TTMKC 3

Chapter: 3

Rose had a maid named Hill who had followed her all the way from the capital.

Hill was more like a nanny—she had taken care of Rose since she was young.

Seeing Rose shut away in such a modest house, hardly fitting for a noble, made Hill deeply pity her.

Perhaps because of that, she seemed genuinely pleased about Dorothy, the guest who had come by after so long.

“Even though you’ve only just moved here, you’re already quite popular,” Hill said. “Of course, I did hear she has a rather unfortunate background.”

Rose, who had been thinking about how to get rid of Dorothy, had no interest in what kind of tragic fate the girl might have been born with.

“So why is someone like that coming to see me?” she muttered.

Unlike Rose, Dorothy was the type of girl who was well-liked and sociable.

It was obvious she had some motive beyond simply offering thanks.

Was she coming out of pity? Or perhaps she had noticed Rose’s status and was hoping to pick up some scraps?

Either way, Rose didn’t like it.

So she decided to continue ignoring Dorothy.

But at some point, Dorothy’s visits suddenly stopped altogether.

“Do you think something happened to her?” Hill asked.

“I don’t know. She can come or not, I don’t care.”

As expected, she must have been just another neighbor who had visited on a whim.

Still, Rose found herself stomping out of the house in irritation.

The fact that she had unconsciously been waiting for Dorothy wounded her pride.

Before she realized it, Dorothy’s visits had become part of her daily routine.

“…Hey. Yesterday, I didn’t show up, ri—”

“These are cookies! I baked them with Mrs. Horton. Would you like to try some?”

“I don’t need them!”

She slammed the door shut forcefully, but that didn’t stop Dorothy from coming again.

“Mrs. Horton brought over some good tea. Would you like to have some together?”

“I said I won’t drink it.”

The next day was the same.

“Hello! Today I brought flowers—”

“I said that’s enough!”

What had once been annoying had now become routine.

But Rose was afraid of Dorothy becoming part of her everyday life.

Because it might shatter again at any moment.

Then, that afternoon, Rose heard some unexpected news.

“A cold?” she asked.

“They say she’s not feeling well—probably caught it from Mrs. Horton,” Hill explained after hearing it out on the street.

‘Ah… so that’s why she couldn’t come.’

The irritation and anger Rose had been harboring toward Dorothy vanished in an instant.

‘Still, catching a cold… Is it serious?’

And in place of irritation and anger, another emotion slowly crept in.

“How about paying her a visit, Miss?” Hill suggested, her eyes filled with expectation.

‘What? Was I worried about her?’

How pointless.

“Why would I? I don’t want to catch a cold.”

Rose snorted as she replied coolly.

Yet her gaze was fixed on the tightly shut balcony of the neighboring house.

It had been a very long time since she’d been this sick.

Dorothy lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Since coming to Selbrams, this was the first time she could remember falling ill.

‘I was so busy working that I didn’t even realize I was sick.’

When Dorothy had been engaged to Charles, she had nothing.

Charles had been the same, so Dorothy had taken on even chores meant for maids.

Even with cold symptoms, she carried growing piles of laundry to the riverside day after day.

In summer, her swollen hands ached; in winter, her cracked skin caused constant pain.

Even after becoming suddenly wealthy, she handled countless trivial tasks herself and never truly rested.

So strangely enough, being sick with a cold now made her feel happy.

‘It’s been a while since I went next door.’

She had gone there every single day, so this was the longest she had ever stayed away.

‘Once I’m better, I should visit.’

Having reached that conclusion, Dorothy opened the terrace door, wanting some fresh air.

“Huh?”

As she did, her eyes met Rose’s across the way.

Rose was pointing at her, veins bulging in her neck as she spoke furiously.

It was the first time Rose had spoken to her for so long.

From Dorothy’s perspective, it was moving enough to bring tears to her eyes.

But there was one problem.

“…I can’t hear you.”

Because Rose hadn’t opened her terrace door, Dorothy couldn’t hear a word she was saying.

“What?! Why aren’t you answering? Do you want to die?”

Rose suddenly threw her terrace door open and shouted.

“The door was closed, so I couldn’t hear you very well.”

“What? Oh.”

Only then did Rose realize her mistake, her face flushing bright red.

But not all of her anger had faded.

“Then you should’ve said you couldn’t hear me earlier!”

“Huh? It’s rude to interrupt someone when they’re speaking.”

“This is something you can interrupt! You should interrupt! Cut it off completely!”

Realizing she couldn’t win an argument against Dorothy, Rose finally gave up on yelling.

“I heard you caught a cold.”

“Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t visit without any notice.”

As Dorothy apologized, Rose grew irritated again.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Still… you must’ve been waiting for me.”

“I wasn’t waiting.”

“Aren’t you waiting on the terrace right now?”

“No, I’m not!”

Rose denied it outright.

“Come a little closer.”

Leaning against the railing, Rose crooked her finger at Dorothy.

Dorothy wrapped her arms around herself and asked shyly,

“What are you planning to do to me?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re making me sound like some kind of pervert!”

Rose clutched her throbbing head.

“I’m not planning anything weird, so just come here.”

“What is it?”

“Hold out your hand.”

“Pardon?”

When Dorothy held out her hand, Rose dropped an envelope onto it.

As Dorothy brought it closer, a bitter scent rose up.

“It’s medicine to help you recover from your cold. Make sure you take it. I heard it’s fine to take with other medicine too.”

“Did you get this just for me?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. It was just lying around the house.”

As Rose answered curtly, trying to hide her embarrassment, Dorothy fiddled with the envelope and spoke.

“If I bothered you, I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“The envelope is still warm.”

“……”

“You were holding onto it, weren’t you?”

The paper envelope still hadn’t lost its warmth.

“From now on, I’ll try not to knock on your door every day.”

“You’re not saying you won’t come at all?”

“I can’t do that. Maybe once every two days… or every three.”

At Dorothy’s timid answer, Rose finally burst out laughing.

“You’ve been bothering me all this time, and now you’re trying to deny it?”

“……”

“Just come. It’s not that annoying.”

Rose shook her head, letting out a dry chuckle.

Then—

“In that case, should I come over there?”

At the sudden voice, Dorothy blinked.

“Did… did I say that out loud?”

She hadn’t said anything.

Following the voice, she looked down to see a man standing in the alley.

It was the same man from before.

The blond man waved at them with a picture-perfect smile.

“At least this time I don’t need to break the door down, right?”

“That bastard…!”

Rose, who had been standing on the balcony, looked ready to snap and immediately ran off somewhere.

“Wait!”

Dorothy hurried after her in a panic.

“Didn’t I tell you not to come?! Do you want to die?!”

“Hahaha.”

The man effortlessly caught the broom Rose swung at him and laughed casually.

“Do you need help? Want me to step in?”

Dorothy, who had followed Rose in her pajamas, asked seriously.

Come to think of it, the first time she’d seen him, he had broken down the neighbor’s door.

And judging by the neatly placed hat and cane by the front door, it looked like he was just about to do it again.

“This damned man is my younger brother, Brandon!”

Rose shouted through gritted teeth, as if naming a sworn enemy.

“…He’s not a loan shark?” Dorothy asked blankly.

“Well, now that my identity’s been revealed.”

The man, who had been grinning playfully, turned his head toward Dorothy.

“And who might you be?”

Between his pleasantly curved eyes, a sharp, piercing gaze flashed.