all. It is an honor to dine with the famous Miss Juern.”
Harna hesitated slightly at being called “famous,” but continued naturally.
“Well, there isn’t much prepared, but let’s eat.”
She guided him to a seat close to the head of the table.
The meal began quietly. Breakfast was simple: a vegetable salad, bread, and sausage. Harna cleared her plate neatly, but Arsen still had a few orange carrots left.
Harna noticed the leftover carrot and, with practiced ease, used her fork to pick up the piece Arsen had left and brought it to her mouth.
“……!”
Startled, Arsen dropped his fork. Realizing what she had done, Harna blushed and awkwardly smiled at him.
After breakfast, when their mother began the dishes, my younger brother and I played a little game of glances over the hidden carrots in our rice.
Now was the moment. I quickly popped the carrot into my mouth and heard a small whisper.
“Thank you, sister.”
His previously sullen face brightened, and I chuckled.
“Did you eat everything? Good, Seungwoo ate everything without being picky again today. Well done.”
“I promised! So, Mom, you’ll get me that transforming robot now, right?”
“Yes. Mom promised too.”
Seungwoo, who had always been picky about carrots, clapped his hands excitedly, smiling brightly. I watched for a while, finding him utterly adorable.
Seungwoo’s leftover carrots were always mine. He had secretly agreed to never eat them, so I got double.
That’s why I instinctively picked up the carrot from Arsen’s plate.
Recovering from my involuntary action, I carefully composed myself and glanced at Arsen, who looked flustered and dazed.
Now I had to choose: act shamelessly or apologize?
Though I wanted to boldly brush it off, I couldn’t.
“I’m sorry. I really like carrots, so I think I unconsciously ate yours, Cleric.”
“Excuse me?”
“Were you saving it for later? If so, I can ask the cook to set aside more for you…”
“No. Actually… I don’t like carrots.”
Arsen’s face turned as red as an apple after saying something so difficult.
‘Is he embarrassed or shy?’
Strangely, his picky carrot-eating reminded me of my brother, Seungwoo. If the accident hadn’t taken my parents, would he have grown up like this too?
“Cleric, it’s a secret, but I really like carrots. I even think about them sometimes. Maybe that’s why my hair is carrot-orange.”
Arsen had always been intimidating, but seeing a resemblance to Seungwoo made me feel at ease. I even joked to lighten the mood.
Watching me alternate between glancing at my hair and the carrot, Arsen’s lips curled slightly.
“Nonsense.”
“You don’t believe me? I’ll share another secret.”
“What is it?”
“Actually, liking carrots runs in my family.”
Arsen’s favorite vegetable being carrots surprised me, but his lips lifted more than before.
Satisfied, we continued our meal quietly, but the tension was gone, replaced with a softer atmosphere.
After breakfast, Arsen returned to the guest room, closed the door, and slapped his cheek.
“Focus.”
Harna’s strange words and behavior might be a devilish trick to distract him. He scolded himself for briefly letting his guard down and took a deep breath.
“I must not make that mistake again.”
He had never dined with anyone other than the pope he served, so he had been caught off guard.
He had habitually picked carrots, which brought up unpleasant memories, and had never imagined anyone else might eat them. Thinking of Harna acting shamelessly and joking to lower his guard, he gathered his resolve.
No matter how ordinary and noble she appeared, Arsen could not be fooled. She had broken an unspoken rule, and the evidence remained.
“I won’t be deceived.”
He had to identify exactly what Harna had done and complete the mission the pope had entrusted him with for the first time.
