CH 10

Then, he met Haley again seven years later.

Claude looked at Haley, who had fallen asleep while talking to him. Since childhood, his sister had always taken a nap in the afternoon. Even now, after 7 years have passed, she hasn’t changed. Oh, a bit. Did she become very beautiful? Claude didn’t understand. Haley was always beautiful in Claude’s eyes.

Claude immediately placed his hand on Haley’s forehead who was sleeping with her head constantly moving around. If he left her like that, Haley’s forehead would probably hit the table and she would get a red bruise.

Claude carried Haley’s body and laid her down on the bed. His sister’s room still smelled warm and sweet. Of course, most of the items were not organized well, and Claude tripped over the scattered items several times.

Claude carefully took care of the bowl on the table. He was afraid that the sound of clashing dishes would disturb Haley’s sweet dreams. He walked carefully with his feet up.

Originally, Claude was supposed to go to the Lischer family’s townhouse in the capital. However, he disappeared halfway and came back here.

The place he had always longed for, the home that held a special place in his heart. To this house where he belonged.

‘If the butler finds out, he will make a fuss.’

Shortly after the carriage accident, Claude’s father, Duke Gateron Lischer, gave up his right to the throne at that time and said that he was going to look for his son. When he lost track of his son, he thought he might have been kidnapped somewhere, he even sent people abroad to look for him. Not knowing that he was being protected so closely.

With the help of someone, Claude was discovered by a servant in the Duke’s townhouse in the capital. He was credited after managed to find the young master, and he was appointed head servant of the house now.

Claude’s father was an outspoken yet warm person. However, due to his position as a duke, he was always busy. Moreover, he had an overprotective tendency for his son to protect him from the dangers caused by the empress.

Claude was always treated well while staying at the Duke’s residence. However, one corner of his heart always felt empty. Whenever he felt that, Claude always missed the house where he had lived for two years as an ordinary child. No, he didn’t really miss the house.

‘The one I really miss is my Noona.’

The person who could make him feel comfortable. The one who stayed up all night by his bedside when he suffered from fever. It was unfortunate that Claude fell asleep on the night they got separated and couldn’t say his farewell to her. Claude has been living with gratitude and love towards his sister.

‘I won’t let go of this hand now.’

He said so and no matter what trials he faced, he would never let go of his sister’s beautiful hands. Claude held her hand gently as he stayed at the other side of the bed where Haley was sleeping.

Haley, whom he had not seen for a long time, turned out to be as enchanting as he remembered. Now, he understood why the boys in the village kept hanging around with Haley when they were young.

The red hair, which looked like a rose petal, gave off an unusual atmosphere. Haley’s charming eyes and full lips made him tense on his own.

The empire thought the red hair was a disaster, it was said that they would destroy the country, but Claude thought for a moment that Emperor Royan might go crazy over those women with red hairs because they looked so beautiful.

Claude thought if only he could take Haley in his arms and kiss her soft skin every day. If he could, he would definitely be really happy as if he owned the whole world.

“Now I’ve become someone who can’t even live without thinking about my sister. Please take care, Haley.”

A beautiful person. The only one in his heart.

Claude pressed his lips against Haley’s unmoving hand as she was still fast asleep. Perhaps, if Haley knew about the imagination in Claude’s head, she would probably run away and say that it was disgusting of him to think that way.

After kissing the back of her hand, he slipped his fingers into his sister’s disheveled red hair.

“Mhm…”

As if the contact was uncomfortable, a beautiful moan of complaints flowed from Haley’s mouth. She wriggled her shoulders and turned her body to the wall. Claude smiled wryly and kissed his sister’s cheek before closing the bedroom door and leaving. It was not yet time to punish his innocent sister.

Then, a woman shouted loudly outside.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Dad, don’t do this!”

There were only two houses in the innermost part of the village, so Claude vaguely knew that the voice was that of the woman next door he had seen earlier.

Since the wooden house wasn’t very soundproofed, the sound of someone hitting a woman could be heard shortly after.

‘This is very bothersome.’

Claude didn’t want to let such a thing disturb Haley, who was fast asleep.

After thinking for a moment, he ran to the house next door. He didn’t know what was going on, but it was better for them to chat in the morning. Claude tried to find out what they were doing at night when everyone was supposed to be sleeping.

The door of the house beside Haley’s house was wide open.

When Claude peeked in a bit, he saw the silver-haired woman whose name he didn’t know lying on the floor whilst clutching her cheek. And there was a middle-aged man who was holding a stick in his hand and threatening to hit the woman.

“What? You don’t have any money!? Why does our family turn out like this? You should be ashamed of yourself after k*lling your own mother! How can you not pay for your own father’s gambling?” 

“Oh, Dad. It’s not like that. Please calm down for now, and tell me how much you owe them.”

“Why? Will you pay it even if I tell you? What are you saying when you don’t even have the ability to do that?”

When the middle-aged man put the hand that was holding the stick in the air, Gloria cried while hugging her head tightly.

“Father! Calm down and let’s have some tea first!”

“Such an amazing time to have tea.”

Having heard the brief conversation between the people who lived next door, Claude had finished figuring out the whole situation. He let out a small sigh at the unwanted situation that happened before his eyes. Honestly speaking, Claude was not interested in other people’s matters except Haley. He didn’t even want to get involved in other people’s matters whose names he couldn’t even remember.

However, if he left that middle-aged man on his own, it was possible that the woman would be beaten even more. He couldn’t allow the violence that was happening right in front of Claude’s eyes. If that happened, Haley would probably be sad. That woman was probably the first woman Haley had been befriending.

The strong smell of alcohol pierced Claude’s nose. The man was very drunk.

The silver-haired woman discovered Claude standing by the door and her eyes instantly lit up. She frowned with a desperate expression on her face.

“Help me.”

After nodding his head once, Claude approached the man beside her, took the stick in the man’s hand and struck him on the nape. The man instantly fainted. This man would wake up the next day and feel numb in his nape. However, even if he remembered what happened today, he wouldn’t carelessly report it to the National Police Agency. In particular, if he learned that Claude was a nobleman, that man would not be able to speak frivolously about this to others.

Gloria seemed pale as she trembled, and then crawled towards Claude to clutch the lower part of his trouser.

“Thank you.”

The woman by his side trembled as if she was shocked. Claude picked up the steaming cup filled with hot tea on the table and handed it to her.

“Are you okay? Drink this to calm down.”

“Oh. Don’t mind that tea. It should be thrown away now.”

Sniff.

When Claude smelled it, it turned out to be tea with a strange color and a sour aroma.

Wasn’t it similar to what Aunt Bella used to drink when she couldn’t sleep at night? However, it seemed that the tea was made with more tea leaves than what the auntie used to make. The tea in Claude’s hand must be very strong.

‘He would pass out if he drank tea with this much leaves.’

What the hell was this? How was this girl being treated by her father?

There were only a few things Claude knew about as he had seen it before. After all, it was someone else’s matters that had nothing to do with him.

“Wouldn’t you be happier if you move out and live separately?”

When Claude saw Gloria before, she seemed a little close to Haley. She talked about a lot of things with Gloria which she rarely did to others. Claude didn’t know what the woman meant to her (Haley).

Tears welled up in Gloria’s eyes after listening to Claude’s advice. She tried to explain the situation to him. Gloria didn’t mind if Claude didn’t listen to her , she just wanted to tell someone how she felt.

“I’m saving money to become independent. Oh, and my father took all the money I saved and used it for gambling. I endured it because I thought about my affection for him, but this time he hit me and vented his anger because he lost the money.”

Ouch. Getting involved in other people’s business turned out to be just a headache.

Claude regretted inwardly and thought that he shouldn’t have said anything. He was not happy with the situation where a woman, who had nothing to do with him, told him about her personal matters. Gloria, however, seemed relieved to see him, and continued to talk about her situation.

“My sister said she would never let me sleep over at her new house after she got married. Haley is the only friend I have. But if I ran to the house next door, my father would find me right away. Oh, do you not have any spare rooms in your house? It doesn’t matter even if it’s a warehouse.”

What was the purpose of her saying this?

Gloria clung to him with tear-drenched eyes. Claude was dumbfounded and felt uncomfortable with Gloria’s touch on his arm. He pushed her away. However, the woman didn’t give up.

“A few days would be fine. Please help me until I have a place to stay. I’ll wash, cook, and clean the house during my stay. I will willingly enter as a servant of a noble family and leave the house immediately, so please let me stay for a few days. Please?”

It was a difficult request. It was clear that if Claude brought this woman to the Lischer family mansion now, the people in the residence would misunderstand his relationship with this woman.

However, Claude didn’t think it was right to leave this woman to continue staying with her father. It seemed that she would face the same situation again tomorrow morning.

“Follow me. You can spend the night at Haley’s house.”

It wasn’t his house, so Claude was reluctant to receive uninvited guests in the middle of the night. He sighed whilst comforting himself that this was another hardship he had to endure. Whether Gloria knew the hardship Claude was feeling or not. Gloria packed her bags hastily and continued to express her gratitude to Claude for helping her today.

“I will never forget today’s gift. This body is the only thing I have. However, I will remember your help today and make sure to repay it.”

“Shut up and just follow me, alright?”

He gave his childhood bedroom to Gloria, and he lay down on the sofa in the living room.

* * *

A delicious aroma wafted through my nose, and it turned out that Gloria was cooking in the kitchen.

“Hello, Haley. Are you awake?”

I sniffed while rubbing my eyes. Am I dreaming right now?

“Gloria. What have you been doing here in the morning?”

“Oh, I received a little help from Claude yesterday.”

Gloria’s cheeks flushed as she said so. Claude was sitting at the table with an expressionless face as he drank tea. What? Did something happen between the two last night?

As she was trapped among her confusing thoughts, Gloria was done making scrambled eggs and arranged them beautifully on a plate.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you? Take a seat.”

Why did Gloria cook breakfast at my house early in the morning? Of course, the taste of the meal she made was amazing. I held the fork in my hand and put the food into my mouth. Since it was handed to me, I was going to eat it, but then…

Gloria smiled with wide eyes and positioned her hand under her chin.

“Hey, Haley. Can I stay here for a while?”

Something must have happened yesterday. I can’t believe this arrogant kid asked me a favor.