The Gap Between You and Me - Chapter 14

Edwin, unaware that Herietta was thinking like that, looked gloomier.

“Of course, it’s okay to say you won’t accept my apology. Even if you say you hate me, I understand. Because I disrespected you, a lady, with my actions the other day. If you say you don’t want to meet me in the future, I’ll do my best to fulfill that wish as much as possible.”

“What are you talking about? What do you mean I don’t want to meet you?”

Herietta, who had been completely intoxicated by this situation, suddenly came to her senses.

“Why would I not want to meet you?”

“Didn’t you avoid me? From that day onwards.”

“What? Did I avoid you?”

Herietta’s voice rose. Edwin nodded.

“I felt you were reluctant to even be around me.”

“Wait, wait! That’s a misunderstanding! I just purposely distanced myself from you because I thought you might be reluctant to be around me…”

Herietta said with a sincere absurdity. Then, this time, Edwin rolled his eyes and was somewhat stupefied by her reaction. Judging from his reaction, it seemed like that was an unexpected answer. Then he frowned.

“Why did you think that way?”

“That’s because…”

Herietta’s words trailed away as she answered. She took it for granted, but when she thought about it, she couldn’t find an answer. Come to think of it, why did she think that way? He never showed any sign of reluctance or avoidance of him being with her, no matter how much she thought about it.

‘Anyway, why does this man look so upset?’

She only knew that he was indifferent to the point that he didn’t even notice her efforts. But what did that look mean? His gaze wasn’t gentle, it even felt like he was blaming her. She asked as she tilted her head.

“Did I get it wrong?”

“Of course…!”

Edwin, who was about to reply immediately, trailed off too. A look of bewilderment was evident on his face. Herietta did not miss the look on his face.

“Of course? Of course what? Are you saying you were reluctant to see me? Or am I wrong?”

“…”

“Hey, which one is it?”

“Well… I do not know.”

Hesitating, he gave her a bland answer. Yes, he looked confused. Herietta, who was going to keep asking what that meant, immediately bit the inside of her mouth. His outward appearance was unchangingly superior and perfect, but on the inside, he looked like a child who was clumsy in understanding and expressing his feelings.

‘That slave. I seem to be seeing him everywhere these days.’

It reminded her of what Hugo said as he tilted his head as if he found the coincidence strange.

‘Whenever I’m with you, I keep seeing him several times a day.’

‘No way…’

She thought it was absurd, but the question that came to mind suddenly snowballed. Herietta’s eyes narrowed.

“No way… Were you sad? You thought I was avoiding you?”

“No.”

“So, that’s why you have been hovering around me lately? You want to figure out what I’m thinking and apologize again?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Edwin was frank and denied it. He didn’t hesitate for a second to answer. His face, which looked human for a moment, hardened like a marble statue. At first glance, it was an attitude that could be misunderstood as being very indifferent and cold. But seeing him like that, Herietta smiled.

“Really?”

She accepted it gently. In the moonlight, his hair shimmered like gold. And his earlobes, visible through them, were dyed redder than usual.

* * *

That night, Herrietta, who returned home safely to her mansion, was scolded by the McKenzie couple, who had been waiting for her late at night in front of the gate. Upon learning that she had fallen into a trap dug by a hunter, Rose nagged to the point that her mouth foamed. This is because, in some cases, things like sharp poles were installed in traps to catch large animals or wild beasts. If she was unlucky and she fell into the same trap, she could be seriously injured and even lose her life.

Baodor forbade her to go out of the house as punishment, which she accepted silently. She almost put her younger brother, Hugo, in danger, so she couldn’t say anything even if she received a harsher punishment than that.

If it were before, then she would have objected. However, Herietta wasn’t at all sad if she wasn’t going out for half a year, not a month. Because there was someone within this mansion that entertained her and touched her heart a lot more than going out.

And it didn’t take long for the Mackenzies and the people in the mansion to know about it.

* * *

Edwin sighed deeply as he was transporting packages of food ingredients from the warehouse to one place. The gaze on the back of his head was so stinging that it was hard to pretend he didn’t know. He lowered what he was holding onto the floor with a slightly rough motion.

Crash. The raw potatoes in it dropped and made quite a loud noise, but he paid it no mind and stood up.

“Stop it.”

“What?”

As if she had been waiting the whole time to talk to him, the answer came back immediately. Edwin turned and looked behind him. Herietta was sitting on a wooden box heaped in one corner of the warehouse. She was staring at him without looking at the book in her hand, but when she realized that his gaze was on her, she hastily turned her gaze to the book.

Her bent back was straightened, and her neck and shoulder lines were also straightened. She was so slow and clumsy that he doubted if she was doing it on purpose.

‘I don’t know what to say.’

Edwin sighed again.

“Why are you hovering around me like this?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Herietta pretended not to take her eyes off the book. She turned over the pages with her other hand that was not holding the book.

“I was just reading.”

“You mean here?”

Edwin asked with a surprised face. There was a musty smell from the wet trees, and there were spider webs in every corner. It didn’t make sense to leave a sunny place to read here. But, despite his question, Herietta only had a gloomy expression on her face.

“A true reader doesn’t dwell on places.”

“…is that so?”

“Of course.”

Herietta nodded and answered. Her eyes were still on the book, but a look of embarrassment prevailed on her face.

Edwin’s eyes narrowed as he stared at her.

“You’re holding the book upside down.”

“!”

Herietta, who was pretending to be noble with her words, was taken aback. She hurriedly checked the cover of the book. As he said, she was holding the book upside down, and she had a look of embarrassment on her face.

“Oh, I knew it! I did that on purpose!”

Herietta pretended to be okay and raised her voice. But she did after her face was already as red as a ripe tomato.

“How exciting and new to read a book upside down!”

“…”

“There are a lot of people around me who read books like this! Did Sir Edwin not know about it?”

“Yes. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”