Mad Rosetta - Chapter 17

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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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Rosetta Gone Mad

Episode 17

Even Discarded Trash Deserves a Second Look (7)

“I’m absolutely sick of guessing at your expressions.”

Here was someone who thrust bitter truths in my face while spinning honeyed words to twist my insides. A man who pried into my thoughts as though reading an open book, yet kept his own nature shrouded in mystery.

I resented him for it—for conducting himself so freely while peering into my soul, yet remaining utterly opaque himself.

In this one-sided arrangement, all I could do was ruminate over his words, divine his intentions, and feel disappointed when reality diverged from my expectations. Was that not the sum of my agency?

‘I won’t accept an unequal relationship.’

My pride stung watching him maintain that perpetual composure.

Yes—a partner whose true name, background, even face remained unknown to me.

Wasn’t this man the coward?

“You never tell me anything properly, so how could I possibly feel wronged? Yet you—you learn everything about me piece by piece.”

【Ha, so you’re calling me cunning? Your complaints are quite childish.】

“Stop dodging and show me your face right now.”

Perhaps he’d accepted that I wouldn’t back down. Sing paused, letting out a thoughtful hum.

What made his face worth such theatrical resistance?

To any observer, I must have looked like some dissolute rogue pestering a passing beauty.

【If you truly wish it so ardently, I see no reason to refuse… but allow me one question first.】

“There you go with your games again.”

【How swift is your progress through Imperial History?】

I wanted to ask what nonsense he was spouting, but the words caught in my throat.

In the span of a single blink, the revelation in his eyes had rendered me utterly speechless.

【You’re being rather rudely astonished, darling.】

“….”

【Yes, truly rude indeed….】

I could not refute Sing as he teased, suggesting I had fallen for his radiant visage.

Because half of what he said was true.

If the Partiti Sea, renowned as a resort destination, took physical form, would it look like this?

Those pale cyan eyes, pristine as though permitting not a single trace of contamination, gazed down with an arrogance that was positively suffocating.

Perhaps it was the shadow cast by those distinctly dark lashes, matching the hue of his hair.

The ivory-fine texture of his skin, the smooth lips that had undoubtedly brushed against the back of my hand mere moments before.

【…Darling?】

Even those dimples that deepened when he smiled with such insufferable charm.

Truly… a face that could kill….】

【I’m quite embarrassed, so I’d appreciate it if you’d curse at me as you normally do. Are you only capable of widening your eyes?】

“You… you…”

【Yes, yes. Recalling how disrespectful you’ve been all this time must be quite distressing. But I am not one to spin like a top over such trivial matters—.】

“Too fine a face to waste on death, I’d say.”

【…What?】

Look at that cunning tilt of his head, as though he hadn’t quite heard correctly.

I gazed intently at Sing’s brilliantly radiant face and marveled with genuine admiration.

“If Montague Duchess murdered you out of jealousy for your beauty, I find myself quite sympathetic to her motives. Unlucky perhaps, but undeniably striking features. You pass!”

【Rosetta? Darling?】

“In all my years, I never thought I’d witness a face as magnificent as Father’s. Ah, what a shame that you’ve already met your end. Such a waste, truly a waste.”

【Sweetheart, please stop.】

“This is quite the shock, I must say. I can almost understand why you’ve hidden yourself all this time. How you must have suffered under people’s scrutiny… hah.”

【…That’s enough, I’m telling you.】

As if to repay me for all my teasing, the fellow’s face flushed with embarrassment, and he abruptly silenced me by pressing his hand against my mouth.

He rambled on incoherently, chiding me for harboring such worldly vanity and questioning whether I knew shame at all.

Foolishly, he seemed not to realize I was simply babbling nonsense in my bewilderment.

‘Have I lost my mind? What kind of man has a face that qualifies as a natural disaster?’

Yes, I was genuinely shocked by his handsomeness.

Profoundly so. Extremely. Severely!

I had often imagined what he might look like.

But all I could manage was to mentally combine the features of people I’d encountered throughout my life, and even that quickly lost my interest.

Yet this beauty—this “if beauty were a crime, I’d deserve the gallows” caliber of beauty—what was this?

‘Perhaps the saying that the beautiful die young isn’t mere folklore after all…’

I, Sing, and even our parents—we were all blessed with exceptional beauty, yet all of us met our ends far too soon. This reality felt unbearably cruel.

Whatever the case, the shock of witnessing Sing’s beauty left my head pounding and the back of my neck burning. To hide this reaction, I had no choice but to keep my mouth running incessantly.

Either that, or remove that dangerously captivating face from my sight entirely!

I brushed his hand away from my lips and spoke with stern composure.

“Now that you understand, why don’t you make that face disappear again?”

【What? Huh?】

“Oh right, I should discuss Odette’s punishment as well. Perhaps I ought to find Father.”

Sing’s mouth fell open as if he found the statement utterly absurd.

I knew my words were disrespectful, but lacking the courage to meet his gaze properly, I swiftly turned away.

My body felt uncomfortably warm—if I looked at that shameless display even once more, I feared I might not survive the encounter.

Just as I attempted to enter the Bedroom, Sing planted himself squarely in my path.

My body went rigid in an instant, and I found myself crying out in exasperation.

“What—what is it! Move aside!”

As I scolded him while keeping my eyes averted from his face, Sing suddenly let out a soft, knowing laugh.

【Ah, yes… beauty comparable to the Duke of Benitra himself. Since you spare no praise, I’m not displeased. Rather, I’m so embarrassed my face has turned crimson.】

“….”

【Does it meet your aesthetic standards sufficiently? You seemed quite satisfied, after all.】

With that biting mockery, as if he’d caught me red-handed, I finally abandoned all pretense of dignity and cried out once more.

Then, just as I had stepped closer to pressure him, Sing drew near with equal swiftness, his voice dropping to a whisper.

【When conversing, you must meet my eyes, darling.】

My heartbeat thundered so violently that I imagined I could hear it pounding in my ears.

In some foreign lands, there are rumors that people fall under the spell of a demon’s beauty, their livers and gallbladders devoured whole.

Could this wretch be of that variety? Such suspicion seized me entirely.

The overwhelming pressure I felt—as though I might be devoured at any moment—was a testament to just how formidable his presence truly was.

Steeling myself with deliberate resolve, I lifted my gaze to meet his directly.

“Have you finished your games?”

【…It would seem I should.】

“Then step aside now. I truly must see Father.”

Fortunately, Sing yielded the path he had been blocking without resistance, and I summoned Penny and the servants while maintaining the most composed expression I could muster.

My hair and makeup required refreshing, but more urgently, my hand needed treatment.

Presenting myself to Father with visible wounds would certainly provoke his displeasure.

As it transpired, Father was profoundly shocked by Odette’s presumption in tampering with another’s correspondence, and he commanded her confinement to Lili Hall for fourteen days.

‘The punishment seems rather lenient, perhaps….’

Father had taken into account that Odette’s conduct had been exemplary until now, and that this was her first disciplinary measure.

Finally, to prevent any disruption to the Spring Stage preparations, he insisted upon the fourteen-day period.

What struck me as peculiar was that both Odette, who had secluded herself in her room without protest, and Lianna, whom I had expected to plead for leniency, remained conspicuously silent.

“Lady, correspondence has arrived from the Montague Estate and Etienne’s Atelier.”

“Ah, yes—place both on my desk.”

Setting aside my lingering unease, what I had gained over the following days was unmistakable.

First, I formally requested of Father that Penny be promoted to the position of Maid, and he approved with remarkable swiftness.

Had he refused, I would not have relented, yet I was somewhat surprised by his ready consent.

Perhaps he was pleased that his daughter—who had driven away maid after maid over the past years—had finally found someone she wished to keep at her side.

The correspondence reached its rightful recipients without fail, and the Ball preparations proceeded without interruption.

【You heard about it too? Of course you did! They say Bonita unilaterally sent a letter to Montague. My goodness, what on earth is happening?】

“Acting skills that rival Odette’s.”

【It’s not over yet, dear. Say, haven’t you noticed Rosetta seems a bit… unwell lately? Just yesterday, she complained to me about being exhausted! My, could it be…. Did she eat something bad?】

Watching Sing take on multiple roles, mimicking the Attendants with such theatrical flair, I finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

More importantly, whispers were beginning to circulate among the household staff that I seemed to have matured somewhat.

Since I had never expected this single incident to dramatically shift opinions about Odette, I decided to accept the outcome with more than sufficient satisfaction.

Merely fourteen days of confinement.

During the period when Odette’s movements were restricted, I needed to prepare for as many contingencies as possible, and I had to grow accustomed to staring at Sing’s impudent grin all day long.

Perhaps it was my arrogance, thinking everything was unfolding so smoothly.

A few days later.

On a morning as bright and clear as any other, the front page of the newspaper I unfolded carried news of an accident that had occurred the previous day.

“… This is insane.”

It was news of Dr. Dravu Beaumont’s death.

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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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