TFR 62

chapter 62

“No.”

Her voice was low and small, but the answer fell clean and firm. At Roselina’s words, Lady Vanessa immediately pressed further.

“Then what is it? Please speak clearly so there’s no misunderstanding. The information given to me is limited.”

Lady Vanessa had not said how much she knew. Roselina hesitated for a moment, but she felt no need to bring up the story of the dead Roberto Brida.

“I….”

“…….”

“I was ordered to remain at His Majesty’s side as a maid for the rest of my life.”

“…….”

“I simply wish to keep that promise. Whatever it takes, however many times I must learn and fix myself, I will live as a maid.”

Lady Vanessa stared at her. Roselina looked humble, as if she had said everything she needed to say. Vanessa withdrew her gaze and spoke calmly.

“…I understand. Work hard during your apprenticeship. I will treat you no differently from the other apprentice maids.”

“…….”

“If you wish to achieve your goal, you must work for it. Recovering your body is part of that effort. Continue receiving treatment. I won’t prescribe additional painkillers today, so finish the medicine you already have, then request more.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Dress properly and step outside.”

Roselina quickly nodded and dressed herself. Lady Vanessa did not look back at her and simply resumed her tasks—organizing medical tools and gathering manuals to distribute to the maids.

Roselina straightened her attire swiftly and said,

“I will take my leave, my lady.”

When she left after bowing, Vanessa paused for a moment. The apprentice maid Marco Griffin had asked her to look after had an alarming number of injuries on her body. Having spent years in a medical unit on the battlefield, Vanessa immediately recognized that these wounds were not ordinary.

There were far too many small scars that should not have been on a young woman’s body. She had to have been a mercenary. A female mercenary with ties to His Majesty. That was the extent of Vanessa’s information. She did not know Roselina’s true identity, but it was clear she had caught the attention of powerful figures in the palace.

Though Roselina herself seemed completely unaware of how many eyes were on her.

If she is truly content with the life of a maid, if she sincerely believes so, then that is fortunate. Though I doubt those around her will allow it.

Vanessa had seen the fate of many who drew the gaze of others. Whether they wanted it or not, they were swept up in a current and eventually perished in the palace. She hoped Roselina, who endured pain so quietly, would not share that fate.

A person whose body had already been ravaged by countless wounds, yet who chose to hide her identity and become a ghost—Vanessa hoped she would be allowed to live as she wished. Though there was little Vanessa herself could do.

She opened her second drawer and took out paper to write a medical report. It was a document she hadn’t needed since the war ended. She began writing objectively about Roselina’s condition as she had seen it today.

It filled an entire page. None of it was exaggerated. Vanessa skimmed the report once, then sealed it in an envelope.

…

• Chills/fever suspected due to poisoning. Will continue current painkiller regimen.

• Five wounds on shoulders/back caused by whipping or rope; two required stitching.

• Severe discharge from stab wound on left side.

• Four toenails missing. Possible fracture of the fourth toe on the left foot.

…

Dantes read Lady Vanessa’s medical report silently. The densely written text continued endlessly.

Of course, Dantes had never believed Roselina would be uninjured. Her situation had worsened again and again, and naturally so had her injuries. She had even been poisoned at the end—her condition could not be good. He had expected bad results.

But Vanessa’s findings exceeded even his worst expectations. The information she had discovered—things invisible from the outside—left Dantes stunned.

The last time he had seen Roselina, she had been on tiptoe cleaning the floor with a calm expression. Yet her toe had been broken? While she was helping him choose clothes, the wound on her back had split open so badly it needed stitching, and her side had been oozing?

Dantes ran a hand down his face, overwhelmed by indescribable grief. He felt like he should summon Roselina immediately to see with his own eyes where she was hurt. But it was a late hour, and calling her just to ease his own mind while she was resting felt wrong.

“Milan. Have you seen this report?”

“Yes. I reviewed it before presenting it to Your Majesty.”

“What do you think? To me, this makes no sense. How can a human….”

If someone is in pain, they should show it—even a little. But Roselina seemed not to know such things. And yet, how could she hide it so perfectly? How could Vanessa, after seeing that state, still intend to let her continue working? Dantes felt like his insides were burning.

“By principle, apprentice maids cannot skip work. All daily performance is evaluated, and even weak physical endurance can be grounds for deduction.”

“No, look at her body. That is not normal.”

“I was told Lady Vanessa scheduled one hour in the morning and one in the evening for treatment.”

Milan spoke calmly. Roselina wished to be treated exactly like the other maids, and Vanessa had said she wanted to honor that. Vanessa, who rarely expressed personal opinions, must have had her reasons. It was a matter between Vanessa and Roselina, and Milan chose to support their stance.

And Dantes knew he should not become further entangled with Roselina.

“Is that the time the other maids normally receive treatment?”

“Yes, sire. Normally, if a maid’s health worsens, she is sent outside the palace temporarily, so recently there have been no other patients. No one will question it.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I mean—she’s performing the same duties as everyone else during work hours, and only getting treatment before and after work. She is… she is a critical patient.”

He bit his lip after saying the words. He had allowed the whipping. He had allowed her to reach such a state.

But he had to correct his mistakes. He had made her a maid so he could keep her close, not to make her work.

“To treat her the same as the others, there is no—”

“She is NOT the same!”

Dantes shouted firmly. Roselina was not like anyone else. She was not like the nameless maids. She was the only one for him.

But Milan believed Dantes’ behavior would only put her in greater danger. And he would be right.

“Your Majesty, you entrusted her to Lady Vanessa. Please trust her judgment. She will assign tasks appropriate to Roselina’s condition.”

“…….”

“And I believe this is the safest way for her.”

Milan gently reminded him that his attention could harm her. Dantes was not foolish—he understood.

He sighed deeply, rubbing his face.

There was nothing he could do. The fact that he had been happily choosing clothes with her, not knowing she was in such agony, felt humiliating.

He remembered the rough texture of her fingers as they brushed his bare skin—thin, cracked, hardened from work. The calluses of someone who had lived a harsh life. And he had found those hands beautiful.

Had the heat he felt when she touched him been inflammation? Had she been hurting then too? He had been watching her more closely than anyone… yet had not understood her pain.

Her tiny figure balancing on tiptoe in the hallway replayed in his mind. That precarious posture—she had been holding up a body in ruins.

When she helped him dress and undress—had it hurt? When she carried his heavy clothes—had it strained her?

“How can a person act so calmly? How….”

Dantes found her incredible. She was strong—far stronger and wiser than he was. That was why he had fallen for her, hopelessly.

Before I met you, even in the years without you, there was never anyone like you. Roselina. And there never will be.

Dantes could not imagine how much larger her presence would grow within him. The idea of keeping her by his side his whole life, only to watch over her from afar—it was such a laughable lie. A lie he told just to keep her.

He had once boldly declared before Roberto that he would carry out a political marriage. But of course he did not want to marry Demeteria Peril. He did not want to kiss her or have children with her.

Those impulses were reserved for someone else. He thought of Roselina blushing before him. Had he ever seen a woman so beautiful?

But perhaps her flushed cheeks had only been from pain. The thought tore at him.

He felt he had grown closer to her, yet remembering what he had allowed to happen made him feel farther than ever.

Milan returned from the corridor and spoke calmly.

“Your Majesty. The council has arrived.”

“Send them in.”

Dantes decided to set thoughts of Roselina aside—for her sake. To protect her, he had to.

He needed to find the mastermind behind the poison incident, and identify who in the Kingdom of Terzes had sent assassins. Then crush them so thoroughly they would never try again.

Dantes would never allow her to be placed in danger again.

His gaze hardened.

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