Chapter 15

Translator: Skye  Editor: herkawaiidramas

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I glared at my father’s apprentice.

‘How ungrateful.’

I was trying to wake him up after giving him a place to sleep, yet he continued to talk down to me and even had me pinned down like this. I was baffled by his rudeness.

‘Why is his personality so twisted?’

Someone suddenly came to mind. In one of my relationships in my past life, I gave my heart to someone but he was hard to please to the end.

‘Mm, they’re definitely similar.’

I quickly brushed those thoughts aside, realizing the current issue.

‘Ah, this isn’t it. I need to ask him why he keeps talking down to me.’

Then, I heard him speak, his voice sounding as if he was trying to pick a fight.

“What are you looking at”

At that moment, I broke out into laughter, forgetting what I was going to say.

“Why are you laughing?”

His expression became darker but I couldn’t stop laughing. He looked too much like someone I used to know.

“Don’t laugh.”

He was glaring at me, his voice coming out harsh. Well, it would certainly put someone in a bad mood if someone was laughing in front of them for seemingly no reason. Noticing the look on his face, I managed to get a control over my laughter somewhat.

‘He reminds of the unfriendly black cat that I often saw near my old house.’ 

He seemed really displeased by my constant giggles.

“Stop.”

I couldn’t help but laugh again at his words. Unless there was some natural disaster that suddenly occurred to snap one out of it, it wasn’t easy to hold in your laughter. However, the sound of Marilyn’s voice that suddenly came from the hallway forced me to correct my earlier thought.

“Milady, are you awake?”

The corners of my mouth, which had been raised in laughter, quickly settled back down.

‘Calm down.’

I began organizing my priorities in my head. First, I realized that I needed to get rid of the man who was currently on top of me in an embarrassing position.

“Um, could you please get off?”

At my request, he finally moved but didn’t cease frowning. I raised a hand in his direction.

“Can you help me up?”

He gave my hand a dirty look before swiftly turning his head away.

‘To think there are really people like him around…’

Frowning, I pushed myself up. Even if I tried to explain the current situation, he didn’t seem like the type that would listen since he was so stubborn.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

I recklessly grabbed his hand.

“What are you doing?”

Of course, there was no way he was just going to obediently follow me. That’s why I decided to trick him for now.

“Follow me for a moment. There’s something I have to show you.”

He narrowed his eyes at my words but didn’t put up any resistance when I dragged him to the dressing room.

“If you don’t want to be subjected to a weird misunderstanding, hide in here and don’t make a sound.”

When I tried to close the door, he stopped me, questioning the meaning behind what I said.

“Weird misunderstanding?”

“You know…spending a night in a different sense–You and I. Something like that.”

“Different sense?”

He really lacked sensibility. Did I really have to spell it out for him?! I was disappointed but tried to explain to him in a way that was innocent but still got the point across.

“Think animals–copulation.”

Although my voice was subdued, judging by the crease on his forehead, it seemed he had heard and understood what I said.

“What? What kind of ridic–”

I quickly blocked his mouth with my hand, cutting him off.

‘Why is he raising his voice!? Marilyn could hear us! To think he’d be so thoughtless.’

Staring at him, I spoke softly.

“You don’t like it right? I don’t either.”

His face scrunched brutally, hearing the sincerity behind my words.

‘Good, it looks like we’re on the same page so he should understand what I’m about to say.’

I opened my mouth with a slight smile.

“So, if you’re going to be staying here in my room, I ask that you cooperate with me.”

The one who was glaring at me with his crimson eyes soon nodded his head slowly. Seeing him being so obedient when he had continuously refused to listen to me before, I felt somewhat disheartened for some reason.

“How nice it would have been if you were this kind and cooperative earlier.”

When I unconsciously muttered the thought out loud, I saw him narrow his eyes.

“You…”

Before he could even finish, I quickly closed the door in his face.

“Milady, is there something wrong? Huh, why is the door locked?”

At the sound of Marilyn’s voice again, I went to the bedroom door and unlocked it.

‘Good thing I locked it earlier.’

Letting out a sigh, I opened the door, coming face-to-face with Marilyn who was looking at me with suspicion in her eyes.

“Did something happen, milady? I was surprised to see that the door was locked….”

“Oh, um…well, someone could’ve broken in so I locked it.”

“Pardon?”

Marilyn looked at me as if I had said something absurd but then gave an awkward smile.

“Geez, milady…There is no one who would be reckless enough to attempt such a thing. They say neither assassins nor thieves would ever even think about stepping a foot near this mansion.”

I sighed. Well, he wasn’t a thief or assassin, but the one in my closet was definitely a reckless person.

‘Ha…seems Marilyn has a false sense of security just like me.’

Regardless, I couldn’t tell her that there was an actual intruder.

“Well, you never know, especially with father away right now.”

Marilyn’s face suddenly became serious, as if she realized there was danger in my words.

“Milady.”

Before I could even guess what might’ve caused the abrupt change, Marilyn grabbed my hands, holding them tightly.

“His Grace will return home safely.”

Suddenly saying something that seemed to have come out of nowhere, I felt that Marilyn was being a bit strange, but I did agree with her. If there was something that wouldn’t even let the strongest person in the world return home safely, it would be a threat to humanity itself.

“Yes, I know.”

Marilyn looked like she doubted my words but didn’t push further, changing the topic instead.

“Would you like to go for a walk? The weather is quite nice today.”

I didn’t really understand why she suggested a walk out of the blue, but it did sound tempting. If it wasn’t for my father’s apprentice currently hiding in my closet, I would have gladly welcomed the suggestion.

‘Oh well.’

I lowered my eyes slightly.

“No, that’s alright. I’m not feeling very well today.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. I had a slight cold and my muscles seemed to have gotten a shock after I was shoved by him earlier.

“Pardon? Where are you feeling unwell?”

“Oh, ah, I’m just a bit exhausted and lacking energy.”

I was being vague with my excuse, trying to avoid going on a walk, but it seemed Marilyn wasn’t going to just let it go.

“Shall I call Doctor Allen?”

“No, that won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine.”

I refused but Marilyn shook her head, her face looking solemn.

“Even if it’s something small, it should not be ignored. Milady, you are the only daughter of the Duke of Floyen”

“But it’s really nothing….?”

Marilyn was dissatisfied with my response.

“Milady, please keep in mind that when His Grace is absent, you are the one who must lead the family in his place.”

Hearing the burdensome remark, I took in a deep breath. I didn’t even have the slightest intention of leading the dukedom….

Then, noticing my reaction, Marilyn let out a sigh.

“This won’t do after all. I’ll go and call the doctor.”

I finally made my decision when she said she was going to call for Allen. I had to stop her, even if that meant I had to ruin my image a little.

“It’s really nothing, I just happened to fall off my bed.”

“Pardon? You fell off your bed?”

Marilyn widened her eyes in shock. She seemed confused to hear that I had fallen off since I was someone who usually had good sleeping habits.

“Yes, but the carpet softened the blow so it didn’t hurt that much. Though my back does sting a little.”

It was actually from when my father’s apprentice pinned me onto the floor, but it made a good excuse nonetheless.

“Oh, then I shall go bring some medicine that’s good for relieving muscle pain.”

I nodded my head in agreement.

‘Ah, I’m so hungry. What time is it?’

Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was almost 11 o’clock. It was a bit too late to eat breakfast and a little too early for lunch. Normally, I would’ve gone down and had a full brunch, but I couldn’t just leave my father’s apprentice alone and go shamelessly eat by myself.

“Marilyn, could you bring me a sandwich on your way back? One that’s bigger than usual.”

“Oh, yes! Of course. Was there anything else you needed?”

“I’m a little sensitive because I was reading a book until late last night and therefore wasn’t able to get much sleep. I’d appreciate it if no one entered my room without my permission.”

It was actually not me, but my father’s apprentice who was sensitive. Though given my former tendencies, no one would think of the request as strange.

“As you wish, milady.”

As soon as Marilyn left the room, I immediately headed for my closet. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I remembered there were some dresses that could easily wrinkle if one wasn’t careful.

‘I hope he stayed still.’

Opening the door, I saw that my clothes were surprisingly undisturbed. Instead, I only saw my father’s apprentice curled up in an uncomfortable position.

‘I’m so proud of him.’

While I was having those thoughts, he gruffly spoke.

“Can I get out now?”

“Not yet, my maid went to get something and will be back soon. You’ll have to stay in here for a little longer.”

“How annoying.”

He was frowning, clearly disgruntled, but he still looked so handsome that my eyes were quite pleased.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. This person has nothing to do with me.’

Although I admired his looks, I didn’t have a favorable impression of him. In other words, it was like admiring a pretty picture and nothing more.

‘I don’t want anyone who looks good on the outside but has a terrible personality on the inside.’

“What are you looking at”

A presumptuous tone, speaking down to me as if it was natural. It was actually a crime I could call him out for, but I decided against it.

‘I can’t really get angry at him because he’s just like an untamed wild animal. It’s also not worth it to argue with someone who I won’t even see for much longer.’

It would be a waste to use up emotions on such an immature person. Having those thoughts, I turned to ask him what had been on my mind for a while.

“So, how long do you plan on staying?”

He seemed surprised by my words. Even if I wanted to continue showing him kindness, it would be impossible to live precariously like this for too long. I asked him because I wanted to know what his plan was and decide how to move forward from there.

‘I don’t even know when my father will return. It’ll be a bit troublesome if he says he wants to stay until then…..’

“Today…I’m planning on leaving today.”

There was a slight pause in his hesitating voice. His expression didn’t look too good either so I couldn’t help but pity him.

‘Ah, did he think I was trying to subtly kick him out?’

I felt a bit worried for some reason, so I asked him,

“Do you have a place to stay?”

“Does it look like I don’t?”

He glared at me coldly. They say people usually get angry when you touch a sensitive matter. If he really had a place to go, he wouldn’t have come to our house in the first place. He wouldn’t be going around dressed so sloppily either.

I let out a sigh.

“You can be honest with me.”

As soon as those words left my lips, he gave me such a dirty look it was scary.

thanks to hazelnothazelnut for this chapter’s raws!

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