After training, Rosalie headed straight to the office, where Dolan, Aaron, and Erudit were waiting for her, having arrived first after being paged.
When Rosalie entered the office, the three of them lowered their heads and greeted her. She nodded in response and sat down on the sofa in the center of the office, and they also took their seats.
“I called you all here because I have something important to tell you.”
As Rosalie’s expression and voice grew serious, the expressions of the three listening to her also became solemn.
“The Dukedom of Judeheart is about to start a territorial war with the Marquis of Windell.”
The expressions of the three, who were listening to her, gradually became bewildered and astonished. Among them, Aaron was the most taken aback.
“That’s… What do you mean?”
“In about three weeks, the Marquis of Windell will declare war.”
Aaron, who was stunned, finally regained his composure and spoke. His voice was filled with confusion.
“Is that why you’ve arranged the training?”
At Aaron’s words, Erudit spoke up, his voice also filled with bewilderment.
“Then, was the Goredic Mine also because of the war funds?”
“Yes.”
Unlike the three who were greatly shocked, Rosalie maintained a calm attitude. Taking a deep breath, Erudit finally regained his composure and asked in a slightly calmer voice than before.
“Aren’t you going to stop the territorial war?”
“I will win in the territorial war against Marquis Windell and take over the Dita Mine. The Dita Mine will revive Duke Judarte. I am confident in that, even if I have to stake my name on it.”
It was an absurd statement. The Dita Mine was a mine they had never even heard of, and winning the territorial war against the Marquis was also uncertain. Aaron hesitated then asked, his voice trembling.
“Can you… can you guarantee victory?”
“I can guarantee it.”
Rosalie replied firmly. It was not an exaggeration to say that Rosalie wrote about the war part in the original novel. When Chaerin was writing the novel, she would ask Rosalie for advice about the war at every opportunity, and so Rosalie (1)taught her the ropes. That was why Rosalie was confident of victory.
“I believe in the Duchess.”
Dolan, who had been silently listening, spoke up, and the attention of the three turned to him.
“In the short time I’ve been back in the Duchy, I’ve noticed how different you’ve become—how much wiser.”
“To be honest, I wouldn’t have believed the Duchess a few months ago. But now, I believe in you.”
Aaron added to the conversation. Then, both of them looked at Erudit. Just as Erudit was about to speak, Rosalie spoke up first.
“Thank you all very much. Aaron and I will discuss military operations later. The butler and I will discuss the mansion.”
“Yes, understood.”
“May I have a word with Erudit for a moment?”
Aaron and Dolan discreetly got up from their seats and left the office. Once they were gone, a heavy silence filled the room, and Rosalie broke it first.
“Erudit, you’re one of the Duchy’s people, but you don’t need to show loyalty like Aaron or Dolan, who are old servants.”
At Rosalie’s words, Erudit’s hand twitched noticeably.
“You are free to leave the Duchy if you wish. I will speak to Dolan and Aaron to make sure there are no problems after you leave.”
Rosalie tried her best to speak gently as she looked at Irudit, whose expression had hardened.
‘If necessary, I’ll tell Derivis about Erudit and send him to the Imperial Palace.’
A harsh voice came out of Erudit, who had been frozen for a while.
“Is that consideration?”
Caught off guard by Erudit’s question, Rosalie couldn’t respond. A single tear streamed down from one of his eyes.
“…Erudit?”
Rosalie called out to him, bewildered by his sudden burst of tears. Erudit pushed himself to his feet without wiping his tears.
“I don’t need that kind of consideration. I’ll stay at the Duchy.”
With that, he rose from the couch, spun on his heel, and stalked out of the office. Rosalie could only stare with dismay at the door through which he had gone.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
At that moment, as Nathan left his room after arriving at the Duchy, he had to endure the urge to cover his nose due to the strong scent of Bella’s perfume. The smell of her heavy cosmetics mixed with the scent of her perfume was a living hell.
But Nathan held back and forced a gentle smile, and Bella blushed and leaned her head against him.
“You don’t have to be cautious in the Duchy, darling.”
“But the Duchess might not be pleased.”
Nathan said with a sad smile. In response, Bella chuckled and planted a kiss on his cheek. Nathan felt a momentary flare of irritation at the dirty feeling on his cheek.
“My baby, who am I?”
“You’re my muse.”
Nathan said as he looked Bella in the eyes. Bella knew that Nathan was a poor musician, and she was firmly under the impression that she was his one and only muse. That misconception pleased Bella.
She was convinced that she became Nathan’s muse because she was outstanding. It was an undeniable source of pride and a factor that elevated her status.
“Darling, I know that too. I’m telling you not to worry about a woman who will soon fall and disappear miserably.”
“Are you talking about the territorial war?”
In response to Nathan’s question, Bella placed her index finger near his lips.
“Shh, what if someone overhears.”
Nathan, who knew there was no one else in the area, found her behavior amusing as she glanced around. Bella raised her chin and whispered in his ear.
“I will definitely bring despair to that Rosalie. She should have stayed quiet in her room… Why did she have to insist on doing this…? Well, I knew this would happen someday.”
Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed secretly at the insults directed at Rosalie. But instead of the cold anger he harbored, he gently chastised her.
“Bella, don’t say such scary things.”
“Okay. If that’s what you want.”
Bella’s face lit up with ecstasy at Nathan’s smile and she coquettishly tempted him.
“I’m going to take care of you. Just trust me.”
But despite Bella’s seduction, Nathan couldn’t help the anger that lurked beneath his smile. It was always like this, but especially when she spat out insults about Rosalie like this, he wanted to plunge a sword into her heart right then and there. He was annoyed that she was drowning out Rosalie’s scent, which wafted throughout the duchy, with the stench of her perfume.
‘Ah, I like Rosalie quite a bit, don’t I?’
Suddenly realizing this, Nathan smiled even more deeply. Unaware of his thoughts, Bella wanted to kiss Nathan right away as he smiled at her, but decided to hold off when she spotted Erudit strolling through the mansion in the distance.
“Darling, do you want to go to your room first?”
“Why?”
“I need to take care of something.”
Nathan nodded as he saw where Bella’s gaze was directed. After all, he just needed to hide and observe.
“Hurry up and come back. I need to see your face.”
“Oh, my!”
Bella blushed and turned around, walking away. At the same time, Nathan’s expression, which had been gentle, turned cold in an instant.
Bella adjusted her hair and straightened her attire with care as she walked. Then, she called out to Erudit, who was walking with a sniffling sound.
“Hey~.”
When Erudit turned his head upon hearing the voice, he quickly frowned upon recognizing Bella. Bella walked with a haughty gait, but she put on a pitying expression when she saw Erudit’s reddened eyes.
“Oh, did you cry? If there’s anyone who can make our General Administrator cry, that would be… Rosalie, right?”
As Erudit looked down at her with an annoyed expression, Bella leaned closer to him with a dark smile.
“Aren’t you angry? She made you cry. Do you want me to tell you a good way to get revenge?”
Bella exerted all her charms on Erudit with the intention of embezzling funds from the General Administrator. The seductive whispers drew an irritated response from Erudit, whose complicated mind was only made more complicated by her whispers.
“What do you want? Your perfume scent is too overpowering, so please stay away.”
Erudit covered his nose and stepped back from Bella. Suppressing her boiling anger, Bella tried to maintain a forced smile with the lifted corners of her mouth.
“I’m giving you a good opportunity. Think about it carefully.”
As Bella tried to take a step closer, Erudit moved two steps back. Unable to bear the disrespect and shunning behavior directed towards her, Bella finally raised her voice.
“You! You lowly commoner!”
As the angry words burst from Bella’s mouth, the Knights who had just stepped out from around the corner rushed toward him, calling out to Erudit.
“Erudit, sir! What’s going on?”
With an annoyed look, Erudit scanned Bella up and down.
“It’s nothing significant. The lady here just started an unwarranted argument with me.”
Despite his cold expression, the Knights’ eyes turned to Bella as they heard the melancholic tone in Erudit’s voice. Their eyes were filled with reproach.
“Lady Bella, you should not act that way towards Sir Erudit.”
Already fuming with anger, Bella’s pride flared at the thought of being disrespected by Knights and commoners alike, and she finally raised her hand high and swung it.
“Who do you think you are, lecturing me like this?!”
The knight, his cheek swollen red from the slap, could only bow his head in silence. He felt wronged and angry, but as Bella had said, it was not for him, a mere knight, to stand up to a nobleman.
“What’s going on here?”
At that moment, Rosalie’s voice was heard behind them, and all eyes turned to her. As Rosalie grasped the situation, she approached Bella, noticing the redness on the cheek of one knight and Erudit’s irritated expression.
“Did you do this?”
Rosalie asked, looking at Bella. Bella flinched and then began to shout and point around, attracting more attention from the surrounding people.
“You! Train these knights properly! You even put a commoner on the position of the General Administrator!”
Rosalie sighed and approached Bella, sweeping her hair back with a frustrated gesture.
[Collection of Footnotes]
1) “Taught the ropes”
– To learn the ropes means to learn or understand the basic details of how to do or perform a job, task, or activity.
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