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Chapter 002
Too Many Karmic Burdens to Confess
Dorothy had long carried a saying in her heart:
“You reap what you sow.”
What you give will eventually come back to you. Conversely, if you hurt others for petty personal gain, it will inevitably return to you as well.
Because of this, she wanted to become someone valuable rather than someone who caused harm.
After her broken engagement, Dorothy planned to find a new place to settle in order to completely erase Charles from her life.
But during her short stay, she made many neighbors.
Thanks to her kind and friendly personality, she had become acquainted with them, now greeting each other and exchanging updates on their lives.
However, there was one neighbor whose updates, and even name, she did not know.
“Only one or two maids come and go, and the owner of that house rarely shows herself,”
was what she had heard about the house next door.
“I’ve heard she has a cruel and cold personality,”
listening to Mrs. Horton, the maid, reminded her of the man she had seen not long ago.
“According to someone who met her by chance, she is extremely cold. Everyone says she regards human life as lighter than passing insects.”
“What’s her name?”
“Rose,”
the maid had said.
The man she had seen that day had looked like a delicate flower. His eyes shone with colors like stained glass.
“That name really suits her,” Dorothy thought. She had never seen anyone so beautiful in her life.
Mrs. Horton blinked in surprise.
“You’ve seen the neighbor too?”
“Yes, I have.”
Dorothy nodded lightly, explaining,
“She’s a man with blond hair and truly beautiful eyes.”
“Oh, a blond, beautiful man… hmm?”
Mrs. Horton cleared her throat and corrected her information.
“Our neighbor next door is actually a woman.”
“Ah.”
Then who was the man she had seen before? Dorothy wondered.
“Anyway, you should be careful. Rumor has it that she’s a noblewoman. I’ve even heard she has a private physician. You could get yourself into trouble if you get involved with someone like her,”
Mrs. Horton advised with concern.
However, Dorothy ended up meeting the person named Rose earlier than expected.
Early one morning, as Dorothy opened the balcony door after waking up, her eyes met Rose’s.
The Rose from the rumors resembled the man she had seen before, but her hair looked lifeless and messy, and her eyes were bloodshot as if she hadn’t slept.
“Hello.”
Since their eyes met, Dorothy couldn’t just ignore her. She greeted her politely.
“What do you mean, ‘hello’?”
True to the rumors, Rose snapped sharply.
“Are you bragging that you’re fine, or are you hoping I’m fine?”
Despite the slightly cynical response, Dorothy’s expression didn’t change, and she replied cheerfully.
“I meant the latter. I’m asking if you’re well.”
“I’m not really well,” Rose said.
“Then I hope you are, from now on!”
Despite the thorns in Rose’s words, Dorothy’s greeting was gentle and warm.
“…What nonsense,” muttered Rose, seemingly flustered by the unexpected response.
“Don’t loiter in front of me and just go away.”
“Then, have a good day.”
Dorothy bowed politely until the end, and Rose slammed the balcony door, seemingly deciding not to engage further.
Yet her fierce gaze had softened slightly.
“Miss!”
Mrs. Horton, apparently hearing the conversation from the first floor, came upstairs to the bedroom.
“Were you speaking with the neighbor next door?”
“Yes.”
“Are you alright?”
Worried, Mrs. Horton, who had secretly treated Dorothy like a daughter, asked.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“Did that woman do anything nasty to you?”
“No, Mrs. Horton. Really, I’m fine,” Dorothy said calmly, trying to reassure her.
“Nothing to worry about happened, and Rose didn’t say anything in particular either.”
“Still, you should be careful. It’s not bad to keep your distance for safety,” Mrs. Horton insisted again.
“What if the rumors are true and she’s really cruel?”
“…But,” Dorothy thought, Rose doesn’t seem cruel at all.
After that, Dorothy continued to hear rumors about her neighbor Rose.
Mrs. Horton loved speculating on how heartless and ruthless she might be.
Dorothy often spotted Rose beyond the balcony. She spent most of her time in bed, sometimes with tears still on her face.
“Mrs. Horton, are you alright?”
One afternoon, Mrs. Horton seemed unwell, claiming she felt a cold coming on. But by late at night, all the town’s physicians had already gone out on calls.
‘What should I do?’
Dorothy remembered Mrs. Horton’s words: her neighbor supposedly had a private physician.
Unable to wait any longer, Dorothy knocked on the door late at night.
“Excuse me. Is anyone home?”
A maid peeked through the door.
“What is it?”
Visitors were rare at Rose’s house due to her ominous reputation, so the maid looked wary.
But Dorothy had no time to worry about that.
“I urgently need a physician! I heard you might have a personal doctor. Could I contact them, please?”
“What’s all this commotion?”
Rose appeared, noticing the noise from the front.
“Visiting this late at night? How rude.”
“Please help!”
Dorothy shouted in desperation. Rose asked indifferently:
“Help?”
“Mrs. Horton is very sick. Could you call your doctor?”
“…Why me?”
“I’m begging you!”
Rose’s expression hardened at Dorothy’s desperate plea for someone’s life, then she sighed and gave instructions.
“Call a doctor.”
Soon after, a physician arrived. Dorothy wondered: ‘Who could summon a doctor so quickly?’
It seemed Rose even arranged for a carriage from outside.
“Thank goodness. Without proper treatment, her condition could have become serious.”
The skilled physician treated Mrs. Horton, and she quickly recovered.
Relieved, Dorothy thanked Rose.
“Thank you so much!”
“If you knew, you’d never cause a commotion like this again.”
In other words: Don’t ever appear before me again.
As usual, Rose responded coldly and slammed the door.
Yet Dorothy was deeply moved by Rose’s kindness, which differed from the rumors. She didn’t hear the harsh words at all.
“Hehe… looking closely, she’s actually quite cute…”, Dorothy thought, grinning in awe.
Rose knew she was a little unusual.
Her fiery temperament and blunt honesty often clashed with polite society. She couldn’t tolerate injustice and often intervened in matters that didn’t concern her.
This made her a laughingstock in social circles.
To make matters worse, she had missed the marriageable age, and no gentlemen now proposed to her.
This life was a lost cause.
‘Who would ever like someone like me?’
She was hopeless. The first misstep couldn’t be corrected now.
Rose left the capital and secluded herself in a quiet outer city. She ignored letters from the capital and lived as a recluse.
“Good riddance. I should have done this from the start.”
She was exhausted. She no longer wanted to put on a façade in front of people she didn’t get along with.
Lying in bed, she spent her days ruminating over the words others carelessly spoke. She believed if she allowed no one near her, she could avoid getting hurt.
“…Again.”
But that woman kept coming. The day before yesterday, yesterday, and today.
“Hello, good morning! Did you sleep well? I was thinking it might be nice to go for a walk together.”
“…”
“Or maybe we could share a snack?”
The neighbor Rose was annoyingly persistent.
No matter how much she tried to ignore her, Dorothy felt irritated by Rose’s constant cheerful visits.
Sometimes, she even felt like pulling out that pink hair in frustration.
The most infuriating thing was her persistence; she kept coming no matter what.
“Hey.”
“Yes!”
“We saw each other yesterday too.”
“We did!”
Dorothy smiled brightly.
“Do you remember what I told you yesterday? Think carefully.”
“Uh, you probably said…”
Blinking as if recalling, Dorothy replied,
“‘Go?’”
Bang!
The door slammed shut before Dorothy’s eyes.
