Chapter 32
After the luncheon, my sister Angel came to me, and she sneaked in and said to me: "Miss Catherine wants to see you in the back garden."
"What's the matter?" I frowned.
"I don't know." Angel shook her head, and then said disgustingly: "What can she do? Except ask you to help her, let us work for her like a dog without any rewards. You better not be fooled by her beautiful looks, and let her take advantage of you."
I smiled and said, "Maybe this lady has fallen in love with me as she found me handsome and unique charming."
Angel sneered: "I might as well believe that those silly girls in our village are in love with you, but her? Are you kidding me?"
I took Angel in my arms and kissed her forehead: "Have I ever said that you are a smart girl."
Angel snorted and said to me: "Go ahead and speak carefully with Lady Catherine."
I came to a path in the back garden where Catherine and I often 'ran into each other'.
She was sitting on the stone pier among the flowers, all kinds of bright flowers surrounded her, and one or two white butterflies were flying around her. The young noble lady is so beautiful and charming, even a smile can make the world intoxicated, and now her smile is blooming to me.
"Owen, you are finally here." She looked at me earnestly: "I have been waiting for you for a long time."
"I'm at your service anytime, Lady Catherine." I leaned forward and said.
"You are always so distant to me. We have known each other for so long." She said with a flushed face, "We... are friends too, aren't we?"
"I'm just a humble servant, how could I ever be good enough to be your friend." I lowered my head and said.
"Don't say that, I have always regarded you as a friend. And you have helped my father a lot by telling us the news of the baron. I thank you very much." She said shyly.
"It's all right, you don't have to say that," I said embarrassedly.
If someone sees the scene at this time, they will definitely think that this is a pair of young men and women who have a good impression of each other in an ambiguous atmosphere. But the truth is, we are all acting, we all hide our hideous schemes under our courtesy. I'm trying to pretend to be a humble male servant who is in love with a noble lady, and Catherine pretends to be a noble lady who falls for a lowly male servant. The admiration and shyness on the surface are actually camouflages and contempt.
There is filth hidden in the beautiful scenery, and deceit hidden in the touching romances. This may be the essence of this world. Let everything be covered in a calm and peaceful surface. The low turbulent waves can only be lifted at the last moment, and the enemies hit are caught off guard.
"Owen, if it weren't for you, we really don't know what to do." The girl who was still happy just now suddenly became sad. She said in a deep voice, "You know, after my father passes away, everything in my family will be In the hands of Baron Oscar, we will be driven out and live on the streets..."
When she said these words, she seemed to be the poorest person in the world, even the beggar on the roadside would cry for her pitiful situation.
As a servant who secretly admired her, I was naturally heartbroken, so I had to comfort her softly and said: "Don't think that way, the Viscount will surely spare enough money to ensure the future lives of the lady and the young ladies, and the Baron, he won't be so unrelenting."
After this period of communication, Catherine no longer hides her head and reveals her true plan. She imperceptibly mentions the baron's cold heart in front of me, and today she blatantly criticized it.
"You don't understand it. Even if my father's investment can make money, it will only fill up our past deficits. We will still be penniless by then. As for Lord Oscar, everyone knows that he is very cold. How can he take care of us when even his mother, he had refused to take care of it."
This woman had already started talking nonsense for the sake of acting, presumably to pretend to be pitiful, her eyes were full of tears, and the big ones rolled down her cheeks, even the iron heart was about to melt for her.
"My lady, please don't be upset, if there is anything that can help you, please don't be hesitate to ask me, be sure to tell me," I said sincerely.
"Really?" Catherine looked at me incredulously, her face moved: "Owen, you...you are so kind to me."
"You are the lady in the Monor who has been very nice to me," I said softly.
Catherine smiled and lowered her eyes: "I know that my next request is very excessive, but only you can help us."
She said: "We need something, and that thing is in the hands of Baron Oscar. It was... it was left by my grandfather. It was supposed to be left to my father, but it was monopolized by my uncle and has been unwilling to return it."
"What is it? Will it help you in your future?" I asked, squinting.
"Oh..." Catherine hesitated and started to lie again: "We don't want you to steal the baron's belongings, we just want to get back what belongs to us, do you understand?"
"That is stealing!" I cried out in surprise: "You want me to steal from Lord Oscar!"
"Hush!" Catherine was anxious: "You keep your voice down, do you want everyone to hear it? Listen to me..."
"No...no, miss, I can't do such a thing. Why don't you just mention it to the baron if you want it? The word of stealing shouldn't even be spoken out from your mouth." I disapproved.
"This is not stealing, we are just taking back what belongs to us." Catherine explained eagerly: "The Baron is very stingy. Even if we ask him for it, he will definitely not give it to us."
"I'm sorry, I can't do such a thing, and forgive me for being rude." Like a frightened child, with a pale face, I walked out of the garden quickly.
The conversation that happened just now was not much different from the previous life.
At that time, I had been asked by the baron to come to Delman Manor, and everyone knew that he had a special interest in me. The Viscount ordered me to monitor the Baron, check the letters in his study, and monitor his every move. And Catherine came to seduce me, and in the end, she proposed to let me steal an item from the Baron.
Stealing is a serious crime, and if the value of an item exceeds seven shillings, the thief will be hanged. I naturally refused at first, but couldn't bear her strong love and persuasive words, this young lady actually end up confessed that she fell in love with me. Is there anyone more stupid than a man in love? The answer is probably no.
I believe it won't be long before that this noble lady comes and tell me that she is in love with me like in previous life.
Seeing the prey stepping into the trap step by step, my excitement started to fly.
I would even fantasize that the Viscount's family got their due retribution, and I...
I...what will happen to me?
The pleasant emotions disappeared instantly.
I stopped and stood still.
Since the rebirth, I have been thinking about my revenge day and night, and now the goal is close at hand, as long as they still want to frame the Baron through the way of the previous life, then I can let them eat their own evil results.
But afterwards, what to do after my revenge?
Where should I go?
Can I just stay by the Baron with the cheeks? Enjoying his pampering and trust when he doesn't know anything?
The sun was shining fiercely on my body, but my heart seemed to fall in a muddy swamp.
Can I accept Baron's love after all this shameless revenge? Pretending to know nothing, pretending that I have always been a good innocent person, then why should I take revenge on the Viscount family? So far, they haven't done anything to me and they even showed kindness to me.
At this moment, a maid hurried over and she yelled at me: "Mr. Eric, the master is calling you."
I hurriedly packed my mood and walked towards the castle. Now I have not achieved my goal, there is no need to think about it.
The baron was standing by the window when he opened the door of the study.
I thought he would turn around with a gentle smile, but he kept looking out the window, unlike the way he was chasing me eagerly before, which made me very strange.
"My lord, are you summoning me?" I asked in a low voice.
"Yes." The baron turned his back to me, his voice was low, even a little cold, he said: "Today, you are serving me in the study."
"Yes." I leaned to him, wondering if he was interested again.
But the baron suddenly turned cold to me. He looked at me quietly, his eyes a little dark, not like the fiery and eagerness of the previous few days, but his introverted and calm eyes.
Such cold eyes made my heart beat violently, and an indescribable emotion suddenly rose, which could not be said to be fear or sadness.
He looked at me for a while, then walked to the desk without saying a word and started working. During the rest of the time, he was just focusing on his official duties, and he didn't even have time to raise his head for a cup of tea, let alone look at me or talk to me.
This kind of attitude that suddenly cooled to be like a stranger made me even more disturbed. He was so different from the previous two days. Is it because the excitement has passed, he has lost interest in me, or he is born to be so moody and angry. He would being warm and intimate with people for a while, and cold and frosty to people the next moment before you know, it really makes people wonder what to do.
When it was time for dinner, the baron didn't even look at me, and directly ordered: "I want you to be with you all the time."
After speaking, he left the study, and I hurriedly followed in his footsteps.
Said he was an attendant, but he was really inseparable.
From waking up in the morning, working during the day, and resting at night, he ordered me to follow him at all times. I only have a short time to wash and eat in a day, and stand beside him at all other times.
But he was almost like a different person, and he was very cold to me. Not to mention the act of intimacy, he rarely looked at me at all, and the conversation was just a simple command.
One time when I was pouring tea for him, I accidentally ran into the teacup, and I hurried to stabilize it, and the baron also happened to stretch out his hand, our hands touched together.
Then our sights also touched in an instant.
A panic flashed across the baron's pale face, but he immediately concealed it, and I even thought I was wrong.
He calmly retracted his hand, sorted out the papers on the table, and said, "I told you not to pour tea in front of my desk."
"I'm sorry." I leaned hurriedly.
He sighed softly, and after a long time he said, "You need to be more cautious."
"Yes." I lowered my head deeply, and the panic in my heart soared.
"..." The baron opened his mouth but didn't say anything again. He waved to me, meaning that he was going to continue his office.
Just as I was struggling with the baron's warm and cold heart, Catherine took her next action.
She also knew that the baron took me with me all day long and it was not convenient to meet, so she chose late at night and went to the dark corridor at the back of the hall alone, where the servants must pass through when they go back to the servants' bedroom.
There was a portrait of the Virgin Mary on the wall there, and Catherine knelt in front of the portrait, with a gloomy oil lamp lit by her side.
She was kneeling there and praying.