Mad Rosetta - Chapter 54
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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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Rosette Gone Mad
Chapter 54
A Cowardly Man (6)
I acted on impulse.
I seized Sing by the collar without hesitation.
【…Let go, Rosette.】
He seemed momentarily flustered, but then his eyes fell upon the back of my hand, and his expression twisted with displeasure.
As I tightened my grip on the fabric of Sing’s garment, I could see the gauze wrapped around my knuckles had grown damp with blood.
At worst, a few blisters had burst open.
The growling defiance from moments before had vanished, and facing him—unable even to push my hand away—I spoke quietly.
“I don’t understand.”
【Are you in your right mind? Can’t you see the bleeding—】
“You do care for me, after all.”
【….】
“Then why won’t you admit it?”
You cowardly wretch.
The moment those words left my lips, all the sorrow I’d carried came crashing down, and I felt as though I might weep.
But I knew that if tears fell here, it would be the same as admitting defeat, so I deliberately widened my eyes.
Sing’s lips trembled repeatedly, as though he were carefully choosing his words.
“What are you thinking about, that you won’t answer me?”
But my impatient nature made me faster.
Looking down at me like this, Sing muttered something with a strangely hollow tone.
【…I want to crack open that small head of yours.】
“What?”
【You seem to have forgotten that I am not among the living.】
At his words—spoken as though he truly could not fathom me—I finally felt something surge within my chest.
A man who probes relentlessly, persistently into my being.
Yet when it comes time to truly face me, he evades with jest and retreats two steps back.
And still, he remains at my side as though he would rather die than be despised by me, only to regain his composure with ruthless precision the moment danger strikes.
But he never reveals who he truly is.
I lament that I have come to care for such a man. Yet his manner of admonishing me—as though what I feel is something I should never dare pursue—only infuriated me further, and I had to clench my teeth.
“When did I ever ask you for that?”
【It cannot come to pass. Rather… it was never meant to be possible between us from the start. You understand what I mean.】
“What is there to it between a man and woman? If our hearts align, that is all that matters.”
【…My head aches. I have never felt this way before.】
“Listen to me.”
【….】
“You never deny it. You simply run in circles, hoping only that I will stop first.”
Did my final words touch something within him?
Sing, who had remained silent until now, finally grasped my hand—the one I had been using to hold his collar—and drew it down.
【It’s rather amusing, isn’t it? You speak of feelings without even knowing who your opponent is.】
“Faceless Ghost.”
【Rosette.】
“If you tell me, I’ll listen. Otherwise, I won’t bother asking. Now that I’ve come to care for you, such things seem pointless anyway….”
【Yet you said you were sick of me.】
“Then take responsibility for tempting me.”
Ah, I was growing weary of this too.
How could a refusal be both so insignificant and yet so dignified?
Sing needed to understand that there existed no rejection in this world that left even a single hair unharmed.
“If you truly don’t share my feelings, then stop worrying. It’s inconvenient.”
【What?】
“Darling, sweetheart—don’t call me such hollow names! If you want to joke about being my lover, then bear the proper responsibility, Sing! Is my meaning unclear?”
My fury boiled over, and I raised my voice at the end. Inevitably, a metallic sound echoed from my throat.
It tasted faintly of blood, though it must have been my imagination.
I glanced sideways with anxious eyes, my coughing stilled, and he gazed down at me with an expression of utter exasperation.
【…Ha.】
“….”
【Ahahaha. Yes, responsibility. Responsibility indeed…. Such a fine word. It truly cuts to the bone.】
What had I touched upon this time?
Somehow, his laughter sounded less like despair and more like madness.】
That self-deprecating smile carried a low sigh, and Sing sat beside me with eyes gleaming as though his sanity had fractured, then asked.
【If you answer that your heart mirrors mine, will you cease such reckless acts from this day forward?】
“Increase the guards to five, or…?”
I couldn’t finish what I was saying.
I was far too flustered.
It was because, moments after Sing sat at the bedside, he suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist.
Whether Sing knew of my confusion or not—given how his attitude had flipped like a coin—he wore that familiar smile.
This was his signature icy grin.
【Do you know something?】
“W-what?”
【You may not have realized, but I was the first to covet you.】
“First…?”
【Yes, from the moment you were in your mother’s womb.】
…This gave me chills. What on earth was he saying?
His eyes held such genuine truth that I couldn’t dismiss it as a jest. I fumbled through calculating Sing’s age, then simply squeezed my eyes shut.
I couldn’t even grasp it, so there was no point in trying to count.
Perhaps sensing my troubled expression, a soft chuckle escaped from him still at my side.
【It’s already too late, darling. You’ll only regret knowing, so I won’t tell you.】
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen such a playful smile on his face.
Yet here he was, pretending innocence while rotting my mind from within—I genuinely wanted to strike him across the head.
Lost in such thoughts, I found myself staring intently at him, yet something about the atmosphere felt distinctly peculiar.
A sudden realization struck me, and I urgently pressed my hand against Sing’s lips with a soft tap.
“W-wait, just so you know, this isn’t my first kiss.”
【….】
Wow, look at how fast his expression darkened.
I’d heard that among the conversations with the Princesses, there were no shortage of men who pestered them about their chastity and the number of official romantic encounters they’d had.
So they laughed knowingly, saying it was best to hide such things whenever possible.
But this wasn’t something worth concealing, and it seemed better to lay it bare from the start, so I simply blurted it out.
【You certainly have a talent for killing the mood with unnecessary revelations. Truly.】
Judging by his expression, it seemed my judgment had been mistaken.
“At the wedding ceremony once… or rather, since I’ve returned to the past, should I count it as not happening?”
【Ah, I know that much. I was there, after all.】
“…you really are an insufferable stalker, you know that.”
His indifferent tone made me embarrassed by my own rambling.
As I withdrew my hand from his face, Sing broke into a broad, satisfied smile.
【That’s fine, darling. My first kiss belongs to you.】
“…Huh?”
【Be satisfied with that.】
With those words, Sing’s large hand threaded through my hair.
His fingers brushing against my ear tickled, and his breath drawing near felt utterly unfamiliar.
…My first kiss in this lifetime was with a ghost.
Since no one would believe me even if I boasted about it elsewhere, I simply closed my eyes and hoped for the best.
* * *
“Sing.”
【Hmm?】
“Say you love me.”
【…Hmm?】
I wished she would pick one—either bashful or bold—but not both.
She lay there with perfect composure, her expression haughty and composed, staring intently at Sing.
【You can say it instead.】
“Just say it for me.”
【Heh.】
“When I think about it, I’ve never heard a man say those words before.”
Though I answered as if it were nothing, Rosetta’s eyes narrowed sharply with a cold, cutting gaze—as if she already knew this fact about me.
Well, since she asked, there was no reason to refuse.
So Sing attempted to voice the embarrassingly unfamiliar words as she had, but suddenly burst into laughter instead.
When Rosetta’s expression hardened to something bordering on contempt, Sing hastily buried his face against her shoulder.
【Ah, I love you….】
“…I think I’m annoyed because of this.”
【I love you, Rosette….】
The eyes of the woman I love are truly piercing. Sing thought of it that day.
Unaware that there was no turning back now, you went ahead and gave this terrifying emotion a name.
Both taking along the one who ruthlessly pierced his own heart as a companion, and inevitably wounding the small woman before his eyes as a consequence.
Sing knew with bone-deep certainty that it was all predetermined.
She, who spoke of responsibility, would never know how selfishly her words had driven him to choose.
【Close your eyes for me.】
“Must I really?”
【It’s embarrassing.】
“…I see.”
Though her cheeks flushed crimson, though she hesitantly grasped only at his elbow.
Finding her darling before him so endearing as she obediently shut her eyes in agreement, Sing kissed her again.
Though the thought of the end that would someday come left a bitter taste, her heart was far too sweet to swallow without savoring.
Let it be merely a fragment of her heart, lingering with me for a moment. I will not concern myself with it.
You love the Servant with her endearing crooked teeth, and you love the young apothecary blooming with talent.
And yet you close your eyes and speak of love even at the hasty kiss of a mere insignificant being.
Someday you will surely love someone else with all your heart, and so I chose not to worry.
Because you are so lovable….
I harbor not the slightest luxury of thinking I could be forgiven.
My darling, my Rosette.
I am so delighted to have held you, however briefly.
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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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aliceyriz
how bittersweet. i really want him to regain his original body tho:( and also, who is he, really??