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Chapter – 06
“Cute and trivial….”
How could anyone use the words “cute and trivial” to describe those incidents? I had only heard three examples, but even from what I knew, the disasters the young lady had caused were far from few. And every single one of them had been a major incident. It wouldn’t have been strange if she’d been put under house arrest.
And yet, from the young lady’s perspective, none of it even seemed to qualify as an “incident.”
“When I was little, I set the mansion on fire.”
“…Excuse me?”
“It was late at night, when everyone was asleep. I took oil from the storage room and poured it all over the mansion. Then I knocked over the lamp the cook was holding. After that, I tipped over every candle that was lit inside.”
I nearly dropped the teacup I was holding. Barely managing to steady it, I felt my body flinch on instinct. Any mention of fire still made me react like that. Memories from my childhood had never quite let me go.
Come to think of it, for a family as old and prestigious as the Krügers, their mansion wasn’t particularly old. I’d once heard that it had been rebuilt just ten years ago.
I had assumed it was simply because the old building had worn down with age—but that clearly wasn’t the case. A building that had burned down couldn’t exactly be reused.
“You look like you’re wondering why I did it. There wasn’t any particular reason. I just wanted to watch the mansion burn, like paper inside a fireplace.”
The young lady casually lifted her teacup. She dropped several sugar cubes into it and gently stirred with a teaspoon. The cubes, piled on top of one another, slowly melted away in the heat of the freshly poured tea.
“The mansion was engulfed in flames in no time and collapsed just like this tower of sugar cubes. Well, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, no one died.”
“……”
She then took a sip of tea, utterly unconcerned.
“This tea is delicious. Though I think I may have added too much sugar.”
No matter how I thought about it, there was absolutely no way I would ever fall in love with this insane young lady.
“Priest Johan! Please, you have to do something about that insane young lady!”
“…Anton, if I were capable of that, do you think I’d be sitting here like this?”
While I was reviewing documents, Anton burst into my office, seething with anger. Judging from his words, Lady Salome had caused another incident.
I wanted to help somehow, but there was probably nothing I could do. Not I, nor anyone else, could easily rein in Lady Salome.
Tilting my head slightly, I silently asked what she’d done this time. As if he’d been waiting for that reaction, Anton began rattling off the details at breakneck speed.
“Is she really a noblewoman from an aristocratic family? This morning, when a priest went to wake her, she grabbed his hair and screamed at him not to touch her because she was going back to sleep. Thanks to that, he’s got a bald patch now!”
“……”
“If this were the first time, I wouldn’t even complain. Life in the temple has rules, clear rules—but she doesn’t follow a single one of them. Yesterday, she shattered the stained glass in the chapel. That makes thirty-one damaged items already. And it’s only been a week since she started living here!”
She hadn’t been at the temple for long, yet I had already grown somewhat accustomed to her eccentric behavior. Instead of reacting strongly, I found myself thinking about how hard the accounting priest must be having it. I should at least offer him some words of comfort next time I saw him.
The Krüger family would compensate for the damaged property, but while the young lady stayed at the temple, it was my responsibility to deal with the aftermath of her accidents. I gathered my documents and stood up.
“So, is the young lady awake now?”
“No. No one’s managed to wake her. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave her alone?”
“She has a lesson scheduled soon. We have no choice. I’ll go wake her myself.”
“…Please be careful. You might end up getting your hair ripped out too, Priest Johan.”
I briefly ran a hand through my black hair before leaving the office. The distance between my office and the room assigned to the young lady was not short. I hurried my steps. The lesson was supposed to start soon.
I couldn’t stand letting things run off schedule. Of course, not a single day in the past week had gone according to plan.
Before long, I arrived at her door and knocked. Even after waiting for some time, there was no response.
“Lady Salome, this is Priest Johan. It’s time to wake up and attend your lesson.”
Frustration welled up inside me. I wanted to just throw the door open and walk in—but barging into a lady’s room like that was unacceptable. I knocked harder. Still no response.
At this point, I began to wonder if she’d fainted or something. The pile of paperwork waiting in my office crossed my mind. I couldn’t delay the lesson any further. The Cardinal had said he would reduce my workload while I was in charge of the young lady—but my work had remained exactly the same.
“I’m coming in. Please forgive the rudeness.”
Carefully, I opened the door. The room was silent. Inside, I saw the young lady sleeping peacefully.
Calling her name repeatedly, I approached slowly. I didn’t want to get too close to the bed if I could help it. If she really did grab my hair, it would be a disaster.
Even aside from that, it was deeply improper for an unrelated man to stand near a lady’s bed. Though, admittedly, I had already crossed that line by entering the room.
“How long do you intend to sleep?”
“They’re all the same… all just… I hate it. I hate it.”
She murmured something in her sleep. I couldn’t hear it clearly from where I stood, but her expression looked oddly distressed. Was she having a nightmare? If so, I needed to wake her as soon as possible.
After a moment of hesitation, I stepped closer to the bed. She was breathing unevenly, cold sweat clinging to her skin. Carefully, I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.
“Lady Salome, are you alright? Please wake up.”
Suddenly, she grabbed my hand—and yanked me toward her.
Losing my balance, I pitched forward. Instinctively, I clutched the bedsheet. I needed to get up immediately. My mind screamed at me to move—but my body froze.
I found myself looking down at her.
Ah. A red-haired angel lay fast asleep beneath me.
Silence fell.
Slowly, the young lady opened her eyes. Her gaze met mine—amethyst eyes gleaming.
“Priest, what are you doing? Trying to assault me?”
“No, this is—well—”
I was done for.
This couldn’t have looked more suspicious if it tried.
“Yes, Priest. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone that High Priest Johan tried to assault me.”
“How many times do I have to tell you it’s a misunderstanding?! You’re the one who pulled me in! Don’t you remember?!”
“I don’t remember a thing. How am I supposed to know you’re not just making it up?”
“I swear upon the name of God that I am not!”
She was clearly enjoying herself. I dragged a hand down my face and sighed. Fine—it did look bad. I could admit that. Entering her room without permission was my fault, and even if she had pulled me in, the fact that I didn’t immediately get up was on me.
I bowed my head to her, unsure whether she was genuinely offended by my actions.
“If my entering your room upset you, I apologize. But I truly had no intention of—”
She let out a small laugh.
“Priest, you’re so innocent. I was just teasing you, and you’re apologizing so seriously.”
Relief washed over me. If she had truly believed I meant her harm, things would have become extremely complicated.
Still smiling mischievously, she reached up and casually took hold of my chin, forcing our gazes to meet. I blinked.
“If you want to sleep with me, you should just say so next time. I’ll be gentle.”
“Lady Salome! Please don’t joke like that!”
I practically screamed. What kind of indecent remark was that?! For a priest sworn to chastity, sexual relations were strictly forbidden. And more importantly, I had never once entertained the thought of doing such a thing with her.
I could feel my face burning red. Covering it with both hands, I heard her laugh brightly as she leaned even closer—until our noses touched.
“You think I’m joking? I’m not.”
Her smile was dangerously alluring. If I’d been an ordinary man, I might have melted on the spot. Instead, I recoiled in horror, slapped her hand away, and staggered backward.
She shrugged shamelessly. The pained expression she’d worn in her sleep was nowhere to be seen—this was the Lady Salome I knew.
Suddenly, curiosity got the better of me.
“Earlier… were you having a nightmare? You seemed distressed and were talking in your sleep.”
She tilted her head, as if she didn’t quite remember.
“What did I say?”
“You said something about everything being just… something, and that you hated it. I couldn’t hear the word in the middle clearly.”
For the briefest moment, a shadow passed through her eyes. Her bright smile vanished in an instant. Had I said something wrong? I watched her expression carefully.
“Did I say anything else?”
“No. Nothing else that I noticed.”
As if nothing had happened, she beamed again.
“Well, I was having a nightmare. But I don’t think I can tell you what it was about. I’m a woman with many secrets.”
“…I see.”
If she didn’t wish to speak of it, I had no intention of prying. I was simply intrigued by a side of her I had never seen before.
