All the personnel, including troops, were gathered in the backyard, which was the banquet hall, in preparation for Kalutain.
It was certainly not small just because it was outdoors; on the contrary, it was so vast that there were more things to worry about, so the security outside was definitely more intense than usual.
The Kalutans were more spirited than expected.
Thanks to his outgoing personality and ability to mingle freely, the banquet quickly reached its peak.
Roselyn also relaxed pleasantly as she passed one glass after another.
"Princess Bellion."
Roselyn's face flushed slightly.
She paused at the call of a maid who approached while she was tilting a wine glass, though she did not know how many times.
"Yes."
"Marquis Wilbreed is summoning you urgently. He says he has something to discuss regarding the recent incident, so please come over for a moment once you have had enough to eat..."
"...Garen?"
"Yes."
At the maid's words, Roselyn tilted her head slightly and then nodded obediently.
'Why is Garen suddenly calling me aside? If it was about the other day....'
She narrowed her eyebrows as she followed the maid into the imperial palace. If it was the past, she should have been the one to come.
"...Did that guy tell me to come?"
"Yes."
Roselyn slowly pressed her thumb firmly against the space between her eyebrows. It felt like the slight tipsiness was wearing off.
“That’s strange.”
"..."
At Roselyn's words, the maid stopped abruptly.
"That bastard Garen doesn't trust people, so there's no way he would have told anyone what we talked about. What's wrong with you?"
"...Wow. Our young lady is quick-witted. I thought you two were in a relationship... but it turns out that wasn't the case; it looks like you two were running around a bit?"
Roselyn's eyes widened at the sound of a chilling voice coming from behind.
At the same time, with a dull thud, she felt a heavy pain around her throat.
It was the next moment that my vision became blurry.
***
Kidnapped.
Roselyn could not tell whether she should be happy or sad about her current situation, which could be defined in just one word.
'I should have been more careful when Khan told me to.'
Despite having sensed something with her beastly instincts and given advice, she inwardly clicked her tongue at the unexpected situation.
'To think I was kidnapped in the middle of the Imperial City...'
I am simply lamentable about the laxity of the escort.
It seems that since Kaluta was visiting, they had to make thorough preparations in many ways, so the security within the imperial palace was bound to be lax.
"Hello, young lady, are you awake?"
"..."
"I know you're awake, so open your eyes quickly."
Roselyn, who had been pretending to faint, frowned at the sound of the voice.
As she let out a sigh and slightly raised her head, a familiar man burst into laughter.
"Long time no see."
"I wish you wouldn't act like you're greeting a long-lost friend on the street; it really annoys me."
Roselyn, forcibly pinned to a chair with her hands tied behind her back, spoke.
She twisted her hand this way and that, but it didn't look like it would come undone easily.
Roselyn clicked her tongue inwardly.
“Where am I?”
"Well, where do you think it might be?"
The man who had pulled a chair across from him and was sitting cross-legged on it at a distance was dressed like a nobleman, but he did not look like a nobleman.
Yes, he looked more like a back-alley ruffian than a nobleman.
"You know, Young Lady, how on earth do you know to interfere with our affairs at every little thing like this?"
"..."
"I'm sorry to say this, but I examined your body while you were sleeping, and it didn't seem like you had any extraordinary strength."
"You speak quite confidently about touching a woman's body without permission."
"Well, I didn't look into it with that intention."
The man, Aximus Baldur, looked Roselyn this way and that.
His expression was indifferent, and his gaze was unwavering.
However, he knew how vigorously Roselyn's heart was beating.
Just because the expression is calm doesn't mean there is no fear.
"I'm curious, is there something trustworthy about you that allows you to speak so lightly? But you didn't seem to have any reason to be so confident."
His voice lacked dignity as he added that he was a little disappointed; his manner of speaking lacked grace, and his behavior was rough.
Roselyn remained silent as she looked at the man who was completely unfit for the title of Count.
It was because she really didn't want to exchange words with that stupid person.
'...Count Baldur.'
As far as she remembered, because everyone in the Baldur family died in an unfortunate accident, he, being an illegitimate child, became the next Count.
'There is no way it could have been an unexpected accident.'
Everyone must have known that it was a suspicious case, even though the culprit had not been revealed.
"Huh? Are you just going to keep your mouth shut? What if I kill you?"
"If you were going to kill someone, I would already be dead."
"Hmm?"
"The fact that you went out of your way to tie me up like this instead of killing me means you have business with me other than killing me, doesn't it?"
Roselyn spoke coldly, suppressing her emotions as much as possible.
Count Baldur shrugged his shoulders and burst into laughter at Roselyn's behavior.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I did inherit the title of Count due to an unexpected accident, but I haven't really learned anything."
"You can tell just by looking."
The man paused at Roselyn's firm words, laced with mockery.
"I know you are of vulgar commoner origin, but since you are wearing those clothes, can't you do something about that vulgar way of speaking? My ears are going to rot. My hands are tied, so I can't stop you, which is frustrating."
At Roselyn's taunt, the corners of Count Baldur's mouth twitched once.
The man was laughing heartily and acting as if everything was a bother.
Furthermore, he dressed and spoke in a manner that seemed rebellious against the world, and his attire and appearance were a complete mess.
That is how that man rebels against the world.
A method of openly rebelling against stifling aristocratic society.
Roselyn understood well because she, too, had once had similar thoughts.
To think that was the only way to rebel at nearly forty years old—it was beyond pitiful; it was enough to make her laugh hollowly.
Roselyn moved her hands tied behind her back roughly, as if trying to untie the ropes.
The seven-stone bracelet was still on her wrist.
A while ago, Garen Wilbreed picked up the red stone again and returned it.
She retraced her memories, distinguishing the colors of the beads, and lifted her head.
"...My young lady is trying to cross the line little by little."
"Ah, I'm sorry. I thought it would be a bit better than being called an immature kid, but it seems that wasn't the case either."
"Kid...?"
The corners of the man's mouth curled up fiercely.
Whooosh-!
His hand gripped Roselyn's neck.
"Why is my young lady acting like this? I think I politely asked to talk."
"You call this asking? You need to learn words again."
Roselyn spoke haltingly through her stifled breath.
She did not stop speaking even with her breath cut off.
"Ah. Fuck... You're really playing along. Huh? Don't make me angry. I don't want to start a bloodbath."
Roselyn paused.
"You don't want your eyes gouged out and an ear cut off, do you, young lady?"
His face grew even fiercer at the added words.
"Do you think I would yield to something like that?"
Count Baldur paused at Roselyn's menacing gaze.
'...No. What kind of sickly princess is this?'
Isn't that the look of a seasoned beast who has been through it all?
The man stroked the sparse beard on his chin and loosened his grip.
He looked down at Roselyn with narrowed eyes, then plopped back down on the chair opposite her.
"You're quite an interesting young lady. It makes me want to kill you myself once the job is done."
"That’s the kind of thing a loser would say who cowardly seized the countship because they couldn’t win by fair means."
"...Stop provoking me, young lady; you'll really get a scratch on your precious face."
The man reached out, dug his blunt fingernails into Roselyn's eyes, and spoke.
Physiological tears flowed down Roselyn's cheeks at the sensation of her eyeballs pressing against her eyelids.
"Oops, I made you cry."
The man roughly stroked her cheek with his rough fingers and plopped down on the chair pulled in front of Roselyn.
"Why?"
"... Why?"
The man was about to open his mouth when Roselyn cut him off.
"It looks like the King of Makluxa ordered me to be turned into a Queen, doesn't it?"
The man paused at Roselyn's words.
Emotions such as annoyance or frustration vanished from Count Baldur's face in an instant.
All that could be seen in those cool, sunken eyes was anger and wariness.
"...What is it? You."
Count Baldur, who had been acting slyly or treating Roselyn lightly all along, had a stiff expression on his face.
“What are you really doing?”
"What does it matter to you what I do? I'm going to die anyway."
"No, how much do you know?"
"Well, how much do I know?"
Roselyn held her head high and asked slyly.
"Young Lady, do I look like I'm joking right now?"
“No, not at all?”
Roselyn smiled seductively.
"I just know that no matter how hard you try, you can't beat me."
Aximus Baldur.
At first glance, he appears to be a laid-back hedonist similar to Garen, but in reality, he is filled with twisted anger toward the world.
So, to summarize in one line, she's saying that at forty, he still hasn't gotten over puberty.
"...Tsk, anyway, that’s right. The King wants to make you Queen. Don’t you want to live without being looked down upon by anyone, Miss?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"It is a life where no one is disregarded, becoming a noble being who holds everyone at their feet. It is not a common offer; the Queen's seat has been vacant all this time."
Roselyn looked at Count Baldur without saying a word.
'A page that believes, even at that age, trampling on others is the way to avoid being looked down upon..."
Roselyn chuckled and looked at the other person with pity.
"It looks like you've lived your life in vain to the point of being pitiful."
"... What?"
"If a life where one must rely on others to define even one's own worth isn't pitiful, then what on earth is it?"
Count Baldur glared at Roselyn at her voice, mixed with laughter.
"Well, I understand."
"Do you think someone like you can understand that!"
"They probably offered me the Queen position because they thought I was in the same situation as you guys. Of course, I was indeed lonely too."
Roselyn parted her lips and smiled lazily.
Even though her arms were tied and she was bound, she was so composed that the man wondered for a moment if he was dreaming.
"But I didn't throw a tantrum and demand that others put a price on me like you guys do."
"Hey, miss, enough with the jokes..."
"What do I understand? Well, maybe it's the reason you're twisted?"
Roselyn just said, "Please."
"You were born in a brothel as the illegitimate child of the former Count Baldur, grew up calling a bandit your father, and got beaten."
"..."
"Then one day, after nearly being beaten to death by bandits, you awakened the Abyss, sealed off the brothel where you lived with earth, and set it on fire to burn it down completely."
At the sight of Roselyn reciting his past as if she had seen it herself, Count Baldur's face hardened to the point of turning pale.
"Surely not the Abyss?"
"The 'King' of Makluxa must have come to you while you were terrified and told you that you were the illegitimate child of a certain noble, and you went to the Count's estate only to have your existence denied and be turned away at the door... Is that right?"
The man did not answer even the arrogant Roselyn's question.
She smiled as she looked at the man who did not answer.
"And driven by the sole desire for revenge, you must have worked hard to raise Makluxa alongside the King all this time."
Roselyn smiled brightly.
“But what can I do..."
“...What did you just say?”
Drops of sweat dripped down her pale cheeks.
"That plan is going to fall apart completely."
Thump, the scorched and severed rope fell to the ground, blazing fiercely.
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