TTMKC 13

 Chapter: 13

I Have Too Much Karma to Confess

Dorothy’s hometown was a rural village where there were more livestock than people.

And her mother ran a general store.

Her mother had a sharp head for business.

Whenever people needed something, they went straight to her store first.

There was truly nothing you couldn’t find there.

How had she managed to gather only the exact things people wanted inside a building smaller than an ordinary house?

When Dorothy asked out of curiosity, her mother told her this:

“Sweetheart, it’s not that I only stock what people absolutely need. I make them believe these are things they must buy.”

Set the price so it doesn’t feel like a loss.

Wrap it up nicely so it feels like a rational purchase.

“Always think from the customer’s perspective. Don’t ever forget that.”

From product placement to lighting—

Dorothy learned everything about running a shop from her mother.

She absorbed it naturally from a young age.

So she never really questioned how her mother knew all these things.

“When you hold a sword, you mustn’t hesitate. If you draw a blade, it’s because you intend to protect.”

Her mother taught her countless other things as well.

“The one you must protect includes yourself. If you hesitate, you won’t be able to protect the people you care about—or yourself.”

Even how to wield a sword.

“You cannot hesitate. If you hesitate, you die.”

Of course, Dorothy had not the slightest bit of talent for swordsmanship.

In any case, her mother was strong enough to wipe out a bandit group in a single night.

“Does this look extraordinary to other people?”

Dorothy muttered quietly.

To her, this had always been natural. She had lived without ever realizing that she herself might be considered extraordinary.

One thing was certain—these were not skills a commoner could easily learn.

“But I don’t really know how Mother lived before…”

She had read her fairy tales, perhaps.

But her mother had never told her stories about the past.

She wasn’t the kind of person to dwell on it in the first place.

“Just because I broke up with a man doesn’t mean I’m going to let my child be unhappy too.”

Her mother raised Dorothy magnificently, as if to prove something.

So that she would never feel lacking.

“Sweetheart, even if I die, your life isn’t over. Your life will never collapse.”

Those were the words her mother left her with a calm face after being told she was terminally ill.

“You remember what I said? Just keep running.”

Because of that, Dorothy knew almost nothing about her father.

But only now did a thought occur to her.

“I didn’t know anything about Mom either.”

Just what kind of person had her mother been?

“What is all this…?”

Rose was deeply touched when Dorothy gave her dessert as a gift.

“How am I supposed to eat this? It’s too precious.”

It was so admirable that Dorothy always thought of her and brought desserts.

Sweeter than the dessert itself was Dorothy’s thoughtfulness.

“Just enjoy it,” Brandon said absentmindedly from where he lay sprawled across the sofa.

“I practically paid for that dessert.”

“…I kind of figured.”

Rose pressed her forehead.

“I was soaking in the emotion. Could you not ruin the mood?”

“Ah, my apologies. Please, savor it.”

Brandon flopped back down.

Where had the dashing gentleman who lit up the streets gone?

In Rose’s eyes, all she saw was a lazy young man who looked bored with the world.

“What were you thinking, dragging Dorothy out like that? Making up an event that doesn’t even exist and going out alone with her at night!”

“I told you last time. I wanted to get closer to her.”

Brandon replied flatly.

“When a man and a woman—or two people—spend time alone together, don’t they become friends?”

“You’re the one who created that ‘alone time’ on purpose.”

“Whether I created it or not, what does it matter? What’s important is that we had time alone.”

Why did it feel like everyone around her was impossible to beat in an argument?

Rose pressed her forehead again.

“More importantly!”

Remembering earlier, Rose began interrogating him.

“You said you wanted to get close to her—what did you say to Dorothy?!”

She recalled Dorothy’s confused expression.

The moment she saw that face, Rose had completely lost her temper.

At that moment, she didn’t care whether he was her younger brother or a lump of cow dung.

“She’s always smiling—what did you bring up to her? Are you going to tell me or not?”

If Dorothy hadn’t stopped her, Rose might have punched Brandon in the face.

“Sis.”

“What.”

“If you think about it, you dine with Dorothy every time.”

“Don’t change the subject, you brat.”

“I’m not.”

He lay on his stomach, chin propped on his hand.

“Dorothy’s table manners are excellent. Her walk and posture are naturally refined.”

“Huh?”

“As if she’s had formal training.”

Rose blinked.

“That’s what we were talking about.”

As the topic fully shifted to Dorothy, Brandon sat up.

“What do you mean ‘as if trained’? Are you suspecting her of something—?!”

“I’m not suspecting her, of course.”

“….”

“Dorothy does tend to go in directions different from what I expect. It’s been entertaining, honestly.”

What was so amusing?

That world-weary smile was practically Brandon’s default expression.

It hadn’t been this bad when he was younger.

But after the former duke and duchess divorced—

After the family scattered—

After they became worse than strangers—

Her younger brother had slowly begun to change.

That was why she was worried.

Even if she found him unpleasant, he was still her brother.

She worried that this tendency of his might ruin him.

“What I mean is… this isn’t like you.”

And she didn’t want Dorothy’s life to change either.

What if she got tangled up with him and ended up hurt?

What if her own relationship with Dorothy grew distant?

That was why she couldn’t simply welcome the fact that her brother had taken an interest in Dorothy.

“Not like me?”

“It’s not common for you to be this interested in one person.”

She hoped Brandon would naturally lose interest in Dorothy.

“Well…”

Brandon hummed in agreement.

“It’s rare. And inefficient.”

The mystery surrounding Dorothy was certainly interesting.

But in the end, she was just a country girl.

For a duke who supported the nation to personally devote manpower and time—it was wasteful.

Promising to find her father could easily be delegated to subordinates.

There was no need for him to step in personally.

‘At first, I only asked her to help bring Sis to the capital.’

But now things had escalated beyond that.

Lately, he hadn’t even been making an effort to bring his sister.

When he came to Salebrums, he sought Dorothy out before Rose.

“Or maybe…”

Rose hesitated.

“…Do you like her?”

“Like her? Me?”

Brandon let out a small laugh.

She was simply someone he approached to bring his sister to the capital.

He had never once considered anything beyond that.

He didn’t even know what it meant to like someone.

“There’s no way, Sis.”

“Right. So if you don’t like her, why do you keep spending time on her?”

Rose’s tone was sharper than usual.

“You should focus on your own work. You’re busy enough.”

But Brandon didn’t notice the shift in her voice.

“Hmm…”

He always valued efficiency.

Wasting time was annoying.

“Maybe I should stop.”

He leaned back against the sofa.

Helping her find her father was already more than enough.

“Doing pointless things.”

Spending any more time or kindness might be unnecessary.

“Fine. Do whatever you want.”

Rose felt relieved at his muttering.

“That’s probably for the best.”

Perhaps she was too relieved.

Carried away, she said something she didn’t need to say.

“Dorothy’s been talking about you a lot lately. It was starting to annoy me. So that’s good.”

She had no idea what kind of ripple that would create.

“…What?”

The Brandon who had just said he would stop changed instantly.

“She talked about me a lot? What did she say?”

“Huh?”

“Was it praise? Or the opposite?”

His intensity startled her.

“W-Well…”

This wasn’t what she intended.

Rose murmured as she looked at her brother.