Mad Rosetta - Chapter 40

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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 40

The Villainess, the Rose, and the Ghost (6)

He must have picked up such manners somewhere, for he bent at the waist with gentlemanly grace.

That cunning smile suggested he was preemptively trying to placate me—perhaps worried I might lose my temper from exhaustion.

‘…Good heavens. What a reckless ghost.’

As he bowed, the gathered fabric of his shirt gaped open, exposing bare skin beneath.

I deliberately lifted my gaze and met Sing’s eyes, maintaining composure.

“I’m hardly so desperate as to offer my hand to a man without proper formal attire.”

【Oh, but you had no trouble offering it to a red-haired man dressed in formal wear?】

“Now, Sing.”

His smile was positively sinister, his eyes nearly disappearing as he grinned widely.

‘This is ridiculous… Does he think I actually wanted to dance with Cessia?’

What was the term for someone like this? A smirking fool, that’s what!

Yes, that epithet suited him perfectly.

Whenever something displeased him, he would narrow his eyes in that infuriating smirk.

I tightened my crossed arms and glared at Sing.

“If you’re truly a gentleman, then dress the part before approaching me.”

【But Princess, I died in these clothes, so I cannot wear anything else. Besides, I’ve always had excellent taste in fashion—casual wear, formal attire, military dress—I look splendid in all of them-】

“Then let’s dance quickly, shall we, sir?”

Damn it, bringing up the time I left this world is cowardly.

I seized Sing’s outstretched hand and sprang from the sofa in one fluid motion.

Only then did Sing, looking thoroughly satisfied, draw me closer by the waist.

‘…How startling.’

The sudden narrowing of distance caught me off guard, and I rolled my eyes in bewilderment.

My nose had nearly brushed against his chest.

【How fortuitous—Vilderm’s Nocturne. Rather fitting, wouldn’t you say?】

True to its lyrical nature in capturing the tranquility of night, the music box released a gentle melody.

As Sing had said, it was music perfectly suited to the darkened evening of the Imperial Palace.

Soon his right hand cradled my back, and I in turn rested my hand gently upon his arm.

Only when our eyes met did we truly begin.

Moving with deliberate slowness yet without losing grace, I followed the measured steps of his feet.

“…Your footwork is quite accomplished. Did you perhaps learn it by watching over someone’s shoulder?”

【I observed rather extensively for the sake of this one dance with the Princess.】

“No wonder the back of my head felt warm throughout the lessons.”

His smile, accompanied by a low chuckle, seemed remarkably at ease.

The conversation he guided so naturally flowed with elegance, and his restrained footwork carried an unmistakable refinement.

Such practiced sophistication could not have been achieved without deliberate study, and I found myself wondering once more who he had been in life.

‘Could he have been a high-ranking nobleman from ages past…? Or perhaps a crown prince?’

Right—now that I thought of it, he had said he was killed by Cessia’s Mother.

In that case, this person couldn’t be from the distant past.

Someone who found it as easy to speak casually as I did, yet occasionally revealed refined sophistication.

That straight spine belonged to someone who rarely bent it, and an attitude that played with jest while never losing restraint was nothing short of elegant.

No matter how I looked at it, this person was clearly no ordinary figure, so I threw the question at them.

“Did you become the Crown Prince or something?”

【…Hm?】

“I’m asking if you became part of the Imperial Family before you died.”

【…Darling.】

Wait, seriously?

They looked down at me with their eyes wide open.

In that moment, I thought my hypothesis had hit the mark.

【Good heavens…. I’m so flustered I can barely speak properly.】

“You, you then…!”

【Someone who suspects they’re of the Imperial Family speaks so casually to them?】

“…What?”

【Really, darling. Listen here. You’ll get yourself into serious trouble if you do that elsewhere. No matter how nobly you were raised, that’s no excuse, is it? If you slip up later, all the reputation you’ve built today will crumble to nothing.】

“….”

【”Did you become”? What kind of phrasing is that? Shouldn’t it be “Did you become, Your Highness”? Try saying it after me.】

At their sharp rebuke—lecturing me that a Princess who had received a proper education shouldn’t speak that way—I found myself staring blankly ahead.

I was a fool to have expected anything.

“Ah, yes. My intuition is dull. So kindly keep quiet for now.”

【Ha, were you really so curious about what kind of person I was?】

“Keep quiet?”

【If you were to ask me earnestly, there is little I could not reveal to you.】

“…Tch, enough. What use is there in knowing about someone no longer of this world?”

At the faint sound of Sing’s laughter, I snapped my head away with irritation, offering a curt reply.

He must have anticipated that his slick manner would provoke me into retreating first.

Whenever he wished to conceal something, he drew near with the tenderness of a lover.

A man reluctant to bare his soul.

I was not so desperate to lower myself and satisfy my curiosity about someone already dead.

‘…I should like to step on his foot.’

In any case, he was a cunning creature.

* * *

“You seem anxious, Vicky.”

At the sudden sound of my voice, Vicky startled and turned around.

After concluding my business in the Capital City and returning to the Estate, I had briefly visited Father before positioning myself directly before Vicky’s Doorway.

‘…I wonder what master visits their Attendant’s Room.’

Observing her fidgeting as she smoothed the bedding, it seemed a wise decision indeed.

She had likely intended to dispose of the powder residue and then rush to Lianna or Odette.

Yet she would have had neither the leisure to check on Lianna’s condition nor the time to dispose of the powder.

Upon arriving at the Duke’s Mansion, I would have been occupied unpacking my belongings alongside the other Servants.

“Is there anything you need, Lady? Had you called for me, I would have come at once.”

“You always seem so busy. But where were you headed before even unpacking your things?”

“Where would I go, Lady? I was just about to unpack my belongings—”

“By the way, you won’t need to visit the Duchess.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

Vicky’s lips twitched as she repeated the question, as though trembling with the fear that I had discovered her guilt.

I, who had been leaning my head against the doorframe, approached Vicky as those words left my lips.

I had deliberately left the door open.

“I’m telling you so you don’t waste your effort.”

“…I’m not certain what you mean, Lady.”

“Is that so? How peculiar.”

I withdrew a pearl necklace from the Marandranché box I had tucked at my side and displayed it.

It was a counterfeit—the very one Vicky had caked with powder not long ago.

Vicky’s eyes trembled violently, as though asking how an ornament she had supposedly sent to Lianna had come to rest in my hands.

“Haven’t you been trembling with anxiety all this time, fearing the Duchess might wear this?”

“…!”

“Hmm? Vicky.”

My voice took on a tone far more composed than usual.

“I’m quite curious why this necklace—the one you prepared to ruin my Spring Stage—remains in my possession.”

“….”

Her eyes wavered with agitation.

I could see her mind working furiously behind those eyes, even as I carried myself with the air of someone who already knew everything.

I couldn’t afford to give her a moment to think—I had to press Vicky harder.

There were things I wanted to hear directly from her own lips.

“The moment I mentioned I’d be wearing this to the Feast, you rushed to sprinkle that rotten powder all over it, didn’t you?”

“I, what do you—”

“If your plan had worked, I would have been covered in a rash and unable to attend the Feast at all. It was quite a clever scheme, actually.”

“No, absolutely not! I don’t understand why you would say such a thing—”

“Then test it yourself.”

“Eek!”

I thrust the necklace toward her face, my gloved hand gripping it firmly, and she shrieked, collapsing backward onto the bed.

“…hah.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

This was the woman who had come to me under the pretense of nursing care while I suffered, only to execute her plan to drag me into ruin.

She had watched from my side the entire time as I poured my heart into preparing for the Spring Stage.

She had laughed, imagining me writhing in agony from a severe rash, unable to attend the Feast I had so eagerly anticipated.

‘And yet she wears such a terrified expression now….’

Looking down at her cowering form, I found the sensation rather pleasant, and a smile of contempt played across my lips.

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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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