HE LAUGHED AT ME (3)
Beth was considered the most beautiful girl in her village. With a lithe body, slender neck, big eyes and distinctive facial features, she was a woman who would invoke the protective side of the village’s young men. To top it off, she was a diligent worker so whenever someone needed help, even if it was trivial, the villagers would look for Beth. She would never reject anyone asking for help.
At home, she was a good daughter to her parents and a good older sister to her siblings. Everyone considered her as the ideal woman and would sing her praises.
It was like that as well, that day.
Beth was peeling potatoes in preparation for the family’s meal. Her movements were quick and efficient, like it was a simple game to her. Since she was a child, she had to peel the potatoes.
“Beth!”
While she silently peeled off potato skins, at the sound of her name she raised her head. Blinking her big eyes, taking soft breaths, she looked like a scene from a rustic painting.
When she saw who it was, her serene face became dyed in red, and her vigor bloomed like a flower.
“Deiter.”
A head taller than Beth, a young man with dirty blonde hair stood beside her with a gentle smile.
“Peeling potatoes again, today?”
“…Um.”
When he saw Beth shyly nod her head, he chuckled then sat with her.
Her paramour, Deiter. Known to be the village’s flirt, many were reluctant to divulge this to Beth, because she was shy. But how long could such gossip be kept silent in that small village by the mountain?
Sometimes, Deiter’s friends would tease them, saying they look good together. This caused Beth to turn bright red like a ripened fruit. Deiter thought Beth looked cute when she blushed. So much so, that he would almost make her cry from his teasing.
“Mom and dad were busy, so….”
It was difficult to find herbs other than in winter. So, to find herbs off season one must enter deep into the mountains. Adults would need to form a group to enter because it was near a dangerous area.
Meanwhile, the work in the village was shared among the youngsters, though most would leave it to Beth.
His, Deiter’s sweetheart, Beth, was the prettiest girl in the village. He watched her with a subtle expression, lingering with affection while she did her work. Then he took out a small knife and started to peel potatoes with her.
Flustered by his antics, she opened her mouth then closed it.
“Did I ever tell you? That I enjoy to peeling potatoes.”
Who in the world would enjoy something like this? Beth was about to ask but shut her mouth and instead concentrated on peeling the potatoes with her head bowed down. Though her face was hidden, her red ears were exposed. It was easy to imagine what kind of expression she had.
Beth was such a woman. Modest, pretty, quiet, but still a lovely girl who couldn’t hide her emotions.
Watching his lovely sweetheart, Deiter stuttered.
“Th,That, Beth…”
“…Ehh, Mm.”
Both lowered their heads and continued peeling.
“Later, later when I get chosen… would you like to leave the village with me to go somewhere else?”
“…What?”
Few were chosen by the stranger who periodically came to purchase herbs. If he liked someone, he would take them away to be his servant. Beth knew a few who were taken by him, but no one ever returned.
“But if we left, we won’t be able to return in this lifetime, right?”
“Obviously! Because it’s a much bigger world out there than here. It would probably take a lifetime to just to look around.”
Though he himself had never left, he spoke as if he knew everything.
How innocent.
Beth’s lips creased slightly upwards.
“Then, will you show me the whole world…?”
“Of course!”
Those words tickled her pink. She believed him. Her heart quivered because he was the first to make a promise to her.
* * *
“…..”
Eyes fluttered open. Her eyes were bleary as she had just awakened.
She continued to open and close her eyes. Soon a familiar ceiling came into focus. The office ceiling. She laid on a large sofa. She lifted the blanket that covered her and sat up. Where did the blanket come from?
Though she was used to sleeping in her work uniform, she felt strange dreaming about herself. It was the first time dreaming about her current life’s memories before she had remembered her previous life. Before it was quite hazy but, oddly, it was now clear.
Rubbing her dry face, she sighed lightly.
“Ah….”
Also, she finally remembered her wish.
“Must make an actual peeler…”
A potato peeler.
She forgot about such a useful tool!
“What’s that?”
“….?”
It was Kedrick’s voice. She didn’t know how long he had been here. The only difference this time was his voice was further away from her. Beth turned her head and saw him sitting at her desk reviewing documents.
Unlike his usual carefree look, his expression was serious.
Beth neatly folded up the blanket she had removed off her earlier. Only then did she realize something.
“So, it was you?”
“What?”
“You’re the one who moved me to the sofa and also covered me with a blanket.”
“Ohh, yes. Thankfully I did, or else you would have had a close call.
When he rolled up a document, he laughed out loud.
“I had just moved you to the couch when the young lady showed up. I was taken by surprise because it was at dawn.”
“At dawn?”
“She must have had some nightmare and came looking for you. Indeed, the young lady likes Beth most.”
Despite there being maids taking turns to look after her, if a situation arise where Claire needed someone to depend on, she always sought out Beth.
Kedrick speculated that it was because Beth was the first to stay by her side when Claire was struggling and needed help.
“Anyways, I explained to Claire that you were handling an important matter. So, for you to get back to work as soon as possible, you slept in the office.”
“You are quite a good liar.”
“Right? So, keep it quiet. Or do you want to move to a different bedroom closer to the office?”
“Having your place of work and bedroom close to each other… It’s uncomfortable….”
Kedrick was about to make a counter-argument, but then he thought of how Beth would often sleep in the office and how she would often take documents to her own room. He realized there was no use in saying anything, so he closed his mouth. Instead, he just shook his head and moved on to the next document.
Checking the document, he asked,
“So, what is a peeler?”
“Ah.”
As if she had forgotten as to why they had started speaking, she grabbed a pen and paper from nearby and began to draw a shape. He was curious about what she was drawing, so he stood up from his seat and went towards her.
“It looks like this.”
It was a ‘Y’ shaped structure with an ‘0’ shaped knife in between. Beth wondered,
Is this right?
But she decided to trust her memories.
“This is the handle. By gliding the blade on the potato’s surface its skin will come off. The potato skins will slide out through the blade’s gap. Carrots can also be peeled. Maybe apples, too?”
“Oh…”
His eyes shined with interest after seeing the paper, then said,
“You know Beth…”
“Yes?”
“Unlike the young lady, you draw well.”
“…..”
Maybe the young lady simply does not have the talent to be good at drawing? No matter how much Beth loved Claire, she had to admit Claire’s drawing ability was terrible. Claire had practiced consistently for a few years, but it was hopeless.
She kept her mouth closed without refuting and went back on topic.
“Anyways, I want to make this. It will ease the kitchen’s work a lot.”
“That’s true, not everyone can peel potatoes like Beth.”
Sometimes, there was a group of workers assigned to peeling root vegetables, like potatoes and carrots. Kedrick had never met someone like Beth who could peel a potato in a blink of an eye. It really was an amazing ability. Even the potato skins were evenly peeled to a thin layer!
Upon second thought, he realized how great Beth was. Though no one could tell whether she was a genius or insane. ( The original text:: No one was old enough to understand whether she was the ‘Chae’ from the word “talent” (Chae-neung means talent in Korean) or the ‘Chae’ from the word “disaster” (Chae-ang means disaster or bale in Korean)
“Anyways, it wouldn’t hurt to make it a business.”
With an interested smile, he scribbled on the paper beside Beth’s drawing.
“Who will buy this?”
“More than you would think. It is a new product, a convenient one at that. Isn’t that good?”
Nobles would not buy it, but it would become popular among the commoners. Kedrick nodded.
“If there is an easier alternative to a difficult challenge, it’s human nature to choose the most convenient way, right? As long as it meets the same goal, then who would choose the more difficult way?”
“That’s true. Though we need to create a story to publicize it.”
“It would be better to establish it as a separate business. If the profit from the Gordon mines increases, others will try to restrain Lady Claire’s authority, even though she has not yet been titled as ‘Earl’. Our young lady cannot afford such a setback.
“True.”
If it were as usual, it would have been best to directly reveal the situation, but currently the position of Earl Gordon was still ambiguous. The succession of the next Earl was determined after a long trial. During that process, all eyes were on Claire.
Claire was a young, illegitimate child, while her representative and guardian was Beth, a commoner. Regardless of how diligent she was, her low-born status was emphasized, because visual perception is what matters for human beings.
So, no one wanted Earl Gordon’s businesses to flourish, gaining more wealth. Thus, it was smarter to secretly build their strength before revealing anything. This would give the young lady a means to protect herself.
Kedrick was still watching her. Inwardly, Beth contained her surprise.
With an unspoken understanding, they sat side-by-side and began discussing business matters.
It was such a good discussion, Beth actually enjoyed it. She learned several new things from Kedrick.
Kedrick could accurately grasp the nobles’ money flow and restrictions and conveyed it to Beth, while she soaked it all up like a sponge. In such moments, they had a good master disciple relationship.
“Ah, like this, work will increase.”
Following Claire’s order, Kedrick was obligated to encourage Beth to get more sleep and rest. He had almost forgot. Kedrick chuckled raggedly.
“It’s because Beth is too smart. It would be easier for you if you were less so.”(Org:You would have been more comfortable if you were less smart)
“What nonsense.”
“It’s because our duties are different. And my duty is to make you rest.”
“Get rid of that duty.”
At first it was just a drawing on a piece of paper. Now a stack had formed. After neatly organizing their plans, Beth moved to her office desk.
“Now Countess* Gordon is in position. The school for commoners is currently in the works, and the young lady is improving day by day from her illness.”
(As Claire is a girl, so Countess)
Beth said in a business-like tone.
“Just two years. It’s only been two years since the young lady came into power. And in the future this fief will be governed by the young lady for a long time.”
For Claire to be able to govern the territory amicably and efficiently, Beth undertook all responsiblity before Claire officially inherited her position as the countess. This way, even if Beth was not with her in the future, Claire would still be able to rule. This was Beth’s obligation to Claire, because she was her guardian.
“Still, don’t forget you need to rest. Okay? It hasn’t even been a year since the young lady gave you a break, out of concern for you.”
“I won’t till after I retire.”
“But looking at your current work habits, your retirement day might become the day you close your eyes forever.”(That she will keep working till death)
“Maybe my death will become my retirement.”
“Even if that may become true… Don’t joke around with such an expression. It’s scary. It feels like it could become a reality.”
Though he said this lightheartedly, Beth could roughly guess what sort of expression he had. Slightly lowering her head, Beth said in a calm voice.
“I didn’t say I was joking.”
“….What?”
“Just joking.”
After teasing Kedrick, Beth checked the time. Then, she took out a small chest from a drawer and stood up.
“You were joking, right? It must be a joke…” Kedrick asked, while he followed Beth.
“I said it was a joke. I don’t have any thoughts about dying yet.”
“What about when you retire then?”
“I will think about it at that time.”
“I have never seen such an interesting person as Beth. So don’t die.”
“……”
For a moment Beth thought,
Those words are quite severe.
“What you mean is… When someone more interesting than me appears, I can die at that time?”
“….. Did my words sound like that?”
“Yes, it sounded exactly like that.”
“….”
After thinking for a moment Kedrick replied.
“By that time, you would be more than just someone who is interesting… Anyways, the point is staying alive is important.”
“It’s already late, Kedrick.”
Their conversation was strange. It wasn’t neither hot or cold, nor was it too intimate or distant. But they discussed topics they usually wouldn’t share with others openly.
Of course, this conversation wasn’t a deep conversation, nor were they trying to have one.
As they neared the first floor, a strong floral scent floated in the air.
White and red flowers that were in pre-bloom, covered the ground floor in a splendid manner.
“As Ms. Beth ordered, the most beautiful flowers were brought here. Not a single flower has any sort of flaw.
Daniel had moved near to Beth when he confirmed the flowers were of the best quality. In return, she took out the small chest she held and gave it to Daniel, the diligent butler. Inside were a few gold and silver pieces.
“Give it to the courier waiting outside. Give five extra silver to them.”
The price was a bit higher than it originally was for the flowers. Though the expense was more than expected, it was a huge request given last minute. So, she gave a bit more to express her gratitude.
“Beth!”
How long had she been there? Claire, bathed in the thick floral fragrance, plunged into Beth’s bosom. In the past, the servants would flinch upon seeing such a scene, now they’ve become used to it. The servants knew Beth and Claire’s relationship was different from being an employer and employee. Their relationship was bound by trust. So, knowing this, Daniel continued on without saying anything.
The only person who fainted from this scene was Claire’s etiquette teacher.
“What is all this? Um?”
Though she knew, Claire still looked at Beth with shining eyes. Like always, Beth’s face bloomed with a gentle and warm smile.
“These flowers are for you.”