While You're In Love

Rosalyn’s shoulders tensed at the order that felt even colder due to the absence of any emotions.

Just a moment ago, she had been enjoying a luxurious tea time in a beautifully decorated greenhouse, and now, this sudden turn of events.

Ignoring the unbelievable reality, Rosalyn asked with a trembling voice.

“Can’t I just stay here?”

“Hah.”

Aslan burst into a hollow laughter. Rosalyn’s shoulders trembled in response to his icy mockery.

“A woman residing in an estate when the hostess isn’t around is hardly proper.”

“….”

Rosalyn pursed her lips, unable to retort to the flawless statement.

However, Aslan’s intention to dismiss Rosalyn wasn’t about following etiquette.

After all, he hadn’t brought Rosalyn into the house for the sake of proper manners. It was for Lyla, and there was no need to keep Rosalyn around in Lyla’s absence.

Especially if Rosalyn’s presence might trigger Lyla to leave, it was all the more reason to kick her out.

“No need to worry, I’ll provide you with some funds.”

“But…”

Before Rosalyn could complete her argument, Aslan cut her off.

“I brought you here for her sake. There’s no reason for you to stay in this house without her, right?”

Aslan declared in an emotionless voice.

“….!”

Rosalyn’s eyes trembled.

She couldn’t believe it. He was driving her away so coldly?

Besides, she couldn’t believe that the reason was none other than his wife.

Rosalyn cried out, “How can you be so heartless to me!”

She looked like a betrayed lover. Her emotions, which she had been trying to hide, had exploded.

Truth be told, Rosalyn had been smitten with Aslan since she was first rescued by him.

He was the one who saved her from being pushed to the edge of a cliff. He was handsome, wealthy, and elegant. It was almost strange not to harbor feelings for him.

After learning that Aslan was already married, she had tried to suppress her emotions.

However, while staying at Tordell Mansion, her heart had swayed like a reed in the wind.

[The two of them are so well suited].

[Rosalyn is the perfect match for the duke.]

Listening to those sweet words, her heart had swelled up with pride.

‘Could that really be true? Would I really match well with Lord Aslan? Since everyone is saying the same thing, it might not be so far-fetched.’

She felt a surge of excitement, like going back to the time of her first love, even though it was not the same kind of emotion as before.

No, it was actually a different feeling. It couldn’t be the same as it had been then, when it was pure, foolish, and passionate.

Rosalyn had experienced life’s bitterness. She wouldn’t foolishly give up everything for love. On the contrary, she planned to use love to secure her position.

If she won his heart, she would never be deprived of the luxurious life she is enjoying right now.

Being the lover of Duke Tordell and even more, his wife, living under his protection.

It was a tempting prospect for Rosalyn, who had lost all her wealth in one fell swoop and was now sitting in debt and misery.

‘I’ve met many men in the social circles, but none like Duke Tordell. He’s perfect.’

With Duke Tordell’s patronage, Rosalyn’s social debut was met with countless proposals.

With no title, no family to protect her, and no wealth, Rosalyn had only two things going for her.

Her beauty and the patronage of the Duke of Tordell.

Rosalyn’s potential suitors might not have met all other criteria, but these two factors, especially the latter, seemed promising enough for a decent marriage proposal.

From her very first encounter with Aslan, her standards had risen and she was lulled into a false reality.

‘Perhaps the Duke has feelings for me, too? Even if it’s just a little, a tiny bit that he doesn’t even know about.’

When the Duchess left, Rosalyn sang a happy tune inside.

This was a chance.

A chance to be close to Aslan, to comfort him now that she was gone.

She believed so, and so she tried hard. But…….

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Lord Aslan….”

Each word that Aslan spoke was as sharp as a blade. Rosalyn called him with a trembling voice.

Aslan tilted his head slightly. His eyes gleamed coldly.

“Did you expect more from me, from a man already with a wife?”

“….”

“Didn’t I make myself clear when I brought you here?”

The day Aslan brought Rosalyn to Tordell Mansion, he had spoken these words inside the carriage.

[My wife doesn’t have any friends she can confide in, so she feels lonely a lot. Would you please be her companion, Rosalyn?]

Rosalyn’s expression softened. She remembered hearing those words before.

‘But wasn’t that all just an excuse?’

If Aslan had brought her to be a companion, he should have found a way for her to stay near the Duchess.

However, Aslan had not arranged any situations where the two women could interact. He hadn’t even mentioned Rosalyn to his wife. The Duchess had never asked for Rosalyn’s company…

At first, I was worried about the Duchess’ reaction, but after a while I stopped caring because Aslan didn’t say anything either.

Rosalyn simply went socializing in wonder and admiration. She enjoyed luxuries she could never have dreamed of in her small country estate.

She had never played the role of a companion before.

Up until now, no one had ever pointed out that fact. Why was this becoming an issue now?

“You never played your part, and now that the one who made it possible for you to do so is gone, why should you be here?”

He was right about everything.

But, but…….

Rosalyn was about to speak, but Aslan didn’t wait any longer.

Swoosh!

Aslan turned around abruptly, not even sparing a glance at the pitiful Rosalyn, and entered the mansion.

As Rosalyn stared at the massive doors of the mansion where he disappeared, she caught faint whispers.

“Oh my, just look at her!”

“The girl from the countryside who clung shamelessly to a man with a wife. Now she’s left with nothing. This is what she deserves.”

Mocking voices pierced her ears.

Now rejected by Duke Tordell, Rosalyn Peridot was no longer the belle of the social scene.

In the first place, Rosalyn’s rapid popularity had been due to Aslan’s support.

Another factor was her being comparable to Helena Tordell.

The fact that Helena, who had nothing exceptional – no outstanding appearance, no notable talents, and an unremarkable family background – became Duke Tordell’s wife, fueled jealousy among the women.

How are we any less than her?

If one looked closely, they could see her pretty appearance, her quiet but elegant way of speaking, and thanks to her smart brain, the education and knowledge she learned in childhood remained remarkably well.

In the first place, it was invisible to those who had preconceived notions and did not look closely, so the Duchess of Tordell was always ridiculed.

Because of Duke Tordell’s protection, they couldn’t openly antagonize her. But Rosalyn had relieved their sense of inferiority.

As a means to keep the Duke’s wife in check, Rosalyn was praised and welcomed by the aristocracy.

Now that the object of jealousy and anger, the Duchess of Tordell, had disappeared, it was evident where this intense emotion would be directed.

“Frankly, I never liked her from the beginning. A woman with no culture or knowledge, relying solely on her looks to garner attention.”

“I felt the same. Now I can speak my mind honestly. It’s quite refreshing.”

Rosalyn’s body trembled. She couldn’t distinguish which was stronger, her embarrassment or her anger.

Though the spring sun was setting, the air around Rosalyn remained cold.

Rosalyn rose slowly. Beneath her lowered head, only the cool and emotionless face remained visible, not the buried anger.

“Get in. I will escort you home.”

The coachman, who got out of the carriage, said.

Rosalyn obediently followed him into the carriage.

Before the carriage departed, Rosalyn opened the window and stared intently at the closed doors of Tordell Mansion.

However, her venomous gaze, the murmurs of the onlookers, none of it breached the solid, towering walls of  the Tordell Mansion.

 

TL/N : Nah, if I was Rosalyn, this would be the start of my villain arc.😭😭