Five days later, Rosalie returned to the mansion in the capital. Emma and Martin, having heard the news, rushed out to greet her and were moved to tears upon seeing her. The journey had taken longer than expected, inflating their worries to immense proportions.
As Rosalie stood in front of the mansion, she noticed Venick and approached him with a puzzled expression.
“Sir Venick? What’s going on?”
“I’ve come to escort His Highness back. His vacation was supposed to be for ten days only, but he had exceeded the promised duration by far.”
Venick glanced at Derivis, who was standing behind Rosalie. He shrugged, feigning ignorance.
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault we’re late.”
A protective move on her part had delayed them. Rosalie’s apology painted Venick’s face with embarrassment, while Derivis, who had been staring off into the distance, stepped forward briskly.
“It’s not your fault.”
“Oh, but why would the Duchess…?”
“Never mind. Let’s head back.”
Derivis immediately led Venick away from the mansion. Once they were gone, Erudit, who had been behind Venick, approached Rosalie.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. What about you, Erudit? Was there any trouble?”
In response to Rosalie’s question, Erudit hesitated for a moment before smiling.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Erudit~ Aren’t you going to ask me~?”
“You seem perfectly fine to me.”
Erudit pushed away Nathan, who was approaching him, with a cold look on his face. He did scan him for injuries, though, seemingly concerned.
Seeing that Nathan was apparently unharmed, Erudit cautiously approached Rosalie.
“Your Grace, would you like to have a drink for a moment? If you’re tired, we can postpone it.”
“No, let’s have it now.”
Nathan quickly read the atmosphere and retired to his room, saying that he was exhausted.
As Rosalie and Erudit made their way to an inner room of the mansion and sat at the table, Emma quickly prepared tea and snacks, beautifully arranging them on plates before leaving the room and telling them to call her if anything was needed.
Silence passed as Erudit picked up a cup of warm tea and took a sip. When Erudit remained silent, Rosalie spoke first.
“It was a sudden revelation, wasn’t it? Did your feelings towards the duchy change?”
“No, not at all. It’s definitely not that. I just… needed time to think.”
Rosalie listened carefully to his words as she took a sip of her tea.
“So, have you finished thinking?”
“Yes. I think I can tell you properly now.”
Rosalie listened intently as Erudit cleared his throat and began speaking with difficulty.
“At first, I was definitely confused because you knew who I was. But I thought it wouldn’t change anything.”
“Being kind to you wasn’t due to some ulterior motive or plan. It was truly because you were an exceptional talent and of great assistance.”
“Yes, I know. I never thought the Duchess would be that kind of person.”
Erudit took another sip of his tea. His throat felt unusually dry today.
“Your Grace, regardless of how I might have been in the story you read, I don’t regret coming to the Duchy at all. In fact, it’s all thanks to your encouragement that I’ve become much more stable here. Maybe I would have made the same choice even if I had known this fact.”
Erudit looked directly into Rosalie’s eyes and spoke. His eyes contained nothing but sincerity. It was only then that Rosalie could smile.
“…Thank you for saying that.”
Erudit finally smiled as well, realizing only then the sweetness in the tea he had been drinking just to quench his thirst.
“And come to think of it, the Crown Prince might not be the best superior. Just recalling our academy days is enough to imagine what would’ve happened.”
As Erudit mentioned, Derivis would often leave work to Erudit and slack off in the novel. In fact, Derivis had brought Erudit to the palace precisely because he thought it would create more opportunities for him to slack off, given Erudit’s competence.
Rosalie couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of Derivis leaving his work to Erudit to play around.
“He really would do that.”
Erudit set down his tea cup, shaking his head at the thought of the irredeemable prince. He held the cup tightly in his hand.
“But Erudit, no matter how good or bad Derivis may be as a superior, you always worked diligently.”
“…Unlike the Crown Prince, I prefer to be diligent.”
Rosalie laughed at Erudit’s straightforward comment.
“And actually, I owe the prince a small debt. Perhaps part of me entered the palace not just because the offer was appealing, but also because of that time.”
“Debt? That time?”
When Rosalie showed interest, Erudit cleared his throat and recalled what had happened during their academy days.
“Once, I got into an argument with someone who called me a commoner. Just when things were about to escalate, the Crown Prince, who happened to be shirking his duties nearby, stepped in to save me. I guess he did it more out of annoyance than anything, and frankly, the prince probably doesn’t even remember it anymore.”
Considering Derivis’s reaction when they met, it was clear that he didn’t remember it at all. Rosalie couldn’t help but smile at Derivis’s forgetfulness about something he had done in the past.
And that smile caused Erudit’s expression to stiffen.
“Erudit?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Erudit dismissed it, raising his teacup. However, he felt a nagging pain in his chest.
⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰
Three days had passed since then. During that time, Rosalie had been spending leisurely hours with Nathan and Erudit, enjoying their company. But today, she was on her way to meet Bianca, who had requested a meeting.
“I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be playing with Erudit~ Have a good time~”
“Who said I’d play with you?”
Leaving the bickering duo behind, Rosalie climbed into the carriage. Despite her refusal, Joey insisted on escorting her and mounted the horse prepared behind the carriage.
The Duchess’s carriage headed to the cafe Bianca had introduced. Rosalie, who arrived first, took a seat in a corner, and Joey naturally retreated to the background.
Unlike their previous meeting spot, this place had a full-length mirror on one side, reflecting Joey’s rigid stance.
‘Did I arrive too early?’
Having arrived earlier than expected, Rosalie waited idly, eventually closing her eyes to the pleasant sunlight streaming through the window.
Just as she was enjoying the peaceful moment, Rosalie’s eyes suddenly snapped open. She emitted a lethal auror, her dagger already summoned in her hand.
“Who are you?”
On the opposite couch was a man with light blue hair and gray eyes — Rondun had appeared and was sitting there.
“So you really can use Auror. You recognized my presence quite quickly.”
“Identify yourself.”
Rosalie glanced briefly at Joey’s reflection in the wall mirror. Joey stood there, gazing into empty space with a vacant expression.
“What did you do to my knight?”
“Hehe, don’t worry. You’ll find out soon.”
In that moment, Rosalie felt a strange sensation in Rondun’s eyes as they met hers. Along with it, a foggy feeling overwhelmed her.
Then, a gruesome, crunching sound came from Rosalie’s mouth as Rondun raised both of his hands.
A fresh wound appeared on his flawless cheek, and the once pristine sofa now had a dagger deeply embedded in it. Rosalie swallowed the distinct, metallic taste of blood that she could feel in her mouth.
“Duchess, you are truly remarkable. I won’t do anything unnecessary.”
However, even with the gesture of surrender, Rosalie’s guard remained up, her killing intent even making Rondun feel a chill down his spine.
“Tell me again. What did you do to my knight?”
“Calm down. It’s just a simple hypnosis spell. Your knight has a strong mind, and there shouldn’t be any severe side effects since I haven’t given him any harmful commands.”
Rondun rambled on, but Rosalie’s aggressive stance did not waver; instead, the dagger embedded in the sofa returned to her hand.
“You used magic?”
“Yes! I’m a magician! And I came here for an interesting conversation with the Duchess. I took the opportunity to come when the red-haired human who is always by your side is absent.”
“I’ve never seen a magician like you before.”
“Oh, no. We locked eyes in front of the Imperial Court, remember?”
When Rosalie failed to remember, Rondun grinned and flipped his robe’s hood over his head. Though the robe was a different color than before, Rosalie quickly recognized him.
“What do you want from me?”
“As I said, an interesting conversation. So, could you put that dagger away? I really just came to talk today.”
Rondun pointed to the dagger with his chin. However, Rosalie did not put away the dagger as he had requested.
‘In the novel, there was no mention of a specific magician as a character. Is this someone who appears in the later parts? Why would such a character come to me?’
Rondun began to plead when she didn’t sheath her dagger, his eyes welling up with tears and his hands clasped together.
“It’s a conversation that will truly benefit you.”
A magician who had managed to enter the Imperial Court’s tribunal could have snuck in using his powers. However, a magician from the reclusive Mage Tower being in the capital was unusual.
Realizing the need to discover his suspicious motives, Rosalie sheathed the dagger. However, she maintained her cautious demeanor.
“Don’t do anything foolish.”
“Hmm, you’re scarier than I expected. I found out that the original Rosalie Judeheart was pathologically timid and a crybaby. It’s as if the person, no, the soul, has changed.”
Rosalie stiffened at the pointed comment. He continued to gaze at her without looking away, the corners of his mouth rising under the uncovered part of his robe.
“Well. Hello there, Duchess with a changed soul.”
Rondun removed his robe’s hood while Rosalie struggled to keep her expression from changing, suppressing her trembling heart.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“First, listen to what I have to say before denying it. I’m a rather competent magician, you know?”
Rosalie feigned indifference, but she was inwardly trying to deduce what this suspicious magician wanted from her.
‘How much does he know, and why is he approaching me like this?’
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