Roselia, rendered speechless by Clausette Baltezar’s question, rolled her eyes nervously.
“Um… well, that is…”
Clausette Baltezar waited leisurely, leaning his shoulder against the wall. His expression suggested he would listen patiently, so she might as well speak. Feeling like she had nothing left to lose, Roselia opened her mouth.
“The—the position of the vase didn’t look right, so I was moving it!”
“At this hour of the night?”
“Yes…”
Even as she said it, Roselia felt pathetic. She wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
His cold, navy-blue eyes swept over her once more. Wherever his gaze landed, Roselia felt a stinging heat, but she forced a nonchalant smile, refusing to shrink away.
“I see you have a hobby of breaking into a sweat after showering.”
“T-that aside, what brings the Duke to my room?”
Roselia, having hastily cut him off, shifted her gaze to the envelope he held. It seemed the Duke had personally brought the 20 Berang that Alejandro had promised to deliver.
“Alejandro left on urgent business this afternoon.”
With that, he held out the envelope. Seeing Roselia had no hands free—she was clutching a vase the size of her own torso—Clausette Baltezar let out a sigh of annoyance.
“Are you going to put that down?”
“No! I haven’t decided on a spot for it yet! P-please, tuck it in here!”
At her request, Clausette Baltezar looked between the flowers in the vase and her face with pure absurdity.
“Here?”
“Yes!”
“You want me to tuck it in?”
“Yes!”
Faced with her determined answer, Clausette Baltezar sighed inwardly, wondering what sort of eccentric he had brought into his home, and gently wedged the envelope between the bundle of flowers. Only then did Roselia heave a sigh of relief.
He turned to leave as if his business were concluded, but he didn’t forget to deliver a parting shot.
“I shall look forward to that content you guaranteed.”
Under his chilling gaze—which promised she would be skinned alive if she failed to keep her word—Roselia swallowed hard and offered an awkward smile.
“How could I do otherwise?”
Clausette Baltezar turned his body slowly, still looking skeptical, but then her tiny voice, sounding as if it were crawling into a shell, held him back.
“Um… excuse me, but would you mind closing the door on your way out…?”
“…”
After a moment of silence where he stood rooted to the spot, Clausette Baltezar quietly approached and closed the door.
Once the latch clicked, Roselia slumped to the floor, still clutching the vase. Her heart thundered against her ribs. She had a sinking feeling that if she stayed in this ducal estate for too long, she would not survive to see the end of her natural lifespan.
* * *
Roselia stood idly behind half a dozen young ladies chatting cozily around a tea table.
There was simply no time to spare—she should have been out searching for authors who could earn her 3,000 Berang—yet here she was, aimlessly shadowing the young Lady.
Closette, sitting before her, seemed to be in a radiant mood, clearly enjoying this rare outing. Occasionally, one of the younger ladies would glance at Roselia and blush.
“Lady Closette, that new Il Domestico you have is really…”
“Handsome, isn’t he?”
Unlike the bold Closette, the lady who had spoken was blushing a deep crimson. Closette, with a shrug, turned her head toward Roselia.
“Antonio.”
At the command, Roselia sighed inwardly, stepped closer, and bowed.
“Did you call, My Lady?”
Her voice, intentionally pitched low to mask her gender, sounded like a pleasant tenor. The young ladies within earshot began to squeal.
“How can his facial features be so refined? I could believe he was a woman.”
“Aren’t his eyes beautiful? They’re just like emeralds…”
“Look at that glossy black hair.”
Seeing the ladies shower her with praise, Roselia broke into a cold sweat. She finally understood why the socialites’ tastes had shifted toward “pretty boys.”
“Antonio was once an aristocrat, so he possesses a grace and dignity unlike other servants.”
Watching Closette beam, as if she were showing off a prize possession, was almost cute.
“Oh my! No wonder! I thought his bearing was extraordinary!”
“Which noble house were you a scion of? But… are you no longer a noble now?”
“Oh, come now, Lady Madeline! What does that matter? These days, one can buy and sell titles! Even if your family has fallen, you can just work hard and buy back your rank, can’t you?”
*Hmm…* That was useful information. To think one could navigate nobility with enough money. She had been so focused on immediate survival that she hadn’t considered the long term, but it was a prospect worth keeping in mind.
“Ah… but if Antonio were to quit being an Il Domestico, I think I would be terribly sad.”
“Indeed… I’m starting to feel sad already.”
Roselia clicked her tongue inwardly. These women were already making plans for someone they didn’t realize was a woman. It brought a twinge of guilt.
“Oh, by the way, there is an item my father brought back from the Western Empire recently. Would you mind taking a look at it with us?”
The blonde lady pulled out an accessory made of jewels woven together like flowers. Glancing at it, Roselia recognized it from her memories of the novel. It was an unfamiliar piece in the Rugvelzet Empire, but it was the height of fashion in the Western Laphelios Empire.
“What is this? It doesn’t look like a necklace… and it’s an awkward length to be a bracelet…”
“It couldn’t be an earring… could it be for a dress?”
The ladies offered guesses, but none were correct.
“It seems you don’t know either. I received it as a gift, but I have no idea how to use it…”
Roselia, who had been quiet until then, spoke up softly.
“It is called a hair vine.”
“…? Pardon?”
As the ladies’ gazes converged on her, Roselia cleared her throat, feeling self-conscious.
“If it would not be an imposition, may I demonstrate how to wear it for you, My Lady?”
The owner of the ornament blushed and nodded.
Roselia took the accessory, draped it over her arm, and gathered the lady’s hair into a neat, skillful updo. Her movements were elegant, polished by years of styling her own thick hair.
The surrounding ladies watched in surprise and admiration. Once she had finished, she wrapped the hair vine around the style, securing it perfectly.
Unlike the Rugvelzet Empire, where women favored long, flowing hair, the Laphelios style emphasized the neck and shoulders. This accessory was destined to sweep through the local social circles.
Roselia smiled gently at the lady, who was touching her exposed neck with a mix of shyness and wonder.
“It suits you well, My Lady. Since the season is warming up, this look is quite appropriate.”
“D-do you think so?”
Seeing the lady act so shy, the weight of guilt in Roselia’s heart felt slightly lighter.
Just then, Closette, who had been watching in silence, added a word.
“Antonio.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Do it for me, too.”
“Ah, yes…”
At the sight of Closette pouting like a child, Roselia couldn’t help but let out a soft, airy laugh.
* * *
Inside the returning carriage, Closette stared out the window, clearly pleased with her new hairstyle.
The sight was so endearing that Roselia wondered if this was how it felt to have a younger sister.
Closette turned her head, met Roselia’s eyes, and cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed.
“It’s not like I’m doing this because I like the hair. I’m just in a good mood today.”
*Yes, yes, of course you are.*
Roselia nodded with a gentle smile.
“Unlike you, My Lady, I am glad that Lady Madeline was pleased with it.”
Closette stiffened, then turned to the window with a disgruntled expression.
“It’s not that I don’t like the hair, either…”
“Pardon? I couldn’t quite hear you~”
“Never mind! More than that… uh… I heard from Al…”
Al? Alejandro?
“That Klaus dragged Antonio in as a servant because of a debt…”
*Hmm…* Strictly speaking, it was her suggestion to pay off the debt, but the gist was accurate enough.
“Honestly… even though we’re of the same blood, how can that man be so obsessed with money?”
There was a bitterness in her grumbling that made Roselia tilt her head in confusion.
“I’ll apologize on behalf of that cold-blooded man as a member of the Baltezar Duchy.”
“Oh, no… there’s no need for you to apologize, My Lady…”
“That money-grubbing man is going to get burned badly one day. You’re my Il Domestico, so from now on, I will protect you from him.”
“No, well… you really don’t have to go that far…”
Seeing the resolve in Closette’s expression, Roselia didn’t press the matter. There was clearly a deep rift between the siblings. In the original novel, the focus had been entirely on the villainous Klaus, leaving his sister and their history a blank slate.
As the carriage arrived at the estate, Roselia helped Closette descend, only to see Klaus walking toward them, presumably heading out.
Closette stiffened instantly. She hardened her expression into a haughty mask and walked past him without a word. Watching her go, Roselia felt a pang of sadness for the girl’s retreating back, and she spoke to Klaus without thinking.
“You could have at least offered a greeting to the Young Lady first.”
Klaus turned his head, his brow furrowed in irritation.
“Does that have anything to do with you?”
“The Young Lady is still young, and you seem a bit too cold toward her.”
“You must have a lot of free time to be worrying about such things.”
As Klaus began to walk away, Roselia, remembering Closette’s darkened expression, blurted out one last thing.
“I don’t think you know what the Young Lady desires, Duke.”
Perhaps her words had struck a nerve. Klaus stopped walking and glared at her with a chilling, piercing gaze.