Chapter 15

 

It has been two months since August was assigned as Catherine’s knight by the Duke’s orders.

At first, Catherine found him annoying, but as time passed, she naturally got used to his presence.

“Lady!”

“W-What? Why are you calling me?”

“Look at this!”

“What is it…? W-What the hell?! Why are you showing me a bug, you crazy person?!”

Sometimes, he did things that she just couldn’t understand…

Boom!

“…I lost.”

“Lady! I won! Yay!”

“Miss… Sir August is fighting another knight in the training ground…”

“I don’t know him. Ignore him, Helen.”

Sometimes, when he was bored, he would suddenly pick fights with other knights and start sparring.

“This guy… What did you say?”

“This is the man who tried to harm you! I caught him! I’m amazing, right?! Aren’t I the best?!”

“Uh-huh. August, you’re incredible… Wow…”

And sometimes, he even protected her from threats?

One thing was certain—he was skilled.

Catherine had known from the start that he was sent by the Duke to keep an eye on her, but at least August was serious about protecting her.

Over time, she grew used to spending her days with Helen and August.

“Lady.”

“Mm?”

Suddenly, August called out to Catherine, who was lazily lying on her bed, eating snacks. She was reading a completely useless book titled “100 Ways to Befriend Someone Who Hates You.” It seemed like something only a psychopath would write.

“Did you fight with the Duchess?”

“Cough, cough, COUGH?! W-What?!”

Caught off guard by his unexpected question, Catherine choked on her snack.

“Oh no, Miss! Here’s some water!”

Helen, startled, quickly handed her a glass of water.

Wow, seriously… I almost died just now from eating snacks!

“Phew! I thought I was gonna die… What the hell are you talking about?”

“Oh my, our Lady has such a foul mouth. Where did you learn to speak like that?”

Catherine, still catching her breath, snapped at him, but August just smiled and teased her.

“Stop changing the subject. Why are you suddenly asking that?”

She knew he wasn’t just curious about her relationship with Rachel.

If he was bringing this up, it meant he had an agenda.

Like… trying to make her meet Rachel more often?

“Well, lately, you haven’t been the one to invite the Duchess for tea.”

“You just haven’t seen it. I do ask Mother for tea sometimes.”

“Oh really? Helen, have you ever seen the Lady ask the Duchess first?”

Before Catherine could respond, August dragged Helen into the conversation.

This jerk is using Helen against me now?!

Helen, being the innocent maid she was, thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Now that you mention it… No, I haven’t.”

“Helen, you too…!”

“See? I was right.”

Helen’s agreeing made August even more smug. He shrugged his shoulders triumphantly.

“Why don’t you try being a little affectionate and ask the Duchess for some time together? She’d be happy.”

“That’s right! The Duchess cares about you, so she’ll surely be pleased!”

Helen chimed in cheerfully.

“…No. Mother is busy. I shouldn’t keep bothering her.”

Catherine sighed.

Honestly, after that incident, she found it hard to face Rachel.

I thought she was just another background villain like Alex…

But Rachel wasn’t someone Catherine could control.

If anything, Catherine might be the one getting swallowed whole.

“Oh, come on. No matter how busy the Duchess is, she’d welcome her daughter, right?”

August continued to push.

“You two get along well. You always look happiest when you’re together.”

“…What? Hahaha. Yeah, I guess it looks that way.”

She let out a small, bitter laugh.

She had always known how she and Rachel appeared to others…

But how could I tell them that it’s all just an act?

Even a knight with sharp eyes like August couldn’t see through it.

And even if she did tell someone, no one would believe her.

“Enough. No means no, August.”

Her icy blue eyes locked onto him.

It was a silent warning—Don’t cross the line.

August instinctively swallowed hard.

Eyes far too cold for a fifteen-year-old.

It wasn’t just resignation in them—there was a detached emptiness as if she was looking at something completely worthless.

For now, he decided to back off.

“Alright, alright. Got it.”

His casual smile didn’t fool her.

Catherine narrowed her eyes.

He was grinning, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

She immediately pointed it out.

“…Your eyes are insolent, August.”

“Haha! Call me ‘Baby’ instead.”

He kept calling himself “Baby,” but as someone with memories of a past life, that word just made her extremely uncomfortable.

Asking her to call a tall, well-built adult man ‘Baby’ was just too much.

“That nickname is weird.”

“What?! What’s wrong with my nickname?”

“It’s creepy.”

“You’re so mean!”

Recently, many changes have taken place in the Valentine Duchy.

For starters, Eleanor’s shabby little room—more like a servant’s quarters—had been replaced with a proper, beautiful room fit for the Duke’s daughter.

“You call this a Lady’s room? Since when did servant rooms become suitable for a noblewoman?”

“W-Well…!”

“And a mere servant dared to touch their master’s belongings? Tsk.”

The Duke, having finally noticed the way the servants had been mistreating Eleanor, fired them all without hesitation.

“Get rid of them all.”

“D-Duke! Please forgive us!”

“Apologize to Eleanor, not me.”

Meanwhile, Eleanor and the Duke had been growing closer, with moments straight out of the original novel happening as expected.

Eleanor assisting with his work, the Duke noticing her wounds—things were progressing just like the story.

Since Catherine wasn’t around to interfere, everything was moving quickly and smoothly toward a better relationship between them.

“Here are the mining documents you asked for. Take them and manage the land well.”

“…Thank you.”

“…Ahem. Right.”

This is great.

Catherine smiled slightly at the sight of their improving father-daughter bond.

No frustrating delays, just straightforward progress.

Eleanor was still awkward about the sudden attention, but Catherine thought this change was a good one.

Even the Duke and Rachel had started arguing more.

Crash!

“While I was away… you dared to touch my daughter.”

“You’re the one who broke the promise first!”

She had no idea what they were fighting about… but whatever it was, things were unfolding exactly like the original story.

Which was fine and all, except…

Catherine glanced at Eleanor, who sat across from her in the library.

They were alone except for the dozing librarian in the distance.

Eleanor knew Catherine was there but didn’t spare her a single glance.

I have no way to get close to her!

Since Catherine never bullied Eleanor in this timeline, there was no reason for them to interact.

To survive, Catherine needed to be on the protagonist’s side.

But Eleanor was already smart and capable on her own.

She didn’t need Catherine’s help at all.

And whenever Catherine did try to reach out—

“S-Sis! Are you free today? Want to go shopping—”

“No thanks. I’m busy.”

“O-Oh… Then maybe I could help with—”

“Catherine. I can handle it myself. You’re just in the way.”

“O-Oh… okay…”

A protagonist with an impenetrable wall!

Just then, as Catherine stood in the hallway, feeling frustrated, she heard a voice behind her.

A voice she never wanted to be alone with.

“What are you doing here?”