Love Doesn't Matter

Chapter 76 – Real Intention

“I’m fine, I’m really alright.” Charlotte repeated the same words over and over again. “It’s not like I am sick or dead.”

But the kid Perm* kept sobbing, so the sisters and his Young Master stayed silent. Charlotte quickly fell into thoughts in the darkness where she could see nothing. She was sad and worried that Moria had run away. However, the reason she endured motion sickness wasn’t because of Moria. Charlotte wanted to somehow reconcile those two people.

(T/N: *I guess the author misspelled here, typing Perm instead of Pip.)

She didn’t wish for her sister to be Young Master Meyer’s ‘mistress.’ Charlotte was slowly opening her eyes to what is called ‘reality.’ But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t stop the little fairytale blooming in her heart. It made her heart flutter and hurt when she stood between the two of them in particular, and there was a strange resonance in her heart. It was like a force majeure that attracted each other in a frightening way, like a ‘magnet’ she had heard of….

Yes, maybe this is an opportunity from heaven. Wouldn’t the runaway kitten revive the dying embers between the two of them?

Making up her mind, Charlotte turned in Young Master Meyer’s direction. She then slowly opened her mouth.

“I will find Moria.”

She felt that everyone was bewildered when the blind child said that she would find the cat. Ignoring her older sister who would probably tell her no, Charlotte turned her body straight to her bestie uncle.

“Uncle, come with me to look for Moria. Also….”

Charlotte thought of the boy named Pip and pondered for a moment. How can I get that child out between those two people? Fortunately, a good idea came to her mind immediately.

“Can I have something to eat? I’m so hungry….”

‘Yes?’ Pip asked and gently raised his head from the floor. His trembling eyes turned to his Master. Hadius nodded permission, and Pip got up quickly as if he was waiting for it.

“F- first, I will prepare the meal as you ordered. But… I think… it will take some time. The kitchen in the villa… is empty now…. If you want me to prepare food… then I will go to the farm and ask for the chef….”

“Pip.”

Pip flinched at the low, heavy voice of his master.

“Hurry up and get some food instead of wasting time talking.”

“… I, I understand!”

Sensing that the attendant boy had disappeared quickly, Charlotte released her sister’s hand. She then started walking blindly.

“Charlotte!”

It was reckless for a blind person to walk around in an unfamiliar place. Charlotte stumbled, unable to walk a few steps. Only Emilia knew that it was a rather dramatic and exaggerated gesture. Fortunately, Beppy’s big hand quickly held her.

“Come on, let’s go, Uncle.”

“Wait, wait a minute, Charlotte!”

Charlotte walked ahead, completely ignoring her older sister. Beppy was busy leading the child on a safe path. Just before exiting the door, Charlotte turned her head to the Young Master and shouted loudly.

“I am doing this because I want to do this, so Young Master doesn’t need to worry about it. The same goes for you too, Sister. You two don’t need to come out and look with me. I will somehow find Moria myself – even if I have to stay up all night.”

Only the two people were left alone in the silent room, exactly as Charlotte had wanted. It was Emilia who broke the awkward silence between them.

“See that? The terrible consequences of Young Master’s lies. That innocent child thinks that the two of us were the protagonists of some romance. She’s trying to act as a cupid under the pretext that she wanted to look for the cat. My younger sister was disappointed since the Young Master made a promise he was unable to take responsibility for.”

Hadius pretended to listen to her sarcasm. His mind was already occupied with finding the cat even before they arrived. He didn’t want to disappoint the child who called him guardian angel and even told him her secrets.

“Yes, you are right. It is my responsibility.”

As if talking to himself, he looked out the window as he figured out where to find the runaway cat.

Emilia was a little flustered when the man in front of her took it so seriously and didn’t respond as he usually did. She felt a strange sensation as if her chest was being crushed, so she turned away and began to clean the dirty cage. As she squatted down and turned the bowl upside down, she was suddenly reminded of something.

“Have you fed it? I’m talking about Moria?”

“… I didn’t even touch it. Just to let you know.”

“Then it might have gone to the kitchen. They instinctively look for food.”

“The kitchen is empty.”

Emilia recalled Pip saying the same thing and said, ‘Oh.’

“Even so, we have to look for it. The smell of food will remain.”

“Maybe he ran into the woods. There used to be a thick forest similar to Katia Beach, and it might have run there.”

“Alright.”

Before they knew it, they were both guessing the cat’s whereabouts, shoulder to shoulder.

“As you say, Charlotte Bern is just like the cupid of love.”

Hadius suddenly turned his head to meet Emilia’s eyes. It wasn’t ‘that kind of look’ at all, but her heart was strangely pounding and felt weird.

“Be patient for today. No matter how much you hate me.”

“Hah!”

It was sophistry to blame someone for their own fault. Even if her indignation was soaring, Emilia just kept her mouth shut. The word ‘for today’ hung long on the back of her neck. Emilia also didn’t want to disappoint Charlotte any further. At least for today.

“Stay here. I’ll look for the cat.”

She had to either let him do whatever he wanted or not. She had no intention of walking around with him at all. Her old shoes, before she knew it, were following the man closely.

Hadius suddenly stopped and looked up and down at Emilia.

“Wait for a moment.”

Speaking bluntly, he entered the room next to him. He held a coat in his hand when he returned.

“Wear it.”

“No need.”

“We are high up, and you would be cold if the sun didn’t shine brightly like today.”

“I said no need.”

Hadius didn’t force her any further when Emilia strongly refused.

“Let’s go.”

The two of them headed straight to the kitchen. They began to look for the kitten diligently as soon as they arrived. Emilia shoved her head inside the empty oven and pounded the hanging pot. Hadius stepped on the shelf and looked over the cupboard.

“Not here.”

“Here too.”

They looked at each other as if they had promised each other and nodded.

“Shall we look at the study?”

“Good idea.”

The two arrived between the bookshelves as they arrived in the study. They checked the desk drawers, sculpture, vase, and every gap they saw, even putting their hand in it. Emilia felt more and more strange. Why am I looking hard for it? What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel like the two of us are in sync…?

Feeling bad, Emilia deliberately headed to the other side of the bookshelf. Compared to him who was working hard to look for the kitten, she felt herself becoming lazier. She was already observing him unconsciously, and not focused on the kitten. Hadius’ eyes were very dark and serious. What an incomprehensible man. They obviously won’t be able to find it anyway…. She knew that it would be hard to look for it with her, that man, and even Charlotte. They were only clinging to a hopeless task.

“Not looking for it?”

Their eyes met with his sudden question. Emilia froze like a captured beast. The man stared at the woman and continued to talk nonchalantly.

“I’m going to look somewhere else.”

“No, that’s fine.”

“… It’s distracting.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I can’t concentrate because of you.”

She felt suffocated and sweat ran down her temples in response to his remarks with unknown intentions.

“Go to Charlotte.”

Throwing the order at her, Hadius turned and continued to search. Emilia pressed her chest tightly with her hand and waited for her heart to calm down. She felt suffocated to be in the same space with him like this.

Emilia ran to the garden as if she was running away. Coming into the open air made it easier to breathe. She began to look around her surroundings, forcing her trembling hands to her side. It was much better to look for the cat inside the villa. After she came out, she was at a loss where to seek the cat.

Still, Emilia walked forward blindly. She looked through the empty fountain and then passed the Metaseguoia Road. Looking up at the three with her sore throat, Emilia suddenly became irritated again. D**n it, Charlotte Bern. When did you grow up to be like this? You’re now a very, very clever witch. Since Moria is a stray cat to begin with, it will be able to adapt somehow and live well. The fields stretch out widely, so it will be able to eat a lot of fruit. By the way, the scenery here is really picturesque….

Emilia walked thoughtlessly and aimlessly. A waist-high thicket and a small pavilion appeared as she crossed the bridge over the pond. Then suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps. As soon as Emilia turned her head, she saw a ball of brown fur remained like an afterimage.

“Moria!”

Emilia cried out involuntarily and slightly lowered her posture. She let out shallow and slow breaths as she crept toward the bushes where the ball of fur disappeared. She didn’t think she’d be able to catch it. She just planned on checking its location, bringing it food and playing with it. But she had to stop before she could even get close. This was because the rain, that was hitting her face intermittently since a while ago, had now begun to soak her shoulders.

Emilia went to the pavilion to escape the rain. As mythological figures stood under the carved wooden pavilion, the smell of moist soil and wood tickled the tip of her nose. Her dizzying thoughts subsided one by one as she took a deep breath, and her frantically beating heart gradually calmed down.

How much time had passed? There was a rustle in the bush and the brown figure appeared once again. Soaked in rain, Moria was sheltering beneath the statue a few steps from the pavilion, forgetting to be wary of humans. Emilia smirked without her realizing it. You are no different. How can you look so shabby when you can’t even run away?

Hadius suddenly popped into her mind. Is he still looking for you (the cat) in the villa? I never thought I’d see such a face like that. I can’t believe I was looking at that face as if he had lost the whole world with one cat… moreover, he was really putting his heart into finding it. He seemed to be a completely different person from the man who threatened her family with money.

What is his true face? The man looking for a cat for Charlotte doesn’t seem to be lying. At least he seemed as sincere as she wanted to protect her family. Didn’t he already make it clear on the day he played ‘Bodhi Tree’ a long time ago? That he would make her family happy. How could a man like that change so much? Are men like that? Blinded by lust, he went back on his words and lied? So he made my stepmother indebted to him?

Narrowing her eyes, Emilia felt dizzy for a moment. Her alarm went off when a possibility she had never thought of suddenly crossed her mind. What if… I was mistaken? What if that man wasn’t behind the scenes when Aunt Rosie suddenly came to visit her stepmother? What if the whole thing was just a coincidence? She hasn’t checked anything with her own eyes from that day until now. If she couldn’t ask her stepmother about it, then she could still visit the factory owners, Mr. Borden, or Mrs. Rosie to ask. She may have to look at the context of the incident first before blaming Hadius Meyer.

Of course, that won’t change anything no matter what the truth is. Hadius Meyer didn’t hesitate to say, ‘I’ll buy you with money’ when he visited her after her hair had been cut.

Even so, she needed to know the man’s real intention behind looking for the cat like crazy. That way, she could plan how to deal with him in the future.

Biting her lips tightly, Emilia fell into deep thought for a long time. The rain grew heavier in the meantime. She wasn’t too worried. She was just a bridge across the villa, and anyone could bring her umbrella. It was also apparent that it would be Hadius Meyer.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────