PTMH 04

Chapter 04

Axel’s reddish-brown hair caught the sunset, fluttering in a scarlet glow.
Ominous.
Somehow, I felt today he wouldn’t let me go easily.
Why did that man come to the village today? Tax collection should be tomorrow.

I lowered my head deeply and greeted him, trying to hide my sour expression.
“Greetings, Lord Axel. What brings you to the general store?”

A voice, dripping with mockery, fell over the crown of my head.
“Do you think I came here to buy something? What else would I be here for?”

Without realizing it, my brows furrowed sharply.
Axel Cromwell was always like this.
He would say he came to buy something but never actually bought a single thing.
He simply enjoyed mocking someone he considered easy prey.

Axel was notorious even within Cromwell Castle. If my older brother was a delinquent with some chance of reform, Axel was a hopelessly incorrigible one.
Being the only heir of the lord, there was no one to control him.
It’s exhausting enough dealing with the delinquents in my own family, and now I have to deal with one outside too.
Ah, what a fate.

Knowing it was futile, I still maintained proper etiquette and tried to push away the lord’s son.
“I’m sorry, Lord Axel, but our store probably has nothing that would satisfy you. No new stock has arrived either.”
“That’s for me to decide.”
“……”
“Come in and at least serve tea. If you want to sell something, put on a smile and humor me a little.”
“……sigh.”

Not easy.

I opened the door with an exaggerated sigh.
Axel entered the store boldly, hands clasped behind his back.
His friends jabbered excitedly behind me.
“Look at the devil’s child, all grown up. Even with the lord’s son in tow.”
“Exactly. Axel is so generous. Even the kid who used to steal rotten apples off the street gets no discrimination.”
“……”

Their careless voices and sharp tones made my hand tighten on the door handle. My teeth clenched.
The locals of Cromwell Castle still called me “the devil’s child.”
They remembered my unusual hair and eye color.
Fifteen years ago, despite knowing the village of Luden, which took me in, was unharmed, they labeled me a dark mage, and never stopped mocking me.
Each time, my brother and the villagers protected me, but the damned lord’s son raised taxes under the guise of rudeness.
Honestly, nobles sometimes act worse than street thugs.

But to prevent the taxes from going up further, I had no choice but to endure Axel quietly.
I hope my brother doesn’t come to the store today.

My brother had anger management issues due to his brain being fried by alcohol.
His fists made no distinction between high and low status.
Thankfully, he had never actually hit Axel, but with a drunk Felix, who knew what could happen.

The overconfident heir of Cromwell Castle rummaged through the store at will, humming as if delighted by it.
“Really. Not a single new item. Seems like your brother’s not working these days?”
“……Sometimes he does.”
“Tsk tsk, our Hazel sure works hard.”
“……”

Is this man insane?
Who decided “our”?

Axel shook his head and casually perched on the counter.
His arrogant gaze stabbed straight down at me. A look that implied it was only natural to look down from above.
People praised Axel for his appearance, claiming it made up for his flaws, but I couldn’t agree.
From head to toe, Axel was infuriating.
Perhaps my “dislike of handsome men” originated not from my brother, but from Axel.
Anyway, I firmly believe looks and character can never peak in the same direction.

Avoiding his irritating gaze, I grabbed some herbs and brewed tea.
After silently observing me, he suddenly called my name.
“Miss Hazel.”
“Yes, Lord Axel.”
“Have you thought about my proposal?”
“What proposal?”
“Pretending not to remember again, I see. I’ve told you five times already.”
“……”
“Why keep testing me, knowing I have little patience? Do you want to see how long I’ll be lenient with you?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not smart.”
“You used the same excuse last month, didn’t you?”
“……”

Axel chuckled, throat vibrating.
For some reason, he seemed to find the situation extremely amusing.
“I’ll say it once more, merciful as I am. Pretending not to remember won’t help. I’ll come until you accept my proposal.”
“……”

Damn it. Why is he doing this to me?

Axel cleared his throat like making a major announcement, emphasizing every syllable.
“Miss Hazel, why not move Golden General Store into Cromwell Castle? I’ll watch over things for you.”

An absurd proposal, as always.
The lord’s son truly had no conscience.
Not content with tormenting me once a month, he wanted to keep me under his thumb constantly.

As usual, I was about to respond with, I’ll think about it, but changed my mind.
For someone who doesn’t understand a polite refusal, blunt honesty is the only answer.

Just as I gathered the courage to speak, perceptive Axel beat me to it.
“Ah, I don’t expect an answer today. Take your time, but I hope to hear a positive answer next month.”

Who decided that?

I mumbled a small “Yes” and handed over the brewed tea.
Yet he didn’t even pretend to drink it and continued to pick a fight.
“By the way, who gave you that flower in your hair?”
“……Why do you want to know?”

Unimpressed by my answer, one of Axel’s eyebrows rose sharply.
His friends seized the opportunity to mock me.
“Could it be the devil’s child is dating someone?”
“Ha, really?”
“Hehe. Then who else could it be?”

While they laughed and chattered, the door suddenly swung open with a ding.
“I gave it to her.”

It was my brother.

“……”

Of all times, why did he have to show up now?

His eyes blazed like yellow flames as he approached Axel.
Today, my brother didn’t smell of alcohol, but I still couldn’t let my guard down.
“Lord Axel, did you harass our Hazel?”

He kept his tone polite, but his hostility was obvious.
Axel smirked. He was clearly scheming how to further enrage my brother.

I pushed against my brother’s chest, warning him.
“Brother, nothing happened. Calm down.”
“Hazel.”
“No. Don’t do anything.”

To my left: our family delinquent.
To my right: someone else’s maniacal heir.

Protecting my small, precious store from both of them made my head ache.
I positioned myself in between them and watched the two delinquents carefully.

The delinquents stared at each other silently, as if timing their next attack.