Mad Rosetta - Chapter 31

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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

Chapter 31

A Spring Blossom with a Spicy Bite (5)

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“You’re eating so little. Won’t you have some more?”

“…I’m not particularly hungry.”

If it weren’t for you, I’d have polished off two bowls without hesitation, damn it.

Despite Cessia’s repeated insistence that I looked far too thin and his continued urging to eat more, I simply wiped the corners of my mouth in response.

Sing, too, had no shame in the matter, and he mocked me from my side, saying I was dining in front of Fordicus as if we were sharing a meal.

I agreed with him and told Cessia we should leave.

For days now, Cessia had been sending letters insisting it would be good to meet once before the Spring Stage began.

Unable to continuously make excuses about being busy, I eventually accepted his request.

‘Damn it, if only I’d heard about Marmint’s situation a bit sooner, I wouldn’t have made this appointment.’

With the Debut Tante drawing so near, I was in an exceptionally sensitive state.

I couldn’t simply wait endlessly for the antidote, so I had to prepare some contingency measures.

Thus, at least in front of Cessia, I intended to conduct some manner of adaptation training to keep myself from losing my composure.

‘And with Fordicus being my partner, it’s obvious our bodies will touch, ugh….’

I simply couldn’t imagine being able to endure that dreadful moment.

“This place is always beautiful whenever I visit. So classical, such a magnificent view.”

“The gardeners maintain it daily, so it can’t help but be.”

The spring sunlight that had just entered the afternoon was warm and gentle.

After sharing lunch with Cessia, I had agreed to take a stroll through the Garden.

Some roses bloomed in a pale crimson hue, others in deep violet.

Still others were tinged with the softest blush pink, and together they displayed a magnificent spectrum of colors in full bloom.

Due to my exclusive rights over rose cultivation, no one in the Arcanis Empire could plant rose varieties in their gardens without my permission.

Thus, Benitra’s Rose Garden would naturally exude a fragrance so potent it was almost overwhelming, as if to prove its authority.

“I told Mother that you’ve risen from your sickbed and regained your strength, and she was delighted. She had worried so much, but now her mind seems at ease.”

As we strolled slowly through the Garden, Cessia chatted idly beside me.

‘I can imagine.’

I understood the Duchess well—she had been consumed with anxiety lest I become an obstacle to her son’s future.

There was a time when merely hearing his voice would have filled me with joy, and I would have savored every word.

But now, I found myself wishing he would simply stop with his idle chatter.

‘But why did he follow along without saying anything?’

More than anything, I was troubled by Sing, who stood to my right and fell a step behind with each stride.

Ordinarily, he would have interjected with some trivial jest, commenting on every word Cessia spoke. Yet now, for some reason, he remained utterly silent.

I wondered if the sudden mention of the Duchess had dampened his spirits.

“…Ah.”

In that instant, a sharp gust of wind swept through with a rushing sound.

But it was not the wind that caused me to halt my steps.

“Are you all right, Rosetta?”

Nor was it because Cessia had blocked the leaves hurtling toward me with his large hand as the wind scattered them.

“…Yes, it’s refreshing and pleasant.”

I responded with deliberate composure and continued walking.

The reason I had hesitated was simply because Sing…

Sing had seized a lock of my hair.

‘What on earth are you doing…?’

Did he want to play some sort of prank?

He grasped the curled ends of my hair and refused to let go.

The sensation of a handful of hair suspended in the air bothered me greatly.

The way he maintained his grip while continuing to walk reminded me of a child obediently following their mother’s hand.

Would Cessia simply perceive my hair moving as a reaction to the momentum?

Or perhaps he might think it was merely swaying in the cool breeze.

Bewildered, I found myself unable to concentrate on my conversation with Cessia, and instead shot furtive glances at him.

‘Are you trying to start a fight by grabbing my hair? Let go this instant.’

Only after I shot him a pointed look did Sing finally meet my eyes.

He then laughed very quietly.

【You had a leaf caught in your hair.】

“….”

【I was trying to remove it, but it wouldn’t come off easily…】

He then jested that, seeing the leaf clinging to my crimson hair, the epithet “Rose of the Empire” truly seemed fitting.

Just as only I could touch that creature, Sing was only able to interact with my tangible form.

Merely a single small leaf.

Would he really make such an expression just because I couldn’t brush it away for him?

“…Rosetta? One moment.”

It was then that Cessia, excusing himself for the interruption, plucked the leaf that Sing had been unable to touch and waved it before me.

I had intended to prevent that man from touching even a single strand of my hair.

My attention had been so consumed by Sing, who until now had only been toying with the tips of my hair, that I missed the moment to take offense.

…Why was that?

His smile somehow felt bittersweet to me.

* * *

Anyone would have thought that a single month was woefully insufficient to develop a new medicinal compound.

Thus, no matter how much one might be called a genius.

I too could not help but harbor doubts that a contract with a girl barely past ten years old might not be properly fulfilled.

“Phytotoxic poisoning fundamentally requires two concurrent treatments.”

Yet, rendering all my prolonged worries meaningless, days later.

I found myself seated across from Marmint once more in my room’s reception area.

“So I included both a medicinal compound with excellent neutralizing properties and medicinal herbs capable of protecting the damaged metabolic organs.”

“…I see.”

“And above all, it’s crucial to monitor the progress while administering the treatment, so you must take them in the prescribed order. You understand, yes? I’ve marked them here in three stages.”

I could not tear my eyes from the three empty bottles contained within the box Marmint had handed me.

Perhaps it was the various medicinal herbs. The deep burgundy liquid inside the transparent glass bottle looked exactly like muddy water.

Yet I held the box firmly in my hands as though safeguarding something infinitely precious.

With less than a week remaining until the Debut Tante, Marmint had finally bestowed upon me the gift I had longed for.

I felt so moved—beyond mere admiration—that I could have prostrated myself before her standing right there.

“…You are listening to what I’m saying, aren’t you?”

Marmint, who had been delivering an animated explanation about the antidote’s dosage as though she were a genuine physician, narrowed her eyes and asked.

This had long since transcended the typical children’s game of playing doctor—the sort where one insists the teacher must be heard properly for the patient to be good.

Sing was making silly jests from behind my back.

Yet despite the lightness threatening to lift me away, I responded with a faint smile playing at my lips.

“Of course, Marmint. One bottle every three days in order. Initially, there may be fever or nausea. Correct?”

“…Yes. But you absolutely must not vomit, and under no circumstances should you wash with cold water if you feel hot.”

The antidote Marmint had prepared worked by combining the poison with a neutralizing agent, rendering both components harmless.

To properly sustain this process, one must repair and protect the damaged metabolic organs, including the nervous system already ravaged by the Panilnia poison.

Particularly because she had included medicinal herbs that promoted toxin elimination, she warned that the first dose would be the most harrowing, her eyes reflecting genuine concern.

“And this….”

From her small pouch, Marmint withdrew something and placed it upon the table.

A strange violet luminescence rippled within the glass bottle, instantly sharpening my senses.

My solar plexus twisted with heat and my throat burned, so I deliberately shifted my gaze toward Marmint.

I knew the identity of that substance better than anyone.

“It’s the remaining Panilnia Flower concentrate. There’s no reason for me to keep it….”

“…Yes. If you do, I’ll take it.”

The poison that Odette and Cessia had forced down my throat.

The very toxin that had made me scream myself hoarse and crawl through the backyard on my hands and knees now lay before my eyes.

It was a sight that made my skin crawl, yet its utility was undeniable, so I readily accepted the concentrated vial.

Ah, if I were to divine my fortune for the year, the day I first met Marmint would surely rank among the most auspicious.

“Thank you.”

“…It’s not as though I did it for free, so what’s there to thank me for?”

“Still, I cannot forgo expressing my gratitude. You are nothing short of my benefactor.”

“….”

“Indeed, then… Since I’ve received proper treatment from you, I suppose I must settle the consultation fee, yes?”

So saying, I retrieved a considerably weighty jeweled casket from beneath the long table’s side.

Then I opened it before Marmint.

Within, stacks of gold coins gleamed, proudly displaying their abundance.

‘Take the casket as well.’

Since I was presenting such a sum, it would hardly befit Benatra’s dignity to have it stuffed into a mere pocket.

“Thirty million shillings for the commission, twenty million for research expenses. That makes fifty million shillings total, Marmint.”

“Ah…”

The moment Marmint beheld the cash so abundantly overflowing that counting it seemed tedious, her blue eyes widened considerably.

“However, I find I must attach certain conditions to this.”

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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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