8. Encounterance With The Duke While Being Dressed As A Woman

Roselia, relieved to have received a generous 20 grangs from Klaus, adjusted her attire while looking at her reflection in the window.

In the window, a mature woman elegantly spread out her emerald-green dress, illuminating her beautiful green eyes.

The ivory-green colored dress, swaying down to her knees, and a brown leather vest cinching her waist, revealed the woman’s curves that had been hidden in monotonous suits.

Every time she took a step, the gaze of the young men in the village followed her discreetly.

It was an outfit she had purchased for nearly 150 Verangs. Perhaps the owner of the local clothing store had guessed she was an outsider and added a hefty price, but there was no room to argue.

Her hair, no longer the long black hair it used to be but now glistening long blonde hair, received sunlight, reaching down to her waist.

Considering that the original heroine, Evelyn, had blonde hair, Roselia had bought an expensive wig just in case. It was confidently guaranteed not to come off, as it was secured with a magic powder adhesive, and it perfectly complemented her green eyes.

Of course, it couldn’t match her previously rich black hair, but as long as it fit the aesthetic Abeloh appreciated, it was more than enough.

The only difference between the heroine and herself was the gender.

Abeloh’s melancholic mood, the untended house and garden, and the little girl who evidently needed her mother – Roselia speculated that Abeloh’s wife might have faced a difficult situation, perhaps parting ways with her family. If Abeloh still held strong feelings for his wife… there was a high probability he might be vulnerable to a woman with a similar atmosphere as his wife.

Considering this, Roselia, having referred to the attire worn by the heroine at that time, decided to disguise herself as a woman.

Checking her appearance in the window, Roselia confidently swayed her steps under the glimmering blonde hair, beautifully highlighting her gem-like green eyes.

Returning to Abeloh’s house, Roselia knocked on the door with a determined expression.

“Who is it…?”

Thinking that the same man had come back, Abeloh, opening the door with annoyance, discovered a strange woman and his expression contorted.

“W-who are you…?”

“I’m Antonio’s sister, who visited here earlier.”

“Oh… yes. But what brings you here…?”

“We’d like to buy the painting you told us about earlier.”

As Roselia promptly answered, Abeloh closed his mouth again. After looking at the ground for a while, he slowly parted his lips.

“As I mentioned before, that painting…”

“Mom!”

At that moment, the young girl playing with a rag doll inside the house rushed out. When the little girl unexpectedly clung to Roselia’s skirt, both Roselia and Abeloh simultaneously wore expressions of surprise.

“Erin! This person is not your mom! I’m sorry; she’s still young…”

“No, it’s okay.”

Roselia bent down, met the child’s eyes, and smiled warmly.

“Do I look like your mom?”

Erin, the called girl, stared at Roselia’s face with round eyes.

“Um… no? My mom’s eyes are sky-blue…”

Erin’s expression as she said this seemed a bit sad, making Roselia feel apologetic.

“Oh, is it that my eyes don’t suit your taste?”

“It’s not that… it’s just that you’re not my mom… hng…”

Seeing the suddenly teary-eyed child, Roselia became flustered.

As Roselia hesitated, unsure of what to do, Abeloh, holding Erin, opened his mouth with a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry. Your mom… she passed away not long ago…”

“What’s ‘passed away,’ Daddy?”

Even with tears and a runny nose, the child, curious about anything related to her mother, looked at Abeloh and asked. Abeloh, looking at the child with an awkward expression, struggled to answer.

“Mom went far away.”

“Then when is Mom coming back? Mom shouldn’t leave, right?”

Both Abeloh and Roselia, with bewildered eyes, couldn’t bring themselves to speak hastily.

“If Erin waits nicely, will Mom come back?”

When Abeloh remained silent, the child, with teary eyes, asked more persistently.

Is it because of this heartbreaking sight? Abeloh, hugging Erin, finally burst into tears that he had been holding back.

Roselia, who had entered Abeloh’s house without realizing it, sat in front of the dreary-looking Abeloh with a determined expression.

Erin sat down on the floor, still holding a rag doll, seemingly remembering something.

Watching Erin with a concerned gaze, Abeloh, with a bitter expression, spoke.

“I’ve shown you an unpleasant sight.”

“No, it’s not like that. It could happen. It’s still a difficult time for you.”

With genuine concern evident in Roselia’s words, Abeloh lowered his head without much dignity.

At that moment, Erin, who had been playing with the rag doll, seemed to recall something. She suddenly stood up and ran towards Roselia, holding something.

Offering a straw hat made of straw-like material, Erin extended it to Roselia, smiling shyly.

“It’s pretty!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty, Erin.”

“No, that’s our mom! Look! That’s our mom! Isn’t she beautiful?”

Erin pointed in the direction while holding the hat, and there was a painting leaned against the wall as if pressed against it.

In the painting, a blonde woman with a straw hat in the middle of a rose garden and a girl resembling her were happily smiling.

Now Roselia could understand why he sold the painting to the protagonist.

As she suspected, Abeloh projected his wife onto the blonde woman who had visited.

That painting must be like a photo that Abeloh and Erin could use to remember their wife and mother…

Suddenly, a heavy feeling settled over them.

“That painting is my last work. I tore up all the other paintings, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that to this one.”

“…”

What is this sympathy all of a sudden? She came here to buy that painting!

While Roselia was internally struggling with confusion, Abeloh, who had been looking at the painting with a faint expression, spoke decisively.

“You said you wanted to buy this painting?”

“Yes? Yes… but…”

“I’ll sell it.”

“What?”

Unexpectedly, Roselia was taken aback by Abeloh’s sudden change of heart.

“That… Even if you say that, this painting is important to Abeloh and Erin…”

“I was selfish. I was so caught up in my wife’s shadow that I didn’t think about Erin.”

Abeloh’s gaze turned back to Erin.

Erin, still wearing her mother’s straw hat, was looking at her reflection in the broken mirror as if showing off.

Even though the mirror couldn’t reflect the child neatly due to being broken, she looked at it with a pure face, unaware of whether it was wrong or insufficient. That sight seemed to produce an ache in Abeloh’s heart even more. He spoke with a resolute expression.

“I’ll sell this painting for Erin. That’s what her mom would want.”

“Are you sure?”

“I need to wake up for Erin’s sake… If we kept living confined in this house, we wouldn’t have been able to move on from that painting. I’m actually grateful to the young lady.”

 

With a meaningful smile, Roselia handed 15 grangs to Abeloh.

Abeloh, who smiled bitterly and accepted the 15 grangs, held the painting that he had carefully wrapped and hugged it before letting Roselia leave.

“Sister, come play again!”

Waving at the cheerful greeting from Erin, Roselia took her last look at the smiling child and lightly walked away with the feeling of having solved a problem.

Fortunately, even after paying for the painting, she had exactly 1 berang left. It was an amount sufficient to catch a moving carriage to the Duchy. Although there weren’t as many carriages lined up as in the city, luckily, there were a few carriages going back and forth between the Duchy and the capital, so catching one on the way wouldn’t be a problem.

Roselia spotted a moving carriage coming from a distance and, in a hurry, ran towards it to catch it.

She planned to change into her new clothes inside the carriage. However, in her haste, she didn’t notice the man walking out from the side and ended up colliding with him.

“Ouch! I’m sorry! I was in a hurry…”

Still catching her breath, Roselia looked up at the man she bumped into and suddenly froze.

The man, dressed in a dark gray suit, was patting down the side of his clothes as he scowled unpleasantly. His face was so familiar that Roselia found herself staring at him, momentarily losing touch with reality.

“It’s okay.”

Even his curt tone felt too familiar, and as if to confirm her thoughts, a voice she knew well reached her ears from a distance.

“Your Grace! The site for the school is this way!”

It was Alejandro’s voice.

And the man in front of her…

Klaus de Valtezar, the Duke… Why of all places!

Why is he in such an attire!!

As she became certain that he recognized her, her heart started pounding as if it would jump out. The thought that he might recognize her made her mouth dry, and her fingertips tightened.

“Lady?”

The person he collided with remained silent, just standing there awkwardly. It was only then that Klaus, seemingly puzzled by the lack of response, lowered his head to scrutinize the person’s face.

Roselia almost reflexively covered her face with the painting she was holding.

Due to this, Klaus, who almost collided with the frame put forward, quickly pulled his face back, wrinkling his brow in irritation.