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Chapter 03
—Clunk!
The sudden jolt made Rosetta open her eyes.
Across from her, Sol Rike was reading documents.
“It was a dream.”
Maybe because she had seen him again after so long, she ended up dreaming about the past.
Rubbing her eyes, Rosetta looked out the window.
The carriage they were in was passing through a large iron gate.
They had entered the Iglesia estate.
“I remember getting on the train after the reception…”
But she didn’t remember changing to a carriage afterward.
“I must have been more tired than I thought.”
Rosetta glanced at Sol Rike.
His reddish-gold eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as he looked down.
Dressed neatly in a dark gray suit, sitting with one leg crossed and documents resting on it—everything about him looked elegant.
When she raised her eyes again, she saw his beautiful face.
“He’s still so handsome.”
Without realizing it, she stared blankly—until their eyes met.
“…!”
Her heart pounded. She quickly looked down again, only for her gaze to fall on his smooth neck, completely free of scars.
Rosetta felt relieved.
“It healed completely.”
If there had been a scar, she wouldn’t have known how to face him.
“Thank you.”
“…?”
Sol Rike looked up from his papers, raising one eyebrow.
“That habit hasn’t changed.”
Smiling softly, Rosetta continued,
“I didn’t get the chance to thank you properly back then. Thanks to you, I was safe again this time. Thank you for keeping your promise.”
“Promise?”
Sol Rike closed the document.
“I did propose to you, but today is the first time I’ve actually seen you. What promise are you talking about?”
“…What?”
First time?
“You didn’t propose… to keep a promise?”
“I proposed because I needed a woman who could become ‘Valerie’ as soon as possible.”
“Valerie” was the title given to the Duke’s partner.
Choosing someone for a position equal to royalty would normally take a long time.
But he needed a wife quickly.
Which meant—
If there had been someone else ready to marry immediately, he would have chosen her instead.
“I don’t expect much from you.”
Looking at her trembling amber eyes, Sol Rike smiled.
“Just stay in that position.”
“……”
Her first love, whom she met again after 13 years—
“He… doesn’t remember me?”
He had forgotten her.
When the carriage stopped and the door opened, the servants lined up in the lobby bowed.
A middle-aged woman with neatly combed-back hair stepped forward respectfully.
“Welcome back, Rike. We have been waiting for your return.”
“Was everything fine at the Solarium?”
“Yes. While you were away, several petitions arrived. They have been placed in your office.”
“Hmm.”
While they spoke, Rosetta quietly observed the size of the mansion.
“So this is Iglesia…”
The Solarium mansion in Aterashi, within the Duke’s territory.
As expected of a great house that owned magic stone mines, elevators powered by magical energy moved up and down around the estate.
“Rosetta.”
“…?”
Startled by the unfamiliar scale, Rosetta looked up as a hand gently rested on her shoulder.
Sol Rike gestured toward the woman.
“Kirill. This is Rosetta, my Valerie. Rosetta, this is Madam Kyrillos, the head butler of the Solarium. If you have any questions, ask her.”
“Nice to meet you, madam.”
At Rosetta’s greeting, Madam Kyrillos bowed.
“I am Henrita Kyrillos. I serve as the head butler of the Solarium.”
She turned, offering to guide her.
As Rosetta watched her back, she felt something strange.
“That’s odd…”
It felt like the woman was keeping her distance.
Her manners were polite—but her gaze hadn’t been warm.
As Rosetta blinked in confusion, Sol Rike released her shoulder.
“Go on.”
“What about you?”
“I have many mouths to feed.”
What a grand way to say he was going to work.
“We’ll have dinner together.”
He kissed the back of her hand and turned away.
Rosetta couldn’t hide her flushed cheeks.
“This way,” Madam Kyrillos urged.
After watching his broad back for a moment, Rosetta followed.
“Was it really unavoidable?”
As soon as Sol Rike sat down in his office, the question came.
The speaker was Juan March, his chief aide who had been with him earlier.
The other aides glanced nervously.
Sol Rike gestured.
“Everyone out.”
Once they were alone, Juan spoke again.
“I know it’s presumptuous.”
“Then why say it?”
“Because I truly don’t understand! Why did you marry that woman? Even the empire’s finest diamond would not be enough for you!”
“Do I need to explain myself to you?”
“Of course not. But listen—when you told me to prepare the Mary Rose collection, I thought you were heading to the imperial palace. Who are you? The Iglesia family is older than the imperial family itself! Even marrying a princess wouldn’t be enough!”
He couldn’t accept it.
That the lady of Solarium would be—
A mere count’s daughter.
And worse, someone who had almost married another man.
Sol Rike let out a small laugh.
“That tongue of yours will get you killed one day.”
“Taking in a woman with no verification—”
“Juan.”
His voice turned sharp like a blade.
Juan immediately fell silent.
Those blue-gray eyes, lit by the sunset behind him, were cold.
“Did you forget? Valerie stands equal to me.”
“…My apologies.”
“Remember that. There won’t be a second warning.”
“Yes, Rike.”
“Now call the others back in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Juan left the room.
As he stepped into the hallway, the other aides rushed over.
“What happened?”
“What did he say?”
They were all worried.
His sudden marriage would bring countless petitions—and more work.
Juan sighed.
“…He said to come in.”
The aides looked disappointed.
Madam Kyrillos led Rosetta to a garden filled with hydrangeas.
“She said she’d show me the mansion… so why here?”
Sensing her confusion, Madam Kyrillos spoke proudly,
“Beautiful, isn’t it? One of the gardens our gardeners carefully tend day and night.”
The hydrangeas, arranged from light to dark shades, looked like a painting.
“Hmm.”
But hydrangeas weren’t flowers nobles usually planted.
“A flower that means changing feelings…”
So this was her message.
She was indirectly saying—
Rosetta was not accepted as Valerie.
But so what?
“This kind of elegant rejection doesn’t bother me at all. Besides, Sol told me just to stay in position…”
Rosetta gave a small smile and nodded.
“It’s a lovely place. But Madam Kyrillos—”
“Yes?”
“If we start getting ready now, won’t we barely make it to dinner on time?”
“….”
The woman said nothing.
Ignoring that, Rosetta turned her back on the garden and headed toward the arcade.
“I wonder what the appetizer will be?”
Her golden eyes sparkled with anticipation for dinner.
