Episode 89. A Well-Matched Couple
Rose went outside to get some fresh air. The maid's useless chatter had her work out of whack.
"Haa. I can't concentrate because I'm hearing all this nonsense."
Rose went outside to get some fresh air. The maid's useless chatter had her work out of whack.
"Haa. I can't concentrate because I'm hearing all this nonsense."
Rose sighed. She felt a pang of regret for having resorted to the risk of having the Grand Duke get Eric off her.
"I shouldn't have said that at the palace..."
Keeping up with Julius's blistering pace was quite a challenge.
She'd barely run a few steps when she was out of breath.
As Rose gasped for breath, Julius suddenly lifted her body into his arms!
"Whoa!"
Rose's body instantly floated into the air.
And then, upon seeing this, the Grand Duke, losing his composure, shouted fiercely.
"Julie!"
The Grand Duke's furious voice echoed behind Rose.
Rose might have wondered why he was angry, but she didn't have the luxury of caring. She was even more flustered by Julius's sudden embrace.
Furious, Julius's actions froze the Grand Duke in a fierce expression.
His face flushed with blood, he snapped his fingers at Julius.
Julius, who was running with Rose in his arms, suddenly stumbled.
It was the Grand Duke's magic.
"Your Highness!"
Suddenly using magic in a crowded mansion!
Startled, Neruan grabbed the Grand Duke's arm. Then he glared at the Grand Duke with a sharp gaze.
It was a silent pressure to stop using magic.
However, Neruan's gaze held no pressure on the Grand Duke, blinded by love.
He made Julius stumble, quickly approached Rose, and snatched her away.
Julius stumbled and fell, but Neruan supported him.
"Neruan, guide Julie to her room."
The Grand Duke left without waiting for Neruan's answer.
Neruan tried to stop the Grand Duke as he leisurely left with Rose. However, his body wouldn't obey him.
It was because the Grand Duke had cast a spell on him.
'Damn it. My feet are moving on their own!'
He supported Julius, who was still dazed and unconscious, and walked in the opposite direction from the Grand Duke.
Rose, suddenly in the Grand Duke's arms, was utterly confused.
Why was the Grand Duke embracing her instead of Princess Mederion?
'Is this acceptable in front of his fiancée?'
She didn't want to be unnecessarily misunderstood.
"Please let me down."
She wanted to escape the Grand Duke's embrace before further misunderstandings arose.
The Grand Duke took a few more steps, turned a corner, and obediently set Rose down.
Rose stood facing the Grand Duke. And the moment she saw his gaze, she flinched.
The Grand Duke's gaze had grown cold.
Seeing the Grand Duke's cold face for the first time in a long time made her tense without realizing it.
The Grand Duke's anger at Julius embracing his woman still hadn't subsided.
He, frozen as ice, slowly spoke.
The Grand Duke called Rose's name softly.
"Rose."
A low voice drifted into Rose's ear.
"I wish you wouldn't become so close to Princess Mederion."
"...Huh?"
Rose was left speechless by the Archduke's words.
"Can you do that?"
The Grand Duke asked again, as if confirming.
Rose, who had been standing there blankly, nodded in response.
"Ah... yes."
The Grand Duke finally smiled, as if relieved by Rose's answer.
'I can never let that Julius flirt with my woman.'
He had intended to cut off all contact between Rose and Julius from the start.
The Grand Duke was grateful to Rose for answering his question without explanation.
"Thank you."
"No. I have to be careful."
Rose's lips trembled as she smiled faintly.
'Are you afraid I... might do something to your fiancée?'
Before she learned of her existence, there had been a subtle tension between the Grand Duke and her.
She hadn't realized it then, but looking back, she understood.
The signals the Grand Duke had been sending her.
The way he treated others was distinctly different from how he treated her.
He had been kind enough.
Enough for others to misunderstand.
And enough for even Rose to misunderstand...
But it was all an illusion.
The Grand Duke's kindness clearly meant nothing.
The Grand Duke and Rose had done nothing, and they had no relationship.
Her heart ached. A strange bitterness welled up within her.
'I thought I had no feelings for the Grand Duke...'
Apparently, Rose's feelings weren't like that.
The appearance of his fiancée, and the Grand Duke's actions, drawing a line like now, had already shaken her.
Grand Duke Artaeum nodded contentedly, oblivious to Rose's feelings.
Rose was only further hurt by the Grand Duke's smile.
The Grand Duke, with a much more relieved face, extended his hand to Rose.
"Except for the day you first came to the mansion, it seems you've never had a moment of leisure. Shall we take a walk?"
Rose's mind went cold at the Grand Duke's gesture of extending his hand.
She didn't appreciate his leeway, even with his fiancée.
Rose flatly rejected the Grand Duke's offer.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling well. I don't think I can go for a walk."
Her voice was colder than ever.
"What hurts?"
The Grand Duke looked at Rose with a worried look.
Rose shook her head at the Grand Duke's worried gaze.
'Let's not be agitated.'
Those eyes probably held no special meaning.
It was probably a look of regret for pushing herself to the point of pain.
“I’m a little tired. I think I’ll feel better after a little rest. I’ll go in first.”
"I shouldn't have said that at the palace..."
Having said that, she liked the Grand Duke; life at the mansion had become quite uncomfortable. However, it would be difficult to take back the words she'd said. Everything was her own responsibility.
"I should've started getting independent."
Now, Eric, who had clung to her like a leech, would no longer visit. Rose muttered to herself and walked aimlessly. Neruan, who was heading to the Grand Duke after finishing his work, spotted Rose walking listlessly. The corners of his mouth curled up as he watched her slump back.
"You seem to be concerned about Princess Mederion."
In reality, he was the Crown Prince, but that wasn't the point. From Neruan's perspective, it was actually a good thing he'd appeared in the guise of Julia. It was a crucial card that would expedite his plans.
"You lied so shamelessly, saying you had no feelings for His Highness the Grand Duke."
His eyes can't deceive him. Seeing Rose's helpless appearance, he was convinced he wasn't wrong. Neruan walked toward Rose, holding the documents.
"You look exhausted."
Neruan's voice came from behind Rose as she trudged along. At first glance, it sounded like concern, but that wasn't what he meant. Rose stopped and turned around. Neruan was staring at her with a relaxed expression. His expression didn't seem particularly pleasant.
"I'm tired from work."
"Oh. I see. I misunderstood."
Neruan lowered his eyes, as if he wasn't even listening to Rose's words.
"I thought you were feeling down because of Princess Mederion."
Neruan's words somehow caught her breath. It felt like a direct hit. Rose's eyelashes fluttered slightly. She pretended to be indifferent, collected herself, and spoke to Neruan.
"Because of the Princess? I don't know what you mean. I don't have the energy to listen to useless words. I'll be going now."
Rose turned away, as if she didn't want to be associated with Neruan any longer. At that moment, a rustling sound echoed from the hallway. The voice, so joyful, was Julius's. Rose's gaze naturally turned to the noisy, tumultuous running. Julius was running with a bright expression. And she could see the Grand Duke chasing after him. Neruan seized the moment to whisper to Rose.
"Aren't you two really close? How good must you be for each other to be so jolly, oblivious to the attention of the servants?"
Neruan, knowing full well that the person running towards him was Julius, not Julia, insisted that he and the Grand Duke were a good match. This was to make Rose give up her feelings for the Grand Duke. In Rose's eyes, the Grand Duke and Julius looked incredibly close, just as Neruan had said. The Grand Duke, who always maintained a dignified appearance, ran towards her so innocently.
'Archduke...You look happy.'
Julius ran as if to say, 'Catch me, if you can,' and the Grand Duke chased after him. In reality, it was the Grand Duke running fiercely with a twinkle in his eye, but to Rose, the two appeared to be only affectionate.
Neruan smiled with satisfaction at Rose's frozen expression. Rose's eyes met Julius's as he approached her. She immediately looked away. Then, she pressed herself against the wall so that he could run freely. Rose assumed Julius would pass her by. However, he approached Rose, who was standing there without a trace.
"It's nice to see you again."
Julius's voice sounded pleasant. Unable to ignore him, Rose turned her head to greet him. However, Julius grabbed her wrist without giving her a chance to respond. Then, he started running with Rose without any reason. Rose, without knowing what was going on, called out to Julius.
"Princess?"
Keeping up with Julius's blistering pace was quite a challenge.
She'd barely run a few steps when she was out of breath.
As Rose gasped for breath, Julius suddenly lifted her body into his arms!
"Whoa!"
Rose's body instantly floated into the air.
And then, upon seeing this, the Grand Duke, losing his composure, shouted fiercely.
"Julie!"
The Grand Duke's furious voice echoed behind Rose.
Rose might have wondered why he was angry, but she didn't have the luxury of caring. She was even more flustered by Julius's sudden embrace.
Furious, Julius's actions froze the Grand Duke in a fierce expression.
His face flushed with blood, he snapped his fingers at Julius.
Julius, who was running with Rose in his arms, suddenly stumbled.
It was the Grand Duke's magic.
"Your Highness!"
Suddenly using magic in a crowded mansion!
Startled, Neruan grabbed the Grand Duke's arm. Then he glared at the Grand Duke with a sharp gaze.
It was a silent pressure to stop using magic.
However, Neruan's gaze held no pressure on the Grand Duke, blinded by love.
He made Julius stumble, quickly approached Rose, and snatched her away.
Julius stumbled and fell, but Neruan supported him.
"Neruan, guide Julie to her room."
The Grand Duke left without waiting for Neruan's answer.
Neruan tried to stop the Grand Duke as he leisurely left with Rose. However, his body wouldn't obey him.
It was because the Grand Duke had cast a spell on him.
'Damn it. My feet are moving on their own!'
He supported Julius, who was still dazed and unconscious, and walked in the opposite direction from the Grand Duke.
Rose, suddenly in the Grand Duke's arms, was utterly confused.
Why was the Grand Duke embracing her instead of Princess Mederion?
'Is this acceptable in front of his fiancée?'
She didn't want to be unnecessarily misunderstood.
"Please let me down."
She wanted to escape the Grand Duke's embrace before further misunderstandings arose.
The Grand Duke took a few more steps, turned a corner, and obediently set Rose down.
Rose stood facing the Grand Duke. And the moment she saw his gaze, she flinched.
The Grand Duke's gaze had grown cold.
Seeing the Grand Duke's cold face for the first time in a long time made her tense without realizing it.
The Grand Duke's anger at Julius embracing his woman still hadn't subsided.
He, frozen as ice, slowly spoke.
The Grand Duke called Rose's name softly.
"Rose."
A low voice drifted into Rose's ear.
"I wish you wouldn't become so close to Princess Mederion."
"...Huh?"
Rose was left speechless by the Archduke's words.
"Can you do that?"
The Grand Duke asked again, as if confirming.
Rose, who had been standing there blankly, nodded in response.
"Ah... yes."
The Grand Duke finally smiled, as if relieved by Rose's answer.
'I can never let that Julius flirt with my woman.'
He had intended to cut off all contact between Rose and Julius from the start.
The Grand Duke was grateful to Rose for answering his question without explanation.
"Thank you."
"No. I have to be careful."
Rose's lips trembled as she smiled faintly.
'Are you afraid I... might do something to your fiancée?'
Before she learned of her existence, there had been a subtle tension between the Grand Duke and her.
She hadn't realized it then, but looking back, she understood.
The signals the Grand Duke had been sending her.
The way he treated others was distinctly different from how he treated her.
He had been kind enough.
Enough for others to misunderstand.
And enough for even Rose to misunderstand...
But it was all an illusion.
The Grand Duke's kindness clearly meant nothing.
The Grand Duke and Rose had done nothing, and they had no relationship.
Her heart ached. A strange bitterness welled up within her.
'I thought I had no feelings for the Grand Duke...'
Apparently, Rose's feelings weren't like that.
The appearance of his fiancée, and the Grand Duke's actions, drawing a line like now, had already shaken her.
Grand Duke Artaeum nodded contentedly, oblivious to Rose's feelings.
Rose was only further hurt by the Grand Duke's smile.
The Grand Duke, with a much more relieved face, extended his hand to Rose.
"Except for the day you first came to the mansion, it seems you've never had a moment of leisure. Shall we take a walk?"
Rose's mind went cold at the Grand Duke's gesture of extending his hand.
She didn't appreciate his leeway, even with his fiancée.
Rose flatly rejected the Grand Duke's offer.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling well. I don't think I can go for a walk."
Her voice was colder than ever.
"What hurts?"
The Grand Duke looked at Rose with a worried look.
Rose shook her head at the Grand Duke's worried gaze.
'Let's not be agitated.'
Those eyes probably held no special meaning.
It was probably a look of regret for pushing herself to the point of pain.
“I’m a little tired. I think I’ll feel better after a little rest. I’ll go in first.”
Rose bowed to the Grand Duke and headed to her bedroom without a backward glance.
The Grand Duke was deeply saddened by not being able to spend time with Rose, but more than that, he was worried about her condition.
“You look so pale.”
He watched Rose walking away weakly, worried. He couldn’t just leave her like this. He ordered a maid passing by.
“Brew some tea that’s good for relieving fatigue and bring it to Rose’s room.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The maid nodded at the Grand Duke's words and quickly disappeared.
Rose entered the room and immediately fell onto the bed.
She was depressed.
She didn’t want to do anything, to the point where she couldn’t even think about the piles of papers in her office.
Rose closed her eyes quietly.
However, lying there doing nothing was becoming toxic.
Negative emotions were constantly flooding her.
‘I came to this mansion for nothing... I shouldn’t have come in the first place.’
She wouldn’t have been able to see the different sides of the Grand Duke.
Then she wouldn’t have felt this pain...
The Grand Duke was deeply saddened by not being able to spend time with Rose, but more than that, he was worried about her condition.
“You look so pale.”
He watched Rose walking away weakly, worried. He couldn’t just leave her like this. He ordered a maid passing by.
“Brew some tea that’s good for relieving fatigue and bring it to Rose’s room.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The maid nodded at the Grand Duke's words and quickly disappeared.
***
Rose entered the room and immediately fell onto the bed.
She was depressed.
She didn’t want to do anything, to the point where she couldn’t even think about the piles of papers in her office.
Rose closed her eyes quietly.
However, lying there doing nothing was becoming toxic.
Negative emotions were constantly flooding her.
‘I came to this mansion for nothing... I shouldn’t have come in the first place.’
She wouldn’t have been able to see the different sides of the Grand Duke.
Then she wouldn’t have felt this pain...
She wouldn’t have been so upset by the fact that the Grand Duke had a fiancée. If she hadn’t gotten involved with the Grand Duke in the first place...
Rose flinched.
‘No, what the hell are you thinking? If I hadn’t interfered in the Grand Duke's life, the Grand Duke might already be dead.’
Rose, who had been struggling in the abyss, suddenly came to her senses.
She abruptly sat up and muttered,
“What are you doing, such an idiot?”
Rose flinched.
‘No, what the hell are you thinking? If I hadn’t interfered in the Grand Duke's life, the Grand Duke might already be dead.’
Rose, who had been struggling in the abyss, suddenly came to her senses.
She abruptly sat up and muttered,
“What are you doing, such an idiot?”
Just as Rose kicked up, the maid sent by the Grand Duke knocked on the door and came in.
“The Grand Duke sent you tea that is said to be good for relieving fatigue.”
The maid placed the tea on Rose’s table and spoke politely.
“I thought His Highness had a fierce personality, but he is more kind than I thought. I have seen many different sides of him since Rose came to the mansion.”
The maid deliberately brought up the subject of the Grand Duke.
Rose seemed uneasy with Princess Mederion's sudden visit.
Rose muttered, asking,
"Did he seem particularly kind to you?"
"Yes. I'm sure anyone in this mansion would have felt it."
The maid emphasized that Princess Mederion and the Grand Duke weren't in a special relationship, but Rose, oblivious to this, was left with only a bitter aftertaste.
In an instant, Neruan's haughty smile flashed through Rose's mind.
"You're not in the department store business... but in men's business, aren't you?"
Neruan had been making assumptions about Rose's every move.
'I can't let Neruan see me like this anymore.'
She didn't want to give her an excuse to dismiss all her actions as "men's business."
She couldn't allow all her efforts to be ignored.
She wouldn't show any signs of wavering.
Rose walked with a straight back and a confident expression.
Her footsteps stopped in front of the table where the tea the Grand Duke had sent lay.
Rose gazed down at the tea he had sent, then picked up her teacup. Then she poured it all down in one gulp, consuming every last drop.
Perhaps it was her mood, but she felt a surge of energy.
Moving to her office, Rose began working at a breakneck pace.
With a venomous glint in her eyes, she immersed herself in her work.
Rose's anger, marred by misunderstandings, fueled her business.
She stayed up all night, working on her business documents.
All preparations for the meeting were complete.
It was three days later that Princess Diana contacted her.
“The Grand Duke sent you tea that is said to be good for relieving fatigue.”
The maid placed the tea on Rose’s table and spoke politely.
“I thought His Highness had a fierce personality, but he is more kind than I thought. I have seen many different sides of him since Rose came to the mansion.”
The maid deliberately brought up the subject of the Grand Duke.
Rose seemed uneasy with Princess Mederion's sudden visit.
Rose muttered, asking,
"Did he seem particularly kind to you?"
"Yes. I'm sure anyone in this mansion would have felt it."
The maid emphasized that Princess Mederion and the Grand Duke weren't in a special relationship, but Rose, oblivious to this, was left with only a bitter aftertaste.
In an instant, Neruan's haughty smile flashed through Rose's mind.
"You're not in the department store business... but in men's business, aren't you?"
Neruan had been making assumptions about Rose's every move.
'I can't let Neruan see me like this anymore.'
She didn't want to give her an excuse to dismiss all her actions as "men's business."
She couldn't allow all her efforts to be ignored.
She wouldn't show any signs of wavering.
Rose walked with a straight back and a confident expression.
Her footsteps stopped in front of the table where the tea the Grand Duke had sent lay.
Rose gazed down at the tea he had sent, then picked up her teacup. Then she poured it all down in one gulp, consuming every last drop.
Perhaps it was her mood, but she felt a surge of energy.
Moving to her office, Rose began working at a breakneck pace.
With a venomous glint in her eyes, she immersed herself in her work.
Rose's anger, marred by misunderstandings, fueled her business.
She stayed up all night, working on her business documents.
All preparations for the meeting were complete.
It was three days later that Princess Diana contacted her.
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