Chapter 27
James Fort was Berry’s next-door neighbour and a troublemaker.
Even before Marsha showed up, he’d been pestering any young woman who caught his eye.
There was no way a man like that would just leave Marsha alone.
[What? He’s supposedly a distant relative of that nasty old hag? Not a chance—they don’t look alike at all!]
His coarse language left a bad taste in her mouth from their first meeting, but he continued to appear in front of Marsha.
[Stop pulling those weird weeds and come play with me instead?]
[I’m busy.]
[Aw, come on. Busy my foot…]
James was persistently annoying, and every time, it was Marsha’s grandmother who came to her rescue.
[Marsha! What are you doing there when you should be working? Come here right now!]
Her grandmother’s irritated voice always comforted Marsha—and fuelled James’s frustration.
Marsha thought that with time, James’s attention would simply fade away.
After all, she was a stranger; that was why he was interested.
Even with how much she avoided him, he’d probably take it as an insult to his pride to keep pestering her.
But then, not long after her grandmother passed away, things changed.
[Hey. How about you give me some time today?]
James snatched Marsha’s wrist, chuckling.
[What do you think you’re doing? Let go!]
[“Oh, don’t be like that. What, the cranky old lady’s gone now, so what’s stopping you?”]
[“I said, let go!”]
Marsha threw the basket she was holding at him.
Thwack!
The rattan basket hit his body and fell slowly to the ground.
[Hah.]
James stared coldly at the basket on the floor, then glared fiercely at Marsha.
[You’re acting all cute and innocent like you don’t know your place…!]
Just as James raised his hand toward her—
[You crazy bastard! What do you think you’re doing?!]
As he happened to be walking by, Berry’s father roared and charged in their direction.
A man with a bull-like build and equal strength. Could you see that mountain of muscle stomping over with rage? It was a bull all grown up and ready to bleed.
“Guh…!”
James went pale, stumbling away in a panic.
If Berry’s father hadn’t been there, Marsha might have been in serious trouble.
That relentless nuisance, James, who had always frayed Marsha’s nerves, suddenly disappeared one day, leaving behind a ridiculous excuse about how he wasn’t the kind of fish to play in a small pond like this.
[That big shot was scared of getting beaten up by my dad and ran away!]
Berry’s father wasn’t the only one angry.
Everybody who had a young woman in their family was eager to correct James.
[Don’t ever come back here!]
Berry immediately leapt to his feet in a fit of rage.
Although Marsha remained silent, she secretly hoped he would never come back.
So now, when Berry asked if she’d seen James…
“I haven’t seen him. Is something wrong?”
When Marsha asked quietly, her face had turned pale.
“Well, you know the house James used to live in? Some guy showed up saying he bought it—but then another guy came and claimed he’d bought the same house!”
One house, but two buyers—that was pure chaos.
“The two of them caused a scene, demanding to know where that bastard James was. We told them he left town long ago. Then they said James might be moving back over to Sedem.”
Marsha blinked, surprised by the news.
“To Sedem? I haven’t seen him there.”
“Exactly. Marsha, you haven’t seen him either, right?”
Berry asked with a voice full of certainty, and Marsha nodded without hesitation.
“I’m pretty sure those men were tricked. Honestly, what kind of scammer tells the truth about where he’s staying?”
With a sigh, Berry let out a deep breath.
“…Then what happens to them?”
“Well, both of them went to the authorities. After that, I’m not sure…”
Berry shook her head, then suddenly clenched her fists and slammed them onto the table.
“Ugh, that bastard! People like him deserve some kind of punishment! If I ever see him, I swear I’ll tie rocks to his legs and toss him straight into the river—!”
“…That’s a joke, right?”
Marsha narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Berry scratched an awkward spot on the back of her head, realising she might have gone too far.
“Of course it’s a joke! I’d call the police first. It’d be dangerous for me to approach him alone!”
“Good. As long as you know that.”
Marsha smiled as Berry let out an embarrassed laugh.
“Hey, I have a favour to ask,” Marsha said.
“Hm? What kind of favour?”
“Could you keep quiet about… that man for a while?”
She glanced briefly toward the room where Claudio had gone in.
“He didn’t exactly ask me to keep it a secret… but still, I don’t think it would help anyone if rumours started going around. Not for me, and not for him either.”
“Yeah. I get what you mean!”
Berry puffed out her cheeks and nodded vigorously.
“You can count on me. I won’t say a word!”
“Thanks.”
After Berry left the house, Marsha stood alone by the front door, lost in thought.
James… He didn’t come to Sedem, did he?
Just like Berry said—what scammer in their right mind would reveal their real address?
Yeah. I probably won’t ever see him again. No way…
Marsha’s fingers drifted toward her collarbone.
Beneath her clothes, she could feel the twin rings she always kept hidden close to her skin.
Just touching them brought back the image of her father’s face—the way he used to look at her like he’d give her the whole world.
It calmed her heart but, at the same time, filled her with a faint, lingering sadness.
“… What are you doing?”
“Eek!”
The sound of Claudio’s voice, so close to her, almost made Marsha jump out of her skin.
“Y-you scared me! What was that for?”
Her hand, which had been gently touching the rings beneath her blouse, was now clenched tightly around the fabric.
“I called you twice,” Claudio said casually. “You didn’t even notice.”
“You did? Really?”
“Yeah. But you were too busy looking gloomy.”
“I wasn’t gloomy.”
Marsha widened her eyes in protest.
“Hmm. Maybe not gloomy—just sad? Either way, you looked pretty down. Something happened?”
“No, it’s nothing. I was just… thinking, that’s all.”
“Seems like your face gets dark when you’re deep in thought.”
Claudio smirked at her, one corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
Marsha looked up at him, clearly annoyed.
Whether she was sad or not, what business of his was it to pry like that?
“Anyway, did you have a good talk with your friend?”
“Yes. And she promised to keep quiet about you, too.”
“Oh? Is that so? Honestly, I thought she’d try to chase me out of here.”
“Berry? Why would she do that?”
“Yeah. He didn’t like me much, did he?”
“When did she ever—?”
They hadn’t even really talked properly, so what was he going on about?
Marsha blinked slowly, her large eyes wide with confusion.
Then, to her surprise, Claudio bent down and slowly approached her.
Why? What’s going on?
Though Marsha’s retreat was quicker than his leisurely approach, unfortunately, her back soon met the wall.
“If you look closely…”
His low voice, as beautiful as his face, settled softly above her like the sound of gentle rain.
“You are…”
Gulp.
Marsha swallowed hard.
Claudio stared deep into her green eyes for a long moment before narrowing them slightly and smiling.
“You’re clueless.”
W-what did he just say?
Marsha raised an eyebrow and let out a disbelieving scoff.
At that, Claudio straightened up and said casually,
“Your friend looks like she worries about a lot of things.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about all of a sudden.”
Clueless, huh?
Well, yeah, Marsha was pretty clueless.
If she had been more perceptive, she might have read Lucas’s feelings or understood Rosanna’s thoughts.
But right now, she couldn’t make sense of why Claudio was saying these things.
“What did I do wrong…” she muttered.
Claudio tilted his head slightly and said,
“I never said you did anything wrong.”
“But you called me clueless.”
“True. But being clueless isn’t exactly a mistake, is it?”
A breeze stirred, sweeping hair across Marsha’s eyes.
As she brushed it aside, she saw Claudio still looking at her, a calm smile playing on his lips.
Maybe…
Marsha had often blamed herself for not knowing anything—that if only she had understood Rosanna’s feelings, she might have avoided this whole mess.
I still think not knowing was my fault. But maybe, just a little…
Claudio’s sly yet indifferent words brought a strange comfort.
Marsha glanced at him, then her gaze drifted slowly into space.
“T-then why did you say I was clueless?”
“Hm…”
He ran a hand over the back of his neck, answering in a lazy drawl.
“Just felt like it?”
“What? You’re joking, right?”
Marsha scowled and glared at him before turning and stepping back into the house.
Claudio rubbed the back of his neck, slowly moving his fingers.
I wasn’t joking, though.
Beyond the old door, most of their conversation drifted through.
Berry seemed worried that this stranger might harm Marsha, but she didn’t notice it at all.
Did she miss only that?
Claudio’s playful bow gradually evolved into an impulse to touch Marsha’s face as she approached—an impulse that even he could hardly control.
But why did I feel that way?
It was so unlike him.
How difficult it was to control that impulse was even more ridiculous.
He knew he shouldn’t cross that line. He knew he’d regret it if he did.
And yet.
And yet…
