Edited…

19. The Identity Wanes

Jucide, who had been staring with her mouth slightly open, became stiff, soon crumpling her expression at Roselia’s words.

“A-Are you ignoring my words?”

Roselia sighed deeply and spoke coldly.

“Just a moment ago, I said I’m not the Lady’s servant.”

“Ugh! Can’t you just stay with me for a little while without arguing?”

Roselia sighed heavily and reluctantly sat on the opposite sofa. There was no need to refuse so profusely she decided to sit down for a moment without further protest.

As Jucide cautiously observed Roselia, she slowly removed her mask. “But, isn’t it a bit hot in here?”

“Is it? I’m fine though..”

Suddenly, Roselia’s head spun and she felt dizzy. Her vision blurred as if heat surged through her entire body.

While Roselia was taken aback by the sudden physical reaction, Jucide, who had risen from her seat, approached slowly. “Hey, isn’t it hot?”

“What is this…” Roselia had to grab her head, dropping the glass full of champagne she was holding. Transparent champagne spilled over her shirt.

“Oh my, look at that… The shirt is all wet. Should I help you?”

Roselia’s blurred gaze looked anxiously at Jucide. Did she do something to the champagne? Why? For what reason? What could she gain from a mere servant of the Duke?

Jucide, who had a wicked smile on her face, didn’t seem to hear Roselia’s inner scream. “If I can’t have you, then Claucet can’t have you either.”

Roselia’s head went blank. Before she knew it, Jucide’s fair hand was unbuttoning Roselia’s shirt. Roselia, in shock, struggled not to lose consciousness.

Bang!!! The door to the reception room opened violently with a thunderous sound. Between the doors, a woman gasping for breath was seen. “Cla…cet….”

Checking on Antonio (Roselia) and Jucide sitting on top of her, Claucet’s face contorted like a beast. “Oh, you crazy piece of X!!! You vile dirty “X’!! ‘X’! ‘X’!”

After that, everything in front of Roselia turned white. Just before losing consciousness, it seemed like Claucet’s slender white leg underneath the blue dress fluttered through the air and hit Jucide’s side…

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she felt remarkably lighter. It was like something oppressive had been lifted, allowing her to breathe freely. More precisely, it felt like her chest was free.

The chest…

Roselia suddenly opened her eyes wide, panicking, at the realization that flashed in her mind. She distinctly remembered fainting just as Jucide was about to unbutton her shirt…

However, as she looked around in a hurry, she found Claucet staring at her intently with her chin in hand.

“Are you awake?”

“Lady…?”

Only then did Roselia recall hearing Claucet’s voice just before she passed out. Claucet expertly moving swiftly and kicking Jucide, and…

“…!!! Jucide, the Lady…!”

In response to Roselia’s anxious question, Claucet bluntly replied, “I scolded her severely and kicked her out.”

After hesitating for a moment at Claucet’s words, Roselia’s gaze involuntarily lowered, feeling a sense of emptiness. It was only now that Roselia finally realized that the fabric covering her chest was gone, and in panic, she fumbled to cover herself.

Looking at her in surprise, Claucet spoke reluctantly. “Everything was wet, so I changed you into something dry.”

As Claucet said, Roselia was now wearing a loose silk dress instead of the elegant suit she had on before. It was evidently one of Claucet’s indoor nightgowns. Roselia’s gaze turned incredulously towards Claucet.

That means…

“You… saw everything…?”

Claucet replied with a mischievous smile to Roselia’s shaky voice. “It’s quite sizable, isn’t it?”

“My Lady!”

No, more importantly, why is Claucet so casual even after knowing that she’s a woman? Could it be that she noticed it from before?

Curious, Roselia cautiously looked at Claucet, opening her mouth.

“It seems like you’re not very surprised. Have you been aware of it all along?”

Claucet responded briskly to Roselia’s question.

“No? I just found out today.”

“But then… why… aren’t you saying anything?”

“Well… I was a bit surprised, but in the end, Antonio is still Antonio.”

Getting a simple answer from Claucet, Roselia found herself becoming dazed. Looking at her like that, Claucet even seemed to wear an even more mischievous smile.

“And, to be honest, there were times when I secretly wished Antonio was a woman. It worked out well in the end, didn’t it?”

“What?? Why??”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it a secret from Klaus. The cross-dressing thing is also because of Klaus, right?”

Claucet was indeed as perceptive as an all-knowing ghost. Seeing Roselia remaining silent, Claucet playfully smiled with her hands on her chin.

“Don’t worry. I sent your clothes for a thorough washing because they were soaked.”

“Th-thank you. But then, what should I wear…”

As Roselia cast a dumbfounded glance at Claucet, she responded with a meaningful smile, flicking her fingers as if she had been waiting for this moment.

At that moment, Melda and another maid walked out slowly from one side of the reception room. Startled, Roselia covered her chest and hunched her body.

With a reassuring smile directed at Roselia, Claucet crossed her legs casually, looking relaxed. “Don’t worry. Melda and my personal maids are perfectly on my side. No matter how hard Klaus tries, the secret won’t leak out.”

The maids were holding an elegant green dress that Roselia had never seen before. Melda, bowing her head in front of them, maintained her usual dry expression, adding to Roselia’s surprise.

Anxiously, Roselia looked at Claucet as she observed the maids with wide eyes. Claucet smiled broadly as if to say, ‘You’re right, it’s exactly what you think.’

“What is that dress…?”

“It’s just a coincidence. Actually, when we were fitting the evening suit, I also prepared your dress for a later occasion, but I didn’t expect you to wear it right away.”

What later occasion could that even be…?

Roselia gasped and raised her head. “Could you just bring me some servant clothes, please?”

To Roselia’s request, Claucet shook her finger with a stern face. “Where are the so-called servant clothes in my room? And Jucide is probably waiting outside like a hungry lion in heat. Today, just quietly crossdress like I suggest. Although saying cross-dressing for someone who is originally a woman is a bit odd… Anyway, let’s do it!”

After saying so, Claucet clapped her hands; Melda and the other maid approached Roselia with determined expressions.

“Eh?”

Before Roselia could protest, she was dragged away by the hands of Melda and the maids.

In an instant, Roselia found herself, in a dress, and was skillfully dolled up by Melda and the maids and then stood in front of Claucet, feeling bewildered.

Melda, with a face proud of her craftsmanship, looked at Roselia with something unsatisfactorily and said, “If we had more time, we could have cross-dressed you more perfectly.”

No, well really, she is originally a woman…

On the other hand, Claucet’s eyes sparkled as if receiving a birthday present, holding her hands together. “Wow, Antonio! You look so pretty!”

In response to Claucet’s praise, Roselia scratched her forehead awkwardly in a self-conscious manner.

As Claucet admired, the green dress adorned with glittering gold ornaments suited Roselia extremely well. It was inevitable, considering that the dress was a specially ordered one for Roselia by Claucet.

Seeing Roselia dodging her eyes awkwardly with her short black hair, Claucet pursed her lips with a somewhat regretful expression. “I guess you need a wig.”

As Claucet mumbled to herself, Melda presented a golden blonde wig, as if she had been waiting.

With a serious expression, Claucet examined the golden wig, making Roselia break out in a cold sweat. Unfortunately, a golden wig might catch Klaus’s eye if not handled carefully.

“That blonde wig… maybe…”

“Right? I should probably order a long black haired wig separately.”

No, that’s not what I meant…

Faced with Claucet’s earnest response, Roselia had wore an even more embarrassed expression. “I’ll just use that one.”

As Roselia resignedly dropped her shoulders, the maids who were waiting approached and finished putting on the wig for her.

The wig was of much higher quality than the blonde wig Roselia had worn in Algrisha Village, and it had a glossy shine. The combination of Roselia’s green eyes and the golden hair created a very feminine and elegant atmosphere. Moreover, with the hair tied up in the updo style that Roselia had popularized, she sat in front of the mirror like a graceful lady, adorned with pretty hairpins.

Watching her with a look of admiration, Claucet exclaimed, “Antonio… Blonde suits you so well!”

In the manic expression of Claucet, who seemed to have become an enthusiastic fan, Roselia felt a sense of unease about what might happen next.

And then, as if Claucet had been waiting for this exact moment, she brought something in front of Roselia’s face.

It was the green mask with peacock feathers that Claucet had tried on before.

“Indeed… This mask already had its owner.”

Claucet, who put the mask on Roselia’s face, nodded with a proud expression.

For a moment, Roselia also lost herself as she looked at the mirror.

In the mirror, a woman wearing an alluring eye mask with a green feather sat, radiating a sparkling emerald gaze adorned in an elegant forest-green dress.

The eye mask was decorated with golden embroidery, seemingly crafted as a set to match with the dress.

Below that, the maids’ skillful touch made the luscious red lips shine attractively like fresh fruits.

In this unexpected turn of events, Roselia unintentionally became a mysterious woman attending the masquerade ball.

* * *

Having successfully detached from the persistent Belmont members, Klaus absentmindedly searched for Antonio in his vicinity.

Perhaps due to the mask effectively hiding his face, Antonio was nowhere to be found in the venue.

Suddenly, Klaus, puzzled by the fact that even Claucet was not visible, scanned the surroundings.

In the process, he noticed Claucet and a woman in a green dress coming down from the second-floor reception room.