Chapter 15
You’re a very obsessive woman.
The next day, just as Adele was about to start breakfast, Tanya came running in, out of breath.
“I’m sorry, Miss! I drank at Madame Bonita’s house yesterday and fell asleep…”
Then, she was shocked to see the inside of the house, which was drastically different from the day before.
“But what happened last night?”
The smell of oil was lingering in the living room, and the door to the basement storage room had disappeared without a trace. It wasn’t just the inside of the house that had changed. The fence outside the house had also been completely torn down.
“There have been quite a few uninvited guests.”
Fortunately, Adele was as calm as ever, eating steaming mushroom soup and roasted potatoes, and drinking tea as if nothing had happened.
“…Are you a guest?”
“Yes, let’s eat first. I have a lot of work to do today.”
“Yep! Just tell me what to do! I’ll make a warehouse door as punishment for staying out all night last night.”
“The warehouse door is fine. Clean the second floor.”
“Yes? The second floor?”
Tanya’s eyes widened. As the weather began to get colder, she blocked off the stairs to the second floor to reduce heating costs. But it would be several months before winter passed, and she had to clean the second floor.
“The guest will use it.”
It was then that a familiar carriage appeared outside the window.
“Surely that guest…”
The carriage that entered the garden had the wolf emblem, the symbol of the Count of Weiss, stamped on it. And that wasn’t all. Behind the carriage, carts carrying luggage and people followed in a line.
“Surely not all of those people are guests?”
Tanya muttered with a sad face.
“What’s going on?”
An old mansion on the outskirts of town. There were rumors that the wicked woman who poisoned her husband lived there, so people usually didn’t visit. But today, the townspeople were flocking in, noisily. They were there to witness the magical transformation of an old house into a new one in half a day. They peered inside the house between the high iron fences that seemed to pierce the sky.
The roof, which creaked whenever the wind blew, was replaced, and the windows had shutters. The interior of the mansion was the same. Luxurious carpets were laid on the floor, and all the doors, including the storage room, were replaced with heavy mahogany doors. The walls were covered with gorgeous floral wallpaper, and large picture frames with gold frames were hung.
“Is this good for a chandelier?”
Zimmer asked Adele as a huge chandelier with crystals hanging from it was about to take its place in the middle of the living room.
“Stop it!”
Adele, unable to bear it any longer, shouted. In that moment, dozens of workers working inside and outside the house, including Zimmer, all stopped moving in unison.
“Sir Zimmer.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Adele said, barely able to keep a smile on her face, her lower abdomen tense.
“Thank you so much, my old house has become like a new house. But somehow, I feel like I was forced out of the house I used to live in.”
Zimmer made an ‘oops’ expression and bowed his head politely.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I offended you by taking the time to make our leader feel comfortable. I was short-sighted.”
Adele also smiled softly at his polite attitude.
“No. I appreciate your deep consideration for the Count. However, he will only stay for a short while and then leave. Is it really necessary to do this?”
“I’m such a perfectionist that I have to do this to feel better. But I’ll do as you wish. This is your house.”
“Thank you for not forgetting that.”
Adele was relieved that her words had caught on.
“But, is it okay for him to use the second floor as he wishes? If you wish, I can restore it to its original state when he returns.”
“That’s… Phew, do whatever you want.”
Even Adele couldn’t stop it.
“Thank you very much for your understanding. Yes.”
Zimmer, who greeted her politely, sent the workers on the first floor up to the second floor in an orderly manner. Only then did Adele feel relieved as she looked around the quiet first floor.
“Why did you do that? It was a golden opportunity to change the entire house.”
Unlike her, Tanya felt very sorry.
“Even though it’s old, it’s my house. It’s a precious treasure that I’ve nurtured over the years. I don’t want others to change it so carelessly.”
“If you look closely, you can see that the young lady is quite obsessed.”
“Obsessed? Me?”
“It’s not that it’s a precious treasure, you’re just obsessed with old things.”
“Unfounded accusations are unacceptable.”
“You don’t even throw away old things properly.”
“That…”
“I agree with that!”
It was a time when two people who had been bickering formed a deep bond again.
“Did I come to the wrong house?”
When she turned around at the cold voice, Christine was standing there with his brows furrowed.
Christine, sitting on the sofa, lifted and lowered the rapier in its scabbard repeatedly. Every time his wrist moved, the tip of the scabbard would hit the floor, making a knock, knock, sound. The jewels adorning the sword reflected the sunlight and sparkled dazzlingly. The sight was as beautiful as a painting, but the onlookers were tense and couldn’t even breathe. It seemed as if he would draw his sword at any moment and cut down Zimmer in front of him.
“So you were just being faithful to your mission?”
Christine asked in a slow, cool voice.
“Yes, my job is to make sure you are comfortable. Since this is where you will be staying, I thought it was only natural that I should do my best to take care of it!”
Zimmer’s face was tense, but he confidently asserted his mission.
“Then I will tell you the answer to your question.”
Slung. Christine’s rapier flew out of its scabbard in an instant. At that moment, Adele quickly jumped in front of Zimmer and blocked his path.
“I asked you to fix up the house! I said that you should stay here as a condition for fixing it up! I said that!”
One of Christine’s eyebrows rose. Adele tensed slightly at the expression, but she squeezed her eyes shut.
“You’re rich, so you can do that! That’s why I wanted to take this opportunity to completely remodel the house!”
“Is that the tacky royal floral wallpaper you wanted too?”
“Yeah, even the flower-patterned wallpaper!”
“Really?”
Christine checked with Zimmer.
“No.”
“Ack!”
Adele looked back at Zimmer, dumbfounded by his honest answer.
“No, you say not?”
“Lord Zimmer, think carefully. Don’t try to cover me up. I asked you to do it.”
Adele winked at him, telling him to answer quickly. But Zimmer held his composure and answered honestly.
“No, that is not the case, Marchioness.”
“You idiot! You’re so stubborn!”
Christine asked Adele, who was muttering in anger.
“Why are you covering up Zimmer like that?”
“Well, life is precious. Sir Zimmer thought of you all…”
“What on earth are you thinking, Adele?”
“Uh?”
“Do you think I should swing this around?”
Christine looked down at the rapier he was holding in bewilderment, with a natural expression on his face, as if he didn’t even know how to swing a sword.
“…No?”
“What on earth do you think I am? I’m beating someone up over something like this?”
“Yes, Sir, you are not the type of person to get blood on your sword all the time.”
Adele was dumbfounded when Zimmer took his side.
“Then why did you take out that knife?”
“Wipe it.”
When Christine held out his sword,
“Yes, whenever the captain doesn’t like something I do, he always punishes me by telling me to clean his sword.”
Zimmer unfolded the silk handkerchief he had folded neatly and began to wipe the sword. Among the two, Adele felt like the fool. Tanya, who had been watching quietly, nodded in agreement, saying that Adele’s feelings were not just her own.
“Really you guys…”
Adele shouted at the workers who were watching with bated breath.
“Take off that tacky royal floral wallpaper right now! Take away those flashy picture frames, that crazy chandelier, and that carpet that’s definitely going to be a dust machine! Oh, and block off the stairs connecting the first and second floors! With sheet metal!”
The moment they met her fierce gaze, the two men flinched without realizing it.
“I think the life force will overwhelm you, Captain.”
“I guess there’s more to it.”
The first thing she did was take out her recipe book from the cupboard drawer. It was her treasure that she had developed and studied so far. Since it was her first delivery, she thought it would be best to make the most confident and safe menu.
“First, let’s make the dough to mature…”
She didn’t know why April suddenly came to mind at that moment.
‘Oh my god, what the hell!’
How can she have such an irreverent thought toward a Princess who is not even married yet?
‘No distracting thoughts. Just think about work!’
Adele held the lantern and carefully pushed the doorknob of the cellar.
Creak. The weight of the newly installed, heavy mahogany door made her feel even more afraid.
‘It’s okay, nothing will happen today. Nothing will happen…’
As the door opened, dark, damp air hit her.
“Hoooo!”
Adele took a deep breath and carefully stepped forward, thud, thud…
Adele’s whole body froze, and she couldn’t move. And then something grabbed her shoulder tightly.
“Oh, please, please…!”
She shouted with a face that looked like she was going to faint,
“Are you okay?”
A familiar voice was heard.
“Haaah!”
The tension was released, and she staggered. Christine caught Adele. Christine looked even more surprised at the sight of her frozen, pale face.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“No, nothing. I thought you weren’t coming in today.”
“I said I might not be able to come in, but I didn’t say I couldn’t come in.”
“Ah, is that so…”
“Yeah, bring me some flour bags from the basement.”
“Not that one.”
“Uh?”
Christine’s gaze penetrated so deeply that Adele was taken aback. At times like these, it was as if he could read people’s minds. As if he knew what she was afraid of.
