Side Story. Rose's Past and Present in the Original (1)
Rose de Serviat, the protagonist of the dilapidated novel.
Thought to know nothing but love, she was actually preparing for bloody revenge.
Rose, as if the rest of her life mattered nothing to her, devoted herself to revenge. Her life wasn't always this cruel.
The whole plot began when Rose was eight years old.
In the original, Rose was a bright child, just like any other. Although she was born an only child and had no siblings, she interacted with her cousins quite often. She especially enjoyed her interactions with her maternal cousins, and her three older cousins were her comforting companions.
Eager to meet her adoring brothers, Rose begged her mother to visit her aunt's mansion again today.
Rose's mother, Rivera, got out of the carriage first.
"Sister, I'm home."
She waved warmly to her older sister, Olivia.
Olivia also greeted her younger sister brightly. Beside her were three boys, Rose's cousins: Noah, the eldest, seventeen; Ethan, fifteen; and Jaden, nine.
Their faces, eagerly awaiting Rose, brightened.
Rose de Serviat, the protagonist of the dilapidated novel.
Thought to know nothing but love, she was actually preparing for bloody revenge.
Rose, as if the rest of her life mattered nothing to her, devoted herself to revenge. Her life wasn't always this cruel.
The whole plot began when Rose was eight years old.
In the original, Rose was a bright child, just like any other. Although she was born an only child and had no siblings, she interacted with her cousins quite often. She especially enjoyed her interactions with her maternal cousins, and her three older cousins were her comforting companions.
Eager to meet her adoring brothers, Rose begged her mother to visit her aunt's mansion again today.
Rose's mother, Rivera, got out of the carriage first.
"Sister, I'm home."
She waved warmly to her older sister, Olivia.
Olivia also greeted her younger sister brightly. Beside her were three boys, Rose's cousins: Noah, the eldest, seventeen; Ethan, fifteen; and Jaden, nine.
Their faces, eagerly awaiting Rose, brightened.
"Brother!"
They must have smiled involuntarily at the sight of Rose running towards them with such a bright expression.
“There’s no time for a long explanation,”
The knight spoke urgently and approached the sleeping children.
“The capital... is in turmoil, madam.”
“!”
It was only a short sentence, but she knew what the knight was saying.
‘The Emperor’s faction... seems to have finally begun their purge.’
It was clear that they were planning to kill every single one of the former Emperor’s supporters.
She saw the children sleeping soundly, oblivious to everything.
‘...No matter what happens, the children must be spared.’
She didn’t care if she...died.
However, the children, who hadn’t even blossomed yet, had to be spared no matter what.
“Mother... I will take responsibility for my younger siblings and hide them.”
The eldest, whom she had assumed was sound asleep, spoke in a dignified voice.
“Noah... weren’t you asleep?”
“I’m awake.”
Despite hearing everything, the eldest remained remarkably calm.
“I... have to run away, right?”
She nodded silently at the eldest’s words.
“If we move with the knights, we’ll stand out more, so I’ll take them separately.”
She immediately objected to the eldest son’s desperate words.
“No! How can you hide your three younger siblings by yourself?”
“In this situation, the more people there are, the more noticeable they’ll be. We should at least get the younger siblings out before the knights swarm in.”
“You’re still a child! Mother can’t let you go alone!”
“Madam, the little Duke is right. The knights of Duke Flice wouldn’t think that the children would have fled alone, so it’ll be safer this way. And, I’ll send someone to escort the little Duke soon, so don’t worry too much.”
“He is right, Mother.”
The knight hurriedly wrote something down and handed a note to the eldest sibling, Noah.
Noah put the note in his bosom, carefully picked up the sleeping Rose, and with the other hand, he roughly grabbed the collar of his third sibling.
He nudged his younger brother awake with one foot, then left the mansion with the half-asleep children.
“Noah!”
She tried to grab her eldest son, but was stopped by the knight.
“...Please let the children go. This way... it will be better.”
The knight muttered in a low voice. His behavior seemed somehow unusual.
However, Rivera’s older sister didn’t notice this. Her gaze was fixed solely on the children.
As they disappeared from her sight, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Sir. Then, I entrust you with the care of our children..”
To stab the master you served so mercilessly?
It was a clear betrayal.
As he withdrew the blade from her body, her body collapsed limply. He approached Rivera's fallen sister and slowly lowered himself.
"I'm sorry, ma'am."
His expression, as he apologized, seemed remarkably dry.
"Given the circumstances, shouldn't I also find a way to survive?"
"You... how... did..."
She died on the spot, unable to finish her sentence.
The escort knight plunged his blade into her body again, as if to confirm the death, and spoke.
"I'll make sure you won't be lonely on your way, so I'll give you four children to accompany you."
"Brother. Where are we going?"
"Brother, I'm hungry."
"Ha. I want to sleep more. Why wake someone who's sleeping?"
The eldest son passed through the bustling downtown area and entered a deserted alley. He spoke brightly to his whining siblings.
"Just bear with it a little longer. Let's play a game here and then go back."
"Game? What game?"
"We're going to play hide-and-seek here."
Rose's face brightened at the mention of hide-and-seek. It was one of her favorite games.
"Wow! Rose wants to play tag!"
Seeing Rose's bright, unaware grin, Noah, the eldest child, gave a wry smile and patted her head.
"I'll play tag."
"Rose wants to."
“Then, Brother will play tag three times. Then, Rose will do it.”
“Good!”
Noah whispered to the third child, Jaden.
“Jaden, hide with Rose.”
“With Rose?”
“Yeah. You can do it, right? Today, Jaden will be the knight protecting Rose.”
A bright smile appeared on the third child’s face at the eldest child’s words.
The knights protecting Rose were always the eldest and the second-oldest. But today was their chance.
“Hehe! Good! I’m the older brother now. I can do it.”
“Yes. You mustn’t be found out by anyone. Even if they call your name, and even if they call Rose’s name... Don’t show yourself.”
“Yes? Why?”
“...That’s the rule for today. You mustn’t be found out by anyone until I show up and look for you.”
If they all hid together, they might be found out sooner.
The eldest child, Noah, planned to hide the smaller Rose and the third child, Jaden, together. He thought it would be safer to hide with his slightly more intelligent third brother than to leave Rose, who knew nothing, alone.
“If you do well in this game, I’ll give you an honorary knighthood, Jaden.”
He whispered sweet nothings into Jaden’s ear and smiled brightly.
“Yes, I’ll play tag, so hide now.”
A life-threatening game of hide-and-seek began.
Jaden, the youngest, took Rose’s hand and hid between buildings. The eldest immediately found the second and looked around.
“Oh, how can you find someone so quickly?”
“Ethan, shush.”
The eldest, with an unusually serious expression, held Ethan’s hand and hid at the entrance of an alley.
“Brother, what are you doing if you’re not looking for Rose and Jaden?”
Buttern, the knight guard.
He should be here quickly...
Just in case, Rose and the youngest Jaden were hidden separately.
And then, the knight Buttern appeared.
“Young Master!”
He rushed over and spoke urgently.
“Where are the youngest prince and the young lady?”
The knight, panting for breath, sensed a strange unease.
The eldest’s gaze lingered on the tip of Buttern’s sword. The moment he saw the sword covered in red bloodstains, his hair turned white.
“...Did you have any trouble on your way here?”
“Yes. Fortunately, Duke Flice’s men haven’t arrived yet. You should quickly escape.”
Nothing happened...What are those bloodstains over there?
Instinctively, he sensed something was wrong.
The eldest hid his younger brother behind him and lied.
“Jaden and Rose... I sent them to Father.”
The knight’s eyes narrowed at the eldest’s words.
“Oh... is that so?”
He looked at the two children with an unusually cold expression, then closed his eyes with a wink.
He mercilessly swung his sword at the eldest and second, muttering to himself,
“I already sent you to heaven, Master... I don’t know how you sent your younger siblings away.”
He sneered at the two fallen children.
Surely, Rose and the youngest, Jaden, were still nearby.
“Miss! Prince! Where are you!”
He shouted loudly at Rose and Jaden so that the children would come to him on their own.
“Oh, it’s Lord Buttern’s voice!”
Jaden, who had been hiding, pricked up his ears when he heard a familiar voice.
"Rose! "
"Come on!"
Noah, the eldest, quickly picked up Rose as she ran towards him. Rose's smiling voice rang out, causing the younger and third children to grumble.
"Tch, Rose always goes to you, brother."
"I can hug Rose, too!"
"You little thing. How can you hug Rose? You'd probably drop her if you tried to lift her."
"Don't ignore me. I'm your older brother, too!"
Those who lost the battle for Rose began to bicker among themselves for no reason. Rose, who had gotten off the eldest son's hand, tilted her head and grabbed her two older brothers' sleeves.
"Don't fight. Rose is sad."
The sight of Rose blinking her wide, drowsy eyes melted away the anger of the second and third brothers.
"Rose, we didn't fight."
"That's right. I'm the older brother, so I don't fight anymore."
Rivera and her older sister smiled at the children playing together in a huddle.
"Thank goodness. They play well together."
“Exactly. My sister was screaming your head off, saying you would rather die than do it. But as soon as you saw Rose, you completely changed your tune. It was hilarious.”
Rivera's older sister trailed off, as if reminiscing about the past.
"Should we have another daughter?"
She licked her lips wistfully, looking at Rose, who was shining brightly among her dark sons.
"Oh my, what are you going to do if you have another son?"
Rivera poked her sister in the ribs teasingly. Her sister's expression hardened pleasantly at Rivera's words.
"...Don't curse me. Just thinking about it makes me lose energy."
Rivera chuckled at the sight of her sister gritting her teeth. Rivera pretended not to notice her sister glaring at her and approached Rose.
"Rose."
She called out softly to Rose, who was playing with the brothers.
"Mom has to go out for a bit. Can you stay with your brothers without Mom?"
"Yeah. I like my brothers."
Rose snuggled into the eldest brother's embrace as if to tell her not to worry. The eldest brother gently stroked Rose's head and spoke to Rivera.
"Auntie, don't worry and go. We'll take good care of Rose."
He was remarkably mature, unlike her seventeen-year-old self. Of the three older brothers, Rose loved the eldest the most. His gentle and mature demeanor was close to her ideal type. Rose enjoyed spending time with the three older brothers. They were so much fun that they all fell asleep together. Rivera's older sister sighed softly as she looked at the four children sleeping soundly.
"It's so hot outside, do you want to sleep all huddled together?"
She watched her children sleep peacefully together and looked out the window at the setting sun.
"...By the way, Rivera is really late."
She had said she would be home soon, but Rivera, who had said she would run an errand for a moment, had not yet returned. Then, someone burst through the door.
"Madam! You must escape!"
The escort knight barged in with a thoughtful expression.
"What's going on?"
“There’s no time for a long explanation,”
The knight spoke urgently and approached the sleeping children.
“The capital... is in turmoil, madam.”
“!”
It was only a short sentence, but she knew what the knight was saying.
‘The Emperor’s faction... seems to have finally begun their purge.’
It was clear that they were planning to kill every single one of the former Emperor’s supporters.
She saw the children sleeping soundly, oblivious to everything.
‘...No matter what happens, the children must be spared.’
She didn’t care if she...died.
However, the children, who hadn’t even blossomed yet, had to be spared no matter what.
“Mother... I will take responsibility for my younger siblings and hide them.”
The eldest, whom she had assumed was sound asleep, spoke in a dignified voice.
“Noah... weren’t you asleep?”
“I’m awake.”
Despite hearing everything, the eldest remained remarkably calm.
“I... have to run away, right?”
She nodded silently at the eldest’s words.
“If we move with the knights, we’ll stand out more, so I’ll take them separately.”
She immediately objected to the eldest son’s desperate words.
“No! How can you hide your three younger siblings by yourself?”
“In this situation, the more people there are, the more noticeable they’ll be. We should at least get the younger siblings out before the knights swarm in.”
“You’re still a child! Mother can’t let you go alone!”
“Madam, the little Duke is right. The knights of Duke Flice wouldn’t think that the children would have fled alone, so it’ll be safer this way. And, I’ll send someone to escort the little Duke soon, so don’t worry too much.”
“He is right, Mother.”
The knight hurriedly wrote something down and handed a note to the eldest sibling, Noah.
Noah put the note in his bosom, carefully picked up the sleeping Rose, and with the other hand, he roughly grabbed the collar of his third sibling.
He nudged his younger brother awake with one foot, then left the mansion with the half-asleep children.
“Noah!”
She tried to grab her eldest son, but was stopped by the knight.
“...Please let the children go. This way... it will be better.”
The knight muttered in a low voice. His behavior seemed somehow unusual.
However, Rivera’s older sister didn’t notice this. Her gaze was fixed solely on the children.
As they disappeared from her sight, she slowly opened her mouth.
“Sir. Then, I entrust you with the care of our children..”
Rivera’s older sister couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Ugh... ugh.”
Something sharp dug into her back.
“I can’t let their mother die right before their eyes, ma’am.”
The knight’s cold voice came from behind her.
“Why, why did you...”
“Ugh... ugh.”
Something sharp dug into her back.
“I can’t let their mother die right before their eyes, ma’am.”
The knight’s cold voice came from behind her.
“Why, why did you...”
To stab the master you served so mercilessly?
It was a clear betrayal.
As he withdrew the blade from her body, her body collapsed limply. He approached Rivera's fallen sister and slowly lowered himself.
"I'm sorry, ma'am."
His expression, as he apologized, seemed remarkably dry.
"Given the circumstances, shouldn't I also find a way to survive?"
"You... how... did..."
She died on the spot, unable to finish her sentence.
The escort knight plunged his blade into her body again, as if to confirm the death, and spoke.
"I'll make sure you won't be lonely on your way, so I'll give you four children to accompany you."
***
"Brother. Where are we going?"
"Brother, I'm hungry."
"Ha. I want to sleep more. Why wake someone who's sleeping?"
The eldest son passed through the bustling downtown area and entered a deserted alley. He spoke brightly to his whining siblings.
"Just bear with it a little longer. Let's play a game here and then go back."
"Game? What game?"
"We're going to play hide-and-seek here."
Rose's face brightened at the mention of hide-and-seek. It was one of her favorite games.
"Wow! Rose wants to play tag!"
Seeing Rose's bright, unaware grin, Noah, the eldest child, gave a wry smile and patted her head.
"I'll play tag."
"Rose wants to."
“Then, Brother will play tag three times. Then, Rose will do it.”
“Good!”
Noah whispered to the third child, Jaden.
“Jaden, hide with Rose.”
“With Rose?”
“Yeah. You can do it, right? Today, Jaden will be the knight protecting Rose.”
A bright smile appeared on the third child’s face at the eldest child’s words.
The knights protecting Rose were always the eldest and the second-oldest. But today was their chance.
“Hehe! Good! I’m the older brother now. I can do it.”
“Yes. You mustn’t be found out by anyone. Even if they call your name, and even if they call Rose’s name... Don’t show yourself.”
“Yes? Why?”
“...That’s the rule for today. You mustn’t be found out by anyone until I show up and look for you.”
If they all hid together, they might be found out sooner.
The eldest child, Noah, planned to hide the smaller Rose and the third child, Jaden, together. He thought it would be safer to hide with his slightly more intelligent third brother than to leave Rose, who knew nothing, alone.
“If you do well in this game, I’ll give you an honorary knighthood, Jaden.”
He whispered sweet nothings into Jaden’s ear and smiled brightly.
“Yes, I’ll play tag, so hide now.”
A life-threatening game of hide-and-seek began.
Jaden, the youngest, took Rose’s hand and hid between buildings. The eldest immediately found the second and looked around.
“Oh, how can you find someone so quickly?”
“Ethan, shush.”
The eldest, with an unusually serious expression, held Ethan’s hand and hid at the entrance of an alley.
“Brother, what are you doing if you’re not looking for Rose and Jaden?”
“Ethan, we’ve got a problem. We... we have to escape the capital today. Sir Buttern said he’ll send someone here.”
Buttern, the knight guard.
He should be here quickly...
Just in case, Rose and the youngest Jaden were hidden separately.
And then, the knight Buttern appeared.
“Young Master!”
He rushed over and spoke urgently.
“Where are the youngest prince and the young lady?”
The knight, panting for breath, sensed a strange unease.
The eldest’s gaze lingered on the tip of Buttern’s sword. The moment he saw the sword covered in red bloodstains, his hair turned white.
“...Did you have any trouble on your way here?”
“Yes. Fortunately, Duke Flice’s men haven’t arrived yet. You should quickly escape.”
Nothing happened...What are those bloodstains over there?
Instinctively, he sensed something was wrong.
The eldest hid his younger brother behind him and lied.
“Jaden and Rose... I sent them to Father.”
The knight’s eyes narrowed at the eldest’s words.
“Oh... is that so?”
He looked at the two children with an unusually cold expression, then closed his eyes with a wink.
He mercilessly swung his sword at the eldest and second, muttering to himself,
“I already sent you to heaven, Master... I don’t know how you sent your younger siblings away.”
He sneered at the two fallen children.
Surely, Rose and the youngest, Jaden, were still nearby.
“Miss! Prince! Where are you!”
He shouted loudly at Rose and Jaden so that the children would come to him on their own.
“Oh, it’s Lord Buttern’s voice!”
Jaden, who had been hiding, pricked up his ears when he heard a familiar voice.
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