44. Is This Still a Mistake?

With Klaus so close that she could feel his breath, Roselia slowly pushed against his chest, trying to maintain her composure.

“It was just a momentary lapse.”

She said, her voice steady but unable to meet his gaze.

“We’re both healthy adults, and things like that can happen between people. That’s all it was.”

Klaus’s eyes narrowed at her words, and his expression darkened. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her firmly against him.

“You have a talent for driving people mad.”

He spoke through gritted teeth as he tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

“So, despite having a lover, you found it so easy to share something like that with me? Truly devoted, aren’t you?”

“Stop being sarcastic. It was just a mistake,” she replied.

“Mistake?”

At the word “mistake,” Klaus’s eyes flashed dangerously, as if a flame had ignited within them. Realizing her misstep, Roselia bit her lip in regret, but Klaus’s gaze fixated on her bitten lip, darkening even further.

“Then let’s see if this is also a mistake.”

Before she could comprehend his words, Klaus tilted her head back with one hand while pulling her waist closer with the other. In an instant, his lips crashed down on hers.

Roselia’s hands instinctively gripped his arms in shock, but instead of pushing him away, it only seemed to spur him on. His arms tightened around her waist, pressing her body flush against his as he deepened the kiss, making her tilt her head back even further.

Klaus moved his hand from her chin to cradle the back of her neck, making it easier for her to lean into him as his kiss grew more intense. The warmth of his breath and the heat between them overwhelmed Roselia, sweeping her up in the moment.

Somehow, she found herself clutching his strong arms like a lifeline, responding passionately to his advances. Despite the harsh words she had spoken earlier, her lips now conveyed a very different message, one that was honest and fiery.

It was as if the woman he remembered from the balcony was no illusion. Her delicate body clung to him desperately, fueling the fire within Klaus. Before long, they were both half-reclined on the long sofa in the study.

Roselia barely had time to register their new position before Klaus’s hands began to roam her body, one tracing its way up her waist. His touch was searing, leaving a trail of heat in its wake, and the intensity of the kiss left her dazed and struggling to catch her breath.

As she teetered between reality and a dreamlike state, his hand traveled up from her waist, caressing the area near her collarbone. The moment his fingers brushed that sensitive spot, Roselia’s mind snapped back to reality.

Her eyes flew open in alarm, and she quickly grabbed his hand as it inched toward her chest, panting heavily.

Klaus, also breathing hard, stared down at her with a low, almost growling voice.

“Is this still a mistake?”

There was a lazy amusement in his voice, as if he found the whole situation deeply satisfying. Roselia, in a panic, pushed him away and scrambled to her feet. Klaus didn’t resist, letting her go as he leaned back against the sofa, his eyes never leaving her.

Roselia straightened her clothes and took deep breaths to calm herself, trying to ignore the way her body still hummed with the aftershocks of the kiss.

“Fine, I’ll admit it.”

Her voice was steadier now, though her heart was still racing. She tried to avoid Klaus’s intense gaze, which was dripping with desire, as she continued.

“Kissing you is… pleasurable. I can’t deny that my body responds to you.”

Though it wasn’t meant as a compliment, Klaus’s lips curled into a satisfied smile. But before he could enjoy the moment, Roselia delivered her final blow.

“But that’s all it is.”

Yes, this is just Roselia’s body responding to Klaus. It’s the same reaction the original Roselia had—the one who foolishly gave her heart and body to the Duke, only to be used and discarded. Her body was drawn to him just as the original Roselia’s had been.

Roselia, as if trying to convince herself, looked at Klaus with resolve.

“My body may respond to you, but I have no intention of staking my future on this meaningless relationship.”

“What…?”

Meaningless relationship? That phrase struck a nerve in Klaus. How could this woman choose words that constantly grated on his nerves?

“You and I are nothing more than debtor and creditor, bound by money. Nothing more, nothing less. Am I wrong?”

Her sharp words left Klaus momentarily speechless. She had perfectly summarized the nature of their relationship, a viewpoint he had shared not long ago. But now, for some reason, her words unsettled him deeply.

Roselia held his gaze, her voice firm.

“If I were to be accused of treason and sentenced to the gallows, would you save me?”

“What are you…?”

Klaus frowned, bewildered by the sudden shift in conversation. But for Roselia, this was a lingering fear.

The original Roselia had died because of treason—used as a pawn by Klaus, the Duke of Valtazar, who hadn’t even shown his face at her execution.

Despite her efforts to twist fate, a nagging fear remained that nothing had truly changed.

Perhaps she wanted reassurance from Klaus that such a fate would never befall her.

Roselia offered a self-deprecating smile as she continued.

“But of course, you wouldn’t. You’d never do anything that would harm your interests.”

Why does it hurt so much to say this out loud?

“You’d mercilessly abandon any piece that became a liability, wouldn’t you?”

Roselia knew she had to steel herself, to make sure she didn’t make the wrong choice and end up with the same tragic ending. She was the only one who knew how the story was supposed to go.

“So don’t go shaking people up for no reason.”

With those words, Roselia turned on her heel and left the study.

Klaus stood there, frozen, as he replayed her words over and over in his mind, trying to digest them.

* * *

As soon as Roselia stepped outside the mansion, tears began to fall.

“What the…?”

The tears came before she even realized, making her feel even more upset and frustrated.

This stupid body of mine really never listens, does it? A body that crumbles so easily for the Duke, and now it’s crying too?

If someone saw her now—tears streaming down her face as she let out a bitter laugh—they’d probably think she was crazy.

The thought of having to change back into Antonio’s clothes and re-enter the mansion was daunting. She couldn’t bear the idea of being in the same space as Klaus right now.

“Maybe I should ask Nadia for help…”

She had stayed with Nadia before, so it wasn’t hard for her to consider the idea. Having made up her mind, Roselia decided to head toward the city to catch a carriage to Nadia’s place.

But as she walked down the alley, shadows began to emerge, one by one, as if they had been waiting for her to distance herself from the mansion.

Startled, Roselia took a step back, her voice trembling with fear.

“Wh-who are you?”

“Finally, we meet. Do you know how long we’ve been hanging around here, just to catch you?”

Catch me? Hanging around? Could it be…?

Roselia’s mind flashed back to the men who had ambushed her in the Silent Sunset tavern when she was disguised as Antonio. Their faces were different, but she suspected they were from the same group or hired by the same client.

Her expression hardened as she slowly backed away, then suddenly turned and bolted toward the mansion. But she hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a large man grabbed her by the waist.

“Let me go! Help! Somebody, help…!! Mmmph!!!”

Her desperate screams were quickly muffled by the man’s rough hand. Panic surged through her as she desperately scanned the area, hoping Klaus might have someone following her, or that he might come after her himself.

How foolish. After everything I said to him, now I’m hoping he’ll save me?

Despair mixed with fear as she struggled to break free.

* * *

“We’ll arrive at the Valtazar estate shortly.”

The aide informed Marquis Johannes von Euciliod, who nodded from his seat by the window. They were running later than expected due to a delayed response to a summons from Laphelios.

Noticing the Marquis’s somber mood, the aide, a man named Lognan who exuded the air of a well-trained soldier, cautiously spoke.

“Are you sure you want to ask the Duke of Valtazar for help? This is, after all, an issue related to Laphelios.”

Johannes glanced at Lognan, who was the right-hand man of the Euciliod family, and smiled slightly.

“I’m still considering it. It wouldn’t hurt to first see what kind of man the Duke is and then decide.”

“But if the Rugbeljet royal family finds out, might they not look upon both us and the Duke with suspicion?”

“I’ve heard that Duke Valtazar isn’t one to care much about the royal family’s opinions.”

Johannes’s handsome face broke into a charming smile, though it was directed at someone as stoic as Lognan, making the situation somewhat ironic.

“Well, for now, we’re just paying a visit.”

Suddenly, a woman’s scream pierced through the walls of the carriage. It was brief, but both Johannes and Lognan, with their keen senses, heard it clearly.

“It seems the security in the Duke’s territory isn’t as good as we thought. Let’s check out the source of that scream.”

“What?”

Lognan, unsure if he’d heard correctly, turned to Johannes with a questioning look. The Marquis was known for his busy schedule and dislike of wasting time, so this request was surprising.

Johannes looked at him calmly and spoke again.

“Would you just pass by if it were your sister’s scream?”

Lognan hesitated for a moment before snapping out orders to the coachman.

“Allen! Head toward the northeast!”

The coachman quickly directed the carriage toward the alley where the scream had come from.

When they arrived, they stopped in front of a dark alley and stared out at the scene before them, their expressions hardening.

Five large men were trying to force a young woman into a carriage.

Without a word, both Johannes and Lognan burst out of their own carriage.

“W-what the?!”

Roselia was still reeling from the sudden sounds of shattering and chaos when the world seemed to spin around her. Dazed, she tried to make sense of what was happening and looked around in confusion.

Before she knew it, she found herself cradled in someone else’s arms.