Mad Rosetta - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Rosette Gone Mad
Chapter 105
Loyalty and Collapse (6)
“I wish to end this fruitless conversation. Fordicus, let us depart.”
“When did I grant you permission to leave?”
“That—! Please, stop this, Sister!”
Odette’s fury ignited with startling intensity.
From this, I could discern that she was profoundly diminished in spirit.
Both Lianna and Lawrence as well.
All the elements that had once allowed them to live with confidence had crumbled away—and justifiably so.
Cornered and stripped bare, Odette’s unguarded display of anxiety was so pathetic and contemptible that even my will to fight withered.
“…It seems I have overestimated you all this time, Bonita. How can you be of use when you cannot distinguish heaven from earth out here, raising your voice so recklessly?”
“Please, stop… No matter what you say, I—”
“Your Highness?”
The exchange, rife with mockery and reproach, was interrupted by the investigator’s voice.
It appeared he had finished his preliminary questioning of the attendants.
As he and the Security Bureau emerged from the Main Manor, he spotted both Odette and me, his gaze shifting between us.
‘…Hmm?’
A sinister thought crossed my mind for a moment, and I greeted them with exaggerated warmth and a smile.
“Oh, how fortunate. My younger sister has only just arrived. Did you not search for Bonita earlier?”
“…Yes, this is convenient timing. Bonita, might you spare us a moment?”
“…W-who are you?”
“They are investigators from the Security Bureau. They say they have questions for you as well.”
The investigator paid no heed to Odette’s face, which had drained of all color in an instant, and urged her to come with him.
Already terrified and at a loss, Odette seemed even more frightened at the thought that she too might be implicated in the crime.
Ignoring Odette’s distress, I caught Sing’s eye.
‘Comfort her well.’
As I offered Sing a knowing smile, he let out an exasperated sigh of disbelief.
Later, from Sing’s account upon returning to the lodgings, Odette had vehemently denied any knowledge of the toxicity possessed by Panilnia.
Throughout this, Lianna maintained her statement that she herself had not even known the flowers were being brought in.
“…How cunningly they slip away.”
Even with a fractured mind and spirit, she shielded her mother—I had to acknowledge their audacity.
My irritation was so profound that I crumpled and burned the letter Sing had sent with this news.
Each time I confronted the reality of the Epsilon Mother and Daughter, who refused to perish and kept crawling back up from the precipice, I found myself consumed by migraines—beginning and ending with pain.
Days passed in this manner.
Lawrence, who had remained silent, finally confessed to committing the crime for Lianna’s sake and provided detailed testimony of the process.
Though I had anticipated some delay tactics, he nonetheless refused to abandon his insistence that his crime was unrelated to Lianna.
Whether he had shouldered all the guilt or if that was the genuine truth, no one could know.
I found myself both nauseated by Lawrence’s unwavering protection of Lianna and deeply unsettled, unable to gauge the true extent of their bond.
‘Lianna remains detained due to the reinvestigation. With no knowing when she will be released, I…’
Odette had spent several days repeating her cycle of monastery service and visits to Lianna.
Because of this, the days she didn’t return home had increased, making Sing’s role all the more vital.
⌜Odette has made her decision, darling.⌟
How delighted I was to receive word of her resolve, especially after all my careful prodding.
⌜She mentioned the plan she devised, so I told her I would help if she wrote out the details in a letter and sent it. Make sure you secure that letter before she puts it into action.⌟
“…Ah, how delightful.”
“Pardon? What did you say, Lady?”
Sara looked puzzled by my smirking as I read the letter, her eyes silently questioning my behavior.
I assured her it was nothing and carefully folded the letter Sing had sent.
Within it lay Odette’s scheme to strike me down.
‘An accident, then…. For Odette, she’s devised a rather plausible method.’
As I mentally catalogued Odette’s plan—one Sing may well have assisted with—I tapped the table thoughtfully.
Sing had relayed to me every detail of his conversation with Odette, presented in an almost report-like format.
The most remarkable part was the method he had chosen to earn her trust.
A letter written in invisible ink—what some call secret writing.
The writer uses special ink to compose the message; once dried, the words vanish from sight, only to reappear when heat is applied—a technique Sing had proposed to Odette.
According to his account, when he handed her the prepared ink and instructed her to use it for their correspondence, Odette had responded with genuine emotion and gratitude.
Sincerity alone had proven effective with her.
‘It’s certainly well-timed.’
I observed the ventilation shaft visible beyond the bustling children.
Odette’s plot, now that she had committed to action, was characteristically meticulous—a method that would keep suspicion from falling upon her.
She intended to block the ventilation shaft in my room, ultimately hoping for my death by suffocation.
As the weather had grown cold by this time of year, windows were opened only briefly during the day for ventilation, while the fireplace burned throughout the night with the windows sealed shut.
Because of this, the ventilation shaft was rarely touched except during cleaning, though I had heard that attendants occasionally made the careless mistake of closing it naturally after finishing their work.
‘It’s an accident that happens fairly often during winter, after all.’
If executed properly, it would be an opportunity to dispose of me without dirtying her own hands.
It seemed she intended to entrust the manipulation of the ventilation shaft to Sing.
“Sara. I’d like to hear about Bonita’s schedule.”
“Pardon? Well…. As far as I know, no carriage went out today. Shall I call Kayla?”
“Yes. Come and go quietly—Bonita mustn’t know.”
“Understood.”
Sara offered me a gentle smile as though to reassure me, then left the room.
A few moments later, she returned with a woman in tow.
“I was told you summoned me, Lady.”
“You’ve been well, I trust.”
“Yes, thanks to your kindness, I’ve been managing without incident.”
Though her manner was stiff, her greeting held no hostility, so I graciously invited her to sit.
Kayla.
She was currently Odette’s attendant maid.
– “Bonita really…. Seeing how you all think of her, I wish she would share a bit more of what she has.”
– “Ah… We, we shall—”
– “Hand that over and be on your way.”
This was the attendant I had encountered in the corridor on the day I visited Odette’s room with the children before departing for Terkikan.
From the moment I decided to confine Odette to Rose Manor, I had been preparing for the time when I would need to send her back to Lili Hall.
Thus, before leaving the Empire, I had entrusted Marahan and the children with instructions regarding Odette.
But I wanted to station an attendant under my direct command to monitor her meticulously.
‘I had rather liked that expression of utter exasperation she wore upon leaving Odette’s room…’
That ideal candidate was none other than Kayla, who now sat before me.
According to what I heard from Marahan, she was born into a southern viscount’s household, though the current viscountess was not her biological mother.
As the viscount’s second daughter, she existed only in the family register—effectively independent, forced to earn her own living expenses.
Perhaps because of this, upon hearing Marahan’s report that Kayla harbored considerable ambition for advancement, I summoned her that very night.
It was to make her a promise: if she cared for Odette well, I would assign her to the Main Manor when the time came.
– “I do not ask much of you, Kayla. I merely wish for Bonita to eat properly and regain enough vitality to share even trivial conversation with you.”
– “…Vitality, my lady?”
– “Yes, for instance… enough that she might confide in you alone with secrets she has carefully guarded. I hope Bonita will come to rely upon you.”
Kayla nodded solemnly, as though comprehending my meaning.
And I came to learn from Penny that she had faithfully carried out her charge.
‘I wondered how she had won over that cautious Odette… it turned out she merely needed someone to talk to.’
Recalling what Penny had reported, I found myself smirking inwardly.
During my absence, the method by which Kayla had captured Odette’s heart was remarkably simple.
She had merely listened to all of Odette’s grievances.
– “‘Others seem so harsh only to Miss Bonita, and it troubled me—’ when she said that, Miss Odette was delighted, my lady.”
– “…Penny, you have absolutely no talent for acting.”
All while weaving in subtle criticism of others.
Thus, though not to the extent of revealing secrets, Odette had grown close enough to seek out Kayla whenever she desired something.
In a time of such physical and emotional exhaustion, I found it both amusing and understandable that Odette would open her heart to someone amicable.
‘You should know by now that even the axe you trust can strike your own foot…’
When Kayla turned away, would you despair?
Being a cunning child, she might even remain unexpectedly composed despite the betrayal of trust.
Yet I harbored no great concern, and so I offered Kayla a ready smile.
For this would be the last day Odette’s household could remain within our Household.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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