CH 5

She worried about Brandon until the end before she closed her eyes for the last time. 

Later, Brandon, who was left alone, was sent to an orphanage. He could barely eat three meals a day, and the orphanage wasn’t a comfortable place either.

The older boys, bigger than Brandon, were abusive to the younger children, but the orphanage director didn’t care.

He was deprived of his share of meals, starved all day, and prayed to God while sleeping in a small space with other children.

If anyone rescues me from this place, I will live for him for the rest of my life.

After some time, Hugo and his wife visited the orphanage, and Brandon did everything he could to get their attention.

Whether his effort paid off and God answered his prayers, or his mother, who said she would always be by his side, helped him, Brandon was able to leave the terrible orphanage with the Clearts.

As he left the horrific orphanage, Brandon made another promise to himself. 

I will never forget the grace of Hugo and his wife, who took care of me when I was abandonede, and I will definitely repay this grace later when I grow up.

He thought his life would be sunny, but it didn’t last long.

The pregnancy that Evelyn and Hugo desperately wanted finally happened, unfortunately, a few years after Brandon was adopted.

That was Leslie.

Seeing the adorable baby, Brandon trembled with anxiety.

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With the birth of a son into his family, he knew instinctively, even at a young age, that he was no longer needed.

Now that their son was born, was he going to be kicked out?

Brandon’s heart trembled the whole time, thinking he would soon be abandoned.

Fortunately, Hugo and Evelyn didn’t send Brandon back to the orphanage. However, after the baby was born, the couple’s affection and attention went exclusively to Leslie.

Brandon was terrified of what the Clearts would do to him for Leslie.

Since then, he built a wall against Hugo and his wife. Against Leslie, as well.

Brandon, who overwhelmingly surpassed Leslie in every way, had become increasingly anxious to be with Hugo and his wife.

Callie was helping Noah hang the laundry in the yard. Anyone who saw it would wonder why the Count’s daughter would do housework, but Callie had never been treated like a precious young lady in the Loris family.

She was no different from a maid who didn’t receive payment.

Even when she helped her with the housework, she was always a target of Susan’s cold stares and criticism.

However, Callie wasn’t the kind of person who just let people step all over her, so things would escalate every time she fought back.

Once, Noah begged Callie.

“Milady, if Madam scolds you, please just listen. You always get beaten up when you do. I’m so nervous watching from the side.”

“Still, I need to speak up when it’s unfair.”

“You’ll only get in trouble. So please…”

“I get it. I’ll try.”

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Callie looked at Noah, who was worried, and smiled.

Even if Susan didn’t ask her, Callie knew it would be impossible for Noah and Lisa to do all the housework together, so she had to help.

Today, before Susan could even speak, she helped with the chores.

In fact, when Callie did this kind of physical work, the complex thoughts disappeared from her head, and her mind was at ease. That’s why Callie always moved her body busily.

“Noah, you need to pull that side a little more.”

“Yes, milady.” 

As the two groaned and hung out the large quilt, following Susan’s instructions to wash the quilt, Lisa hurriedly ran in.

“My lady, my lady!”

Seeing Lisa running out of the house, Noah muttered, “Why is she making such a fuss again?”

Lisa, who ran right in front of the two, said to Callie, “Milady, you got a call from him.”

“Him?”

“It’s him. Sir Brandon Cleart, the rumored casanova.”

Noah knew that Callie and Lisa were so close to each other that they spoke comfortably when no one else was around.

Still, she was talking about someone who might become the lady’s marriage partner. Noah hit Lisa on the back. “Lisa, be careful with your words.”

But Callie didn’t mind. It was true that people thought Brandon was a playboy.

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“It’s okay, Noah. What Lisa said is true.”

“I’m sorry, milady.”

“It’s fine. But, what’s the matter?”

“Here, look.”

Callie checked the note Emily had given her.

「See you in two hours at the Duken Salon.」

Callie was dumbfounded to see the memo asking her to meet him in two hours. He didn’t ask about her schedule.

“Is this all?”

“Yes. That’s all.”

How could this man’s manners be like this?

Callie was so stunned that she laughed out loud. “What the, even if he’s not of noble birth, he could have learned proper manners. To think he’d tell me what to do without even asking about my plans.”

She wanted to ignore it, but she couldn’t because she was curious about it.

Anyway, Brandon was a strange man in many ways. 

From the day they first met, he embarrassed people with dirty jokes, then after that day, he didn’t contact her for more than two weeks.

By then, Callie thought Sir Brandon would reject this marriage.

In the meantime, Matthew and Susan would ask her several times a day if she had heard from Brandon.

“Have you not heard from Sir Brandon?”

“No.”

“I told you to do your best. How much did I spend on your clothes that day? Tsk tsk.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but you shouldn’t have spent money on useless things.”

“What!”

Usually, whenever Susan heard Callie talk back, she would have come up and slapped her cheek, but she didn’t. 

She was putting up with it because they were amid marriage talks with the Cleart family.

If they wanted her to marry and receive a rich dowry, they couldn’t just slap her.

Abominable humans.

So, Callie acted even more daringly. Maybe it’s her own timid revenge.

Callie, staring at the note Lisa had given her, wiped her wet hands on her apron and said, “Lisa, I need to get ready.”

When she entered Duken Salon, Callie easily found Brandon.

There you are, Brandon Cleart.

Physically speaking, he was one of the best in Irze, so he definitely stood out anywhere.

Callie, who found Brandon quickly, headed straight to the table where he was sitting without waiting for the manager to guide her.

When Callie appeared, Brandon stood up to greet her with an exaggerated smile. “Oh, Welcome, Lady. I was wondering what to do if you didn’t come.”

“You left a message without asking if I’m free to meet.”

“Haha, think of it because I wanted to meet you quickly.”

“I don’t think that’s it, but let’s say it is.”

“You’re not going to keep standing there talking like that, are you? Have a seat first, Lady.”

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Brandon pulled out a chair for Callie to sit on, but Callie ignored it and sat on the chair next to him.

Although they sat facing each other where four people normally sat, they sat diagonally across each other.

It was her own way of saying that she would not sit directly across from Brandon.

She wasn’t a pushover.

Brandon, who read her intentions, raised one corner of his mouth and smiled crookedly. 

Callie immediately asked about the matter without even formally greeting him, as would be the case with a daughter of an aristocratic family.

“I thought our meeting that day would be our last, but why did you ask to see me?”

She looked like she’d get up and leave immediately if it wasn’t a very important matter.

Brandon glanced down at Callie’s outfit instead of answering her question. “Your dress today is very different from the last time we met, isn’t it?”

Unlike Callie, who was alert and sharp, Brandon’s smile was relaxed.

The dress from the first day she met Brandon was definitely not to Callie’s taste.

She had to get his attention when they first met, but Susan thought it would be hard since Brandon was quite the ladies’ man.

So, she even sold her diamond jewelry to pay for her dress, which, no matter who saw it, had the clear intention of stimulating a man’s taste.

She should have stood her ground that she wouldn’t wear a dress like that no matter how much Susan fussed.

Embarrassed by Brandon’s remark, Callie’s cheeks burned red.

“Sir Brandon seems quite interested in the way ladies dress.”

“The young lady’s dress that day was very impressive.”