Chapter 7

The Mad Rosetta

Those Who Obey Don’t Get Punished (3)

* * *

【Wahaha! Looks like your little sister took excellent care of you, didn’t she?】

Sing’s mocking laughter was so loud it echoed around the room before drilling straight into my ears.

I didn’t even have the energy to scold him.

Instead, a hollow laugh escaped me.

So that’s what happened…

Odette delivered orders I never gave, and the servants simply obeyed them without question?

The image of Odette apologetically telling the servants to be understanding toward her poor older sister made my blood boil.

At this point, I found myself genuinely curious.

Just when had Odette’s strange obsession with me begun?

“Haha… So Bonita told you that I wished to roll around in this filthy room like some beast, and therefore all of you should neglect your duties? That’s what you’re saying?”

“…My apologies, Miss.”

“…I never gave such an order.”

“Then it seems I must have misunderstood. If you see fit to punish me, I shall accept it willingly.”

Did she think I was simply making excuses?

Marahan’s apology sounded utterly resigned.

The bitterness of it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Odette had started bringing me Panilnia flowers about two years ago.

I had requested confinement from Father roughly a year and a half ago.

That meant these servants had likely suffered alongside their deteriorating mistress for nearly two years.

It was true.

I had pulled their hair.

Thrown tea at them.

Committed all kinds of outrageous acts because of Odette.

It was also true that many servants had begun neglecting me, looking down on me, and even playing tricks behind my back.

So what should I do?

Should I punish them immediately for obeying Odette while ignoring their actual mistress and throw them out of the household?

Or should I show mercy and demonstrate that I had changed?

“…It seems you don’t believe me.”

“That couldn’t possibly be the case.”

Good grief.

The Sahara Desert would have felt more humid than this conversation.

Suddenly, I remembered the times I’d pestered Marahan late at night whenever I wanted snacks.

“Marahan, you secretly dislike me, don’t you?”

“….Miss.”

“Otherwise there’s no way you’d be this stingy over a single snack! You’re so mean!”

Whenever I complained like that, she’d eventually sneak me cookies or madeleines.

Then she’d gently remind me not to forget brushing my teeth.

That warm version of her was gone.

Now she simply looked exhausted.

Perhaps she believes the young lady she once knew is gone forever.

Still, old affection was old affection.

Negligence was another matter entirely.

Seeing how confidently Marahan stood before me, I gave a low laugh.

“A fitting punishment? You say something so obvious with remarkable determination.”

“…”

“Very well. Since your conviction is so firm, I shall respond with an appropriate punishment.”

Marahan kept her head bowed, waiting for my command.

Behind her, the maids each reacted differently.

One stared miserably at the floor.

Another squeezed her eyes shut, terrified of whatever punishment might come.

I spoke firmly.

“You four, including Marahan, failed to properly perform your assigned duties. Furthermore, you followed another person’s orders instead of your mistress’s.”

“…”

“I will hold you accountable for that offense.”

“…”

“You will spend the entire day cleaning this room until there isn’t a single speck of dust left.”

“We accept your comm—”

“…”

“…Excuse me?”

At last, a crack appeared in Marahan’s perpetually dry expression.

Realizing she had spoken without thinking, she immediately closed her mouth.

But her confusion was obvious.

I repeated myself sternly.

“Scrub the floors until they shine like mirrors!”

* * *

“Ugh. How are we supposed to finish all this ourselves?”

“At least she didn’t start hitting people today—AAAH! A s-spider!”

“Wouldn’t it be better to ask for more help now?”

The cleaning had barely begun.

Already they were whining.

Marahan resisted the urge to educate the younger maids with a sharp kick to the calves and instead beat dust out of a faded tablecloth.

Truthfully, she was too distracted thinking about Rosetta to bother scolding them.

The young women didn’t even realize how merciful their punishment had been.

“Marahan, you are not exempt. Before I return from dinner, this room must be completely restored. You will work alongside them. Understood?”

That had been the extent of Marahan’s punishment.

The head maid had simply been ordered to perform cleaning duties alongside the others.

Rosetta hadn’t screamed.

Hadn’t thrown objects.

Hadn’t cried.

Hadn’t even seemed fully aware of what angered her.

She had merely given orders.

And seeing that, Marahan found herself recalling old memories.

“Marahan! Look at this! Father said I’ve been studying hard and gave this to me. Doesn’t it suit me perfectly?”

“Baroness Epsilon and her daughter are visiting today. I hope we can all get along.”

Back then, before the arrival of her new family, Rosetta had been called the most beautiful rose in the Empire.

Whenever the girl came running toward her, crimson hair swaying, smiling brightly, Marahan had wished for nothing but happiness for her.

There had once been days like that.

“I… I threw tea at Boni. Marahan, why do I keep acting like this? I was just so angry…”

Despite all of Marahan’s hopes, her young mistress gradually changed after spending time with Odette.

She became anxious.

Quick-tempered.

Unstable.

At first, Marahan had assumed it was jealousy.

After all, everyone adored Odette.

But she quickly realized that explanation didn’t fit.

Because Rosetta herself had always been just as kind—if not kinder.

So she tried comforting her.

Encouraging her.

Helping her.

“The Duke must be truly furious. Confinement…”

“Well, Miss has been acting stranger and stranger lately.”

Eventually, Rosetta stopped leaving her room altogether.

Even then, Marahan continued ordering the servants to monitor her mistress’s room.

She carefully maintained everything in preparation for the day Rosetta would finally emerge.

One day.

One week.

One month.

Four months.

As she walked the halls Rosetta no longer used, Marahan one day encountered Odette leaving Rosetta’s room.

As always, she’d likely come to bring flowers.

That was what Marahan assumed.

Odette greeted her with a gentle smile.

Then stopped walking.

“Marahan. It seems Sister Rosetta is bothered by the sound of people moving around outside her room. So if anyone enters and starts touching things before she personally gives permission, she won’t tolerate it…”

And just like that, everything prepared solely for Rosetta gradually lost its place.

Marahan couldn’t even bring herself to feel disappointed.

Too much time had passed.

She had simply breathed.

Worked.

Slept.

Woken up.

Repeated it all over again.

What she felt now was resentment.

She had desperately hoped her young mistress would someday return to being the Rosetta who once ruled House Benetra.

And now—

The very person who had rejected that hope was suddenly trying to break free of her cage.

Her jewel-like eyes shone once more.

And she was demanding that everyone do the jobs they should have been doing all along.

“Marahaaaan! Are you even listening to us?”

“…Stop babbling. You’re noisy.”

Startled, one maid actually hiccupped.

The other two immediately straightened their postures and looked at Marahan nervously.

“You don’t even realize how fortunate you are! Did you want to be thrown out of the estate without pay for neglecting your duties?”

“T-That’s not what we meant. We just…”

“Surely you haven’t forgotten that this room must be finished before Miss returns. If we fail, all of us may truly be dismissed this time.”

Marahan aggressively scrubbed the floor.

The mold had seeped deep into the wood and refused to come off easily.

Even so, she couldn’t quite suppress the faint smile threatening to appear.

The mold would disappear eventually.

Just as Miss had ordered.

The floor would shine like a mirror.

* * *

“I’ve thought it over. I think I should start by showing my face at social events.”

I stared blankly at the ceiling of the library and muttered to myself.

Since I’d stationed Penny outside to ensure privacy while talking to Sing, I had a few peaceful hours to think.

After giving instructions to Marahan and the maids, I had come straight to the library.

On the way, I noticed that my room was the only filthy place in the entire Rose Hall.

“No matter how much I embarrass Bonita—no, Odette—and Lianna inside the house, it doesn’t change reality. Outside, I’m still known as House Benetra’s greatest headache. Though officially, people are probably told I’m simply ill.”

【Mm-hmm. Anyone with half a brain knows the truth.】

“Furthermore, Odette regularly hosts tea parties with other young ladies. It’s painfully obvious how terrible my reputation must be by now.”

【Now that I think about it, darling, did you ever have your debutante? You said you’ve been locked in your room for over a year.】

“Locked in my room? What crude phrasing from a ghost!”

Sing immediately reminded me that during our first meeting I’d been ranting about that damned Odette and bastard Chesia.

I ignored him completely.

Instead, I stared at him.

The sight was bizarre.

Aside from lacking a face, he behaved exactly like a normal person.

It was strangely unsettling.

“Normally I would have debuted on my fifteenth birthday. But unfortunately, as you so elegantly put it, I was locked away in my room and never had the chance.”

Wait.

Fifteen?

My head snapped upright from where I’d been slouching in the chair.