Chapter – 05
I had been distracted by something else, so even that light touch was enough to make me stagger.
‘This body is way too weak!’
This body was nothing like the duke’s daughter’s, which had often been described as slender and beautiful.
I wobbled like a deflated balloon, flailed my arms around, and only just managed to regain my balance.
Perhaps my clumsy appearance was amusing, because a few people nearby let out quiet chuckles. The knight who had touched my shoulder, meanwhile, stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
‘So it was this bastard?’
I recognized him immediately.
Baude. A man who had risen from being a commoner gladiator to becoming one of the crown prince’s personal guards.
Regardless of his skill, however, his reputation for bullying the weak while sucking up to the powerful was notorious.
‘He was the one who kept beating up young knights under the pretext of training them. He used to pick on Sordi all the time, too.’
And that wasn’t all.
Apparently, he had repeatedly harassed maids and even slapped them across the face whenever they displeased him.
‘And yet, when it came to someone stronger than him, he wagged his tail as though he’d gladly hand over both his liver and his gallbladder.’
The same had been true of the Duke of Barddensia’s daughter.
“Are you not listening to me?”
Back when I was Bianca, he had never looked at me with such a contemptuous expression or spoken to me in that mocking tone, as though I were pathetic.
‘Well, I suppose he thinks Roselina isn’t worth treating any better.’
To be honest, when I was Bianca, I hadn’t had the time to pay attention to someone like Baude.
Improving my relationships with the people around me had been my only priority. To put it nicely, I had to act like an angel. To put it bluntly, I had to play the role of a gullible fool with no sense of self-preservation.
Even if Baude was merely an extra character, he was still someone in Baron’s circle. I couldn’t afford to leave behind the seeds of conflict with him.
‘But things are a little different now that I’m no longer a villainous duke’s daughter with a death sentence hanging over her head.’
I supposed it was time to show this man something.
To remind him why I had played this game over and over again.
“Sir.”
The duke’s daughter in the game had been an incredibly compelling character.
Aside from her vicious personality and her attempts to harm the female protagonist, every time she appeared, she tended to bring the satisfaction of a proper revenge spectacle.
And I had been the unfortunate player whose favorite character was the duke’s daughter rather than the female protagonist. Since I had already fallen head over heels for her, even her minor flaws seemed adorable to me.
Whenever the repetitive romance scenes came up, I would hit skip with a blank expression. But whenever my favorite character made one of her rare appearances, I savored every moment.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
In other words, I had studied the textbook example of outrageous villainess behavior—the kind that led to death in every single route.
Sordi Malbon had been completely out of it ever since he received the terrible news first thing that morning.
The Duke of Barddensia’s daughter had been like family to him. She had been the person who smiled at him without turning away, even when he was so thin from hunger that his body had become little more than skin and bones, and even when he smelled because he hadn’t been able to wash.
And now she was dead.
He had cried even harder than he had when he fled his father’s abuse only to be captured by slave traders.
Even much later, he was still wiping away his tears as he listened to the other knights talking among themselves.
“She didn’t even have any chronic illness. How could this have happened so suddenly…?”
“As tragic as the young lady’s death is, honestly, I’m even more worried about His Highness.”
“It would be a miracle if he’s managing to keep himself together at all right now.”
“By the way, I heard they caught another group trying to get into the imperial treasury yesterday.”
“Do people still believe that nonsense about taking over the empire if they get their hands on the treasury?”
“Come on, surely no one believes an old story like that. Apparently, these days, thieves use ‘taking over the empire’ as slang for robbing the treasury. Their real goal is obvious, isn’t it? All those shiny, expensive things!”
Not long afterward, Sordi was ordered by the crown prince to escort Roselina Mush back to her estate.
The knights, with the exception of Sordi, continued to gossip without pause.
“There can’t be anyone more heartless than that woman. How can she not shed a single tear?”
“She’s not just heartless. She’s worse than a beast.”
“We all know how much the young lady cared for her.”
As they traveled toward the baron’s daughter’s estate, which stood alone in a remote area deep in the mountains, Sordi remained sunk in gloom.
As a result, he failed to notice that the carriage had stopped because the road was too rough to continue, that its door had simply been thrown open, that Roselina had climbed out without anyone escorting her, or that she had staggered as she stepped down.
“Sir.”
Only then did he belatedly come to his senses and lift his head.
The voice was as gentle as the sunlight on a warm spring day.
Yet at the same time, it carried a weight that seemed to conceal something being firmly held back.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
Roselina Mush was glaring at Baude, her expression frozen and cold.
There was nothing new about Baude having serious flaws in his character.
Nevertheless, perhaps because his presence was so intimidating, no one dared to openly challenge him.
“I’ll explain, since you seem confused.”
And yet, the social outcast of the aristocratic world was now standing up to him.
“You just used physical force against me, Sir.”
Despite Roselina’s sharp accusation, Baude merely snorted and replied sarcastically.
“Physical force? That’s an exaggeration. You weren’t answering me, so I gave you a little nudge.”
“So if I take too long to answer, that gives you the right to put your hands on me?”
Roselina widened her eyes in apparent surprise. She even raised a hand to cover her mouth in an exaggerated gesture of astonishment.
“I had no idea. Are the crown prince’s knights also granted the authority to touch other people however they please?”
At the mention of his master, Baude flinched. Then he gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.
“……Of course not. It was a simple mistake, so let’s not make a big deal out of it. Please go inside.”
Noticing that his jaw had tightened, Roselina slowly shook her head.
“You’ve always been like this, haven’t you, Sir?”
“Ha! What exactly are you talking about?”
“Changing your attitude depending on who you’re dealing with. Is brushing everything off by calling it a mistake what you consider knightly conduct?”
She spoke as though she knew everything about his behavior.
“Do you think your reckless actions are helping your master, His Highness the Crown Prince, or harming him?”
At that, Baude’s gaze wavered. The coachman and the other knights began exchanging glances among themselves.
Just as the rumors had suggested, the young lady was audacious. Behind her bright, cheerful smile, her words were packed with sharp barbs.
“Ha…… I apologize. I didn’t mean to—”
“Just words?”
Roselina cut off his hesitant explanation and smiled brightly.
“I’d like you to apologize a little more properly.”
Baude’s face began to turn bright red.
“As a knight serving His Highness the Crown Prince, you should pay attention to every little thing you do. After all, other people might interpret your actions as reflecting His Highness’s wishes.”
Roselina maintained her gentle expression as she whispered those chilly words, then looked him up and down.
Baude slowly relaxed his clenched fists.
“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. But then I’ll have to assume that even your violent behavior reflects His Highness the Crown Prince’s wishes.”
He could no longer hold out.
In the end, swallowing his humiliation, he bowed at the waist.
“……I was rude to you, my lady. I apologize.”
Roselina stared down at him expressionlessly.
How long did that suffocating silence last?
“You’re sorry?”
She frowned and lightly scratched her chin.
“Ah, I thought this might make me feel better, but now I’m even more annoyed.”
Then she turned around calmly, as though nothing had happened.
The corners of my mouth itched as I turned away, pretending to be indifferent.
‘At least now I can say what I want instead of keeping my mouth shut.’
If I had to define myself, I would say I was an ordinary person—not particularly bad, but not particularly good, either.
However, suppressing every desire and living like a gullible pushover came with a considerable amount of stress.
‘Ah, it feels like five years’ worth of indigestion has finally cleared up!’
I was walking toward the estate with my back to the group when it happened.
“Lady Mush!”
Someone came running toward me with an urgent shout.
Since I still wasn’t used to being addressed by that title, I took two more steps before finally turning around.
‘Sordi?’
It was Sordi.
He came running up to me, panting, his eyes wet with tears.
“You would have every right to take offense at what happened, my lady.”
After catching his breath, he continued in a tone that almost sounded desperate.
“But as you know, my lady, our education is limited. We’ve spent most of our lives simply trying to earn enough to survive…… That doesn’t mean we expect to be forgiven easily. But we humbly ask that you find it in your heart to forgive us just this once……”
Over Sordi’s shoulder, as he rambled on in confusion, I could see the knight still standing with his back bent in a bow.
‘Is he afraid I’ll report him to Baron?’
Tragically, whatever I said to Baron now probably wouldn’t make the slightest difference.
‘Still, there’s nothing to gain from making this incident any bigger than it already is.’
Looking at Sordi, who was trembling from head to toe, I opened my mouth as though I were generously granting him a favor.
“I’ll forgive him.”
“Y-yes? Really?! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Sordi repeatedly bowed at the waist, too busy expressing his gratitude to do anything else.
Keeping my gaze fixed on him, I stepped a little closer.
Then I whispered in a voice so quiet that only he could hear me.
I needed to find out the one thing that mattered most to me right now.
“But in exchange, may I ask you just one question?”
