Mad Rosetta - Chapter 3

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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 3

Rosetta Coco Benitra (3)

【Why are you so startled by a human face?】

“You’re not even human, and you don’t have a face!”

【Why do you hurt me like this?】

The Faceless Ghost feigned disappointment with a mournful tone, and I struggled to calm my thundering heart.

I had never imagined it would linger in an unmarried lady’s chamber like this.

‘Curse it all—I was secretly relieved when it stopped appearing….’

The thought that I was now bound to resolve the grievances of some nameless ghost made my head throb.

Yet strangely, I felt a kinship in not having to bear my revenge alone.

Since things had come to this, I resolved to take my next steps forward together with this creature.

“Shall we introduce ourselves properly?”

Though my nightclothes troubled me, I placed a hand over my heart and bent my knee slightly in greeting.

Given how readily it spoke down to me, this dead being seemed to have spent its life commanding others without restraint.

“I am Rosetta Coco of the Benitra Ducal House. May I have the honor of your name?”

【Why must we exchange names?】

…Even when I showed it respect.

The way it responded with such coy deflection reminded me all too well of certain people I’d grown weary of countering at refreshment gatherings.

My displeasure surfaced at once.

“Then I’ll simply have you call me by my name.”

【Darling.】

“I’ve been wanting to ask for a while now. Why do you insist on calling me that way?”

【Switching between formal and casual speech—it seems your Father raised you quite indulgently. How enviable.】

Good heavens, look at this creature.

Did he really just dare to use the speech of a Princess, claiming I lack proper upbringing?

My Father had merely gazed upon me with tender affection, for I resembled my Duchess—free-spirited and uninhibited in manner and speech.

And now, even my earnest question was being brushed aside….

I snorted derisively at him and lifted my chin with defiance.

“The dead have no voice. Be grateful that I deign to continue this conversation at all.”

【Ha. The image of you crawling upon the earth remains so vivid to me…. Whatever shall I do about it?】

Is that a threat?

Is he asking if I wish to return to the Marquis’ Backyard and die again?

To be honest, his chilling words made me falter.

Yet I feigned composure and crossed my arms.

How often does a vengeful Faceless Ghost happen to propose a bargain to a noblewoman dying from the infidelity of her husband and his lover?

Surely, it must be exceedingly rare.

Then there must be a reason—a clear one—why it had to be me.

If that were true, I had no reason to yield, and so I resolved to take a firm stance.

“What you and I exchanged was merely an agreement to aid each other’s vengeance. Has the situation not changed?”

【What has changed?】

“I’ve already returned to the past like this, so I can crush those things on my own without any help.”

【….】

“But it seems you still need my assistance.”

I had won.

Look at that stupidly rigid face of his!

Of course, I couldn’t actually see his expression.

But imagining that dumbfounded, contorted face was far too satisfying.

“So unless you wish to maintain an equal relationship and exchange help with me—”

【Call me Sing.】

“How dare you interrupt me—. What? Sing?”

He simply nodded, letting silence serve as his reply.

But unlike his composed demeanor, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the name.

And for good reason—the name “Sing” was extraordinarily rare.

There were rumors that the name, meaning “the most precious treasure,” was bestowed only upon those whom the Emperor held in genuine favor. There were also ancient legends claiming that the Sun God himself had given it to a wildflower fairy after falling in love with her.

It was a name so precious that even high-ranking nobles rarely dared to use it, and it was typically given only to women.

In fact, over the past hundred years, only the Empress of two generations prior had borne that name….

I nodded, assuming he had given me an alias.

“If you wish to use that name, then so be it. Now tell me what it is you desire.”

【So you’ve become curious, darling?】

“Drop dead!”

I could no longer contain my fury. I kicked the wall, tore at my own hair, and soon ripped the curtains from their rod.

Even after burning every last Panilnia flower in the room, my emotions continued to spiral wildly.

Boom! The thick, heavy curtain rod—crafted from Temerje wood—crashed down, sending a deafening sound echoing through the manor from dawn onward.

Of course, no attendant came to check on me or ask what had happened.

In the midst of it all, that creature—who had the audacity to tell someone already dead to drop dead again, and who kept consoling me by asking what had brought me to this state and urging me to confess everything to my darling—caused my rage to boil over so violently that I had to collapse for a time.

【Do not be so angry. My vengeance is your vengeance as well.】

The creature, who had been quietly fanning me as I lay sprawled on the floor counting the embroidery stitches on the ceiling, spoke in a peculiar tone.

“What do you mean by that?”

【Well, I suppose…】

Sing fell silent for a moment, then spoke flatly as if it were nothing of consequence.

【I mean I will kill Fordicus Cessia Montague.】

“…What?”

【I will do that for you, won’t I?】

The voice whispering “darling” at the end brought to mind the man who was my lover yet never once called me by that name.

Fordicus Cessia Montague.

My betrothed, two years my senior.

The sole heir of the House of Montague, the man with whom I had exchanged vows of deep affection since I was nine years old, our families visiting each other frequently.

Whether before or after our marriage, I cannot say—but he whispered sweet words to Odette, mocked my deceased father, and ultimately murdered me, his own wife.

– “When we marry, Rosetta, I will make you so very happy.”

The tender promises whispered with mischievous affection in childhood had vanished without a trace, leaving me with nothing but bitter hatred.

I did not know why Sing had chosen Cessia as the target of his vengeance, but I found it rather convenient.

With two heads to work with, I could devise far more creative methods to send them to the afterlife.

That was all there was to it.

“Yes, well… it’s better than punishing someone who hasn’t wronged me. At least I won’t feel uneasy about it.”

【Surprisingly refreshing, isn’t it?】

“Anyway, Sing? I need to prepare myself—it’s almost time for dinner.”

【Yes.】

“?”

【?】

Had his manners been fried in filth and fed to the rats of the slums? He seemed oblivious to what was wrong.

He did not understand how inconvenient, excessive, and intricate the preparations were for a Princess to fulfill even a single engagement. Nor did he grasp why an unrelated man should excuse himself during an unmarried woman’s preparation time.

Too weary to explain it all tediously, I waved my hand dismissively, signaling him to leave.

“I need to bathe.”

【…I see.】

“So disappear to the Corridor or Odette’s Room, would you.”

【Rosette, darling.】

“Disappear?”

【I’m a ghost, so it doesn’t matter… Ow!】

“Huh? Oh! Now I can touch you! Ugh, that’s creepy.”

Sing tumbled head over heels, his jaw snapping back from the full force of my unthinking punch.

I wondered if even a ghost could feel pain, but what struck me more was that he possessed a tangible form—solid enough to touch. So despite my knuckles throbbing, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Now that I thought about it, I could vaguely recall the sensation of his hands covering my eyes just before he sent me back to the past.

【W-wait, how could you strike me like this…? I’ve never been hit before. Never, I’m telling you. Are you listening?】

What a terribly noisy ghost this one was.

After shoving the bewildered creature out of the room with a hollow murmur, I immediately rang the bell near the bedside wall three times.

As expected, no one came on the first summons.

Even after ringing it five more times, still no one appeared.

Only when I rang it thirty-six times did a Servant finally burst through the door, her expression darkened into a scowl.

“You called for me?”

There—that insolent creature. Had she no shame?

Entering the Lady’s chambers without so much as a knock, and speaking to me in that sharp, irritating tone.

I wanted nothing more than to thrash her calves and throw her into the Stables.

But then I thought—if I did that, how would it differ from the violent conduct of my past? So I resolved to keep my words brief and businesslike.

“I will take breakfast at the Main Manor. Prepare my bath.”

“…You’re going to the Dining Hall? You, Lady?”

How dare this wretched Servant question me. I swallowed a sigh and approached the door slowly.

The Attendants who served the Rose Manor under my charge regarded me with the contempt one reserves for beasts, and they had perfected the art of ignoring me.

Even when I had gone without meals for long stretches and rang the bell, they would turn a blind eye. And whenever I discovered luxuries disappearing, and raised a commotion about it, they accused me of suffering from paranoid delusions.

Of course, the violent tantrums I threw in the past—the innocent people who were ground beneath my heel—that was undoubtedly my own fault, poison or no poison.

So what was I to do? If I considered that this child, who seemed utterly devoid of propriety, might one day suffer as I had suffered, I found myself inclined toward relative magnanimity.

“Would you like to be hit?”

Whether my consideration had struck a chord, she vanished promptly, muttering something about summoning the attendants.

Ah, how easily mercy resolves such matters.

Rekindling a sentiment I had long forgotten, I waited for the attendants to arrive.

* * *

With each stroke of the brush, my delicate skin flushed deeper crimson. The hands tending to me bore no semblance of the grace befitting a lady’s service—they were crude and unrelenting.

Only the scarlet-haired Servant, who maintained an expressionless countenance throughout, scrubbed me with a force that was neither measured nor gentle.

I longed to flee the Bathroom entirely, yet I could only clench my fists and endure.

‘It is the poison, the poison alone… The burning agony is not from this wretched Servant’s clumsy ministrations…’

Whether from the influence of the Panilnia Flower or the slightest touch, my skin stung as though someone were embroidering needles across my body.

This affliction had driven me to outbursts whenever I changed gowns or received bathing assistance.

But today, I could not afford such indulgence. I had to endure.

After all, having lifted my confinement mere hours ago, I could not bear to face Father again if I caused another incident. I would persevere!

Crack!

Persevere, indeed. The moment one of the Servants poured fragrant oil into the bath, I struck her across the face.

The stench emanating from the bathwater was far too acrid to bear, after all. What choice did I have?

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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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