Chapter 11. Come in Person

……It was a statement that undoubtedly caused a misunderstanding.

Before I could think about the meaning of his words, I hurriedly tried to get up to escape this embarrassing position. However, the large hand holding my wrist and waist did not easily let me go.

“Why? Are you feeling ashamed now?”

“I’ve felt ashamed from the beginning. This was a mistake…….”

“Quite a mistake.”

“Anyway, it wasn’t intentional. I’m really sorry. Please let me go.”

“…….”

The man shrugged with a look of disappointment and let me go surprisingly easily, making my worry that he would keep holding me seem unfounded.

I quickly stepped away from him, straightened my posture, and politely thanked him again. Even if his kindness was forced, the fact that he had helped me remained.

“Thank you for helping me.”

“Just words of thanks are not enough.”

“……I will repay the carriage fare later.”

“Do you think I care about the carriage fare…….”

He trailed off, seeming to ponder something. He hummed, stroking his chin, and then looked at me with a face that had a slightly cruel hint of mischief.

“How do you plan to repay me?”

“Well, I will send it by parcel…….”

“No.”

He interrupted my words. Changing his position, where he had been sitting with his legs crossed, he slowly stood up. The way he moved was like a beast stretching.

As he slowly approached me, I flinched and took a step back. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, my heart fluttered with anxiety. Soon, his large shadow fell over me. His golden irises, seen from a distance close enough to be bothersome, emitted a languid light. It was a strangely hungry gaze.

Then, his leisurely reaching hand grabbed my chin.

“Come in person.”

“……What?”

“You know where the Grand Duke of Bayern’s mansion is in the capital, don’t you……. Come in person. No need for a parcel.”

I was dumbfounded by the unexpected demand, and before I could even open my mouth, I heard a click behind me as the door opened. He had reached over my shoulder and opened the door.

“Then, you can go.”

As if our business was done, he stepped back. Watching him move, I nodded silently and then ran out of the carriage as if escaping.

Limping with my aching ankle in the pouring rain, I headed towards the mansion’s entrance. The dark brown carriage remained in place the entire time.

Until I opened the front door and went inside, I felt as if a sharp gaze, like a needle, was piercing my back.

* * *

“How did you manage to take a carriage? You don’t have any money.”

Helene, who was following me to the attic, complained in a dissatisfied tone. My stepmother, who was in the living room, just gave me a disapproving look as I returned to the mansion, without any verbal abuse or ridicule.

It might be because she was wary of my father, who works at the palace and would be home soon, or maybe she simply didn’t want to deal with me anymore.

“Did Mr. Button give you money? If that’s true, it’s outrageous. To think a lady of a baronial family would beg like a pauper…….”

Helene was always the most unreasonable person in this household, so I ignored her words as usual. Whether I ignored her or not, she persistently followed, ranting on.

“Mr. Button must be pitying you. Just like His Highness, the Grand Duke of Bayern. If you think you can take advantage of their pity to do something, give it up. Before you bring shame to the family.”

“…….”

I turned my back on her and walked ahead, secretly smirking. Helene always spoke and acted as if she were the ‘Lady of House Lopez.’ As if she were born a noble and had been receiving noble education from the moment she took her first steps.

It was a clear indication of what she felt inferior about.

“Ah……! E, Ellenore…….”

When I arrived at my room, unexpectedly, Melissa was waiting for me. She looked at me hesitantly and asked.

“Is your ankle…… alright……?”

“…….”

When I was about nine years old, I might have been fooled by that worried expression and gesture.
Moved by the fact that she cared about me. Completely unaware of the sinister intentions behind Melissa’s timid mask.

With a cold expression, I approached Melissa. Looking down at her, as she was shorter than me, I spoke.

“Move.”

“Ellenore…….”

Pushing Melissa aside, I opened the door. Behind me, I heard Helene’s incredulous voice.

“Ellen! What are you doing right now? Melissa is worried about you!”

Usually, Helene considered Melissa her maid, but at times like this, she pretended to be a caring older sister. Ignoring her, I went into my room and locked the door.

Bang! Bang!

“Ellen, you…! …if you… to…!”

Helene’s voice scolding me could be heard through the door, but I blocked my ears and crouched on the floor. Please, just go away quickly.

How long had I been holding my breath like that?

I slowly removed my hands from my ears. Since no further sounds could be heard, it seemed that Helene had finally left the door.

‘This is really… really tiring.’

Sighing, I stood up and started to take off my wet clothes, throwing them into the basket. Then, I roughly wiped off the moisture with a dry cloth and put on my underwear and pajamas.

I wanted to wash up immediately, but I decided to wait until late at night to avoid running into anyone on my way to the bathroom with warm water.

I spread a blanket on the bed and collapsed onto it. I thought I should apply medicine and wrap my sore ankle with a bandage, but I had no energy left.

Shhhh—

The sound of rain falling outside the window brought back forgotten memories without fail.

‘It really is you.’
‘The owner of that worn-out shoe.’
‘How did you hurt your ankle?’
‘You’re good at this.’

That man is as merciless as this torrential rain.

Whether it’s sympathy or curiosity, I refuse anything he offers. If I can avoid it, I want to. But.

‘Come in person.’

“…Hah.”

At times like this, I hate my stubbornness.

I could just pretend not to know and send a package. Including a formal thank you note.

How foolish.

No matter how much I think about it, it feels like I’ve fallen into a trap.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but I closed my eyes quietly. Hoping that nothing about him—his soft voice, his golden eyes filled with leisure and arrogance—would come to mind.

My ankle, which had been overworked all day, throbbed painfully.

* * *

“Ellen, that girl…”

Margot, who had just come out of her husband’s room, bit her lip and muttered in a small voice.

Nine days ago, Ellenore returned looking like a drowned rat. The next morning, she expressed to her father that she wanted to recuperate until her injured ankle healed.

Baron Lopez was a man who had no affection for his family, but he had a thin sense of responsibility when it came to Ellenore. It was not surprising that he ordered the household staff to let Ellen rest.

After that, Ellenore stopped doing all the chores she usually handled and conspicuously secluded herself in the attic.

The Lopez household always lacked hands, so Ellen’s absence caused gaps in the household chores, and Margot had no choice but to hire a day maid with her own money.

That fox.

Thinking of Ellenore made her grind her teeth. She hadn’t liked the girl from the moment she first saw her. A creepy girl who didn’t shed a single tear even though she had lost her biological mother.

‘I should have gotten rid of her when I had the chance.’

A grown daughter becomes an asset to a noble family. The same applied to Ellenore. Ellenore’s value was high. In some ways, much higher than that of her own two daughters. Because she was a ‘true’ noble with Lopez’s blood.

An asset that could be traded through marriage.

I should have eliminated her before she gained that value, while she was still a shabby little girl…

‘She’s not as pretty as Helene, but she oddly attracts men’s attention.’

Margot tapped the handrail anxiously as she descended the stairs. Ellenore might steal good marriage prospects meant for Helene and Melissa.

Her husband wouldn’t prioritize Helene and Melissa, and if a marriage proposal came for Ellen, he would push for the marriage deal immediately. That would make that cinder girl a noblewoman before her own daughters.

Just imagining it made her blood boil.

Should I feel defeated by a girl who has nothing but her lineage?

‘If only that Marquis Anderson would step forward to take Ellen, if only he would…’

Lost in thought, Margot had reached the first floor before she knew it and lifted her head.

“…!”

Her son, Anthony, suddenly appeared in her sight, his face pale. For some reason, his hair was disheveled, and his appearance was untidy.

Moreover, his eyes looked soulless.

“Mo-Mother…”

“Anthony, what happened?”

Margot asked in a refined voice befitting a lady, trying to calm her startled heart. Anthony, staggering towards her, clung to her arm, pleading. His hands, bare and trembling, had no gloves on.

“Something, something terrible has happened… What should we do? Mother, what should we do…?”

Sensing that something serious had occurred, Margot’s face turned pale in an instant.