Mad Rosetta - Chapter 111

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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 111
Loyalty and Collapse (12)
“You seem to harbor not a shred of regret. The way you humbly accept your final moments… it’s almost reverent.”
“I have no intention of evading responsibility for my actions. I merely follow what I wish to follow.”
“Indeed. I wish Lianna and Odette would endure their punishments as quietly as you do.”
“…But they committed no crime. What punishment could they possibly bear?”
As if struck by a strange sense of déjà vu, Lawrence’s lips twisted for the first time since we’d faced each other.
I knew he wouldn’t understand.
I deliberately smiled with unbridled delight.
“Unfortunately, they’ve acquired crimes now, Lawrence. In fact, both Lianna and Odette have been imprisoned and interrogated for several days.”
“…What.”
“What a shame that all your efforts to shoulder their sins have come to nothing… But fear not. I shall show mercy and allow your women to follow you soon enough.”
“…What do you mean by that!”
His voice trembled with passion, and his eyes burned with it.
‘Ah, beautiful.’
I could say I came here today precisely to witness this sight.
Even if those involved were arrested, there would be no one to inform a condemned man of such news.
Why would anyone bother with such trivial matters for a man whose breath would cease soon anyway?
Lawrence had struggled considerably to save them from my relentless pressure.
Thus, I bore the obligation to inform him of his failure.
“It was several days ago. Lianna, despite being imprisoned, conspired with Odette and was caught attempting to assassinate Father.”
“…What, what…”
“Odette went even further. She was discovered scheming to stage my death as an accident.”
“…”
“Foolishly… she lacked the meticulousness of you or Lianna. She left far too much evidence. Truly, she is rather inexperienced, isn’t she?”
“…You’re lying. Stop your lies.”
“Having become nobility yet failing to maintain dignity, daring to challenge authority and disturbing the order between classes… I intend to recommend public beheading as an example before the masses.”
“Lies…! Surely you should know when to stop your slander! Who do you think you’re deceiving with that wicked tongue!”
With a metallic clang, the iron bars and Lawrence’s shackles rattled together.
His trembling jaw and agitated voice betrayed his disbelief—he was visibly crumbling before my eyes.
All this time, I had pondered how to manipulate Lawrence and Epsilon Mother and Daughter into feeling the same fury and indignation that consumed me.
And what method would make them experience that bone-deep sense of injustice.
“How grateful I am that your masters moved according to my will…”
“…You, you. Surely…!”
“Coming to offer their necks of their own accord—how touching.”
And this is the conclusion I reached.
Those who neither repent of their sins nor apologize to me.
Especially to Lawrence, they must have seemed pitiful, mere objects requiring his protection.
‘Hmm, then am I merely an obstacle?’
Then I’ll have to play the villain myself.
By gifting them the bitter realization that they had merely fallen into the trap I dug, Lawrence would meet a most lamentable end.
No—it had to be this way.
“Shall I tell you one more thing? You will never die easily.”
“What—”
“Father said he would hang you alive at the Terkican City Gate and feed you to the beasts.”
“…Don’t you see that my brother is confirmed and present here?”
“Isn’t that just how politics works?”
….
“You who called us barbarians… die in my mother’s land.”
Having gazed down upon Lawrence’s face, marred by desolation, I rose from my seat.
The wretched screams I had suppressed until now followed in my wake, but they were hardly worth turning back for.
* * *
“…His Majesty wishes to see you?”
“Yes. He wants to meet with Coco.”
“Ugh…”
“…Ahem.”
The moment Father spoke, my expression hardened with irritation.
Father, in agreement, let out a small cough as well.
It had only been three days since I arrived at the Townhouse.
After arriving at the Capital City and waiting for Father to handle the accumulated duties, I had finally found time for a cup of tea.
I had managed to create a moment of peaceful togetherness without a care in the world.
Yet the uncomfortable news that the Emperor wished to see me could only dampen my mood.
“You may take your time deliberating and decide at your leisure. Given the recent succession of misfortunes, I emphasized that your mind and body have suffered greatly… and I came without giving a definite answer.”
“…Well, there have been so many incidents that it’s strange I’m walking around unscathed.”
“I can guess why the Emperor seeks you, but tsk… it’s not an imperial decree, so you need not feel obligated to comply.”
Father drank his tea with a displeased expression, as if the intention were transparent.
He had mentioned my broken engagement as well, so it seemed he judged the Emperor likely had some purpose related to that.
‘…What should I do.’
While I awaited contact from the Empress Dowager, Jeremiah’s request for a private audience with me meant I had to consider various possibilities.
Sing said it was highly likely that Jeremiah wouldn’t know the secret about Cessia’s biological mother.
A woman who tolerated not a single weakness.
Such a Carina would never have revealed her secret to the Emperor, her own child and greatest chess piece.
In the first place, Sing had learned of that secret by overhearing a private conversation between Marquis Montague and Carina as a ghost. So it held a certain credibility.
‘…But who knows. Perhaps after hearing about Sing, he confessed his anguish to the Emperor.’
When I thought about it, I knew little in detail about Jeremiah as a person.
More precisely, I lacked information not about publicly known facts, but about who he actually was.
Even Sing expressed relentless vengeance toward Carina, but wore a strange expression whenever Jeremiah’s name came up.
I often found that peculiar.
‘Not only was he betrayed by a cherished brother, but he even died. Surely he should be no different from me… yet.’
Why was that?
The emotions I felt when thinking of Odette seemed quite different from what Sing experienced when recalling Jeremiah.
‘…Well, it could be because he’s spent far more time with Jeremiah than I have with Odette. But brooding over it won’t give me any answers.’
Honestly, there was no harm in meeting the Emperor.
The agreement with the Empress Dowager remained valid, and it would be an opportunity to gauge the treatment of Lianna and Odette as well.
The fact that I had to go alone was somewhat bothersome, but what could I do?
At times like this, I found myself missing when Sing was still a ghost. With such thoughts, I nodded positively.
“I’ll meet with you once you arrange a schedule. Please note that tomorrow won’t work for me.”
“Hmm, tomorrow? Do you have something else to attend to?”
“There’s a place I need to visit. It shouldn’t take too long, so please join me for dinner this evening after all this time.”
Following Father, who laughed good-naturedly at the suggestion, I too lifted the corners of my mouth.
Tomorrow was the day I would visit the Ar-Sel Guild.
* * *
“So what’s the reason you’re doing this?”
“Just wait a moment, darling.”
No, it seems like you’re the one who won’t let me wait.
The joy of seeing Sing was short-lived.
The moment we met, he began turning my body this way and that, making me dizzy.
When I dodged somewhat irritably, he even sighed as if relieved.
“Phew… It doesn’t seem like you’re injured anywhere.”
“I wrote that everything was fine in my letter. How little faith do you have in me?”
“The anguish of a man whose lover throws herself into danger like a moth to flame, shall we call it that, darling.”
I had even sent word that this time the incident was resolved without anyone getting hurt.
Yet he seemed anxious, going through verification procedures—it was rather annoying.
‘…Well, I wanted to see him too.’
With that thought, I slightly opened my arms, and Sing quickly bent down and pulled me into an embrace.
Held in his arms with considerable strength, it felt like…
Consolation for all the times I wanted to find Sing but couldn’t.
I was truly terrified, but I endured.
“You two are quite the perfect pair.”
“…Ah, when did you arrive?!”
“From when your brother said ‘Just wait a moment, darling~’.”
“Did I really speak so affectedly?”
Sing asking so seriously in the midst of this annoyed me.
Sergio, who had appeared in the Waiting Room at some point, wore an expression of disgust as if witnessing something unseemly.
‘Ah, how embarrassing.’
I tried to squirm away at the thought of being caught in an act of affection, but Sing was oblivious.
I could only slap his innocent hand repeatedly to make him let go.
We had gathered at the Guild to discuss matters concerning the future.

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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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