Be My Heroine 45
Representative’s One Week (3)
It was the fourth day.
It was the fourth day since Beth went on a binge and bought sweet cakes and savory dishes from different bakeries and restaurants.
At each shop, at least three different dishes were bought and shared with others. This went on for four days. But to be fair, Beth would only take a bite and then give the leftovers to other people to eat.
At first it was exciting but as days went by, they were getting sick of it. If Beth bought only a little to sample, it wouldn’t have been as bad. However, she bought more than she could eat. So, on the first day, when she caught some people to feed, she would keep feeding them on the subsequent days. By the fourth day, everyone was dying from overeating fine cuisine.
They would ask if it was alright, thinking that it was expensive. But they forgot that Beth had accumulated a large sum of money by doing nothing but work for two years.
“Haha.”
Kedrick laughed as he ate the rich heavy beef stew Beth gave him. This was after eating three other heavy meals that day. Beth’s other victims looked at Kedrick with awe. He had already eaten basil baguettes, a uniquely flavored chocolate cake, thick greasy bacon, and now the beef stew.
Nevertheless, he still ate the stew without any signs of exhaustion or fullness. He even made room for some orange-flavored muffins.
Beth looked on.
Kedrick swallowed a spoonful of stew and asked,
“Did you find the right hobby?”
“No.”
Beth shook her head then straightened her body.
Due to having too much free time, Beth would often try to visit Claire, but recently Claire was busy. Doing what, even Beth didn’t know. When she asked others where the lady was, they would shake their head and say that they didn’t know. How could the servants not know where the lady was?!
Is there anyone who works properly in this mansion?
The only thing Beth could do was to give an assortment of popular desserts to the chef to serve to Claire after dinner.
Yes, work.
“Sigh…… “
She had a lot of work to do, and a lot of things to oversee. But work was banned, so how everything was going bothered Beth.
Stupid Claire for not understanding Beth’s heart…All Beth wanted was for Claire to have the most comfortable life in the world.
Kedrick laughed at Beth. She rarely showed such a gloomy expression. If Beth ever found out what Claire told Kedrick, she might have jumped. On the first day of Beth’s vacation, Claire asked Kedrick,
“Should I have given… a month’s vacation instead of a week…?”
Claire knew of Beth’s unwillingness to leave the estate. She thought it was due to her hometown being too far away. However, Kedrick reassured her it wasn’t and said not to worry.
Rather, if Beth was forced to take a month off, she wouldn’t know what to do. He concluded she would not leave her room for fifteen days, causing her to become a half-corpse.
No, perhaps she would tidy up her room.
Kedrick chuckled as he thought about what Beth would do. He gave her a sweet look that made her uncomfortable. She assumed he was imagining something that she wouldn’t like.
“What do you do when on holiday?”
“I’m here on my holidays.”
“You still work while being here.”
“Is that so?”
He tilted his head and laughed.
“Then, I wander around place to place in the empire for my holiday. It doesn’t suit me to stay in one place.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“The answer is that there are as many people as there are hobbies.”
He, who had emptied the bowl before he knew it, said.
“Don’t worry too much. Besides, some people would never spend their lifetime searching for a hobby. Because you don’t live just to find the answer, right?”
“Sometimes when I listen to what you say, you sound like an old man who’s lived through everything.”
“Ahaha.”
Under the name of the gourmet tour, Beth visited all the restaurants that seemed popular and bought several dishes.
She didn’t do it because it was fun. She just tried it and discovered she didn’t enjoy it.
“How about trying new clothes?”
“Dana would send me clothes regularly so I don’t need them.”
“What about jewelry?”
“I don’t want a hobby that wastes money.”
“………..”
“….”
“………………”
Employees that were scattered around them looked at Beth in disbelief.
Then what were the dishes you bought up until today? How much did you pay for those meals that you force fed us after only eating one bite? Isn’t that a waste?
They looked at Beth, but Beth said nothing.
Specifically, she turned away from their gaze.
***
The view of the market is interesting.
By seeing what was in circulation, she could determine the current flow of imports and exports and see which ones were a good investment. In other words, it was fun to be able to check the flow of money and the town’s current trends.
While checking the prices of the fruits, Beth wandered from place to place, holding a plum in her hand.
There was a thin coating of light blue and white powder on the hard plum. This store was unique when she considered how the plum stood out in the store because it was kept shiny.
Even then, it was a delicious plum.
The plum, which had a sweet and sour scent, wasn’t overly sweet. This marked the beginning of a pleasant holiday for Beth.
The people’s faces carried barely any wrinkles, so it seemed like they were doing well. Compared to the days when the former Count ruled, it was a marked change.
Prices had equalized, and the quality of food commoners ate had changed. It must be because trade had begun to stabilize. Beth nodded.
When Claire gave her a week to take a vacation, Beth didn’t want to act frivolously. So, she decided to check on the results of her previous work.
When she considered how she could spend her holidays like this, she felt happy.
“It’s a pickpocket!”
There was a disturbance somewhere.
The filthy red-headed kid was quick. She could see him zipping through the crowd to escape.
“…..”
No matter how hard they worked, there will still be those living in poverty.
Beth felt conflicted, however she did not involve herself with the situation.
Soon, the guards will come and help. She moved away to a less crowded street. Gradually, the previous uproar died down as she walked away. Soon the noise was reduced to overhearing other people’s conversations occasionally. Here, few restaurants and food stalls existed outside the marketplace. Instead, there were mostly general stores and bookstores. In fact, Beth found the bookstore she had previously visited to buy a book to teach Claire how to read.
She stood still as she stared at the wooden door. As if possessed, she entered the store. A small bell jingled. No sound of somebody greeting her was heard. Thinking it didn’t matter, she stepped inside to look around.
In the past, she could not even read a single letter in a book. Now she was different. She could finally read.
Inside she could see books piled up with dust due to not being sold and were not properly taken care of. She glided her finger across each book, reading their titles. There were traditional titles, titles formed by a sentence, titles asking a question, and titles with just one word.
“It’s fun to be able to read them.”
It was a different sensation than when she read documents. It felt rather unique to read for enjoyment rather than just to acquire information.
Beth wandered aimlessly in the bookstore, until she found a book then stopped.
It was a dark blue book with no marks on the book.
Is it untitled?
She picked up the book because she wondered if it was out of date.
The paper rustled while carrying the smell of an old book.
The date was neatly written. It appeared the book was handwritten.
[Diary ]
It was someone’s diary.
The author seemed to only have a rudimentary understanding of the written language, as the book was riddled with poor vocabulary, typos, and incorrect grammar usage.
Beth turned the next page and shyly took a peek.
[September 26th.]
She paused on this page.
The handwriting was a lot harder to read. The letters were scribbled in some parts, as if the writer’s hand was shaking. The author wrote it was cold, too cold to die. That he was scared because he was all alone.
An uneasy feeling grew from spying on someone else’s diary.
Besides, whose diary had come all this way?
Beth flipped the pages, searching for the author’s name. Suddenly, when the pages were filled with black ink, a severe headache struck Beth.
“Uh…!”
A sharp sound, like iron rubbing against each other, rang out.
Her insides tightened and her vision blurred. The sounds around her were muffled, as if someone had covered her ears. The breath in her lungs, the beats of her heart, the inexplicable feeling of being caught, along with a strange coldness was all clearly felt.
Thump, thump, thump
That very moment she felt her heart leap, bluntly banging against her chest.
“Beth.”
Somewhere, she heard a voice calling her.
Only then, could she gasp for air. Beth whipped her head up, as if she was running away from something.
“….Kedrick.”
He rarely looked at Beth with such bewilderment. Within this short period of time, she was covered in cold sweat.
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
“How did you get here?”
It was the beginning of a conversation where they would only ask each other questions. Kedrick knew that Beth would not say anything if he didn’t answer first, so he responded innocently.
“My lady entrusted me to be your escort for the week.”
“Then, you’ve been following me secretly?”
“My lady said you wouldn’t like it if you knew you had an escort. So, I’ve been secretly following you.”
“…..”
That was true.
“But just before you were so weird…”
Kedrick narrowed his eyes and mumbled his words. He didn’t look at her, instead he looked around inside the bookstore and said,
“By my arbitrary decision, I disobeyed the ‘stealth’ order.”
“You neglected your job.”
“Part of my charm is that I am a little loose with the rules. So what book were you reading?”
“Ah… there is no title, some diary…”
That’s right. Beth looked down at the book, hoping to show it to Kedrick. He also naturally followed Beth’s line of sight. Except they became lost for words when they looked at the cover of the book.
“….”
“.… Diary? “
<Why did the Duchess only give meat to the knight?>
“…It didn’t say that until just now…”
“Well…..I understand Beth’s taste….”
“It really wasn’t…”
Beth’s head was throbbing. It was a different kind of headache than before. She felt like she was possessed by someone, how did this happen?
“It really was a diary… Until now, it didn’t even have a title, it was just their daily routine.”
“Why would someone else’s diary be in the bookstore?”
“I do not know …”
Beth slipped the obscene book back on the shelf in between the other books and moved to another area. Kedrick followed.
“Maybe the used books got mixed up?”
“Is the store owner not aware about such books?”
“Well, maybe so, because there are a lot of books.”
With that said, Beth began to choose a book that she could read as a ‘hobby’. Things that have nothing to do with work and can be seen for killing time. Kedrick naturally carried the books she had chosen in his arms, and continued to follow her.
There was a place where only children’s books were stored over in the corner, so Beth was thinking about buying some for Claire, but Kedrick advised that the young lady is older.
As a result, Beth picked a total of six books. Kedrick glanced at the titles of the books and found something in common, he said,
“They’re all romance.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t know you liked romance.”
After paying some silver for the books, the two left the bookstore. All the books were still held by Kedrick.
“I don’t like it.”
“Why? “
“You just don’t seem to be someone who is into romance.”
“Just….”
Beth blinked slowly, and said.
“All in all, it’s a happy ending. That’s why I like it. I like the happy end.”
“I see. “
“What about yourself? Do you like it? A happy ending?”
At Beth’s question, he laughed out loud. As if she asked something too obvious.
“Of course. What’s as good as a happy story?”
“Because I’ve heard before that a tragic ending is beautiful.”
“Tragedy may seem beautiful, but only when it is someone else’s story.”
The sun had begun to recede over the horizon, and the world turned golden and scarlet.
“It looks beautiful because it’s a tragedy from a distance. Personally, I like beautiful things when I can see it up close.”
“How poetic.”
“To be honest, if someone sees and enjoys my misery, it would be terrible. I tend to empathize with the characters.”
“You’re more sensitive than I thought.”
“It’s true. Is it because I don’t have much conversation with people?”
Lies.
There were few people the employees liked more than Kedrick. Though Beth had been at the residence longer, he knew the employees’ names better than her. He also had many conversations with each one of them.
However, Beth decided not to call him out on this.
She didn’t want to talk about his lies. She didn’t feel the need to do so. If he said so, then there must be a good reason. Even if there wasn’t, it didn’t matter.
Beth was like that with all her relationships. It was clear to her because only Kedrick and Aiden, sometimes James and Dana, were the only ones who kept in contact. Except when she was cared for Claire.
She didn’t ask nor wonder. She just asked about the progress of work at the mansion and took in the necessary information.
Kedrick didn’t inquire about her attitude. Beth liked this strange side of his.
He was very fond of Beth. No matter how unilaterally he reported her whereabouts, he did not ask questions, and was indifferent. Beth liked this aspect of his not showing regret about it.
He decreased his speed to match Beth’s stride, which was shorter and slower than his.
Beth glanced up and looked at his good-looking face.
He looked golden with the sunset draped around him, highlighting his bright, colorful eyes, just like Claire’s.
His hair color was like the night sky, but it was funny that the sun’s light went well together.
But Beth didn’t say much, and Kedrick didn’t ask any questions while feeling her gaze.
“Kedrick, I’ll buy some food. There’s a store I’ve seen.”
“Nice.”
It was an implicit promise between the two who had been communicating for two years.
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