HIFH | Chapter 5

Episode 5

No, this is way cuter than I expected!

I never thought Sir Lu had low standards, but I also didn’t expect them to be this high!

“Uh… um. Did I greet you incorrectly?”

Charles tilted her head, twirling a strand of her pale pink hair around her fingers.

It was such a small gesture, but it was so irresistibly endearing that they suddenly wanted to hug her tight.

No! The young ladies pinched their cheeks a few times, trying to snap themselves out of it.

“Ah, um, hello, Miss Charles. I’m Everlyn Floria, the adopted daughter of Count Floria.”

Everlyn, who recovered first, greeted her. The other ladies followed suit.

“I-I’m Dorothy Harrington.”

“…Agatha Lockwood.”

“I’m Catherine Winslow.”

Charles approached their round table, took a seat in an empty chair, and spoke.

“It’s an honor to meet you all.”

She smiled brightly and continued.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Lu. He told me that there are kind people in the capital who have been helping him in my absence. I truly appreciate it.”

“…….”

On the surface, it sounded like genuine gratitude.

But the way she deliberately emphasized Lu’s name and the way she phrased “helping in my absence”—anyone could tell it was meant to be sarcastic.

To use that kind of speech with such an innocent-looking face… The young ladies’ faces flushed with embarrassment and irritation.

“Ahem!”

Everlyn cleared her throat, regaining her composure.

“To be honest, we don’t know much about you. Other than the fact that you’re Sir Lu’s fiancée, we don’t know anything at all.”

She subtly implied that Charles was only here because of Lu Vansen.

“That’s why we invited you. Since you’ll be staying in the capital from now on, wouldn’t it be good for us to get to know each other better?”

Charles’s violet eyes turned to Everlyn.

They seemed as pure as violets in bloom yet also carried the tragic beauty of decaying petals.

Unconsciously, Everlyn swallowed dryly.

“I….”

Charles slowly parted her lips.

“Do I really have to?”

They all heard the same words, yet no one responded. No one could respond.

Not only was this completely unexpected—it was something they had never even considered.

“I only need Lu, and Lu only needs me….”

“…….”

“So why do I have to befriend you all?”

Their jaws dropped.

How dare she speak so insolently?!

Two of the young ladies shot up from their seats and shouted.

“Miss Charles! You can’t just dismiss our kindness like this!”

“How utterly rude…!”

They had thought to call her out on her rudeness and drive her away, but—

BZZZZZZ!

A loud buzzing sound, like a propeller spinning, suddenly filled the air.

Huh?

All eyes turned in one direction.

There, hovering ominously, was a hornet as big as a forearm.

A hornet.

A hornet?!

Could a hornet even be that big?

Someone muttered,

“If you ask, ‘Is that an Asian giant hornet?’ and the answer is just ‘a regular hornet,’ then it’s an Asian giant hornet. But if you ask, ‘Is that a monster?’ and the answer is ‘an Asian giant hornet’….”

“…Then it’s a monster.”

“KYAAAAH!”

Realizing the situation, the young ladies screamed and scattered.

A sting from a hornet that size would be fatal. Lethal!

“Stay back! Stay back! Aaaah!”

BZZZZZ!

But an Asian giant hornet doesn’t back off just because you tell it to. It locked onto Everlyn, the one moving the most frantically.

The monstrous face of the hornet loomed closer.

Everlyn squeezed her eyes shut.

Is this how I die…?

Without ever experiencing true love, at such a beautiful age?

“Urk!”

She braced herself for the inevitable pain, twisting her body.

But no matter how long she waited, the pain never came.

Instead—

“Ow.”

Charles’s voice rang out.

Ow?

What?

“Ahhh! Miss Charles! You got stung!”

“Are you okay?!”

The young ladies, forgetting their previous hostility, cried out in shock and rushed to her side.

Even Everlyn opened her eyes in surprise and turned to look at Charles.

Her arm was already swelling.

It must have been excruciating, but Charles didn’t even flinch. Instead, she was scanning her surroundings.

BZZZZZ!

Still searching for the hornet that was buzzing around them.

“Wh-what do we do?”

“Aren’t hornets supposed to die after stinging? Why isn’t it dead?”

“Should we call the guards—?”

And then—

Charles picked up a silver tray from the tea trolley and said,

“Everyone, lower your heads for a moment.”

And then—

BANG!

She smashed the hornet with the tray.

CLANG! BANG! CLANG!

Again and again.

“Wait… why does it sound like metal clashing…?”

The hornet, enraged, beat its wings even harder.

But—

BANG!

Charles struck it again and said,

“What are you looking at?”

Then, still holding the tray, she glared at the hornet.

The sheer intensity of her presence—

Even a mere insect like the hornet could sense it.

A primal instinct kicked in. If it stayed any longer, it would die.

Normally, hornets were aggressive creatures that never backed down after being attacked, but—

“Oh? Oh? It’s leaving!”

Sensing its life was truly in danger, the hornet fled.

What a Relief.

Charles murmured as she set the tray down.

“Miss Charles! Are you alright?”

“Weren’t you just stung by the hornet?”

The young ladies called out to her.

Their attitude was entirely different from earlier when they had been wary of her.

Charles looked down at her swollen arm.

It’s fine.

The first thing one learns upon becoming a Catacle agent is how to ingest poison.

By gradually accumulating small amounts of toxins in the body, they build up resistance.

So not only was Charles resistant to poison, but she also barely felt any pain from something as trivial as a hornet’s sting.

“We need to call a physician immediately—!”

“What is going on here?”

Just then, a smooth, gentle voice rang out.

Startled, the young ladies turned their heads in its direction.

“Sir Lu!”

“Miss Charles is injured!”

Lu had only stepped out briefly because of the commotion, and in that short time, Charles had gotten hurt?

He hurried over to her.

“Charles? What happened?”

“Oh, it’s nothing serious.”

“How can you say that? Your arm is completely swollen!”

Lu stared at her in disbelief.

Then, in a voice quiet enough that only she could hear, he whispered,

“What kind of trouble did you get into this time while I was gone?”

“I didn’t cause trouble. The hornet did.”

“That’s the same thing…!”

Lu couldn’t suppress his irritation.

But Charles didn’t understand why he was so upset.

She had been injured many times before—so why was he angry now?

As she pondered, she suddenly remembered:

This was the Count and Countess’s residence.

There were many eyes watching them.

He needs to put on a show.

We’re supposed to be a couple who can’t live without each other, after all.

So of course, he has to make a scene about worrying over me.

Deciding to play along, Charles leaned against him.

“Sorry for making you worry, Lu.”

Lu’s body stiffened.

But Charles didn’t stop there.

“Oh… Now I can feel the pain. It really hurts.”

She had been perfectly fine just moments ago, so her sudden complaint seemed suspicious.

However, people quickly remembered that hornet stings could cause delayed shock.

Concerned, they let out worried sighs.

“We must call a physician immediately!”

“My goodness, in such a small body….”

Lu bit his lower lip before wrapping an arm around Charles’s shoulders and addressing the crowd.

“Count, I apologize, but we’ll have to leave for now. I need to take Charles to a physician immediately.”

Having decided it was best to make an exit, Lu moved swiftly.

The others quickly responded.

“O-Of course! You absolutely must!”

“Miss Charles, I hope you recover soon.”

They sent her off with warm, kind smiles—completely different from the hostility they had shown earlier.

It was partly because Lu had arrived, but also because they were genuinely moved by what Charles had done.

They had heard that a sting from an Asian giant hornet was more painful than death—fatal, even.

And yet, Charles had endured the pain silently.

Only when her fiancé arrived did she finally reveal her suffering.

That deeply touched them.

“She must have been pretending she wasn’t in pain because she didn’t want us to worry!”

These were the same people who had been ready to tear into her moments ago.

Not only had Charles saved them, but she had also suppressed her pain so they wouldn’t feel guilty.

What an extraordinary person.

It was only natural that their gazes toward her softened.

“A-um…”

Everlyn, who had just barely escaped being stung, hesitated before speaking to Charles.

She should thank her.

She should say Charles saved her life.

But the words wouldn’t come out.

Everlyn Floria was not the kind of person who expressed gratitude verbally.

She was far more accustomed to repaying kindness with money.

After struggling for a long time to find the right words, Everlyn finally shut her eyes tight and blurted out,

“J-Just you wait!”

…Wait for what?

Charles looked at her in confusion as Everlyn turned away and left with the other young ladies.