Sadly, Shartus was busy saving his life now. Just like Rosentine.
In fact, as a handmaid, it was quite a good thing to serve a nobleman's young lady. If you were serving a nobleman, you could just match the nobleman's favor instead of the things you usually had to do.
Since they weren't even worthy of conversation, their basic duties were considerably less. There were also the added benefits of expanding their network and earning a bit of extra income, unless the nobleman they were dealing with was someone who harassed the maids.
There was a reason why Moren was jealous for no reason.
'She must have thought that I wouldn't refuse.'
Rosentine had no intention of refusing. Instead of being a maid who had to secretly watch and get out, it would have been beneficial for her to be able to move around the palace confidently.
All she has to do is respond to what Arolne does when it happens. No, on the contrary, it may give her a glimpse of information about Shartus and win a light favor.
If she had done that, she could have increased her range of action without being noticed by others.
The maid of honor introduced Rosentine next to Arolne. The politeness of the maid, who kept her manners, didn't seem to have much effect next to Arolne's silk fan.
'She has appointed me.'
Rosentine seemed to know how things worked.
Rosentine didn't have enough reputation to pick and nominate a new maid who had been in the room for less than two weeks. No, Lady Rosentine, the daughter of the Duke, would have it, but the maid Roan didn't.
Therefore, Rosentine greeted her politely, pretending not to know.
"Yes, Lady Arolne. My name is Roan."
"I'm not familiar with the geography of the imperial palace yet. I hope Roan can help me."
She said this while flicking her eyelashes seductively.
Rosentine laughed inwardly. If she was really not familiar with the geography of the imperial palace, there was no need to nominate a new maid who had just arrived.
However, there is no need to break this stage. With the intention of using everything that was given, Rosentine gave Arolne an innocent smile.
Arolne's eyes were fixed on her face.
"Of course. It is an honor to serve the Young Lady."
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but it looks like there's nothing else to do, right?"
"I usually take care of the Second Prince."
"Oh my God."
Arolne let out an exaggerated exclamation.
"Really? His Highness of Shartus? This is a coincidence."
'Why are you doing this while you know each other?'
Rosentine swallowed a laugh inwardly.
Arolne had a reputation for peasing people in a disguise. However, with such acting, Rosentine is not inferior to anyone.
She was literally a disguise for her life. On the contrary, Rosentine thought that it was easy to match a person who had clear wishes.
"I have a connection with His Highness. If I tell him that you will help me, he will probably be happy."
Rosentine thought of Shartus' delighted face. If that elaborate face brings joy, it will surely make him look admirable, but it's something she can't imagine.
Arolne was speaking confidently with a domineering expression. It was evident that she intended to assert her authority in front of the maid of honor and at the same time test Rosentine's attitude.
Certainly, if the Young Lady uses the Prince's dedicated maid as her guide, the rumors of the relationship will be inflated.
If she simply accepted the offer, Arolne would think of Rosentine as nothing more than a maid. That was what she wanted: to keep the attention of those around her from drawing attention to herself.
Rosentine smiled softly.
"I'm glad to hear that, Lady Arolne."
Clap.
The knight standing next to her stood beside Arolne. Rosentine smiled softly at his piercing eyes. It was a role model for a maid.
***
'Oh, it's comfortable. Expensive furniture is the best, after all.'
With that thought, Rosentine tilted her head back. The place where Rosentine was located was Shartus's reception room, which she had come to many times, and the scenery was familiar.
Except for those two knights, it was probably the first time that she had been in and out of her reception room so much. The story that Lucen had slightly whispered to her lingered in her ears.
Rosentine was leaning back on the sofa in the reception room. She meant leaning forward, but she was half-buried in the chair, taking notice.
The measure of notice is the gaze of the host. How dazzling he was because he valued politeness, told her the allowable range. In the first place, Lucen, who seemed strangely tolerant of these things, and Shartus, who didn't show his insides, didn't help much.
Suddenly, he pulls out his knife and says 'rude' and cuts her down. Rosentine rudely thought so.
Of course, she didn't think Shartus was the kind of person she had experienced so far, but in a business, you must be prepared for everything.
Hostang was sheeting inside and looking at Rosentine. It seemed that he did not like the fact that the employee dared to take a comfortable position in front of the Iord.
In particular, the maid's uniform she wore created such an atmosphere. It was like treating a maid as a precious guest. She wasn't a real handmaid, though.
'If it wasn't this fun, I wouldn't be able to deal with it.'
Rosentine was under Hostang's hot gaze and complained. Compared to the other two, who hid their true feelings in various ways, Hostang was like a person made of transparent glass.
It meant that she could see the inside. So it was easy to tease him. There were only two people in this imperial palace who became her teasers. Hostang and Moren. Of course, the latter was a nuisance.
Seeing that he wasn't running to her right away, it was clear that her current posture was within the acceptable range. That's it.
There was a magic word for Hostang who opened his eyes like this. She wrote it a couple of times, and it was a sentence that worked very well.
Rosentine met his gaze and whispered in the shape of his mouth.
'Did you fall in love with me?'
"W, what!"
Hostang abruptly rose from his seat. His face was flushed red, even down to his ears. His face, which was already unpleasant to anyone, was made even more sullen by his old-fashioned nature.
"What's going on, Hostang?"
"Did anything come to mind?"
Lucen and Shartus continued. The two of them suddenly shouted out something incomprehensible, and his face was puzzled.
Lucen's gaze turned to Rosentine, who was staring at Hostang. In front of the Second Prince, she was smiling innocently as she was in an extremely comfortable position. At that, he bit his tongue to hold back his laughter.
"Oh, no, Your Highness. That girl..."
"If you have the spirit to sell it to something else, why don't you think about how to get poison a little more?"
"I'm, I'm sorry! No, but that girl... No, it is not."
Shartus' reaction is colder than expected. Rosentine looked at Shartus. It was definitely a serious atmosphere.
***
Lucen entrusted his appraisal to an alchemist he knew, and the poison in the wine was a poison that ordinary people could not easily obtain.
She remembered what Lucen had said.
'He said it was amazing. He had only heard about it, but this was his first time seeing it. It is called the poison of Perutsa.'
'Perutsa?'
'It's more famous for its magic poison.'
At those words, Shartus's mouth twisted wildly. He was leaning over his armrests, and his gaze was cold.
Unlike usual, his stiff face showed anger. The same was true for Lucen.
Hostang made a smirk and made a sharp impression. He also seemed to have a sense of what Perutsa was.
The same was true for Rosentine. Even though she had never heard of the word Perutsa before, she knew its nickname.
If you grew up in Akrana, no one would know about it. It was a poison that is said to have killed three gods during the mythological period.
'It looks like you were very desperate.'
'I didn't expect it... If this poison had entered your body, you would not have been safe.'
'Is that Perutsa?'
'Yes, Hostang. Arund, Perutsa, and Dodrathun. It is a poison that is said to have killed three goddesses.'
'Once it enters the body, you fall into a coma within a few days. You can walk around without knowing when you were poisoned. It is said that once you fall into a coma, your body will rot and die within three days, so the sign must have been a god's punishment.'
It was a self-help mockery.
As if those words were drawn in front of his eyes, Shartus laughed.
Rather than the fact that they were trying to kill him, it seemed even more annoying that they had saved that poison.
The same was true for Rosentine. She couldn't believe that she had changed the wine that contained that poison.
'It's terrible.'
That's what she thought. There was even a saying that you should enter the Auro only when your mind is sure to die.
Poison that can only be collected in the desert in the north of the continent, in the Auro River. It was a place where sandstorms could occur at any time, so it was natural that it would be dangerous just to head there. So the same goes for that supply.
Moreover, the poison of Perutsa, which requires grinding the scales of a rare species of snake called Perutsa for 90 days, was a poison that appeared almost in legend.
"Still, thanks to that, it will be easier to find a source."
Rosentine suddenly spoke. These were the words she said as she watched the three people become serious. She also knew the seriousness of the situation. The financial and information power to obtain poison that can only come from legends.
And even a clear will to kill Shartus. There was no malice there.
'They must be unique. They must be hiding in the shadows.'
Shartus said calmly, and Rosentine agreed. But that didn't mean he couldn't let go.
'Undercover investigations are my job, Your Highness.'
She said while looking straight at him.
***
After that, the atmosphere was quite relaxed.
Shartus looked at her and laughed at her, and Hostang frowned in disapproval, but didn't say anything more.
Rosentine had already prevented a poisoning attempt. Hostang also knew that without Rosentine, he wouldn't have been able to hear the name of Perutsa poison now.
Rosentine looked at Hostang with a little apology. There were times when she made fun of him to suppress her raging head and the worries that came with it.
"Don't make fun of Hostang too much."
"Were you making fun of me?"
Although he didn't seem to notice.
Rosentine shrugged. It was an attitude that was not typical of an aristocrat, and Hostang let out a sigh.
"It's to get to know each other. Maybe."
At that, Rosentine smiled comfortably. Hostang opened his eyes in surprise. A few times, he blinked, and he looked like he couldn't believe what he had heard.
That's bound to be.
Rosentine swallowed her laughter. She may not know, but Hostang's hostility towards her so far must have been an instinctive rejection that stemmed from his way of thinking itself.
'You must have known it yourself. That you are flirting with me.'
Hostang's face is funny as he naively surprises, as if he hadn't thought of such a thing.
With that in mind, Rosentine turned her gaze. Her and Shartus' eyes met.
He was staring at her. When Rosentine questioned Shartus's indescribable expression, Shartus spoke slowly without looking away
"How is the work?"
'I think I changed my mind for some reason.'
That's what she thought, but Rosentine shook her head.
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