Mad Rosetta - Chapter 20

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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 20

Even Seedlings Require Careful Watering (3)

“Sob, sob… Leave me… hiccup… where are you going, where…?”

I wondered what that commotion was about.

A Young Girl sat in the front row closest to the coffin, weeping uncontrollably.

“Wail, wail, it doesn’t help my life at all, doesn’t help…! Rot! You damned Grandfather!”

Watching the child curse and then suddenly shriek, I let out a silent, bitter laugh within myself.

‘Well… even as thoughtless as I am, I wouldn’t act like that at a funeral.’

The girl displayed a remarkably refined ingratitude.

She eventually pointed at Dr. Dravu Beaumont’s coffin, only to be dragged away by others.

What struck me as odd was where the child had been seated.

‘The front row should have been reserved for close relatives…’

For someone claiming to be the family of a Doctor from the Academy who had produced extensive research results, the child’s appearance was remarkably impoverished.

Her mourning clothes looked like an out-of-season dress dyed black.

Most notably, she bore no resemblance to Dr. Beaumont’s other family members, and just as I was beginning to wonder, I heard Lianna’s sigh.

“I heard he took in a young granddaughter, but how could she…?”

“Took in?”

“I suspect she’s an adopted child of the Doctor’s eldest son. There was quite a stir when news spread that he adopted a young orphan, saying he hoped even one more person would walk the path of learning.”

Lianna criticized the girl, who had already vanished beyond the Monastery gates, suggesting that being so young, she perhaps didn’t yet grasp the depth of the Doctor’s kindness.

‘Isn’t it equally true that I remain ungrateful for the luxuries Benitra bestows upon me daily?’

For a moment, genuine anger threatened to burst forth, but I managed to suppress it with a cough just in time.

Even when I maintained my composure, that beast lurking in my mind would rear its head without warning—and I desperately needed Dr. Drabe Beaumont to keep it at bay.

With a heavy heart, I gazed at Dr. Drabe Beaumont’s coffin for a long while.

* * *

After finishing dinner, we made our way to lodgings nearby.

Though I had spent merely half a day with Lianna, I had poured all my attention into her, leaving me utterly drained.

“Let us rest well tonight and depart at first light tomorrow, Rosetta. I have already arranged a luncheon with the Duke.”

Only after watching Lianna retire to her room following the lengthy pleasantries could I finally return to my own.

Though it paled in comparison to Rose Manor, the facilities of the inn we had rented in their entirety were quite adequate.

“It has been so long since I last attended to your bath, Miss.”

Penny, who had taken over bathing duties in place of the other servants for the first time in ages, smiled brightly.

I, too, leaned toward her in my languid state.

“I do prefer your touch to the others. I wonder if promoting you was the right decision.”

“Truly, Miss?”

“Of course. After all, I decided to keep you by my side only after witnessing your skill in the bath. Unlike Temari, that ill-mannered girl, you performed your duties excellently from the very beginning.”

“I merely did as you instructed, Miss.”

“That very attitude is one of the reasons I chose to keep you near. Many fail to do what is expected of them, so a child like you, Penny, is truly precious.”

Pleased by my words, Penny dried the remaining moisture from my skin and helped me into my nightclothes.

My weary body and spirit seemed to ease somewhat.

The moment I stepped out of the bathroom, I was thoroughly exasperated by the sight of Sing sprawled across the bed, patting the empty space beside him with relentless enthusiasm.

【Come now, this armrest pillow was prepared solely for you. Such an opportunity doesn’t come around every day.】

“….”

【What’s with that look in your eyes?】

Did he never tire of this?

Observing him closely, it seemed he was deliberately provoking my disgust.

I shook my head subtly a few times before turning my attention to Penny, who was preparing to move to the room downstairs.

As I ran my fingers through the hair she had carefully combed for me, I posed my question after a deliberate pause.

“You share a room with my mother’s Maid, correct?”

“Ah, you mean Patra? Yes, I believe we share the same room.”

“…If Patra were to ask about me, what would you say?”

“Pardon? Well…. I would say you’re a kind and dignified person!”

“And if she asked, ‘Is serving Rosetta difficult?'”

“Then I’d say, ‘Not at all!’?”

How delightfully cheerful and charming an answer that would be.

I smiled with satisfaction and posed another question.

“But what if she pressed, saying that couldn’t possibly be true, and asked you to confide in her alone?”

“Well…. But Miss, Attendants are taught never to speak of their mistress to others. I don’t think Patra would even ask such a thing.”

Penny tilted her head in bewilderment, her luggage in hand.

Honest. Upright. Scrupulously principled.

It was a display of genuine virtue so moving it brought tears to my eyes.

…So much so that I felt a pang of conscience at commanding her to do something shameful.

I hesitated for a moment, swallowing my words, but then I spoke.

“You’re right, Penny. But if Patra asks you something similar… you must tell her you’re absolutely miserable.”

“…Pardon?”

“Say I’m fussy about meals as a matter of course. That I’m often irritable and seem mentally unstable. You can even mention that old side table I discarded recently—say I broke it.”

Penny’s lips trembled as her expression grew contemplative.

She was torn between asking for my reasons and simply obeying her master’s command without question.

“…Will this help the Lady?”

“….”

“Can I be of use to the Lady on the path you’re walking?”

Her question stole my breath.

I had always regarded her as a dutiful, admirable child—one who followed my every command without complaint, even as my demeanor shifted dramatically.

But the thought that she harbored endless questions within herself, yet remained steadfast at my side, sustained only by her faith and loyalty toward me, made my chest tighten unexpectedly.

I was no virtuous sage worthy of a young Maid’s admiration, nor was I magnanimous enough to forgive those who despised me out of compassion.

I was merely someone clawing desperately to survive, willing to exploit anything and anyone I could.

The weight of her sincere gaze was so heavy that I could scarcely find my voice.

“…As much as you.”

“….”

“There is no child I cherish as much as you. You are….”

Here I was, barely able to speak coherently, dying from the effort.

Penny’s already round eyes widened further before she broke into a radiant smile, clenching her fists with determination.

“Then I’ll do my very best to uncover the Lady’s secrets!”

With promises to return early the next morning, Penny bowed once more and stepped out of the room.

【So many tears. How pathetic.】

“….”

【It’s rather strange that you weren’t rumored to be a crybaby princess in your childhood.】

Sing opened his mouth only after the door closed properly.

I swatted away his hand—whether he was wiping my tears or simply touching my face, I couldn’t tell.

He pouted, looking wounded by the rejection.

At that, a deflated laugh escaped me.

I learned how one could cry without making a sound, tuning out Sing’s rambling voice as I scrubbed at my eyes.

“I’m crying because I’m happy. Don’t worry about it.”

【Of course you are. Such a remarkable child has come to your side, after all.】

He was right.

In merely three years since my return, I had gained two people supporting me.

Penny would probably still be endearing even when her baby teeth fell out with age.

I felt certain that even when the day came for her to leave my side, I would be able to wish for her happiness.

To make that possible, I needed to find someone who could manufacture the cure—and soon.

Only then could I maintain my sanity fully and devise the means to protect myself and my people more thoroughly.

【You must be exhausted. It would be best if you got some rest early tonight, darling.】

With those words, he laid me down on the bed.

As I stared at him, Sing’s eyes posed a silent question—what was the matter?

“Don’t you have something to do?”

【Hmm? Ah, that’s right. I nearly forgot the goodnight kiss.】

“Do you want me to disappear?”

【I’m already a dead man, after all.】

“Stop it.”

Bitten by Sing’s wordplay, I pushed myself up and leaned my back against the headboard.

【My, how impatient you are.】

“Time is pressing. If anything, you seem far too leisurely about this. That must mean you’ve brought news worth the wait?”

【I’ve been hiding my headache all along. It was consideration for you, who spent the entire day attached to Lianna’s side.】

His answer stirred gratitude in me, yet my urgency remained undiminished.

The only new information I’d gleaned from Dr. Dravu Beaumont’s funeral today was that he’d adopted a child with no family connections through some intermediary—whether out of charity or some other motive, I couldn’t say.

Everything else hinged on what Sing knew.

Recognizing that I had no intention of backing down, he opened his mouth with a rather serious expression.

【I did manage to obtain some genuinely significant information. Specifically, a clue regarding who killed the Doctor.】

“…What?”

【They were wearing leather gloves. It was too dark to see clearly, but there were burn scars visible between the cuffs—apparently on the wrists.】

“That’s not the point. If what you’re saying is true, there was a witness! Where is that person now?”

【Of course he’s dead, darling.】

“?”

【A Faceless Ghost must play its role perfectly, mustn’t it?】

As the creature slowly rose to its feet, a chill raced across my entire body at the sight of that sinister smile.

That statement could only mean one thing….

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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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