Translator: Nox

Chapter 7

~Chapter 07~

“Go out of the room and keep heading right; you’ll see stairs on the left. Go down there and then to the left. I’ll tell you what you need to do after breakfast tomorrow morning. Please finish unpacking by the end of today.”

Harriet nodded. She had so many questions swirling in her anxious mind, but she felt like asking more would just get her ignored for no reason.

Emma left immediately without any further explanation.

Harriet stood there blankly for a while, only slowly sitting on the edge of the bed when she started to lose feeling in the hand holding her bag.

“I’m so tired……”

The bed was nothing more than a wooden plank covered with a single thick blanket. It didn’t feel soft at all.

All the furniture in the room was crude and worn, and the only small window, covered by shutters, didn’t seem like it would let in much sunlight.

“Here…… for a whole year……”

One year, 365 days, 8,760 hours.

“Hah……!”

The moment she calculated it out, reality hit her like a bone-chilling wave, a hollow laugh escaped her lips, and soon tears welled up.

Harriet hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes, just in case Emma came back. But the instant she covered her eyes with the handkerchief, loneliness and despair came crashing in as if they’d been waiting.

“Mom…… Dad……”

She missed their faces so much they flickered before her eyes—people she’d tried so hard not to think about, lest the longing grow worse.

Her parents, who had left her alone at twelve and departed this world so suddenly, were achingly missed.

“Mom, what am I going to do? I’m so scared. Dad, please take me with you, I beg you!”

The sorrow she’d suppressed for so long burst forth, crumbling the dam in her heart.

Ever since her parents passed, Harriet’s life had spiraled out of her control. She’d tried protesting the unfairness, but all that came back was an empty echo.

“Mom…… sob, sob……”

As she collapsed onto the bed sobbing, someone knocked on the door.

Harriet sucked in a breath and stifled her crying.

“I’ll leave your clothes and food here.”

It was Emma.

She heard something being set on the floor, followed by Emma’s footsteps fading away.

After holding the handkerchief to her mouth for a long while to compose herself, Harriet slowly stood and opened the door.

On a wooden tray on the corridor floor sat a neatly folded brown nun’s habit, a bowl of thin vegetable soup, a piece of dry bread, some pickled olives, a small jar of honey, and a glass of water.

Harriet brought the tray into the room and sat at the small table. The weather outside the window was bright and clear, in stark contrast to her mood.

‘Crying won’t change anything, so why do the tears keep coming?’

In moments like this, the world always felt so cold.

She wanted to run away, but death was too frightening a choice, and she wanted a better life but had no idea where or how to start.

No matter what she did, people always misunderstood her in the worst ways, and no one would listen to her side.

‘I don’t have much appetite, but I should eat something. If I leave this, they’ll accuse me of being picky again……’

Not wanting to be misunderstood, Harriet listlessly tore off a piece of the dry bread. Unlike the soft white bread she usually ate, it snapped cleanly in two without any chewiness.

‘It looks so tough.’

This kind of bread usually had a sour, unpleasant taste. She slathered it with plenty of honey to mask it.

‘I’ll just eat it quickly and be done.’

Harriet mechanically chewed and swallowed the bread to fill her stomach. The honey’s sweetness faded quickly, but there was no sour or odd aftertaste as she’d expected. Instead, it was……

‘Surprisingly not bad?’

The crust was crisp without any bitterness and pleasantly salty, while the inside was coarse but released a subtle, nutty flavor the more she chewed. It was a bit dry, but it went perfectly with the soup.

‘The soup’s better than I thought too. What’s in it?’

Stirring with her spoon, she saw cabbage, a couple kinds of beans, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and squash.

There wasn’t a trace of meat, but it suited her taste far better than the greasy stews at the mansion.

Harriet kept eating the bread and soup, then picked up a pickled olive and popped it in her mouth.

“Mmm!”

Made with fresh ingredients, the olive was tangy and salty, filling her mouth with a rich olive flavor that drew out an involuntary exclamation.

Taking another bite of honey-smeared bread, the sweet and salty tastes blended perfectly.

“Wow, this is really good!”

Harriet found herself engrossed in the meal without realizing it. She’d never enjoyed food like this while living at the Listerwell family mansion.

She used the last piece of bread to wipe the soup bowl clean, then felt a bit embarrassed looking at the spotless tray. But that led to laughter bubbling up at her own actions.

‘The girl who was sobbing her heart out just moments ago, scarfing down food because it’s tasty.’

After laughing, her mood started to lighten bit by bit. A faint hope seeped into what had felt like a hopeless future.

She’d just confirmed that one thing she’d dreaded wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe the other worries would turn out better than expected too.

‘Let’s think positively. At least while I’m here, I won’t have to be Bella’s plaything.’

Suddenly, she recalled vowing to herself that she’d even marry an old man if it meant escaping her uncle’s house.

In that sense, this situation wasn’t all bad.

‘As long as I’m not tangled up with Bella, my life will get better. At least for a year, there won’t be scandals with my name flying around, and like Uncle said, a decent marriage proposal might come.’

She was still anxious not knowing what ‘work’ she’d have to do here, but she reassured herself they wouldn’t give a noble lady anything too harsh.

‘Plus, these people aren’t from high society, so if I work hard and behave politely, they might treat me kindly.’

With that thought, the overwhelming feeling began to subside, and life here didn’t seem so bad.

‘Yeah, let’s think positively!’

Harriet took a deep breath, stood, and opened her bag. She needed to finish unpacking and learn the layout of the convent.

---

As June arrived, the sunlight grew even hotter and more relentless. It didn’t matter to those sipping cool drinks and chatting idly in the shade, though.

“By the way! Heard the rumors?”

Someone sitting next to Cedric under the tent struck up a conversation while watching the polo match.

Cedric wasn’t particularly interested, but he instinctively raised an eyebrow as if curious. That small gesture was enough to get the other man excitedly continuing.

“It’ll be good news for Your Grace. Remember that girl who was rude to you at the victory banquet? Apparently, she’s been shipped off to a convent. Saint Clarissa Convent—you know it?”

At those words, Cedric’s expression subtly hardened.

But no one around noticed the change as they chattered on enthusiastically.

“Looks like Viscount Listerwell’s really made up his mind this time.”

“Well, that niece of his has caused him plenty of headaches.”

“Yeah. What was her name again? Bella?”

“Bella’s the viscount’s daughter. The niece is Harriet. Both famous, but for totally different reasons. Haha!”

“Bella Listerwell’s hugely popular with the young men. She’ll probably get a great match.”

As the topic shifted to the women, the once-quiet tent grew rowdy. Especially when Bella Listerwell, known as Genoa’s Golden Rose, was mentioned—the men’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“She really is beautiful. Those luscious lips of hers……”

“Lips? Her breasts and hips are to die for, and that waist— so slim.”

“Looks that sensual, but I hear she’s pure and innocent. Nothing like her ugly cousin who’s obsessed with men—supposedly knows nothing about that stuff.”

“Pretty girls are always sweet-hearted, while the ugly ones are mean. Oh, by the way! Tez, you’d know, right? Harriet Listerwell hit on you too, didn’t she?”

The man they pointed to was Tez Locke, a handsome black-haired man with striking blue eyes, infamous in society as a playboy.

He gave an embarrassed smile and shrugged.

“Not really a story I want to revisit.”

Everyone burst into laughter and clapped his shoulder.

“Well, Tez Locke mistaking one for the other and messing up—not something you see every day!”

“No matter how dark it was, how do you confuse Bella Listerwell with Harriet Listerwell?”

“Did he even have time to check her face? Probably too busy fooling around.”

“Hahaha!”

Tez just gave a wry smile and stayed silent, but the men kept making careless judgments about Bella and Harriet, trading jokes and gossip.