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“Prepare the ladder to place it on the courtyard wall, bring enough money and food, and sneak out quietly at midnight—this is indeed a good plan!” A woman with a childlike voice read the content of the book in a low voice. After finishing, she happily spun around and then began packing her luggage.
“Food?” Catherine was puzzled, “It should be something to eat, but a small bag won’t hold much, so let’s bring more money instead!” Catherine happily stuffed money into her small bag.
“Miss Catherine!” A slightly teasing voice slipped past Catherine’s ear.
“Ah~” Catherine, who was very seriously stuffing money into her bag, jumped in surprise upon hearing the voice and instinctively screamed.
“This sound is twice as loud as yesterday, hmm, there must be a ghost.” That teasing voice rang out again.
“No, really, there isn’t.” Catherine turned to look at the man who was speaking, subconsciously hiding her bag behind her back, saying hurriedly.
“In fact, I saw everything.” The man put away his usual carelessness and mischief, saying earnestly. In reality, he hadn’t seen anything, but when he first appeared, he took advantage of her distraction to throw a toad into her bag.
Catherine froze for a moment, subconsciously looking at the man’s eyes. Staring into each other’s eyes, she obediently lowered her head. A little annoyed for having made a mistake, she still bowed very seriously to Mason, saying earnestly, “Second brother, I’m sorry.”
Mason supported her and said seriously, "Okay, I forgive you. Don't lie again, okay? I'll just pretend I didn't see anything today!"
Catherine smiled gently at Mason, "Brother, I knew you were the best. Linda loves you the most."
Mason looked at Catherine's smiling face and blushed. Then he said softly, "Be good, keep cleaning." And he ran away quickly.
Catherine was a bit puzzled. Why was Brother's face suddenly so red? So strange!
Catherine was about to continue stuffing money into her small bag when she suddenly noticed something strange on the bag. It stared at Catherine with its round, shiny eyes, and Catherine screamed in terror, "Ah~ Help me, there's a monster!"
Mason, who had run downstairs, heard the high-decibel scream from upstairs and laughed heartily, "Hahahahaha."
Preston, who was about to go to the second-floor study, heard Catherine's scream with some confusion. Looking at Mason, who was still laughing, he scolded, "Are you still laughing? Didn't you hear your sister screaming?" After scolding, he ran upstairs and reached Catherine's room just in time to see his daughter backing away. Concerned, he asked, "Honey, what's wrong?"
Catherine, seeing Preston enter, froze for a moment, then quickly hid behind him, tightly holding his hand. "Dad, I'm scared," she said, "there's a monster on my bag. It keeps staring at me with its round, shiny eyes. Will it eat me?"
Preston looked at the toad sitting on the bag, freeing up one hand to pat Catherine's shoulder and said softly, "No, don't be afraid, it won't eat people." Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Did your older brother just come in?"
Catherine nodded. As soon as her older brother left, the monster ran to her bag.
"Sweetheart, cover your ears first," Preston said softly, looking at Catherine after she covered her ears, then yelled, "Mason, get in here."
Catherine jumped at the angry shout, shrinking away to one side. Dad was angry; she had never seen him angry before, and she was very scared.
Mason heard Preston's angry shout and slowly walked to Catherine's room, picked up that toad, and walked out.
Preston glanced at Mason, then looked at the bag, checked it a few times before setting it down with a sigh of relief.
Catherine watched Preston leave, full of terror. Dad gets really scary when he's angry. The stuff she just hid, Dad must have seen it. Wonder if he'll suspect anything.
"I want to move to the first floor, Dad," Catherine said cautiously.
“Alright, I’ll have someone clean your room right away.” Panson said and then left.
Catherine hesitated, staring blankly at the bag on the bed, before finally making up her mind and taking it downstairs.
