CHAPTER 1
Her mother passed away, leaving behind the words, “Live happily.”
Dorothy, who became an orphan at a young age, got engaged the year she turned eighteen.
It was to her childhood friend, Charles.
But as time went on, doubts began to creep in.
Could she really live happily if she married Charles?
“Did you know? I’m rich now! I’m no longer just some snot-nosed country bumpkin.”
It was last year that Dorothy followed her fiancé Charles to Sailbrums.
Not long after their engagement, Charles inherited a fortune.
The wealth of a family with no daughters had flowed down the line until it reached him.
Charles, who had lived in a simple one-room hut in a rural village, suddenly became the heir to a grand mansion complete with butlers.
“When we got engaged, I told you, didn’t I? That I’d make you happy.”
You’re really lucky, you know. He would say it like a habit.
His attitude began to change around then.
He started spending money extravagantly, and soon rumors reached her that Charles had taken a mistress.
“Being with you is comfortable, sure, but it doesn’t excite me.”
He would even yell at her or mock her without a second thought.
“When I’m with other women, I get thrilled—my heart races. Strangely, it doesn’t happen when I’m with you.”
Could she really live happily if she married Charles?
More precisely, she wasn’t convinced that marriage alone would make her life special.
While she was worrying about this, Charles’s mother, Lady Marte, spoke to Dorothy.
“Hey, Dorothy.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“I’ve noticed a smell when I’m around you.”
“What kind of smell?”
“A vulgar rural smell.”
But Dorothy tilted her head, not understanding.
“Maybe a cow pooped nearby.”
“……”
“Shall I close the window?”
Even though Sailbrums was a city, it wasn’t the capital—fields and livestock lined the roads heading downhill.
Thinking a cow pulling a cart might have relieved itself, Dorothy politely asked.
Lady Marte, as if at a loss for words, replied emptily.
“……No.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Like the increasingly extravagant dresses, Lady Marte’s attitude toward Dorothy grew sharper.
In the past, she had liked how devoted Dorothy was to Charles, but not anymore.
‘No matter how I look at it, my son deserves better.’
She felt their statuses didn’t match.
Wouldn’t it be better if he married a lady from a noble family, even if it meant being a little greedy?
It felt wasteful for her only son to marry a girl from the countryside.
Eventually, Lady Marte urged Dorothy to break off the engagement.
It happened right when Dorothy was agonizing over the marriage.
“Here, this is money.”
“Why are you giving me money?”
Suddenly receiving money, Dorothy tilted her head in confusion.
Living with her future mother-in-law, Dorothy had learned a few things about her.
One was that Charles’s mother was extremely stingy.
She never gave Dorothy money personally unless there was a special reason.
She must be entrusting me with something very serious.
Dorothy’s expression turned grave.
“With this money—”
“……Are we embezzling funds?”
There was already a precedent of siphoning money related to stock shares.
Believing she was being tasked with it, Dorothy asked seriously.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then should I go pay off a year’s worth of debts on credit?”
“That’s not it either.”
“Ah, then it must be to repay the money borrowed from acquaintances back home?”
“No!”
Cough, cough. Lady Marte cleared her throat awkwardly.
“I’m talking about you, Dorothy. Take this money and break off the engagement with Charles.”
“Break off the engagement?”
Unaware of the worries Dorothy had about her son, Lady Marte lifted her chin arrogantly.
“With the condition that you never come begging later.”
Right now, as she handed over the money,
Lady Marte was enveloped in a thrilling sense of pleasure.
“It’s already over between you and Charles. All you have to do is take the money and leave.”
Perhaps she would cling to her skirt, tears streaming, begging desperately.
In that case, maybe she could offer her a position as a concubine.
Lady Marte imagined Dorothy on her knees, eyes glistening with tears.
But Dorothy’s reaction was completely different from what she expected.
“Sob… Mother! I’m so grateful that you’ve worried about me this much!”
“What? When did I ever worry about yo—”
“Mother!”
With an emotional face, Dorothy rushed over and hugged Lady Marte tightly.
“Gah, ugh, cough. What kind of arm strength is this…”
Caught off guard and embraced, Lady Marte choked and gasped.
“D-Didn’t you hear me? Break off the engagement and never think of marrying my son again—”
“I won’t.”
“And no changing your mind later—”
“I’d rather die than do that.”
Until now, Dorothy had never considered breaking off the engagement.
Not only was it not easy, but she also had no funds to live alone.
But if it was an offer like this, it seemed pretty good.
She wouldn’t have to suffer watching Charles with his mistress anymore.
Above all, she was deeply grateful that Lady Marte had made this proposal first for her sake.
As expected of an adult—hadn’t she read her worries and suggested it first?
“Mother!”
“Gah, can’t breathe, ugh.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Dorothy hugged Lady Marte for a long time.
* * *
“Thank you so much, Mother! Be happy. May blessings come to you.”
A short while later, Dorothy packed her things and left, money envelope in hand.
Of course, she didn’t forget to express her gratitude to Lady Marte.
“……Just go already.”
“Oh, please don’t worry about me!”
Dorothy mistook Lady Marte’s drained face for sadness.
So, before leaving the mansion for the last time, she didn’t forget to hug her once more.
After this tearful farewell, Dorothy headed to her newly rented home, feeling a vague emptiness.
‘I should write a thank-you letter to Mother later.’
She was genuinely touched by Lady Marte’s warm and kind consideration.
To suggest breaking off the engagement right when she was worrying about marriage—
How could she be so thoughtful?
The money Lady Marte gave her wasn’t enough to live luxuriously, but it was plenty for a comfortable life.
Thanks to it, for the first time in her life, she hired a maid and rented a temporary home.
It was a proper townhouse in a bustling area.
As she looked around the neighborhood with a grateful heart,
“Excuse me, miss.”
A man with golden hair and clear blue eyes approached, smiling at the corners of his eyes.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you hold my hat and cane for a moment?”
His tone was extremely polite and courteous.
He had a slender, tall build and wore a perfectly pressed suit without a single wrinkle.
Like a gentleman from a famous painting, he even carried a narrow-brimmed hat and a cane.
“Of course.”
When she readily agreed, the man thanked her and handed over his hat and cane.
Then he walked straight to the house next door.
‘Is he a neighbor living next door?’
Dorothy was inwardly delighted to have met such a kind neighbor.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, the man smiled at her from his doorstep and leisurely waved.
Excited, Dorothy waved back enthusiastically.
‘What kind of neighbor is he? He must be kind and warm-hearted…!’
BOOM!
In that instant, the man suddenly took a deep breath, then kicked the front door with full force, forcing it open.
The sturdy-looking door collapsed helplessly, kicking up dust.
The sudden explosion of sound startled passersby nearby.
Dorothy, equally shocked, stood frozen in place.
Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
“Thank you, miss.”
The man who had smashed the door approached her with a smile, completely unbothered by the stares.
His stride was even lively.
“They’re my favorite hat and cane, you see.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Why do you look like that? Are you hurt somewhere?”
The man approached with a worried expression.
Dorothy stared at his face in a daze.
Up close, she noticed his eyes were sanpaku eyes (with visible white below the iris).
“Just in case, it would be wise to get checked by a doctor.”
He didn’t seem to consider for a moment that she might be shocked because he had destroyed the door.
Thank you again.
Waving at the stunned Dorothy, the man slipped into the neighboring house.
