"Sigh..."
Catherine let out a long sigh, tugging at her hair in frustration. For some reason, she just couldn't calm down. Her mind kept replaying three specific moments—having her bare backside seen, having her chest grabbed, and having her forehead touched.
"Why, though?"
Her hand absentmindedly pressed against her own chest. Then, out of curiosity, she gave it a little squeeze.
Nothing.
Her eyes filled with confusion. "Why doesn't my heart race when I do it myself?"
She pressed her other hand against her chest and squeezed again. Still, no strange sensation.
"So… does it really have to be a man for it to work?"
Catherine frowned, growing even more distressed. "Could it really be like in Princess Lucy's novels? That your heart only races if someone you like touches you?"
The thought only made her more flustered. She slumped down, groaning, "But I just met him! We barely know each other! How could I possibly like him?!"
"Creak!"
The door suddenly swung open.
Dahlia froze in place, staring blankly at Catherine—who was currently squeezing her own chest with both hands.
A strange expression crossed Dahlia's delicate face.
"Cough, cough... Ahem... Carry on!"
Her eyes flickered away awkwardly as she slowly stepped backward, her foot retreating from the doorway. Then, without another word, she reached for the door and quietly shut it.
"Creak!"
Catherine blinked her eyes in stunned silence, then slowly looked down at her hands.
Her face instantly exploded in red.
With a yelp, she threw her hands away from herself like they had been caught committing a crime. Then, in a flustered, furious voice, she shouted, "Dahlia! Get back here right now!"
"Creak!"
The door cracked open just a tiny bit, and one of Dahlia's eyes peeked through.
With a teasing smile, she quipped, "I never expected you to be into this kind of thing, Catherine. Don't worry, I totally wasn't trying to interrupt. You can keep going~"
"Shut up and get in here!" Catherine shouted, flustered and frustrated. "It's not what you think! I was just… checking if they've grown!"
"Oh? So if you squeeze them, they'll grow bigger?" Dahlia narrowed her eyes with a smirk.
"You—!"
Catherine was momentarily speechless, her face burning. Huffing, she turned her head away and pouted. "Hmph! Where did you run off to, anyway?"
"Uh…"
Dahlia immediately shut her mouth, looking guilty. How was she supposed to admit that she had gone out with her father for a grand feast? If she said that now, Catherine would probably spank her.
Catherine narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Knew you were off enjoying yourself," she muttered.
Then, deciding to ignore Dahlia for the moment, she scooped up the bowl of rice porridge from the table and took a big spoonful.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait… why is this porridge so good?!"
Catherine froze after just one bite.
The rich fragrance of the rice, the tenderness of the minced meat—every single mouthful was pure bliss.
She shot a quick glance at Dahlia, then immediately turned her back to her, hugging the bowl protectively as she shoveled the porridge into her mouth.
Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "It's just rice porridge. Is it really that good?"
As the daughter of a duke, Catherine could eat high-quality rice porridge or rice dishes whenever she wanted. But now, just one bowl had her acting this desperate? Was she starving or something?
"Nope! Not tasty at all!" Catherine blurted out, nodding vigorously—while her spoon never stopped moving.
"Right..." Dahlia smirked, sitting on the edge of the bed. She was already about seventy percent full from eating at Drunken Night Restaurant. If it weren't for that old scoundrel, she might've stuffed herself even more.
"Slow down, no one's stealing it from you."
"Mmhmm..." Catherine nodded absentmindedly, too busy eating to argue.
For the moment, thanks to Dahlia's distraction, she completely forgot about Lucas touching her forehead—or her chest.
Dahlia sat quietly to the side, still pondering over the five items or perhaps more about the perfume issue. Holding the exclusive rights to sell perfume in the capital was a good thing, but if handled poorly, it could become a disaster.
"Hic!"
A hiccup sounded, and Dahlia looked over to see Catherine licking the bottom of the bowl. It made her eye twitch. Was the daughter of a duke really here just to lick bowls?
"Alright, stop licking it. People will laugh if they see you." Dahlia tugged at Catherine's clothes.
"What's the big deal? It's just you." Catherine replied nonchalantly, reluctantly putting down the bowl and spoon.
"Guess who I saw today?" Dahlia said mysteriously.
"Who is it? It can't be Princess Lucy, right?" Catherine laughed lightly, scraping her thumb across the corner of her mouth and then licking it with her tongue.
"Really, stop licking your fingers like a little kitten!"
Dahlia rolled her eyes and said with a hint of annoyance, "I saw a woman today who looked a lot like Elisa, but her hair was gray."
"Elisa?" Catherine was stunned for a moment and exclaimed, "Didn't the little one say she fled to the south? How could she possibly be here?"
"You'll find out tomorrow. I know where she is..." Dahlia said with curiosity. That woman had once hidden in her private chamber for a few days, or rather, all five of the capital's legendary women knew each other.
"Alright, tomorrow I should be able to get out of bed and walk." Catherine, unsure whether it was from being full, felt much stronger.
"That's good." Dahlia sighed in relief. She then thought about those noble youths who were locked up, hoping they wouldn't be so shocked to see Catherine healthy and lively that their eyes might fall out.
"By the way, Dahlia, how should I thank that savior, Lucas?"
Catherine grabbed Dahlia's hands seriously. "How about I give him some perfume as thanks?"
"Uh..." Dahlia looked at Catherine with an odd expression. Was she really thinking about giving a perfume maker low-quality perfume? That might make him laugh his head off.
"Catherine, do you know what it means when a girl gives a man perfume?" Dahlia asked, her tone casual, trying to gently steer her.
"What does it mean?" Catherine furrowed her brows, and the next moment, her face flushed red. Giving perfume to a man meant a girl was offering her heart to him—basically, one of the ways a girl confesses her feelings.
"Wait, isn't that from The Noble Girl's Love Notes?"
Catherine smiled mysteriously, turning her head to look at Dahlia, teasing, "Looks like someone has read a book on how to fall in love."
"I... I just read it out of boredom." Dahlia said nonchalantly, but her ears turned red as she remembered staying up all night by candlelight reading The Noble Girl's Love Notes.
"Ha... So what if you read it? It's not like I'm going to laugh at you."
Catherine playfully waved her hand and then rested her chin on Dahlia's shoulder, speaking softly, "Dahlia, how about we go sell the perfume tomorrow? I wonder if there's a pawn shop in Sedona."
"Well..." Dahlia looked at Catherine, who was full of excitement, and couldn't help but cover her face. How could she say this? Should she mention that the two bottles of low-quality perfume were probably worth much less by now?
It was likely that they couldn't even sell them for gold coins anymore. No, even silver coins would be a stretch. Maybe—just maybe—they could get a few copper coins.
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