TNDOBM 03

Chapter 03

Cecilia silently gazed at the woman’s form flickering on the water’s surface.

Lustrous blonde hair and amber eyes. Beyond mere beauty, an aura that felt almost sacred.

As the eldest daughter of the Empire’s greatest holy family, the Weberdin House, Cecilia Weberdin was called the Empire’s ‘Saint’ in keeping with her appearance and status.

The fact that she couldn’t go out freely, that she stayed only in the margraviate far from the capital, that she was handled with care like fragile glass lest she break—all of it was because of this.

However, no matter how noble the Saint’s outward appearance, inside she was, regrettably, a 21st-century Korean who had grown up seeing all sorts of filthy things.

Cecilia brushed back her shimmering golden hair in the water and shook her head firmly.

“Melanie. You don’t know. The true fear lies within me.”

“Pardon?”

*’You should be grateful I didn’t kidnap that man.’*

She swallowed the words she couldn’t utter. She felt sorry for the worried Melanie, but Cecilia intended to get closer to the ‘stranger’.

If possible, in a very private and deep relationship.

—

The next day.

Melanie, still unable to shake her worry, had nagged and expressed her concerns until bedtime, so today Cecilia was supposed to behave and rest in her room… as if.

Cecilia, who had been waiting for an opportunity, threw off her indoor clothes as soon as Melanie left.

Then, tucking the cat that had been following her, apparently noticing the temporary butler’s departure, under her arm, she dashed out of the room.

Perhaps thanks to her fluffy companion, tracing her memory and reaching the wall was surprisingly easy.

The only problem was…

*’What excuse should I use to barge into the neighbor’s house?’*

The deliberation didn’t last long.

The little troublemaker, as if it had never been quietly cradled, suddenly scratched the back of her hand.

“Ah!”

Startled, she let go, and the cat landed nimbly on the ground. Then, as if showing off, it calmly entered through a hole in the fence.

*’Well, I have no choice then.’*

She had no choice but to go retrieve it before the cat ruined someone else’s flowerbed again.

As if waiting for this, Cecilia compromised and passed through the hole again.

The cute little paw prints that continued from the entrance of the hole stopped abruptly at the lawn.

Cecilia crossed the lush green lawn as she had done yesterday.

Past the long, tall hedge of spindle trees, there was the western garden.

*’I hope the cat isn’t ruining the flowerbed again.’*

A belated worry arose, and Cecilia quickened her pace slightly.

And what she saw at the end was not yesterday’s ruined garden, but a flowerbed filled with white daisies.

The flowers swaying freely in the direction of the wind looked just like sea foam.

In the midst of the fresh spring scent pouring in, there stood Lien, as if by magic.

Wearing a dark robe that didn’t match his surroundings at all.

*’In a scene like this, shouldn’t you be standing there looking picturesque? The female lead falls for you all over again—that’s the cliché.’*

As she gazed somewhat wistfully at this flaw in the perfect picture, the other party also noticed her and strode over.

“Lady Weberdin!”

As expected, he had been heading to the western garden, and a bundle of white fur was cradled in his arms.

“I’m sorry. The cat escaped again… It seems to like this garden. I hope it hasn’t ruined anything this time?”

“No, not at all!”

When she asked worriedly, he urgently shook his head.

Only then did Cecilia’s face brighten with relief.

“That’s a relief. I was worried it might have caused another accident like yesterday… Oh, by the way, the garden looks even more beautiful than yesterday. It’s like magic!”

Cecilia clapped her hands together and complimented him. It was a compliment that was half sincere and half impure, intended to narrow the emotional distance.

But Lien flinched, as if he had been criticized, and bowed his head deeply.

“Th, thank you.”

*’Hmm, that doesn’t seem like a shy reaction…’*

She couldn’t read his expression because of the robe.

*Tsk*, Cecilia clicked her tongue inwardly.

Just then, Lien suddenly bent down, plucked a few daisies from his feet, and held them out to her.

“Here, I thought you might like daisies…”

Cecilia stared blankly down at the unexpected gift.

She did prefer simple wildflowers that bloomed naturally in the wild over flashy flowers that had been artificially cultivated.

But more than the fact that he had accurately guessed her taste, the fact that he gave her flowers was more surprising.

*’What? Is he proposing right now?’*

As she stared seriously at the gift, his hand began to tremble slightly.

“If, if you don’t like them…”

Cecilia came to her senses a moment too late and quickly took the flowers.

“No! I like them very, extremely, absolutely, more than anything!”

She grabbed the fresh stems tightly and almost shouted.

This time, perhaps sensing her sincerity, the corner of his mouth that peeked out from under the robe curved into a round smile.

It must have been a smile as beautiful as these flowers!

It was just a pity that the damned piece of cloth was hiding his face.

*’Should I just pretend not to notice and pull it off?’*

Just as she was seriously contemplating how to remove that rag, the smile vanished from his lips as if by magic.

“…Your hand.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re hurt!”

It was only then that Cecilia glanced at the back of her hand.

The scratch from the cat’s claws was redder and more distinct than she had thought.

“Ah, that cat has quite a strong will.”

She replied nonchalantly, lightly tapping the cat’s nose as it yawned, oblivious to its own fault.

It stung, but it wasn’t like her hand had been cut off; it was just a scratch.

However, Lien seemed more startled than she was. Biting his lip, he suddenly grabbed her hand.

The hand covering the wound felt slightly warmer than a normal person’s body temperature.

“Lien?”

At the unfamiliar sensation, she called his name, and Lien flinched and pulled his hand away.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I was so surprised that I…”

Thinking he had committed a grave discourtesy, he fidgeted anxiously, then sat her down on a log bench placed near the garden.

“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll get some medicine.”

“It’s just a small scratch, you don’t need to… Lien!”

Before she could finish speaking, he hurriedly left the spot.

Cecilia stared blankly at his retreating back, then looked down at her hand.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt almost no pain.

*’Is it because it’s a minor wound?’*

Just as she was further losing the need for treatment, Lien, who had disappeared in an instant, returned with astonishing speed.

He spilled out a small glass bottle filled with liquid and bandages, then roughly sat down at her feet.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

He hesitated, then took her fingertips and opened the bottle containing the pink liquid, pouring it directly onto the wound.

A warm sensation, like when he had held her hand earlier, spread through her, and soon the wound healed without a trace.

“Is this… a potion?”

In this world, alongside ordinary medicine prepared by apothecaries, there were ‘holy water’ and ‘potions’ that guaranteed immediate effects.

Usually, the former was produced by priests and the latter by mages, and both were extremely expensive.

In other words, it was not something to be used for a mere scratch.

“There’s no healer at the manor… I’m sorry.”

Interpreting her astonished question as some sort of negative judgment, his broad shoulders slumped.

To cheer him up, who had treated someone and still looked dejected, Cecilia deliberately opened and closed her hand to show him.

“See? Thanks to Lien, it doesn’t hurt at all now.”

“But…”

“Come on, don’t sit on the ground. Sit here.”

She grabbed his wrist as he sat at her feet and pulled him to sit beside her.

After placing the warm cat on her lap, which was stained with grass, Cecilia stroked the fresh wildflowers and asked.

“Do you tend to the garden yourself? Are you a gardener?”

She was just curious whether she should treat him as a gardener for now.

After a long pause, he hesitantly nodded his head. At that moment…

“Master!”

A large man, wearing a fitted suit that clung to his bulky frame, came running from the direction of the manor, panting heavily.

He was a butler so large that, from a distance, he could have been mistaken for a knight.

The butler was holding several small bottles, presumably other medicines, and when he belatedly noticed the guest beside the ‘Master’, he stopped dead in his tracks.

“…Where did he go? Haha.”

And then, with an extremely unnatural motion, he began to back away.

Only after the butler disappeared behind the building did Cecilia stare intently at the man beside her.

Lien had tensed up, his breathing even shallower from nervousness.

*’With this lack of skill, it’s hard to pretend not to know.’*

“You seem to be quite good at lying, Master?”

“That’s not it.”

He leaned in closer and called out urgently.

He was so flustered that the cat, startled by his sudden movement, jumped off his lap, and the hem of his robe was slightly pushed back.

“I, I absolutely never intended to deceive or mislead Lady Weberdin…!”

“Whoa, calm down. I’m not angry.”

Cecilia raised both hands to placate him.

The violet eyes she finally met were wandering, just like a child who had done something wrong.

“But…”

“Really. Do I look angry to you?”

“…No.”

She had already realized that he wasn’t a gardener.

With that face, being a mere gardener?

In a romance fantasy world where appearance is proportional to power, that was impossible.

*’He must have a separate reason for hiding his identity, which is why he lied.’*

But he seemed to carry the guilt of the world’s sins for just one lie.

Cecilia, still looking silently at the man who didn’t know what to do with himself, suddenly hit upon a brilliant idea.