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Chapter 45
“Sir Sern?”
Rosé stared at Sern with eyes wide like a rabbit’s.
“Why are you here, Sir Sern?”
This alley was lined only with the Serviat estate. At Rosé’s words, Sern broke into a bright smile. As always, his voice carried a hint of playful charm.
“I was sent on an errand and ended up getting lost.”
Looking embarrassed, Sern scratched the back of his head as he replied.
“Oh my, I see.”
Rosé believed him without the slightest doubt. She felt greatly relieved to find that the person behind her had been Sern.
“But why didn’t you make any sound?”
Tilting her head, Rosé asked him. She had really been startled earlier—she had thought he was an assailant.
At her words, Sern’s gaze darkened slightly. With an inscrutable look, he asked softly,
“So you knew I was following you.”
His murmured voice echoed with a meaningful tone.
“How did you know?”
Sern was genuinely curious. While he hadn’t concealed his presence perfectly like when tailing someone, an ordinary person usually wouldn’t notice him even if he followed closely behind.
Is Rosé more perceptive than most?
If so… does she, like me, have something she’s hiding?
A seed of suspicion began to sprout. But Rosé’s next words instantly shattered his doubts.
“Oh—well, I was looking at the ground, and there was an extra shadow.”
Explaining how startled and frightened she had been, Rosé smiled at Sern.
“Ah, I see. I’m sorry for startling you.”
Sern smiled innocently and curved his eyes at her.
“I never expected to see you here, Sir Sern! I’m really so happy—what a coincidence!”
Sern gazed silently at Rosé’s face as she smiled at him without a trace of suspicion.
Coincidence, huh… how naive.
Their meeting was anything but a coincidence. Sern had deliberately come to where Rosé was.
He narrowed down the places she might be and headed straight for the Serviat estate. He waited until evening, when it was easier to hide himself, before coming here.
…That’s a relief. So what I saw that day wasn’t madam after all.
He had been constantly worried that Rosé might have been kidnapped. That was why he wanted to make sure—wanted to confirm that she was alive.
Seeing Sern staring at her without a word, Rosé mistakenly thought he felt hurt by her. Looking apologetic and awkward, she spoke.
“You must have been really upset, right? I left without even saying goodbye.”
“Ah… of course! You have no idea how upset I was.”
Pulled back to reality by her words, Sern quickly put on an act—playing the fictional persona he had created, Sern.
“I’m sorry.”
Sern looked silently at Rosé, who was sincerely apologizing.
In truth, the one who should have apologized was him.
He wanted to confess and ask forgiveness for deceiving her all this time, but imagining Rosé turning her back on him like Jane had made it hard for him to open his mouth.
Three years ago, under Cedric’s orders, Sern had entered the Wens Count family as a trainee knight. Back then, he had observed Rosé from afar while doing menial work.
He never hesitated to approach Jane to gather information about Rosé, faithfully carrying out his assigned tasks.
When I only watched from a distance, I thought she was just a dull person.
But serving Rosé up close as a trainee knight proved the opposite.
Rosé was intelligent and bright, and unlike other nobles, she was considerate even toward servants.
Originally assigned merely to guard her, Sern gradually realized that he was now protecting her from the heart—enough to keep secrets from his own master, Cedric.
“If we’d met during the day, I would’ve treated you to a meal. It’s too late now—what a shame. Oh, right. Did things work out with Jane?”
At the mention of Jane, Sern’s expression visibly darkened.
Lowering his eyes, he shook his head. It felt as though a gloomy aura was radiating from him.
Seeing his reaction, Rosé felt flustered.
…Ah, I guess I brought up something I shouldn’t have.
It seemed Sern and Jane still hadn’t reconciled. Rosé hesitated, looking at him awkwardly.
“……She must still be very angry.”
This wasn’t acting. Sern was genuinely suffering over his rift with Jane.
What had begun as an attempt to use her had turned into real feelings. The engagement ring he gave her, the words “I love you”—all of it had been sincere.
Jane’s face flashed through his mind, looking at him with utter disgust.
Jane…
She would probably never forgive him.
I wouldn’t either… How could you trust someone who approached you deliberately and hid everything?
Watching the gloomy Sern, Rosé carefully spoke up.
“What on earth happened to make things fall apart like this? Tell me. I’m actually pretty good at giving relationship advice.”
At her voice, Sern lifted his head and looked at her—his eyes filled with distrust.
“……To you, madam?”
To Sern, Rosé looked like a woman wounded by blind love. Confiding in her might bring comfort, but it wouldn’t improve the situation.
Seeing his reaction, Rosé gave an awkward smile.
Haha… well, even I wouldn’t ask the original Rosé for relationship advice.
The Rosé in the original story was someone who knew nothing but begging for love.
“Hah… it’s fine.”
Sern answered with a deep sigh. Though Rosé felt a slight sting to her pride, she couldn’t get angry at someone younger than her.
I’m the older one. Let’s be generous.
Putting on a gentle, saintly smile, Rosé spoke softly.
“By the way, being called ‘madam’ feels a bit burdensome now. I’m not a madam anymore.”
She only meant that she wanted him to call her more casually, but Sern took it differently.
Complaining like this in front of someone who just got divorced…
Frozen in place, Sern watched Rosé’s reaction, then bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.
“I’m sorry.”
He felt ashamed for acting thoughtlessly in front of someone who must be hurting as much as he was.
…She probably hasn’t been sleeping well either.
Slowly lifting his head, he examined Rosé’s face.
“No, really, I’m fine.”
Rosé waved her hands brightly, seeing how badly Sern had misunderstood her—but to him, she just looked like she was forcing a smile.
If she finds out tomorrow that Count Eric is remarrying… she might collapse.
There were no secrets in this world; Rosé would eventually hear of it, but Sern wished he could hide it from her as long as possible.
“I mean it. I don’t mind at all that Eric is remarrying.”
At the word remarrying, Sern blinked rapidly.
“…How do you know that?”
Seeing his big eyes roll as he stared at her, Rosé merely shrugged.
“Hmm, I just found out naturally. The wedding’s tomorrow, right?”
If she mentioned that she had even seen Eric’s invitation, Sern’s eyes might pop right out.
Rosé curved her eyes into crescents and looked at him.
Sern, however, was utterly confused.
Is she really fine? Then… does that mean everything she’s shown lately wasn’t a ploy to lure Count Eric back, but that her feelings truly cooled?
Sern was one of those who had hoped Rosé’s love would be fulfilled—not because Eric was a good man, but because Rosé was pitiable. He wanted to see her fully loved by the person she loved.
“…Yes. He’s getting married tomorrow.”
Since Rosé already knew everything, there was no point denying it.
“Hm, what a shame. I wanted to go see it.”
“…Pardon?”
Why would she attend her ex-husband’s wedding?
Sern tilted his head, unable to understand her intent.
“Just… there’s someone I want to see.”
More precisely, Doana—who would be trembling in humiliation.
“…Pardon?”
Rosé’s words only confused Sern further. She said she’d forgotten Eric, so what did she mean by “someone I want to see”?
He looked at Rosé with conflicted eyes.
Just then, from afar, Rosé’s father, Damon, appeared. Seeing his daughter with a strange man, his face twisted into a fierce scowl.
He strode quickly toward them and grabbed Sern by the wrist.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
After sweeping Sern with a cold gaze, he tightened his grip.
An ordinary person would have winced in pain under Damon’s pressure, but Sern remained calm. Narrowing his eyes, Damon studied him.
“Father, this is Sir Sern—the knight who used to escort me at the count’s estate.”
Oblivious to the tension, Rosé introduced him cheerfully.
“I greet you, Count. My name is Sern.”
Pulling his hand free, Sern bowed politely.
“So you’re Count Serviat. But coming to see our Rosé at such a late hour… what business do you have?”
All men were dark, scheming beasts—except Damon himself, of course. He eyed Sern warily.
“He says he got lost while running an errand. We ran into each other by chance—I was so happy to see him!”
As Rosé chattered away, Damon’s suspicion only deepened.
“Lost… at this hour?”
All the shops had closed long ago. Though the area was sparsely populated, it wasn’t a maze. If he truly wanted to leave, he should have done so long before now.
Had he come harboring impure intentions toward Rosé? Or did he have another agenda?
Sern felt burdened by Damon’s gaze.
…I should excuse myself.
He had confirmed that Rosé was safe; that was enough. He had no desire to linger in such an uncomfortable situation.
“I should be going now.”
“Ah, alright. I’ll contact you—let’s meet then.”
“Yes.”
Rosé waved both hands at him. After bowing politely to Damon as well, Sern hurriedly left.
Once Sern was gone, Damon spoke.
“Did your change of heart have anything to do with that man?”
“What? Haha, no.”
Shaking her head at Damon’s serious stare, Rosé replied,
“Sern is the boyfriend of a maid I was fond of.”
Despite her clarification, Damon’s expression remained grave. Looking down at his right hand, he thought,
…He was no ordinary man.
He wasn’t someone whose skill matched that of a mere trainee knight.
Damon knew well that Rosé’s escort knight was supposedly an incompetent trainee. Though he pretended not to care about Rosé, he knew her rumors better than anyone.
“…Don’t trust that man too much. He definitely has something to hide.”
In a low voice, Damon warned her.
“…I’m sorry, Mother.”
Eric and Tersia sat facing each other across a table. Eric bowed his head like a criminal.
“My son, I told you—I’m really fine.”
Tersia forced a smile and waved her bandaged right hand as if it were nothing.
But seeing it only made Eric’s expression harden further.
Tersia had been injured by the weapon he swung. She had stepped in front of Cedric, blocking him, and stopped Eric’s blade with her bare hand.
The image of blood droplets falling—drip, drip—wouldn’t leave Eric’s mind.
“Lift your head. What kind of face is that for a groom-to-be?”
Tersia asked him nothing. She only kept repeating that she was fine.
“If you’re worried because of your father, don’t be. I’ll talk him around.”
She seemed remarkably calm about Eric’s actions—because she had already anticipated something like this would happen.
She had sensed that the anger buried deep within Eric would someday erupt. That was why she had told Cedric not to treat him that way.
Looking at Eric with pity, Tersia thought of her only precious son. She had wanted to raise him better than anyone—how had she ended up letting him become so scarred?
Breaking Cedric’s insistence that no one interfere in his education had been incredibly difficult. If only she could turn back time, she would stop Cedric’s methods no matter what.
Affection filled Tersia’s eyes as she looked at Eric. She opened her arms.
“Come here.”
Normally, Eric would never do this—but today was different. His guilt over hurting his mother was overwhelming.
He rose slowly and approached her, then knelt before her, resting his face on her lap like a child.
“It’s alright, my dear. And don’t worry about the child you’ll have with Doana. Once the baby is born, Cedric’s heart will surely soften. Still, I hope you’ll also have a child with the young lady of Duke Dicar’s house.”
Tersia gently patted Eric’s back as he leaned against her.
“If that happens, you’ll gain everything you want.”
In a soft, lullaby-like voice, she whispered into his ear.
Doana’s child was useless. It carried the blood of a lowly commoner, not noble blood.
Any illegitimate child that might threaten the rightful heir would be erased before ever seeing the light of day.
But Eric didn’t need to know that.
“I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
Tersia’s smiling voice brimmed with excitement—not only at the joy of welcoming a noble lady who would secure the succession, but also at the thought of Doana being humiliated before countless people.
