Mad Rosetta - Chapter 108

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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 108
Loyalty and Collapse (9)
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“Lady, Lady!”
My head spun from the violent shaking of my body.
As I blinked my eyes open, the faces of the Children hovering above me had gone deathly pale.
Judging from the fact that I lay upon Knight Demish’s lap, I must have lost consciousness.
“…Enough. I’m fine now. All of you, go about your duties.”
“Lady, you must rest and recover. Surely the Duke would—”
“That’s enough, Penny.”
“Ah, Lady…”
“I’ve heard that refrain a hundred times over. I too believe Father will return safely, so there’s no need to say more.”
Yes. Without clinging to that belief, I simply cannot endure.
I pressed my throbbing temples and rose from the floor.
As the Children’s careful hands guided me to the sofa, Knight Demish, who had been watching over me, asked with an awkward expression.
“If I may be so bold, Lady. What do you intend to do regarding the Montague Estate?”
“…Ah, yes. That matter as well.”
Originally, the moment I uncovered that Odette had been planning to kill me, I was meant to summon the Security Bureau.
However, I discovered evidence of another assassination plot targeting Father.
In these circumstances, I could not readily hand over Odette, so I postponed summoning the Security Bureau.
Now that it had been revealed Cessia was involved in this incident, I needed to give him a hint before the Security Bureau’s investigation began.
“First, confirm Father’s safety. And Penny? I wish to write a letter, so please bring me the materials.”
“Yes, I shall return once there is news.”
Knight Demish bowed and left the room, and I immediately wrote a letter to Sing.
Since suspicion might later fall upon the letter I sent during the investigation, I deliberately made no mention of Father.
The bleak reality that all I could do now was wait filled me with nothing but helplessness.
“Th-that is, Lady… um, yesterday there were apparently four carriage accidents at the crossroads alone…”
“…I see.”
“Of these, th-the casualties were two of the passengers…”
Having barely survived a night that drained the blood from my veins, at the words of the messenger who arrived in the dark dawn…
Despair felt as though it would stretch on forever.
‘Sing. What should I do in a moment like this?’
There was nothing. I could do nothing at all.
Suspended in the uncertainty that Father might already have departed this world, I could only wander aimlessly.
“…Ah, yes. Odette.”
“Ah, Lady!”
If I squeezed her throat, surely some fact I didn’t know would spill out.
Ignoring the voices of the Children chasing after me, I quickened my pace and headed straight for Odette in the Mansion Basement.
My teeth ground together of their own accord.
I descended to the dungeon without hesitation, and the guard’s eyes darted between me and the children trailing behind, confusion written across his face.
“Open it.”
“B-but, it’s dangerous….”
Unfortunately, I had no patience to indulge a flustered guard.
Without even a sigh, I fixed him with a glare, and Penny swiftly urged him forward.
The moment the door swung open, my eyes met Odette’s, seated behind the bars.
For an instant, a flicker of light seemed to dance across her lifeless gaze.
“Tell me the specific terms of your contract with Brown Megus.”
“….”
“Odette!”
“Bonita.”
“…What?”
Incredulous, I shot her a look, and Odette wiped her vacant expression clean before laughing softly.
“Bonita. Bonita Odette Benitra….”
“….”
“It’s the name Father bestowed upon me anew.”
“…Shut that mouth of yours!”
The iron bars trembled, emitting a grating sound.
I reached toward Odette, unable to restrain myself, but my hand fell short.
Startled by my sudden lunge, she wore an expression of alarm.
Yet in the next breath, she released a mocking laugh, as though nothing had happened.
‘Should I just kill her?’
Would that finally ease this wretched feeling?
Uncontainable emotions roiled within me, and my grip on the bars tightened.
That was when it happened.
A commotion erupted from outside the dungeon, and Knight Demish came rushing in, his expression urgent, catching his breath.
“You should come at once, Lady. It’s urgent.”
“What?”
“Brown has arrived.”
Of his own accord.
In Knight Demish’s voice—tinged with an almost bewildered quality—I detected a note of expectation.
Was there reason to delay?
I spun around without hesitation, and behind me, Odette seemed to murmur something.
Unfortunately, by the time I’d already moved beyond earshot, I couldn’t make out her words.
“He came of his own accord? It hasn’t even been a day since he disappeared!”
“It appears he revealed himself after hearing the knights searching for him.”
“What? I don’t understand….”
Perhaps because I’d ascended from the dungeon so quickly, nothing made sense.
Despite all our efforts searching even his homeland, Brown had apparently surfaced in the middle of the Benern Crossroads Inn.
‘Then why did he run in the first place?’
In this moment when the head of the household’s life hung in the balance, the fact that the perpetrator who had committed the crime and fled suddenly returned was utterly incomprehensible.
As I reached the first floor of the Main Manor, I spotted an elderly man surrounded by Knights.
Upon noticing me, he startled, and beside him lay a single small travel bag—far too meager for someone on the run.
“You… what on earth…?”
As I drew closer, Brown seemed uncertain where to begin, shifting nervously.
In his hand was a document envelope identical to the one I had discovered in Odette’s room.
“Ah, Lady. I came to deliver a message… I regret causing such a disturbance at this late hour.”
“…A disturbance? You dare call this crisis—where the current Duke’s very life may be in peril—merely a disturbance?”
“N-no, absolutely nothing of the sort occurred! The Duke is surely safe and sound, so please trust this old man’s words.”
My brow furrowed involuntarily at Brown’s dismissive gestures.
He deserved to lose his head, yet here he was, returning so brazenly and attempting to reassure me…
Yet his presence now offered me a measure of comfort, easing my anxiety over Father’s safety.
“…First, let us go inside and hear the full account. Guards, follow me. The rest of you, inform the Security Bureau of this situation and summon them.”
“Yes, Lady.”
Those around me moved with perfect coordination, and soon I found myself seated across from Brown in the Reception Room.
The facts revealed by the contract were unmistakable.
Fifty million shillings in exchange for tampering with Father’s carriage to stage an accident.
Had he fled before the day’s work began to evade the consequences when disaster struck?
As if reading my thoughts, Brown placed the crumpled document envelope he had been gripping tightly onto the table and opened his mouth.
“First… it would be proper to begin from when Bonita first came to find me. She had been visiting the Stables frequently for several weeks.”
“Spare me such details—confess them to the Security Bureau. My patience has worn thin.”
“…”
“So speak instead of the contract between you and Odette, and what it concerns regarding Father.”
As I spoke with threatening intensity, Brown paused, choosing his words carefully.
“That… the contract itself was something I asked her to prepare.”
“…What?”
“…I had been thinking of it from the moment Bonita proposed the transaction.”
What Brown said next was nothing short of shocking.
Odette, who had begun visiting the Stables, one day broached the subject of harming Father—and did so while revealing it was Lianna’s will.
Naturally, he had intended to refuse the transaction.
But only briefly. Brown recalled the tumultuous events that had plagued Benitra during that time, and chose to preserve evidence of them.
“So I demanded she make it more certain. I told her that if she didn’t guarantee my safety, I would be in danger, and only then did Bonita bring me the contract.”
“…You could have informed Father or me immediately.”
“I judged that Bonita might destroy the contract or attempt some other scheme. If I bungled this, it would be catastrophic.”
“…”
“Moreover, I worried she might reach out to the other attendants… I harbored the dishonorable thought that someone might waver.”
It was utterly infuriating.
His years had not been wasted—through his experience, he had effectively prevented Odette’s further actions.
Brown had intended to deceive Odette to the end, keeping himself hidden until Father’s return.
But when I went searching for Odette, an unexpected commotion arose, and the flustered Brown hastily followed the Knights who were searching for him.
“Last night… no, that’s not it. I’ve thoroughly inspected the Carriage that the Duke will be boarding, so please set your worries aside, Lady.”
“…I’ll offer my thanks when Father returns to me in one piece.”
Did he think my expression had softened slightly?
Brown laughed awkwardly. The fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes creased pleasantly.

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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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