Chapter 11

Mad Rosetta

Even Thrown-Away Trash Deserves a Second Look (1)

“…Penny.”

“Yes, my lady!”

“Go back into my room.”

“Huh?”

“Spend some quality time with your successors and admire the gift boxes together or something.”

Before she could even react, I grabbed Penny by the shoulders and pushed her back into the room.

I could hear her calling after me, but I firmly shut the door.

One of the knights standing guard looked at me as if wondering whether I was starting another hysterical episode.

Damn it. What noble lady wanders around a mansion without even a personal maid accompanying her?

I walked down the hallway until no one else was in sight before speaking.

“Where did you disappear to so early in the morning?”

【Did you miss me?】

“……”

【Hmm. Judging by how your face is changing colors, I suppose that’s not it.】

“If you don’t want me shouting loud enough for the entire mansion to hear and turning back into the Mad Bouquet of Benetra, you’d better answer my question.”

When I glared at him fiercely, Sing casually dropped a bombshell as though he were merely commenting on a passing cat.

【I paid your sister a visit.】

“?”

【At this very moment, she’s probably dressing herself in one of those ridiculously elaborate outfits.】

…What kind of nonsense was that?

Should I scold him for abandoning me and siding with Odette?

Or was he simply the kind of shameless ghost who wanted to poke his nose into every woman he saw?

I honestly had no idea how I was supposed to react to someone confessing so casually that he’d been spying on people.

【I don’t know what you’re imagining, darling, but I only went because I thought I might learn something useful to tell you.】

“……”

【What’s with that suspicious look? I’m deeply offended.】

His explanation wasn’t particularly convincing, but it was reasonable enough.

Well, considering how many people I’ll have to deal with in the future, I may as well take advantage of having a ghost around.

I often forgot because he behaved so much like a normal person, but Sing was a ghost.

He could move through walls and enter places freely.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no better source of information than him.

“Fine. Let’s hear this precious information, then.”

When I asked in an overly confident tone, Sing answered without a trace of seriousness.

【Theodore Chesia of Fordcus will be coming this week.】

“?”

【Well? Wasn’t that useful?】

What an astonishingly carefree man.

Before I could even react, he continued.

【Rosé, Fordcus sent a letter saying he intends to visit you while you’re recovering. It seems he still doesn’t know your confinement has been lifted.】

“That only happened yesterday. There’s no way the news could have reached him already. More importantly… Odette and Chesia exchange letters?”

My blood boiled.

I had always wondered exactly when those two started their affair.

At this point, I would have believed they’d fallen for each other the moment Odette entered this household.

Perhaps noticing the complicated smile on my face, Sing added quietly:

【Most of the letters exchanged between your sister and Fordcus were about your health.】

“…You don’t have to comfort me.”

【Hmm? Sorry, but I don’t possess enough kindness to comfort people over things like this, Rosé. I’m merely telling you the facts.】

“You know you’re incredibly annoying, right?”

I growled at him, but oddly enough, his blunt honesty calmed me.

It was almost impossible that Chesia had been the one to initiate contact.

Someone as concerned with appearances as he was would never casually exchange private letters with his fiancée’s younger sister.

Which means Odette probably used news about me as an excuse to contact him.

Still, there was no guarantee they hadn’t gradually turned those conversations into something more personal.

【And apparently every letter addressed to you ends up with your sister first. Did you know that? The recipient on this latest letter from Fordcus was your name.】

“…What?”

【My, my. It seems your sister wrapped this entire household around her finger.】

Only then did I realize something.

Normally, all letters arriving at the estate were delivered to the head butler first.

The head butler then distributed them through the proper channels.

If things had been handled correctly, any letters addressed to me should have been delivered by my attendants.

Instead—

“Sister, Lord Chesia sent a letter. Shall I read it for you?”

The moment I realized every piece of news meant for me had passed through Odette’s hands first, I felt utterly ashamed.

“Haha… I see. My little sister really was this thorough.”

Just how long had I been dancing in the palm of Odette’s hand?

The thought that everything around me had been tainted by her influence filled me with humiliation and revulsion.

How much hatred had she harbored?

How long had she patiently hidden it before finally taking my life in one decisive strike?

The thought terrified me.

I stopped walking toward Father’s office and turned around.

The moment I entered my room again, everyone looked up from unpacking and organizing.

And suddenly, I found myself wondering whether one of them was also helping Odette.

The anger surged up before I could stop it.

“Everyone out.”

“But we’re still organizing—”

“Didn’t you hear me? Get out!”

The ugly outburst sent them scrambling from the room in alarm.

I caught a glimpse of confusion in Penny’s eyes as she passed by, but I couldn’t spare any attention for it.

I had worked so hard to stop acting like the villainess everyone expected.

Realizing I’d just fallen back into those habits made me feel frustrated and miserable.

Tears spilled from my eyes.

【…It won’t do to fall into despair, darling.】

Sing’s voice sounded almost like a reprimand.

Even he seemed to be asking whether this was really the time to bury my face in a pillow and cry.

Unable to stop my tears, I shouted:

“What do you expect me to do?! What did I ever do wrong?! I only… I only…!”

【Does that even matter?】

“…What?”

His voice was so cold it barely sounded human.

Someone was crying their eyes out, and instead of comforting them, he was scolding them.

Heartbroken, I looked up.

His face remained hidden as always.

For some reason, that made everything feel emptier.

【Even if you discover the reason behind every wound inflicted on you, will anything change?】

“……”

【If your sister suddenly repented and begged for forgiveness, could you forgive her? If Fordcus came to love you passionately in this life, could you accept his feelings?】

No.

I could never forgive them.

I had returned solely to make them experience the same despair I had suffered and to protect what was mine.

After staring down at me for a moment, Sing sighed and sat beside the bed.

Despite his harsh words, his hand gently brushed away my tears.

The spot where he touched felt strangely warm.

【It’s natural to fear malice that has no clear reason. But wallowing in despair like this is exactly what your sister wants. It isn’t what you want, is it? Think carefully about why you decided to change.】

“……”

【And if you truly want to hear from your sister’s own mouth why she hated you so much… then overcome this fear. The right to judge belongs to the conqueror, not the victim.】

As he smoothed my disheveled hair, I thought I heard amusement in his voice.

Only then did I realize he was trying to comfort me in his own way.

His lecture was so irritating that it almost completely stopped my tears.

It was very different from Father, who always rushed to soothe even my smallest complaints.

And somehow, that difference hurt.

His comfort was painfully harsh.

【There, there. Now get up. Where were you headed before all this?】

“…Father’s office. I was going to tell him I intend to attend the spring banquet.”

【My goodness. Who dared crush my darling’s spirit like this? Look how miserable you are.】

You did, you bastard…

Maybe crying had drained all my strength, because all I could manage was a weak sniffle.

After humming thoughtfully, Sing suddenly grabbed me under the arms and lifted me up and down like a child.

“Y-You lunatic! Put me down this instant!”

【Oh? Judging by all this energy, our Rosé must be feeling much better now.】

This insolent ghost!

How dare he put his hands under my arms!

He was already a full head taller than me, and now I was dangling so high off the ground that I genuinely felt like I was floating.

This feels exactly like being hoisted onto someone’s shoulders as a child.

To punish him for invading such sacred territory, I kicked at him several times.

Ridiculously enough, after he finally put me down and declared that I seemed energetic again, my gloomy mood had actually improved.

Was he warm-hearted or cold-hearted?

He really had a talent for manipulating people’s emotions.

“Damn it. How did I end up stuck with something like him…”

【It’s fate, darling.】

What a fate that made me want to punch whoever arranged it.

I rang the bell three times and summoned Penny and the new maids.

The women entered cautiously, clearly still nervous about my earlier outburst.

I had them redo my smeared makeup and fix my messy hair.

After apologizing and explaining that my moods had been unstable lately, I once again headed toward Father’s office.

“If you tell me your business, I will relay the message.”

Unfortunately, a guard blocked my path with an arrogant expression.

Listen, kid. I just got done crying. Let’s do this the easy way.

Taking a deep breath, I shouted loudly toward the office door.

“Fatherrrr! Rosetta Coco is coming in!”