BSRF 05

Chapter 5

After finishing my conversation with Pavel, all the fatigue that had been piling up came crashing down on me.

I headed toward my bedroom, planning to lie down and rest until dinner.

The moment I opened the door, a rich floral scent filled my nose. Colorful roses packed the room, and scented candles cast a reddish glow as if welcoming me.

The sharp fragrance made my head spin.

“Marian….”

“My lady!”

The moment I called her name, Marian suddenly popped out from a corner. I immediately walked over and grabbed both her hands tightly.

“You’re seriously the best! It’s so beautiful!”

Roses were my favorite flowers, and I loved anything fragrant and beautiful.

A room surrounded by flowers! How romantic was this…!

As I looked around the room, a single red rose inside a large vase on the table caught my eye.

It was larger and more gorgeous than any rose I had ever seen before. I buried my nose into the flower and asked,

“Don’t tell me this is…?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a King Rose from the Dua gardens. I managed to get it with great difficulty to match the day of your arrival.”

This rose was produced using a method developed exclusively by the Dua family, making it several times larger than ordinary roses, and it had become wildly popular because of it.

It was especially famous as a flower used for anniversaries and marriage proposals.

Most of them were supplied directly to the castle, and even the leftovers were fought over by buyers, so it must have been incredibly difficult to obtain one….

“Ugh….”

I was so touched that I momentarily lost the ability to speak. Marian, as if she understood perfectly, hugged a bundle of flowers into my arms.

As expected, Marian and I really understood each other when it came to things like this.

Since childhood, I had lived among the knight order, far removed from beautiful things like these.

But the more something was forbidden, the more you wanted it. Instead, my obsession with pretty and beautiful things only grew stronger.

Even on days when I fought monsters and rolled around in mud, I was delighted by a tiny flower blooming in a corner. On my days off, I secretly read romance novels to soothe the emotions that had long since dried up.

Still, there were very few people around me who understood me.

No, most of them couldn’t even hold a proper conversation before getting to the understanding part.

I nearly cracked the back of one subordinate’s head open when he asked me, “You read things like that?”

In that sense, Marian was a precious friend with whom I could truly communicate.

I hugged the flowers Marian had given me and breathed in their fragrance to my heart’s content.

In a week, this would be a sight I wouldn’t even get to see anymore.

I had to enjoy this moment while I still could.

A proper day off meant eating well, sleeping well, and resting completely.

I won’t move a single step from this bed!

That was my resolve as I planned to spend the next week doing absolutely nothing.

Knock knock.

Just as I was about to throw myself onto the bed, someone knocked on the door. Soon after, the butler’s voice followed.

“My lady, the young duke of the Berg family has come to see you.”

“Ricardo Berg…?”

“Yes, he is currently waiting in the drawing room.”

Why was he suddenly here?

This was the first time Ricardo had personally come all the way to our estate.

Did he hear that I was going on a monster subjugation mission? But would that really make him come all the way here?

What a troublesome situation.

Ricardo had always been difficult to deal with. He had made it blatantly obvious for years that he disliked me. So naturally, I had never bothered trying to become close to him either.

“Why would someone like him come here?”

Dragging my heavy body along, I headed toward the drawing room.

The moment I opened the door, a dazzling head of golden hair immediately caught my eye.

No matter where he went, that flashy appearance of his always stood out. Leaning against the sofa as though he had been waiting for me to open the door, he stared directly at me.

His gaze felt strangely burdensome, so I instinctively took a step back and asked,

“What? Why are you here?”

“I heard the monster subjugation schedule was decided this time.”

“You sure know quickly. Why do rumors about me spread so fast anyway? Don’t tell me you had something to do with it?”

I casually voiced the suspicion I had secretly been harboring.

But Ricardo simply replied with a look of disdain.

“Why would I do something like that? More importantly, why didn’t you tell me you were going on the subjugation mission?”

Why would I need to tell you that…?

I wanted to question him point by point, but his shameless confidence caught me off guard.

“I only heard about it today too. But seriously, how did you find out? Don’t tell me you planted spies or something?”

“I don’t need to go that far. Rumors about you spread the moment you step into the plaza.”

“Wow… life sure is hard as a celebrity.”

Even when I joked, Ricardo only sneered coldly.

Seriously, what an unlikeable bastard.

“Just make sure you properly keep the promise you made with me before.”

What promise had I made with him?

Tilting my head at Ricardo’s words, I sat down on the sofa opposite him.

“A promise?”

“I’m going with you on this subjugation mission.”

Ah, that promise…

So when he said before that he wanted to come along on a monster subjugation mission, he had actually been serious. Though honestly, it felt less like a promise and more like a one-sided declaration.

After a brief pause, I asked,

“Did you get permission from your father?”

At that, the glare he gave me turned even sharper.

‘What? Why?’

I glared right back at him.

And honestly, my position was difficult too.

What kind of idiot would drag the heir of a ducal family into a monster subjugation mission?

“You have to consider my situation too. Our knight order already has enough people, and everyone’s going to feel uncomfortable if you come along.”

I tried to phrase it nicely, basically telling him not to come because he’d be a burden.

But Ricardo Berg was an extremely self-centered person.

“I’ll quietly follow from behind, so there’s no need for you to worry about that.”

How could I not worry?

If anything happened to you, I’d be the one held responsible.

At this point, I was beginning to think this was some new form of harassment.

Crossing my arms, I asked in a crooked tone,

“Do you really want to come that badly? No, let me ask honestly. What exactly is your problem with me?”

Truthfully, I had a rough idea why.

Still, I had never heard it directly from his own mouth. I had only guessed.

Ricardo straightened his body from where he had been leaning against the sofa.

Then he placed a hand on the table between us and met my eyes.

And just like the self-centered person he was, he started saying only what he wanted to say.

“Was it two years ago? When I joined the knight order because I desperately wanted to become stronger. Back then, I looked down on you. I thought you were just some brat riding on the glory of my father.”

Ricardo let out a short laugh before continuing.

“And a knight order dedicated solely to monster subjugation? Ridiculous.”

I already knew he disliked me.

But did he really have to say it this openly? Did this bastard not know how to soften his words?

I frowned unpleasantly.

And honestly, I didn’t feel any need to hold back either.

“So what about it? If you’re that dissatisfied, go beg the Duke yourself. You can’t say a single word in front of your father, but you strut around arrogantly in front of me? Who exactly do you think is ridiculous here?”

When I snapped back irritably, Ricardo leaned closer toward me.

“I want to confirm it. I want to see your skills with my own eyes. That’s why I’m going.”

Haah.

Letting out a short sigh, I pressed a hand to my forehead.

How had things between us ended up like this?

Back then, I had long since given up on romance with the male lead and thought maybe we could at least become friends.

But forget friendship—even sitting face-to-face and talking like this was exhausting.

It wasn’t as though I couldn’t understand Ricardo’s feelings.

Out of nowhere, a girl his uncle had hit with a carriage appeared, caught his father’s eye, and received blind affection and support.

Of course it must have felt absurd.

For an affection-starved teenage boy, maybe it had been unbearable.

And although Ricardo didn’t know it, the treasured Berg family sword that was originally supposed to belong to him had ended up in my possession.

I hadn’t exactly asked for it, but when the Duke offered it to me, there was no reason to refuse.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, yet somewhere deep down, I still felt sorry for Ricardo.

In the end, I decided to give in just this once.

Come to think of it, I had always been strangely lenient toward Ricardo.

“Fine. Do whatever you want. What a spoiled young master.”

If Commander Alonso heard about this, he’d probably clutch the back of his neck and collapse.

Wait… maybe this actually worked out better?

Sinking deep into the sofa, I waved my hand dismissively at Ricardo, telling him to leave already.

Now that the heir of the ducal family would be accompanying us, the entire schedule needed to be rearranged.

My original plan had been to pack lightly and finish the mission quickly, but now everything had become complicated.

Since it had come to this, I figured I might as well pressure Commander Alonso into increasing the budget.

But Ricardo still remained there, silently staring at me.

“What now? Why aren’t you leaving?”

If your business is done, hurry up and go home already.

Despite my blunt tone, Ricardo only looked down at me quietly.

“Shiona Rodriz.”

“Hm?”

Why was he suddenly acting all serious?

At the sudden call of my name, I slightly raised my head to look at him.

“When the monster subjugation ends, there’s something I want to tell you.”

“Something to tell me? Why not just say it now?”

Ricardo curled his lips crookedly into a smile.

“I don’t want to say it right now.”

Then don’t bring it up in the first place….

It was honestly impressive how self-centered he could be.

At this point, I wasn’t even annoyed anymore.

Lightly shaking my head, I said with all my hope for him to disappear packed into my voice,

“Do as you wish. But shouldn’t the young master hurry home?”

Ricardo merely sneered, as though my words weren’t even worth responding to.

After Ricardo left, I immediately returned to my room.

Then, buried among the pile of flowers Marian had prepared, I sank into thought.

‘Come to think of it, has Ricardo already met Emilia?’

If I recalled the novel correctly, Ricardo and Emilia’s first meeting was painfully cliché—something I had seen countless times in other novels too.

The male lead saves the heroine who has fallen into danger.

Despite their fateful meeting, the two misunderstand each other at first. Yet even amidst the misunderstandings, love begins to bloom.

It had only been a month since Emilia’s debutante.

That timing marked the true beginning of the novel—after Emilia had died and returned through regression.

Emilia probably still didn’t know that Pavel was the one who killed her.

If Emilia had truly regressed just like in the novel, then by now she would be obsessively searching for the culprit.

The truth was, though, nothing was certain.

There was no guarantee Emilia had regressed.

No guarantee Pavel would become a murderer.

Right now, everything was just speculation.

And yet, the uneasiness remained.

The possibility that events might unfold exactly like the novel kept tormenting me.

If Pavel really became a villain who killed countless people….

Then would I one day have to point my sword at Pavel too?

Haah….

I let out a deep sigh.

The burden of my younger brother’s future sins was far too heavy for me to bear.