Edited…

13. Threatening me…Again?

“Are you threatening me again?”

“What…?”

Caught off guard by Roselia’s bold, almost fierce demeanor, Klaus was left speechless.

Roselia retrieved an envelope containing a 1,000 grangs check from her pocket and slammed it down on the table next to him with a thud.

Klaus, looking at the envelope with squinted eyes, slowly picked it up.

“It’s double the amount that we agreed upon for repayment.”

As Klaus took out the check and suspiciously inspected its contents, his gaze fell upon the Princess’s signature.

“This check, could it be…?”

As Klaus stared at Roselia as if he could devour her, Roselia returned his gaze without flinching.

“I couldn’t do anything about being caught in an unfavorable predicament instead of paying off the debt, could I? Don’t worry. I’ll just hover around the Princess until I repay the full payment of 3,000 grangs I owe.”

Klaus’s expression crumpled at Roselia’s blatant declaration of intent to use the Princess to deliberately provoke him.

“You…”

The sound of his teeth grinding as he forced himself to remain patient was audible.

Roselia’s emotions twisted even further at his reaction.

“Wouldn’t it be more rational for the Duke to behave sensibly? Don’t you realize that the more you try to protect the Princess, the harder it becomes for her to live in the royal household?”

It was a remark thrown out almost impulsively, driven by her already messed up emotions.

Whether the Duke was already aware of it or not, Roselia’s words froze him up like ice.

“Shut up…”

His voice, lowering as he bowed his head, contained a clear warning. But to Roselia, already swayed by her distorted judgment, his warning held no weight.

“Being selfish and imposing yourself on others without even understanding your own feelings is nothing but a nuisance.”

“…”

“Have you ever asked for the Princess’s opinion? Don’t you realize that your selfish attitude only makes things more difficult and awkward for the Princess?”

Klaus, who had been quietly listening, finally approached Roselia with a threatening demeanor, grabbing her by the collar.

“I told you to shut your mouth. It’s better not to play around with me when you don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

He grabbed her by the collar with the strength of someone who could easily overpower her; Roselia had difficulty breathing as instinctive fear creeped in.

But her eyes, already filled with such venom, clashed fiercely with his fiery gaze.

“Then, what would you do with this mouth of mine?”

For a moment, Klaus’s eyebrow twitched strangely, as if he had misheard.

“What?”

With furrowed brows, Klaus looked at Roselia with more bewilderment than anger on his face.

Staring at him boldly without any hesitation, Roselia spoke firmly.

“Don’t misunderstand me, Duke. Whether you sympathize with the Princess or have feelings for her, I don’t want to get involved. So please don’t try to twist things around as you please.”

As she spoke, sparks seemed to flicker in Roselia’s green eyes, which locked unflinchingly onto Klaus’. Klaus froze at her audacious gaze.

Again, once again. That faint, strange scent began to bother him. It was a fragrance he couldn’t quite identify. He even doubted if it was truly a scent.

It just felt like if he kept smelling it for too long, his mind would become muddled.

While Klaus was frozen, Roselia grabbed his hand, which was gripping her collar. Klaus obediently let go of her hand and looked at her with a blank expression.

Roselia didn’t forget to drive the final nail into place as she looked at Klaus’s face.

“And as for how I repay my debts, that’s my problem, so please don’t meddle. Isn’t it enough for the Duke to just receive what’s owed to him?”

Having said that, Roselia swiftly slipped away from the space between Klaus and the wall, heading straight for the door.

With a loud ‘bang!’ the door closed, while Klaus stood there dazed for a long while.

Outside the door, Roselia walked down the corridor, her steps furious. In her angry eyes, moistness had suddenly appeared.

Roselia wiped her eyes nervously with the back of her hand and muttered curses under her breath.

Damn it, why am I crying and making a fuss like this?

There was no reason to cry, there was absolutely no reason to cry at all. There might be a reason to be angry, but…

Ignoring the blurriness she saw through her eyes, Roselia looked ahead with a more venomous expression.

Grabbing me by the collar and threatening me to repay my debts?

 

Fate was determined that I’ll just hang around the Princess and then disappear, branded a traitor!

It was truly pathetic and infuriating to see the Duke, who was walking into the pit of hell with his own feet, not even knowing his own future.

Even if advice were given, it was clear that the Duke, who was determined to cover his eyes and ears, wouldn’t listen.

Roselia remembered his gaze, shining like a cold blade as he grabbed her collar, and gritted her teeth.

Just like in the original work where the Duke didn’t step forward when Roselia was on the gallows, she will not lift a finger when Klaus would be branded a traitor.

No, she might even laugh heartily at the sight of it all falling apart in front of her.

* * *

On a day she insisted was beautiful, Claucet forcibly dragged Roselia out to the garden, set up a tea table out of the blue, and enjoyed tea time with Roselia.

Suddenly sitting across the table, Roselia mechanically sipped the tea Claucet handed her, staring blankly at the teacup.

Claucet, who had been observing Roselia’s absent-minded expression, spoke up at that moment.

“Did something go wrong when you met Her highness the Princess?”

Roselia, startled by Claucet’s concerned question, clumsily smiled.

“No, thanks to my Lady’s help, everything was resolved.”

“Really? Then why do you have that expression?”

“Why… How is my expression…?”

“You look like a guy sinking into a pile of debt.”

Uh… that’s true, though…

Roselia awkwardly smiled, and Claucet, scrutinizing her face meaningfully, spoke subtly.

“I think Klaus also visited the palace that day. Did you happen to run into him?”

She truly catches on quickly to the little things.

Reluctantly, Roselia nodded.

“What did that cold-blooded person say? He gets even worse when it comes to matters involving Eveline, I mean, the Princess.”

“Claucet!”

Melda, Claucet’s maid who was pouring tea nearby, screamed like a banshee.

Whether Melda spoke or not, Claucet only had a sullen expression as she spoke her mind.

“If he says anything, sell my name,” she said, “and tell him you went to meet Her Highness on my own errand.”

Even though she had already openly announced her intentions to repay the debt by using the Princess, suddenly regret flooded in.

She could have phrased it more delicately, but provoked by Klaus’s aggressive response, she unwittingly spoke in a way that could further infuriate the Duke.

Perhaps if someone else had been there instead of the Duke, she might have been arrested for insulting the Princess.

Ha… I should really beat some sense into that stubborn head of the Duke…

“Forget about what’s already gone past, Antonio. You’ve got to clean up the mess you’ve made, anyway.”

That girl has got quite the sharp wit for her age…

Roselia looked at Claucet with renewed admiration.

Claucet, despite Roselia’s gaze, only tilted her teacup with a proud expression.

At that moment, Melda, who was setting up the snacks next to them, cautiously spoke up.

“Lady Claucet, today is the day we’re going to try on debutante dresses, right?”

“Ugh… Melda. Can’t I just wear anything?”

“What are you saying! It’s your first debutante ball, so don’t even think of skimping by saying such nonsense!”

“Ugh…”

Come to think of it, Claucet’s debutante ball was less than a month away.

While any other girl her age might be eagerly anticipating that day, Claucet seemed rather indifferent.

Well, Roselia was no different from her in Claucet’s lack of interest.

Having grown up neglected at the Marquis’s estate, she never felt regretful about not having a debutante ball nor did she envy other noble maidens.

The debutante ball was just a fancy term for a debut in high society, essentially no different from putting yourself on display in the marriage market. So, for Roselia, who had no interest in marriage…

“It’s a bother.”

Yes, it just seemed like a bothersome activity.

It was surprising that someone as high-born as Claucet shared the same sentiment.

“A bother? My word! It’s the debutante ball of the daughter of the House of Valtezar! You might not know, but all the young gentlemen and ladies of society are looking forward to it!”

“And what if you run into a guy like Klaus?”

At Claucet’s blunt remark, Melda chuckled.

“Wouldn’t that be something to welcome with open arms?”

At Melda’s innocent response, both Claucet and Roselia made bitter expressions as if they had just tasted something sour.

When the two of them looked at her strangely, Melda shrugged with a puzzled expression, as if she didn’t understand.

“Anyway, I’m worried that the butler still hasn’t decided on the theme for the reception.”

“Wasn’t that reception theme something he’s been talking about for the past six months?”

“So, what I’m saying is, despite all the fuss about preparing for six months… although it seems like the basic party food and setting are sorted out… but they still haven’t decided on the most important part, the party theme.”

In response to Melda’s deep sigh, Claucet retorted with a look that seemed like she was hearing someone else’s business.

“So, what if we could just go without a theme?”

At Claucet’s blunt response, Melda jumped up in shock.

“Why would you say something so disappointing!! Have you forgotten about Marquis Belmont’s daughter’s debutante ball last time?”

“Um… I’ve been sneezing all day and haven’t had a clear head just yet.”

The Belmont Marquis estate was mentioned briefly in the original novel, as it was as influential as the Valtazar Duke estate.

They said they gathered all the flowers of the empire and decorated the building so lavishly that you couldn’t even see the inside?

It was described as if they had entered a forest of flowers, and then Belmont’s daughter appeared like a true fairy of the flowers as if in a fairytale.

Unfortunately, Claucet suffered from severe pollen allergies, so…

Since the social circle was so accustomed to frequent parties, the nobles’ children liked to choose a theme for their parties and show off, rather than having ordinary parties.

After spending over a month with Claucet and realizing that she, despite her prickly and aloof exterior, was unexpectedly straightforward and deep, Roselia felt a strong desire to support her.

But Roselia also knew that the social circle Claucet would navigate in the future wouldn’t be easy. So she decided to offer a little help, though it might not be much.

“What about a masquerade ball?”

For a moment, Melda and Claucet’s gazes turned to Roselia.

After a brief moment of confusion, Melda shook her head as if she didn’t like Roselia’s suggestion.

“A masquerade ball is too outdated. It’s been out of fashion for over ten years, I think?”

Roselia smiled mischievously at Melda’s blunt words and continued.

“That’s only if it’s a Lugbelzet-style masquerade ball.”

The Lugbelzet-style masquerade ball referred to a ball who had participants where the entire face was covered by a mask leaving only small eye holes.

As the entire face was covered, it was difficult to discern the identity or status of the attendees, and the mystery of not being able to recognize each other made it briefly popular but soon faded away.

However, the masquerade ball Roselia mentioned was the upcoming Raphelios-style masquerade ball, which would soon become popular.

“Do you know about the masks that are trending in the Western Continent countries, starting with the Raphelios Empire?”