Edited…

10. Intoxicated by a Distinctive Fragrance

Only then did she realise that she was a servant, awkwardly taking his shirt in a rush.

As she held the shirt and hesitated, he, seemingly frustrated, gestured towards one side of the sofa. There, a comfortable linen shirt that he had taken out was laid out.

“Me, you’re asking me?”

“Then, should I call another servant when there is one right in front of me?”

With a grim expression, she reluctantly approached him with the shirt on the sofa, facing the half-naked man.

As she placed the shirt onto his familiar outstretched arm, her fingertips grazed his bare skin.

Roselia, pretending to be nonchalant, bit her lip and pulled the shirt up to his shoulders.

When she approached him to fasten the remaining buttons, he suddenly spoke.

“Since it seems you don’t intend to talk about the matter at hand, I’ll ask first.”

Roselia, trying to concentrate and not reveal her trembling fingertips, slowly buttoned up from the bottom.

“Is it true that Roselia de Hesingk is really dead?”

At that moment, her hand froze mid-way, stiffening, while her expression hardened.

Could it be… did the Duke catch on to her true identity?

Exposed through the partially buttoned up shirt, his chest felt even more threatening in the chill night shadows.

Slowly, Roselia raised her gaze, which had previously been fixed on his chest making their eyes meet.

His cool navy-blue eyes, reminiscent of the night sky, stared through her as if piercing her.

“I am asking again. Did Roselia de Hesingk really die?”

Ignoring her dry throat, Roselia made an effort to put on a firm expression.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about…”

Opposed to her racing heart, her voice flowed out slowly and calmly. Despite his sharp gaze facing her, she stood there casually, almost proudly and sure of herself.

Watching Roselia intently, Klaus calmly continued.

“Just as it sounds. Did Roselia really die?”

Is he suspicious of me…?

When they first met in Algrisha Village… She thought that he probably didn’t look at her properly; however, was he actually seeing through everything?

Sweat formed in the hand holding the shirt button, and it felt like that drop of sweat might fall at any moment. However, Roselia, with a calm facade, continued to button up his shirt slowly.

“You seem to be overdoing it with the jokes, Duke.”

At that moment, Klaus grabbed Roselia’s wrist, which was buttoning up his shirt.

“Does it look like I’m joking right now?”

The grip on her wrist made her involuntarily wrinkle her brows. Yet, she made an effort not to appear flustered, proudly meeting his eyes.

Despite her wild heartbeat, her voice resounded calm and confident, as she faced him.

Watching Roselia closely, Klaus spoke leisurely.

“It seems like an exaggeration of an assumption. I don’t think it’s something nice to say to an orphan who has lost his younger sister.”

In response to her uncomfortable gaze, Klaus, as if expressing displeasure, released Roselia’s wrist and sat down on the sofa, sweeping his bangs back.

“If it’s true that your younger sister died, I should apologise. On the other hand, if everything is a but a pretence, I’d almost want to applaud.”

“…”

“Antonio de Hesingk.”

Chills emanated from Klaus’ voice as he pronounced the name rhythmically.

“It would be much better for you to give me a proper answer. If you used me to handle the death of a not-so-dead sister you had kidnapped, the loss on my side wouldn’t matter.”

What kind of nonsense is this? No way…

Gazing at Klaus with a puzzled expression, Roselia swallowed her frustration at the sudden thought that crossed her mind.

He probably…wasn’t suspecting her as Roselia, but rather thought that she had kidnapped Roselia.

She didn’t even realise that the feeling of familiarity with the woman he encountered in Algrisha Village might have led her to doubt the siblings.

It felt awkward but also somewhat fortunate.

However, she couldn’t accept the accusation of kidnapping her younger sister, so she calmly spoke, maintaining her poker face.

“You are going too far, Duke. If she was truly alive, why would I leave her alone in the harsh world outside? Even working as a maid in the Duke’s estate is much better.”

It made sense. The way we lived and were treated within the Duke’s estate was luxury compared to that of ordinary commoners. Every commoner would love to work as a servant here.

If they were not bound by their pride of nobles, some would realise that the loss of their title and position would mean living the life of a commoner.

“If you still doubt what you’re seeing, I can assure you that girl or whoever you saw doesn’t share blood with me. You can’t think of us as relatives just based upon our appearance alone.”

Under Roselia’s unwavering gaze, Klaus’s momentum waned, and he seemed to be taken aback.

When he thought of it, he realised that he could not remember the appearance of the woman.

Yet, why was he so convinced that Antonio had a role in it? It was an irrational judgement based on a unfounded suspicion of the similarity of their eyes, even if it doesn’t make sense.

Even the strange fragrance emanating from Antonio now… It felt so familiar to that faint scent of the woman, that it had clouded the Duke’s judgement.

Even now, being alone in that room with Antonia, the faint familair yet unfamiliar scent disturbed him. The smell seemed to titillate his senses, so much that it caused him a headache.

Klaus eventually grabbed his head in frustration and spoke irritably.

“Sorry. I admit that I made baseless accusations.”

As he sincerely apologised, Roselia let out an inward sigh of relief.

Her gaze fell on Klaus with an odd look, sensing something uncomfortable about him. Klaus seemed bothered by her scrutinising gaze, and raised his hand as if to wave her off.

“I’m a bit tired today, so leave now.”

Without a word of farewell, Roselia bowed her head and left the room.

As soon as she stepped out, the tension that had been tightly gripping at her seemed to loosen, and her legs shook in relief.

She later realised that she had not asked her question, but considering the situation, she thought of herself to be lucky so as to have overcome that situation.

* * *

Unexpectedly, opportunities came as if they had been waiting.

After deciding to accompany Lady Claucet as a domestico, the next tea party with the Marquis was soon scheduled.

Why didn’t I think of this before?

The Marquis, who had agreed to invite the Young Lady Claucet, was the Crown Princess’s family home. And the young lady, Ikelia, whom the Marquis was to introduce today, was the younger sister of the Crown Princess Evelione.

In other words, it meant that even without asking the Marquis for a favour, Roselia would be able to approach the Crown Princess using this opportunity.

Roselia stood behind a dozen or so young ladies gathered at the Marquis’s tea party, constantly watching Lady Ikelia’s reactions, busy as she was.

Unlike the previous tea party gatherings, this tea party was held at the Marquis’s residence, the residence of the Crown Princess, so it was much larger in scale. Some young ladies also brought their own domestico like Claucet.

Like Roselia, the handsome young men waiting behind the young ladies’ tea tables, just standing a little distantly, were busy exchanging glances to restrain each other.

Of course, most of those glances were directed at Roselia.

However, Roselia, who had no interest in the petty fights among domestico workers, was not bothered at all. She was too preoccupied with thinking about bringing up the topic of art with the Marquis’s young lady.

“Oh my, the domestico gathered here are truly handsome. It’s embarrassing to say this, but among them, the Lady Claucet’s domestico worker…”

“Is the most handsome, right?”

Without missing a beat, Claucet proudly answered, shrugging up to his shoulders.

Watching this from behind without being noticed, Roselia had to suppress a laugh that wanted to burst out.

“Yes, among the rough and rugged Lugbelzet young men, he is a delicate and handsome man rarely seen.”

Well, that’s because I’m a woman…

Roselia inwardly muttered those words and smiled at Ikelia, who was looking at her.

In response, Ikelia blushed and covered her mouth, smiling happily.

“Hmph, men should be sturdy and manly. How can that delicate thing properly work?”

It was a remark from a young lady sitting on the opposite side of Claucet.

Was she the young lady of Viscount Belmont? Her name seemed to be Jucide.

Whether it was Jucide Belmont or something else, Roselia wasn’t in the mood for the annoying tone she had been giving since earlier. Although Claucet seemed unaffected by the Viscounty Belmont’s young lady’s remarks, it was clear that Roselia didn’t appreciate them.

Since the mistress was peacefully ignoring her, there was no need for her to step forward. So, Roselia disregarded it.

However, Jucide, feeling ignored, blushed in embarrassment.

“By the way, Lady Claucet, you’ve tied up your hair. Some other young ladies have similar updos. It looks neat and refreshing. Is it a trendy hairstyle these days?”

When the Marquis’s young lady complimented Claucet’s hair, Claucet, now in a better mood, eagerly spoke up.

“Right? Antonio did this hair for me. He also did an updo for Lady Merlin before. It seems to have become a trend among the young ladies since then.”

“Oh, my, how delicate.”

As the Marquis’s young lady praised, Jucide, who had been dozing off next to her, snorted.

Watching the scene closely, Roselia approached Jucide with a playful smile.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I tidy up Lady Jucide’s hair as well?”

“What?”

Making enemies in social circles was never good. It was advisable to build friendships with influential figures in society and gather as much information as possible.

Moreover, if it was the young lady of a Marquis, even better…

Since most of the attendees were either debutantes or girls who had just debuted, it was easier to handle them than eating candy while lying down.

After all, Roselia was a woman, and before being transmigrated into the novel, she was a working woman who endured the harsh treatment of her female superiors.

“Although it may sound presumptuous, Lady Jucide’s face shape would stand out more with an updo.”

“Really?”

People who enjoyed making sarcastic remarks or picking fights were often either lacking in affection or in need of attention. Roselia skillfully manipulated her like a trainer handling a wary monkey, shaking the bait expertly.

“Yes. With Lady Jucide’s elegant appearance, tying her hair up will add a more mature image.”

“In that case, um…”

Without realising it, Jucide, who had entrusted her hair to Roselia, blushed even more and became quiet.

Looking at Jucide like that, Ikelia whispered quietly to Claucet.

“It’s amazing how he made Lady Jucide behave so meekly.”

Claucet, who didn’t like Roselia’s actions, cautiously opened her mouth when he saw Ikelia’s positive reaction.

“Right? Even though he’s my domestico, he’s very observant and does his job well. Besides, his aesthetic sense is outstanding, so I’m sometimes surprised too.”

Claucet effortlessly delivered the words Roselia had requested, and he even added a pinch of acting to express admiration. Ikelia, curious, asked as if she wanted to know more.

“Outstanding aesthetic sense?”

“Yes, he has a different eye for appreciating artworks. It’s to the extent that even the Duke acknowledges it. Moreover, he used to be a noble himself, so there’s little worry about him being impolite to the Duke, considering his background.”

Praising even Klaus, whose name she found distasteful, and selling it up to the point of mentioning the Duke’s acknowledgment, Claucet continued to compliment Roselia. Observing this, Jucide, who had been contemptuously looking at Roselia’s actions, also showed a fascinated expression.