Chapter 6

---

---

The Mad Rosetta

Those Who Obey Don’t Get Punished (2)

---

* * *

My room was still a complete disaster.

The annex where I lived was less than fifty steps away from the main mansion where Father and Lianna stayed, and the two buildings were connected by a bridge.

I didn’t know what the annex had originally been called, but after I was born, its name had immediately been changed to the Rose Hall.

True to its name, roses stretched densely from the gardens of the main mansion all the way to the Rose Hall. I had heard that Father himself had ordered it after purchasing exclusive cultivation rights to the flowers.

Thanks to that, whenever people spoke of the most beautiful gardens in the Empire, this estate was always among the top contenders.

Perhaps Father believed he shouldn’t show favoritism between his two daughters. Or perhaps Lianna had demanded it… Either way, Odette had been given the western annex.

Regardless, this place remained under Father’s gaze, so at least the gardens still retained their splendor.

The bitter reality was that my room looked nothing like them.

Ironically, Father had been so concerned about his mentally unstable daughter that instead of knocking on my door, he had waited for me to come out on my own.

That was probably one of the reasons this filthy room had remained untouched for so long.

“I need to clean this room.”

“Y-You do?”

As if she thought she’d misheard me, Penny blinked in shock.

I repeated myself.

“I said this room needs cleaning.”

“Gasp!”

“That is a rather rude reaction, Penny.”

I raised an eyebrow once.

Immediately realizing her mistake, Penny began apologizing repeatedly.

The sight was amusing enough that I decided to let it slide.

At most, she looked thirteen or fourteen years old. Treating her the same way I treated everyone else left me with a strange sense of guilt.

“Penny, go see whether the head maid has returned. If she’s back… tell her to come here immediately, along with the maids who have been responsible for maintaining my room.”

“Yes, Miss! I’ll be right back.”

Penny hurried toward the door, only to stop and return moments later.

She fidgeted nervously.

“M-Miss… if the head maid says she’s busy… what should I say to persuade her…?”

“…”

What a collection of disloyal servants.

【Pfft! Puhahaha!】

Penny’s question was completely sincere.

The ghost, meanwhile, was laughing so hard his whole body shook.

For perhaps the first time, I felt genuinely embarrassed.

What could possibly be more important than carrying out the orders of the master they served?

Penny simply wanted to know how she should respond if the head maid refused.

Looking at it that way, she was actually quite sharp.

“…The whip.”

“Excuse me?”

“Tell her I’m currently practicing with a whip.”

At my indifferent answer, Penny looked as though she’d attained enlightenment.

“Yes, Miss!”

Then she dashed out of the room.

Sing flopped onto my bed and clutched his stomach, claiming he’d laughed so hard it hurt.

【Hahaha! Seriously… the state of House Benetra is unbelievable.】

“…”

【Hm? What are you looking around for, darling?】

“Where did I put that whip, anyway…?”

Can you hear it?

The distant sound of someone’s back splitting open?

Now that only Sing and I remained in the room, I decided to ask a question that had been bothering me.

“Sing. There’s something I want to ask.”

【You certainly are a curious one.】

“The more I know, the easier things become. I want to hear why you hold a grudge against Chesia. Can you answer that?”

I stared at him.

Whether by coincidence or fate, Sing and I shared the same target for revenge.

That should have been reassuring.

And yet, something about it bothered me.

To be honest, the Chesia I knew wasn’t the type of man who would turn someone into a vengeful ghost.

Putting aside what he’d done to me, my fiancé was one of the most famous young nobles in the Arcanis Empire.

He was the only son of the Marquis of Montague, whose family had amassed enormous wealth through maritime trade.

More importantly, the Marquis himself was a longtime confidant of the Emperor and had supported Empress Dowager Karina Perigia since the days when she had still been the First Empress.

In other words, Chesia was heir to one of the most politically influential families in the Empire.

And his face wasn’t exactly a disadvantage either.

The memory of Chesia smiling at Odette while dressed impeccably made my expression twist.

As irritating as it was, I had to admit the truth.

My fiancé was absurdly handsome.

At sixteen, he had already been knighted due to his exceptional martial ability.

A prestigious family.

Outstanding looks.

Remarkable talent.

Chesia possessed everything.

He also loved being praised.

On the other hand, he hated taking responsibility for anything significant and rarely acted directly.

He constantly worried that even the smallest mistake would stain both his reputation and his family’s name.

Which was exactly why I couldn’t understand why Sing hated him so much.

【Because the person who turned me into this was Fordcus Chesia’s mother.】

“…What?”

Unlike his usual habit of dodging questions with jokes, Sing answered immediately.

The answer was shocking.

【So naturally, I should take away her precious son as well, shouldn’t I?】

His voice was almost cheerful.

He said he looked forward to seeing her expression when she learned her son had died.

The reason he hated Chesia was because Chesia’s mother had killed him.

---

“How did such an idiot end up marrying into our family? We should have paired Chesia with Bonita instead!”

Chesia’s mother was someone I knew all too well.

---

“You foolish girl! Is it any wonder Chesia refuses to open his heart to you or share your bed?”

She was a woman who never hesitated to strike me for something as trivial as missing a morning greeting.

She had always resented the fact that her beloved son had been forced to marry someone as infamous as me.

From the very beginning of our marriage, the Marchioness of Montague had subjected me to constant verbal abuse.

Even during the worst periods of my madness, I had loved Chesia.

I hadn’t wanted to ruin our marriage.

So whenever I stood before the Marchioness, I lowered my head and endured it.

Not that I endured it every single time.

Whenever my sanity slipped too far, I sometimes stormed into her tea parties with Odette and flipped their tables.

Other times I shouted that once Chesia inherited the title, I’d lock her away in some remote western villa.

Every time, Chesia cursed at me and had me confined to my room.

And whenever I came to my senses, I would drown in self-loathing over my actions.

The memories of that miserable marriage brought all my humiliations rushing back.

I bit down hard on my lip.

“If it’s that woman who’s obsessed with Chesia, then yes, she’d be devastated. But is that all?”

【What do you mean?】

“If Chesia’s mother killed you, shouldn’t your revenge be directed at her? Why make Chesia your target?”

【Haha. Sometimes people love something more than they love themselves, darling. She’d probably rather I appear before her personally. She’d gladly face me herself—as long as I left her son untouched.】

The way he explained it sent a chill through me.

Because Sing always spoke so lightly, I had never fully understood the depth of his hatred.

But now I did.

His desire for revenge was genuine.

【So then, Roze. Darling. This time I want to ask you something. What are you planning to do from now on?】

I couldn’t answer immediately.

Because I didn’t have a plan.

When I first woke up, I had intended to break off my engagement with Montague immediately.

But after thinking it over, I realized that doing so would sever all ties between Chesia and me.

And if that happened, getting revenge on him would become far more difficult.

Cruel people excelled at cruelty.

A kind and innocent young lady like me suddenly becoming a master schemer capable of destroying others?

That sounded like something from one of those commoner novels titled:

“I Woke Up as a Villainous Noble Lady!?”

All I wanted was to return the betrayal and pain they had given me.

Nothing more.

“Miss, it’s Penny.”

Penny’s knock interrupted my thoughts.

I quickly told her to come in.

Whether or not she’d actually told the head maid, “Miss is currently practicing with a whip!” was impossible to know.

But soon the head maid entered, followed by three maids.

Only three servants were assigned to this enormous annex.

The realization nearly made me despair again.

I addressed the head maid first.

“You must have heard that my confinement has been lifted. Do you know why I’ve summoned you?”

“To have your room properly cleaned, Miss.”

The answer came more readily than expected.

Her name was Marahan Drenaje.

She had overseen the Rose Hall since I was nine years old—since the day I first moved here.

She had watched every step of my transformation from a perfectly normal young lady into one of the Empire’s most notorious troublemakers.

Knowing Marahan’s rigid personality, I found something difficult to understand.

No matter how unruly her young mistress became, she would have ordered the servants to perform at least basic maintenance.

Which made the cobwebs hanging in every corner impossible to explain.

“I understand that my poor health may have made it difficult for you to carry out your duties. However… I never ordered such negligence. Explain yourselves.”

“Forgive us, Miss. We merely respected your wish to be left alone.”

My eyebrow twitched.

I said I wanted to be alone. Since when did that mean I wanted to live in a dust-covered cave?

Ignoring Sing’s constant snickering beside me, I prepared to reprimand her again.

But Marahan continued.

“You instructed us not to enter except during meal deliveries. And that we were only to inspect the room when absolutely necessary for important events…”

Then came the statement that left me speechless.

“You conveyed those orders through Lady Bonita, did you not?”.