“……”
“……”
Cecilia knew that beyond the wall lay the neighboring mansion, but she hadn’t expected to run into anyone.
Naturally so—since the owner of the mansion usually stayed in the capital, the place was more or less unoccupied.
Caught red-handed trespassing, Cecilia hesitantly parted her lips.
“… Uh, hello?”
The stiff figure in front of her silently nodded.
‘Is he so shocked that he doesn’t even have the presence of mind to speak?’
Jumping to conclusions, Cecilia hurriedly tried to explain her embarrassing situation.
“It’s just, I’m not a suspicious person. I live next door. My cat ran off with my bracelet and jumped over here. I was chasing it and… before I realized it—”
“I… I see.”
It was a voice so quiet it sounded like he was talking to himself. Yet, the moment he spoke in that gentle, pure voice, any embarrassment Cecilia felt fluttered away like dandelion seeds.
Only then did Cecilia take a good look at the person.
The man—at least she assumed he was a man—stood hunched over with slumped shoulders, yet he was tall and broad. But that was it.
His head hung low, the hem of his robe was soiled with dirt, and he held a gardening trowel in one hand.
A shy gardener. A groundskeeper, surely.
‘In romance novels, this kind of strange encounter usually leads to a miraculous meeting.’
Like stumbling upon a crown prince in hiding, or meeting a cursed duke—a surprise twist like that.
But reality was rarely so kind.
Over the past three months, Cecilia hadn’t even had a single accidental encounter. The only men she’d seen were priests devoted to the divine, mansion staff, or elderly guests of the marquis. She quickly lost interest and hope.
“Have you seen a white cat, by chance? It must’ve passed through here.”
“I-I saw it heading toward the west garden… I think.”
The man pointed a crooked finger toward an area where there wasn’t even a path.
Cecilia wasn’t sure where the so-called west garden was, but the cat couldn’t have gone far.
“Then would you mind if I looked around just a bit? I’ll leave as soon as I find the cat.”
“If… if it’s not too much trouble, may I guide you?”
Cecilia decided to revise her initial impression.
Not only was he not kicking her out, he was offering to help. He was clearly a shy but very kind gardener.
“Then, I would be grateful.”
She smiled brightly and nodded, making the man flinch slightly before he began awkwardly leading the way.
Crossing a patch of grass that could barely be called a path, they arrived at what must have been the garden he mentioned.
And there, right at the center, was the white cat—sitting proudly amidst the chaos.
Rolling around, completely destroying the carefully cultivated flower beds.
“Oh dear.”
Startled by the horrific sight, Cecilia covered her mouth.
The flowers trampled beneath the cat wouldn’t be rising again.
“What should I do? The cat’s ruined the garden.”
It wasn’t even her cat, yet seeing the man’s slightly dejected shoulders made her feel guilty.
‘Is he going to get scolded badly by his employer?’
“Well, if it’s the owner’s cat—”
“I… I’ve never seen that cat before.”
TL/N: LMAO.
‘Oh no.’
His large frame seemed to shrink even further.
Cecilia awkwardly cleared her throat and, sensing the mood, scooped up the still-rolling cat without hesitation.
“Well, technically it’s not my cat either, but… I’ll personally speak with the owner and explain about the garden—oh!”
Before she could finish, the small troublemaker in her arms caused yet another accident.
Apparently not liking her grip, it squirmed, then suddenly leapt—right at the man’s face.
Reflexively grabbing the cat, the man lost his balance and toppled over onto the lawn. His dirt-stained trowel rolled away, and the hood of his robe slipped off.
“Ah.”
It wasn’t the man who gasped.
Cecilia, staring directly at his bare face, froze in place.
‘Found him. My main character.’
Jet-black hair contrasted perfectly with his pure, translucent skin. His features were so flawless they could only exist in two dimensions. Behind silver-rimmed glasses, his wisteria-colored eyes locked her in place.
She had read plenty of novels with handsome black-haired characters. She still didn’t know which story this world belonged to, but—
What was certain was that someone with a face like that could never be a mere side character.
‘He must be someone hiding his true identity.’
Whoever he was, Cecilia decided then and there—this man would be her male lead.
Even if this wasn’t some romance fantasy world. Even if she wasn’t the protagonist.
‘From now on, I’ll deny any and all objections.’
Resolute, Cecilia quickly reached out a hand to him.
“Are you okay?”
The man looked astonished, as if touched just by her offering her hand. His eyes widened, and his cheeks flushed.
“Th-thank you.”
That sorrowful beauty, paired with such an adorable demeanor—just removing his robe completely transformed his atmosphere, like magic.
‘A face that fills you up just by looking at it. Unreal.’
In this small estate, she’d thought Cecilia Weberdin had the best looks around—but she’d clearly been a frog in a well.
‘Wait… don’t tell me the capital’s full of faces like this?’
But remembering the noble guests and merchants who occasionally visited her father, that didn’t seem likely.
At any rate, Cecilia wasn’t about to let this perfect opportunity to execute Plan D slip away.
“Sorry. I should’ve held the cat better.”
“It’s alright.”
The man hurriedly shook his head and gently handed the cat back to her.
As she took the limp, jelly-like cat, she added casually,
“Thanks for helping me. Honestly, I thought the house next door was still empty. Did you just move in?”
“Yes. The… The master didn’t take well to life in the capital, so we came down here.”
“So you’ll be staying for a while?”
“If… if you’ll allow it…”
“Excuse me?”
“N-No, nothing.”
‘So he’s staying next door for the time being.’
His trailing words were a little suspicious, but what mattered was that she’d have plenty of chances to see him again.
Having reached her conclusion, she readily offered the name that had become so familiar.
“I’m Cecilia Webberdeen. And you are?”
“… I’m Rimen.”
‘Yup, that’s a fake name.’
The slight pause before answering, that uncomfortable way of averting his gaze—it was obvious.
She could bet her wrist it wasn’t his real name. Still, she pretended not to notice and held out her hand.
“Let’s get along. As neighbors.”
Rimen hesitated, then slowly took her hand. His large, warm palm radiated tension—and Cecilia couldn’t help but burst into laughter once more.
* * *
Could a person’s mood really change as easily as flipping a palm?
Just this morning, I had been in despair over the failure of all my plans.
And yet now, even without tteokbokki, ramyeon, or iced Americano, I felt as though I could cherish this other world willingly.
Inside the entirely white bedroom—wallpaper, window frames, tapestries, and furniture all in pale tones.
Cecilia, lying on the equally white bed, subtly raised her hand.
The sapphire bracelet on her wrist glinted under the light.
It was the man who had found it among the remnants of the flowers and clasped it onto her wrist just as she was about to leave after saying goodbye.
[I’m glad we found the bracelet.]
And that smile he gave her as he said it.
It was probably just out of consideration for her, since she was holding a cat and couldn’t use her hands.
Still, recalling the man’s careful touch brought an involuntary smile to her lips.
‘Before the cat took it, it was just an unnecessarily expensive mineral.’
Now, it felt like it would become a symbol of good fortune.
‘No, wait, maybe the symbol of good fortune is this cat?’
The cat, who had led her to such an unexpected encounter, was kneading on a soft cushion under the bed.
Where on earth had it come from?
As soon as she returned to the mansion, she’d asked the butler to check if any servant had reported a missing cat, but there’d been no word so far.
“It’s not like it fell from the sky…”
For now, she had decided to take responsibility and care for it until its owner appeared.
With her heart softened, she gently scratched between the sleeping cat’s ears. Then suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
It was her personal maid, Melanie.
“Young lady, your bath is ready.”
Melanie, who had been shocked to see her lady suddenly return covered in dirt, had dashed straight to the bathroom before even asking what had happened.
Now that the surprise seemed to have calmed a little, she calmly helped Cecilia out of bed.
“First, let’s get those clothes off. Come on, hands up.”
Cecilia quietly raised her arms and then sank into the warm, fragrant water.
For a brief moment, she relaxed, letting the tiredness wash over her.
As Melanie gently rubbed her skin with a soft cloth, she suddenly spoke up.
“I was in such a hurry earlier I didn’t get a chance to ask, but what on earth happened to leave you covered in dirt like that? You will explain, right?”
It looked like the corners of her mouth were trembling—but maybe that was just my imagination.
“Of… Of course.”
She had no intention of hiding it. She was going to be crawling through that hole in the wall again in the future, and it wasn’t like she could keep deceiving Melanie, who was with her nearly all day.
“What happened earlier was—”
Cecilia straightforwardly told her maid the story of the strange cat and the man next door.
“I ended up going into the neighbor’s place while chasing after the cat.”
“I see.”
“Yeah, and there, I met a man, and when we talked—”
“Wait a minute! A man? You’re telling me you met and had a conversation with a stranger?”
Melanie, who had been surprisingly calm until now, cried out and dropped the soapy cloth.
Somehow, her face looked even paler than it had when Cecilia returned all covered in dirt.
“Y-Yes.”
“What if he had kidnapped you or something?!”
Melanie passionately launched into a speech about the dangers of the world, truly sounding like she was worried for her lady’s safety.
And honestly, it wasn’t an overreaction.
Because, after all…
‘Cecilia was a saintess.’
* * * *
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