“I believe you. So, it would be better if you loosen up your expression a bit.”
Derivis said, tapping the corner of her mouth. His demeanor was light and relaxed, unlike Rosalie’s heavy face.
“You’re the one who came to save me.”
He wanted to hear the truth, but he didn’t want to hear it at the expense of making Rosalie’s heart grow heavy. He had absolute trust in Rosalie since she had approached him without hesitation and held his hand when he was standing alone in a pool of blood.
‘Maybe I wouldn’t blame her even if she deceived me.’
He felt like laughing at himself for being such a fool. Derivis silently lowered his head at the thought that it was a serious matter. Finally, Rosalie’s expression lightened slightly.
“Thank you for trusting me. I will definitely tell you if I am ready to speak.”
Derivis nodded his head. Just then, a knock on the door echoed through the room, and Rosalie looked toward it.
“It’s Venick.”
“It seems he’s here to get me.”
Rosalie got up from the chair. It was time to go.
She was about to pass by the sofa where Derivis was sitting, but he stopped her by gently holding her wrist.
“Promise me that you won’t do anything reckless. Or if you do, do it with me.”
Rosalie nodded slowly at Derivis’s firm words. Then, Derivis let go of her wrist.
“I promise.”
Derivis nodded in satisfaction, then turned to follow Rosalie out the door.
“…Don’t you have to finish looking at the documents?”
Rosalie gestured her chin toward the stack of papers on his desk. Derivis flinched, but the look in Rosalie’s eyes made it impossible for him to leave the office.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
And two days later as Rosalie predicted, the trial date was set.
“Five days later.”
Along with it, she unfolded a letter that had arrived from the palace. Rosalie frowned as she read the writing on the letter.
“It’s excessive.”
The reward the Emperor gave her was a villa in Noveta. However, all nobles were likely to have heard rumors about this small villa.
There was a rumor that this villa was the most beautiful villa in the world, with a lake that even fairies passing by were attracted to and gently sat down.
Even the first Emperor was said to have loved this villa more than the Empress because of its beauty. In terms of property value, it would be astronomical.
‘I guess he values his sons that much.’
Rosalie sighed softly and folded the letter. She couldn’t even reject what she had already received. After coming down to the lobby to pick up the imperial letter, she went up to her office.
She had barely sat down at her desk when the door burst open.
“Rosalie~ I’m here.”
“No, you can’t just barge in without knocking.”
“Erudit.”
Rosalie, who had become accustomed to Nathan’s habit of opening the door without knocking, did not pay attention to it and called out to Erudit, who entered after him.
After sighing for a moment, Erudit approached Rosalie and bowed his head.
“Hello, Your Grace.”
“Welcome.”
Erudit smiled at the greeting. Then, he approached the desk and skimmed through scattered papers.
“Are these the documents that need to be organized?”
“These are the documents to be submitted at the trial.”
Without further questioning, Erudit got ready to work. Meanwhile, Nathan stuck out his lip and flopped down on the couch at one end of the room.
“Oh, by the way, Nathan.”
At Rosalie’s call, Nathan barely moved and simply swayed his feet. His appearance was in sharp contrast to Erudit and Rosalie, who were busily reviewing documents.
“You said you found Sonia’s money pouch in the assassination guild you destroyed, right?”
Only then did Nathan turn his body on the sofa, propping up his chin on his arms and swaying his legs even more.
“Yeah, do you need it? Devi should have it.”
“It would be nice to have it.”
“You two look busy, do you want me to get it for you?”
Nathan, who was starting to get bored, asked Rosalie as she diligently went through the documents. She raised her head to look at him. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded.
“Well, since you two aren’t going to play with me, I’m going to go play with Devi for the first time in a while.”
With that, Nathan pushed himself off the couch, stretched, opened the window, and boldly jumped out. Erudit clicked his tongue at the animalistic behavior and the open window.
“Close the window before you go.”
As soon as Rosalie finished speaking, a strong and cold wind came in through the open window, causing their documents to fly messily in the air.
“…What should I do about those papers…”
Irritated, Erudit got up and closed the window that Nathan had left open. Rosalie looked at the scattered papers under the desk and muttered.
“Erudit, have you ever tried using your fists?”
“Uh…? I haven’t used them much because I don’t like fighting.”
“Really? I see.”
Rosalie said with a faint smile, picking up the fallen documents. Erudit gave her a puzzled look, but she shrugged it off and returned to her work.
By the time Rosalie looked up from her busy work, the sun had set and the moon had risen. After a quick dinner in the office, they wrapped up their work and headed to their rooms.
‘Come to think of it, why isn’t Nathan back yet?’
Rosalie, who was heading to her room, turned around and headed towards the lobby. Martin, who happened to be wandering around the mansion, noticed Rosalie walking towards the entrance and tilted his head in curiosity.
“Where are you going, Your Grace? Your clothes are too thin.”
“No, I’m just going to look around the entrance for a bit. Don’t worry about it.”
“Alright. If you need anything, please let me know.”
As Martin left, Rosalie tried to open the front door, but it opened before her hand could reach it. A cold breeze blew in as the door opened, revealing Nathan’s face.
“What are you doing here?”
“You came later than I expected.”
“Oh, because Devi came out late.”
Nathan jerked his chin to Derivis, who was following him. Rosalie then noticed him standing there.
“Derivis?”
“Hello, Duchess.”
“Devi said he had something to tell you.”
“It’s related to the pouch, but we need a quiet place.”
Thinking of a quiet place, Rosalie turned back and asked them to follow her to the office.
Rosalie pushed open the firmly closed door and sat on the sofa, followed by Nathan and Derivis on the opposite sofa.
It was still not perfectly organized from the early morning and late night paperwork, but it thankfully wasn’t unbearably dirty.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“You’re planning on submitting the money pouch as evidence in the trial, right?”
“That’s right.”
Derivis, who had been lost in thought for a moment, tapped his feet a few times before continuing.
“Do you mind if I bring the money pouch on the day of the trial?”
“May I ask why?”
“I think we’ll need evidence that the money pouch belongs to Sonia.”
Rosalie nodded. It was true that it would be problematic if Sonia said the money pouch wasn’t hers.
Unless Nathan’s ability was known, his claim would not be evidence.
“So I’ve been thinking about that too. Do you have a plan?”
“I’ve been doing some thinking.”
Rosalie looked at Derivis, who spoke casually. Derivis cocked his head when he read that look.
“Why?”
“If it’s too difficult, you can just tell me the plan. The duchy will handle it.”
Rosalie wasn’t sure if she should involve Derivis in the act of driving out someone who was his close friend. Then, Derivis shook his head.
“No, I’m the most effective in that plan. Am I not enough?”
“That’s not it. It’s just that… Derivis and Sonia were close friends, so I’m worried.”
Derivis paused for a moment at Rosalie’s words.
“…I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.”
In fact, he was worried in many ways. He felt sorry and hurt by why Sonia had behaved that way, and he felt sorry for Rosalie, too.
“Then we’ll move from our duchy.”
“I saw the punishment you wanted submitted to the palace.”
Rosalie examined Derivis’s face as he continued to speak. More precisely, she scrutinized his expressions and every word.
“Do you think it’s excessive?”
“Not at all. If anything, I think it’s appropriate, especially if they have the potential to act threateningly towards you.”
Derivis spoke firmly. If someone didn’t know him well, they wouldn’t believe that he and Sonia were friends.
‘And above all, if Sonia threatens Rosalie again…’
He didn’t know what he would do then. He couldn’t be sure that he could control himself and keep his reason as he did this time.
He thought about Sonia’s behavior as a child.
‘Sonia had always monopolized all the love from the people around her since she was a child. From friends to family and even in society. But before she knew it, she was obsessed and fixated on it herself.’
Perhaps the punishment Rosalie chose was necessary for Sonia to reflect on her actions and give up her greed.
After a moment’s pause in thought, Derivis looked up and locked eyes with Rosalie.
“Do you remember when you said you wouldn’t hesitate to attack Sonia? I said I was okay with it, remember?”
“I remember.”
“So don’t worry about it.”
Rosalie nodded at Derivis’s resolute attitude. It was a significant gesture. As the atmosphere in the room grew heavier and heavier, Nathan, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, grumbled.
“Ahh~ I hate this heavy atmosphere~.”
However, Rosalie and Derivis casually ignored his complaints. When no one responded, Nathan’s voice grew louder and louder.
Rosalie threw a dry comment at him as he watched him.
“You’re noisy.”
After seeing Derivis off, Rosalie returned to the office and immediately began writing something down on the paper she picked up. Nathan, who had just joined her, watched from afar.
“Are you selecting personnel for exploration?”
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