Chapter 05
Rose’s condition looked more serious than expected.
She rarely went outside the house.
Of course, there were very brief times when she did step outside.
“Don’t break the front door! You idiot!”
It happened when Brandon broke through the door.
“Haha, it’s a habit from work. I can’t help it.”
“Is your front door even going to survive?”
With a loud crash, the front door shattered.
Rose grabbed a broom and ran to the entrance.
Meanwhile, the maid, Hill, calmly started cleaning the entrance and called for the workers, as if this was nothing new.
Occasionally, there were visitors to her house.
They could mainly be divided into two types.
“Excuse me.”
The first type were merchants who had no idea about the rumors surrounding Rose.
“Who are you?”
When Hill opened the door, the merchant offered a friendly smile and began pulling out various goods.
“I have some jewelry that women would like. Would you care to look?”
“We should put up a ‘No Visitors’ sign at the door!”
But Rose resolutely refused even the merchant’s visit.
“Come on, at least look at the goods.”
“Can’t you leave immediately?”
Faced with Rose’s fiery refusal, the merchant had no choice but to leave.
The second type were neighbors who had heard about her and were curious.
They had come after seeing Dorothy come and go from Rose’s house.
Fond of gossip, they usually came in groups.
“We’re just so curious.”
“Yeah, all we hear are rumors. We want to know what kind of person she really is.”
But Rose reacted even more strongly than when a single person came.
“No. No need, no need at all.”
Instead of snapping, she avoided eye contact entirely, appearing tense and fearful.
“Go away. Who asked you to be curious about me?”
With such irritable refusals toward people, the rumors could only grow darker.
It became a vicious cycle.
The worse people viewed her, the more she rejected the outside world.
“Are you afraid of crowds?”
Having driven all her neighbors away, Rose spent her time lying in bed, skipping meals.
Finally, Dorothy, unable to bear it any longer, cautiously asked.
“Who’s afraid?”
“But you hated it even more than when the merchant came, didn’t you?”
“Surely you weren’t like this before. Even if a group came, you weren’t afraid.”
Rose admitted with a gloomy face.
“Actually, I used to be loud and confident… but…”
She seemed just as confused by the sudden changes in herself.
“I don’t know. I suddenly became strange. I get nervous under people’s gaze. I definitely wasn’t like this before.”
“…But I don’t care. I don’t care what people say about me.”
Lying on her bed, she spoke listlessly.
“If I go outside, I’ll only be laughed at. This life is already ruined. I’ll just lie here forever.”
Dorothy felt sorry for her.
‘How can I help her?’
There were doctors nearby, but none who could treat a mind as wounded as hers.
“Life is lonely anyway.”
She stared at the ceiling and said.
“Mom, Dad, Brandon… everyone…”
Brandon had once told her separately that he and Rose had been apart because of their parents’ divorce.
Even though they were blood-related, they rarely saw each other.
Brandon had adapted to society, but Rose had not.
‘She must have spent a lot of time alone as a child.’
Dorothy knew loneliness herself, having become an orphan when her mother passed.
But she had always cherished her mother’s memories.
“You, with such a kind personality, probably never had to feel lonely like I did.”
“No, I was lonely too. I even started working at a young age.”
“What? You started working as a child? What kind of madman made you work?”
“It was my late mother’s shop.”
“Surely she wanted you to learn about business. A truly excellent and educational lesson.”
Rose wiped the cold sweat from her face and replied.
“And even getting engaged doesn’t change the loneliness. Being next to someone doesn’t help either—it’s worse.”
“In any case, I was lonely too.”
Dorothy mumbled as she lay beside Rose.
“Go to sleep. I’ll put you to sleep.”
She didn’t know how to heal her mental wounds.
So Dorothy decided to do what her mother had done for her as a child.
She knew Rose suffered from insomnia.
“You’re going to put me to sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Do as you please.”
Rose snorted and flopped down beside Dorothy.
For a moment, Dorothy felt touched.
“Come to think of it, it’s amazing.”
“What is?”
“You kicked everyone else away, but you let me stay.”
“Don’t you remember?”
Rose spoke cautiously, her face clouded with guilt.
“I mean… I chased you away before.”
“When?”
“…Unbelievable.”
Dorothy and Rose lay in bed, sharing countless stories.
Nothing was particularly special.
And yet, that alone made Rose happy.
It was her first time lying in bed with a peer and talking honestly.
“Why is the one who’s supposed to put me to sleep sleeping first?”
Rose laughed at Dorothy, who had unknowingly fallen asleep.
Shaking her head, she covered Dorothy with a blanket.
She liked that the bed was soft.
For someone like Rose, who only deals with top-quality things, this was natural.
“Maybe I should get a new bed for next door.”
Giving just one bed felt insufficient.
Since it came to this, sending the whole set of bedding was an excellent choice.
“No, I should send furniture that goes with the bed too.”
She seemed to like bright colors.
She planned to match the furniture perfectly with the bed—only the finest of the finest.
“Hill, can you come here for a moment? I have something to send to Dorothy.”
She left the bedroom to find Hill, but it was her younger brother who appeared.
Seeing her sly little brother, Rose frowned.
“You’ve become close with Dorothy already?”
“Why should I tell you that?”
Rose replied somewhat curtly.
“Don’t bring up unnecessary stuff to Dorothy, and stop paying attention to him entirely.”
“How did you know?”
“Because you’re exactly that kind of person.”
“Now I see it’s not just friendship.”
Brandon immediately saw through Rose’s feelings.
He had been sharp since childhood.
“Is she a new attachment?”
She had indeed opened her heart to Dorothy.
That’s why Rose responded even more defensively.
“I told you, don’t touch her. Don’t even talk to Dorothy. Don’t give her the slightest bit of attention.”
“Understood.”
Brandon shrugged.
“Though I am slightly curious.”
“You’re dead.”
Rose glared at him as if he were a despicable villain.
She even twitched her hand, wanting to smash the vase behind her.
But Brandon didn’t flinch.
“Haha. I’m just curious.”
Seeing her increasingly sharp gaze, he calmly added:
“Do you really think someone like me, who distrusts everyone to the bone, would suddenly like a girl?”
Rose knew Brandon was a completely self-interested individual.
A personality opposite to hers, who cared about people.
It was obvious he would probably marry for convenience, without emotion.
“I don’t make attachments. I won’t ever.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. My sister and I are entirely different.”
Outwardly smiling, inwardly calculating.
Rose even knew what rumors circulated about her brother in the capital.
Brandon wouldn’t just fall for anyone.
But…
‘Something feels off.’
A sibling instinct.
‘They’re different, but when we were kids, our likes often overlapped.’
Their obsession over what they liked was extraordinary.
If they wanted the same book, they would fight to the death to get it.
And once obtained, they cherished it dearly.
‘…It should be fine. Brandon fundamentally finds people annoying.’
For now, she decided to ease her guard around him.
Ah, surely nothing will happen.
