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Chapter 05
“What did you say you wanted me to call for?”
After finishing a round of work, Eric stood there in a robe, his hair tousled, twitching his eyebrows. A private tutor, out of the blue. When he had told her not to just sit around and to do something, she had done nothing at all—yet now this. Eric found Rose strangely unfamiliar. The woman who had once known only him was now rejecting him, no longer looking at him with the yearning gaze she always used to have. Still, he didn’t pay much attention to the change. To him, “Rose” was not someone who occupied a large part of his life. In short, Eric didn’t care in the least what Rose did.
“Let her do as she wants.”
With an annoyed gesture, Eric waved at the butler. At his words, the butler let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly pulled out some documents, offering them to Eric.
“Then which kind of tutor shall we invite? I’ve roughly narrowed down a few—”
“Handle it yourself. Don’t ask me every little thing.”
“Ah… understood.”
The butler neatly gathered the papers he had laid out and bowed to Eric. Eric didn’t even look at him, merely waving his hand as if to tell him to leave quickly. The reason Eric was so eager to send him away was probably the woman sleeping beside him.
‘That girl is… Doana?’
For a moment, the butler doubted his own eyes. Doana was lying in Eric’s bedroom—naked, no less.
“What are you staring at?”
At Eric’s sharp question, the butler flustered in embarrassment, ashamed that he had been so obvious in looking at the woman. Eric casually pulled a white sheet over Doana’s sleeping body and spoke irritably.
“I don’t have a hobby of sharing what’s mine.”
“W-what do you mean? You misunderstand.”
Unable to hide his face, now burning red, the butler hurriedly exited Eric’s room.
“Hmm… Eric?”
Perhaps awakened by their voices, Doana rubbed her eyes and called his name. Eric grabbed her wrist—she hadn’t even fully opened her eyes yet—and pulled her toward him.
“What is it? Still not enough for you?”
Doana slipped into Eric’s arms, putting on a coquettish air.
“It was good. You fell asleep like you passed out.”
At Eric’s self-confident remark, Doana nearly let out a scoff.
So they say no one is perfect…
In truth, Doana was deeply disappointed. For a so-called romance novel’s male lead, he was sorely lacking at night. But since Eric was the lifeline she needed to cling to, she had no choice but to cater to his mood.
“It was amazing.”
Speaking words she didn’t mean, she nestled herself deeper into his arms. In reality, she had only fallen asleep out of sheer boredom—yet he had misunderstood it like this.
“Come here.”
He embraced Doana once more. She showed off every bit of the acting skill she had accumulated, wearing an expression of utter bliss and lavishing him with praise.
“There’s so much to memorize.”
Rose let out a sigh, wondering if she had caused herself needless trouble. After all, when she said she wanted to start lessons as soon as possible, the butler had scheduled them for the very next day. To think the very first lesson would already be this difficult… The pressure felt like studying for the college entrance exam all over again.
“So our family fell into ruin because we chose the wrong side…”
The Serviat Count’s family—Rose’s own—had lost out in the struggle for imperial power. The family members, long a thorn in other nobles’ sides, had barely managed to save their lives, but their territory was seized and they slid into ruin. The only reason they survived at all was thanks to the crown prince whom her parents had supported.
“They must have thought I was completely pathetic…”
What must the tutor have thought, seeing that she knew nothing about her own family? Rose felt her face grow hot. In truth, the tutor hadn’t been surprised at all. A woman who had fallen in love with and married the very man who ruined her family—of course she wouldn’t know anything. Rose lightly slapped her cheeks and forced herself to refocus. She had been dazed during the first lesson, but she didn’t want to leave the same impression during the second.
‘The former emperor and empress died early from illness, and the uncle ascended the throne as regent in place of the young crown prince.’
Rose recalled the tutor’s words. He had taught her while openly revealing his political ideology.
‘It was for the best. The young crown prince was nothing more than a problem child in the imperial family. A man of cruel nature, without blood or tears—someone everyone avoided. You likely won’t cross paths with him, but be careful. You must never become involved with that man.’
The tutor had earnestly warned her, practically spraying spit as he spoke. [Grand Duke Arteum.] The former crown prince, now a grand duke. At the mention of his name, Rose drew a large X over it and muttered to herself.
“Right. It never hurts to be careful.”
He wasn’t a major character, but she remembered him clearly. Even in the novel, he hadn’t been portrayed in a good light. After wielding power recklessly, he was eventually executed by the emperor’s faction. The execution scene had been so vividly cruel that it stuck in her mind—how could anyone forget such a barbaric punishment, one unimaginable in her original world?
“Ugh… I thought of it again.”
Shuddering at the scene that rose up as vividly as if she had witnessed it herself, Rose shook her head. Then she blacked out Arteum’s name so thoroughly it was no longer visible. At the time, Rose didn’t know that she would soon meet the very man she wanted so desperately to avoid.
She continued to struggle, reciting over and over what the tutor had taught her. After some time, she finally put down her fountain pen. Looking out the window, she saw that the sun was already sinking toward the horizon.
“I’m stiff.”
Stretching her aching body, she slowly stood and walked toward the terrace. Leaning her arms on the railing, Rose gazed at the sky, dyed red by the setting sun. How long had it been since she last looked up at the sky like this? A cool breeze brushed pleasantly against her skin. Gathering her fluttering hair, Rose slowly braided it. Her hands were clumsy—she had always kept her hair short in her previous life, since long hair took too long to dry and required daily care.
“Hmm… it’s harder than it looks.”
When the maids did her hair, they finished in an instant, so she had thought it would be easy. Fiddling with her braid, Rose gave an awkward smile. Just then, someone knocked on her door.
“Madam, the carriage is ready.”
A maid entered Rose’s room.
“The carriage?”
“Yes. You asked us to prepare one for nine o’clock, since you needed to go see the Count’s gift.”
“Oh… did I?”
Rose smiled awkwardly at the maid. The truth was, the Rose who had possessed this body had never asked for such a thing—it must have been the original heroine.
So the rumor that she lost her short-term memory from the shock must be true…
The maid looked at Rose with pity.
Poor Countess… It seems the Count is now openly having an affair.
Among the maids, the rumors were already widespread. The fact that Doana had stayed in the Count’s bedroom until late at night had spread quickly. It was even said that Doana, who had once been assigned to Rose, had been reassigned to the Count at his request.
“I’ll help you prepare to go out.”
Before Rose could even say “It’s fine,” the maid had already undone her hair and skillfully braided it again. The result was completely different from Rose’s own attempt. With a satisfied look, the maid admired Rose in the mirror and adorned her hair with fresh flowers.
“You’re so beautiful.”
She put extra care into fixing Rose’s hair, feeling sympathy for her as a fellow woman.
“But isn’t nine o’clock a bit late? Are shops even open then?”
“You said you’d be attending an auction today.”
“…Right. I’ve been a bit scatterbrained lately.”
Rose gave a vague response and an awkward smile.
“Yes. I’ve kept the invitation separately, madam.”
The maid handed Rose a small, palm-sized invitation. The black card listed the location, time, and auction items in simple print. The glossy paper was clearly of high quality. As Rose scanned the list of items, one in particular caught her eye—something that felt strangely familiar.
Luna’s Tear…!
Grasping at the faint memory that surfaced, Rose recalled how Eric, who loved crafted artifacts, had long wanted Luna’s Tear. Hoping to win his favor, Rose had painstakingly gathered information and successfully bid on it. Unfortunately, she never earned any points with him.
Because… it was revealed to be a fake.
Eric had sent Luna’s Tear to the empress as a gift, and in the process it was exposed as a counterfeit. Furious that he couldn’t even show his face because of Rose, Eric had raged at her. She had clung to his pant leg, apologizing, only to tumble down the stairs.
…And that night, Rose still spent the night with Eric, without any sense of shame.
She had even gone to him first, despite her injured body.
“Um… madam?”
When Rose stood there in a daze, the maid called out to her cautiously.
“…Do I really have to go?”
“Pardon?”
Hearing Rose’s murmured words, heavy with a sigh, the maid’s eyes widened.
“It’s an auction you’ve been waiting days for. If you get Luna’s Tear, won’t the Count be thrilled? His love for you will surely bloom!”
When Rose looked at her in silence, the maid muttered with an awkward smile.
“Haha… I don’t mean that the Count doesn’t love you right now or anything…”
To anyone’s eyes, that wasn’t how a man treated someone he loved. Watching the maid trail off, clearly gauging her mood, Rose thought as much to herself. The maid, still wearing an awkward smile, pushed Rose gently from behind and practically ushered her out of the room.
This could be your chance to turn the Count’s heart around…!
Clenching her fist as if entrusted with a great mission, the maid pointed to a young man standing there somewhat awkwardly.
“Sir Cern will accompany you as your escort.”
“My name is Cern, madam!”
He greeted Rose with a very nervous expression. He looked quite young—perhaps only around twenty.
“Please take care of me.”
When Rose returned the greeting, Cern’s face flushed red. With his escort, Rose boarded the carriage. As it rolled along, she gazed out the window, lost in thought.
“What should I buy…?”
It would be odd to return empty-handed after attending an auction… but she didn’t feel like buying a fake, either. As she pondered, the fast-moving carriage gradually slowed and came to a stop. The coachman announced their arrival, and Cern opened the door, extending his hand to her.
“We’ve arrived, madam.”
Taking Cern’s hand, Rose carefully stepped down from the carriage. She looked around, surveying the auction hall. It didn’t seem particularly secretive. When she showed her invitation to the man at the entrance, he handed her a round number plate with “38” written on it.
Is this my seat number?
Entering the hall, Rose began searching for her seat.
“Huh? Someone’s already sitting there.”
At the seat marked “38,” another man was already seated as if he belonged there. Rose slowly approached him.
“M-madam? Why are you going that way?”
Cern called out in a pale voice, as if to warn her, but Rose seemed not to hear him. She was too busy wondering why the seats around hers were all empty.
Is seating not first-come, first-served?
Tilting her head in confusion, Rose walked up to the man sitting alone and lightly tapped his shoulder.
“Excuse me, but this is my seat.”
She showed him her number plate. The man frowned and turned his head. With eyes of chilling blue, he gazed steadily at Rose.
