BVIB 06

Chapter 6

“…What?”
Aegis blinked, then burst into raucous laughter, the sound echoing through the dining hall. He pounded the table with his fist, still laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

Suddenly, the Duke hurled a knife straight at Aegis’s head—but Aegis caught it effortlessly between two fingers and tossed it right back, still chuckling.

“I never knew my niece had this kind of personality,” he said, grinning broadly.

“Well, Lady Carmel turned my world upside down yesterday. I just couldn’t hold back any longer,” Roselyn replied easily.

“Is that so? Then she deserved a good lesson,” Aegis mused, flashing her an approving smile.

He looked at Roselyn with genuine warmth. “As for Cherty—your father—don’t take it personally. It’s not that he dislikes you. He’s just always been hopeless with people, never could be honest about anything.”

Roselyn gave him a gentle, skeptical smile. “Sure.”

The Duke, watching as Roselyn turned to leave, finally spoke up. “Roselyn, let’s have tea together sometime soon.”

“Of course. I’ll be going now,” she replied, barely pausing to acknowledge him before slipping out of the dining room.

***

“…Father, isn’t she just completely twisted?” Aegis muttered, staring after her.

“Watch your language. Such lack of refinement,” the Duke grumbled, clicking his tongue.

“Oh, please. Where do you think I learned it? You should remember your own youth—you invented half the curse words I know,” Aegis shot back with a snort.

Still chuckling, he glanced at the tightly shut door and stood up from his seat.

“You’re the one who raised the youngest all wrong, Father. No wonder he turned out so gloomy,” Aegis grumbled. “Try not to let your one and only granddaughter run away—do something about it, will you?”

“And why don’t you fools act like proper heirs for once!” the old man snapped, grinding out his cigar. “You looking to die tonight?”

Aegis snorted. “At your age? Please, I’d like to see you try. Anyway, I told you, I never liked that woman—you should’ve gotten rid of her when I said.”

“If the boy likes her, what am I supposed to do?” the Duke retorted.

“Yeah, sure. Just remember, you’re the one who ruined this whole family,” Aegis shot back, waving a hand dismissively as he sauntered out of the dining room. He paused in the doorway, voice dropping to a rare softness. “Maybe… we were all too indifferent.”

With that, the door swung shut behind him.

“Hey, Chain. Hiding out down here all pathetic?”
Aegis’s voice cut through the gloom of the empty storeroom, where moonlight poured in through the window and Cherty nursed a bottle of strong liquor.

“…Go away,” Cherty muttered, visibly annoyed at the intrusion.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t talk to her like that,” Aegis replied, shrugging and taking a seat across from him uninvited.

Without another word, Aegis watched his younger brother down drink after drink, then casually laid out some jerky he’d brought and pressed a piece into Cherty’s mouth.

“I told you you were overprotective, didn’t I?”

“Damn bastard, I said get lost.”

“Oh, come off it. You try so hard to act stoic and hide that awful temper of yours, but what does it get you? Your daughter ends up threatening to jump off the mansion roof and announces she’s leaving home.”

Cherty shot his infuriating older brother a glare as Aegis cackled with delight.

“I must be an idiot, trying to talk sense with an animal like you.”

Cherty stood up abruptly, but Aegis only laughed harder, unfazed by his brother’s temper.

“Hey, your daughter really is going to leave home, you know.”

“…Shut up. Who says she can?”

Aegis clucked his tongue. “Who says? She’s an adult now—she decides for herself.”

Cherty fixed Aegis with a murderous look, but Aegis just shrugged, unconcerned.

“Parenting’s never easy, is it? Kids never turn out the way you want, and just because you don’t say something doesn’t mean they’ll magically understand.”

Aegis snatched Cherty’s glass and knocked back the rest of the liquor, then nodded at him from across the table.

Every time Cherty moved, the long silver drop earring in his ear swayed, and the rings and bracelets on his hands and wrists jingled softly against each other.

“Damn it…”

Cherty slumped back into his seat across from Aegis with a huff.

“So why not just be honest for once?”

“About what?”

“Tell her she’s properly listed in the family registry. That you love her.”

Bang!
Cherty’s fist slammed onto the table, and in an instant, the wood shimmered with a violet hue before dissolving into a pile of ash with a quiet sizzle.

“Well, that’s new,” Aegis muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Aegis rescued the bottle and glasses from the dissolving table with a click of his tongue.

“Damn it, what are you expecting me to do?!” he snapped. “You act all grown-up in front of your daughter, and now look at you—”

He trailed off, watching as Cherty, who moments ago had tried so hard to appear composed, now clenched his teeth like a wounded child. Aegis let out a quiet, almost sympathetic laugh and stood up.

Scarlet flames flickered around him, incinerating the violet-tinged remains of the table to ash before snuffing themselves out.

“Listen, your daughter’s made up her mind. If you can’t bring yourself to hold her back, then let her go. Think how hard it must have been for her to come to this.”

Cherty said nothing.

“What you’re doing—not just as a parent, but as a person—isn’t right, and you know it.”

Aegis glanced down at his brother, then turned to leave the storeroom.

“…But still.”

A faint, wavering voice stopped him at the door.

“I took her mother from her. I never even hugged her, not once. And now, after all this time…” Cherty buried his face in his hands, his words barely audible. “What am I supposed to say to her…?”

Aegis paused, one hand on the doorknob, and let out a wry chuckle.

Who’d ever guess that the man who always tried to look strong and silent for his daughter’s sake would be like this behind closed doors?

“Isn’t it obvious?” Aegis said.

“What, then?” Cherty muttered.

“Come on—it’s something even a three-year-old knows how to say.”

With that, Aegis gave a snort and walked out, leaving the door swinging shut behind him.

“…Rose.”

Bathed in moonlight, the man scrubbed a hand over his face, his crimson eyes finally calming as he let out a long, weary sigh.

***

“…Miss, there are more flowers for you.”

“Again?” Roselyn frowned.

“Yes, miss.”

For several days now, mysterious bouquets had been arriving for her. Ever since the night of the formal dinner, a new bouquet—always of a different variety—would show up around noon each day.

Each time, a small card was tucked inside, bearing a cryptic message:

[The meaning of these flowers is nice.]

[Picked these up on the way.]

[Got them cheap, since I was passing by.]

[They’re everywhere this time of year.]

Whatever the intent, Roselyn couldn’t make heads or tails of the notes.

‘Are they trying to say the flowers are worthless—picked up by chance, not worth giving otherwise?’

Noble society’s way of speaking was always exhausting, she thought—especially the way every word seemed to hide a dozen layers of meaning.

The real problem was that, after six days, the deliveries had become impossible to ignore. Her room was now so full of flowers, she thought she might suffocate from the overwhelming scent.

‘Is this some new form of harassment?’ she wondered.

But Roselyn was too tired to care. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the matter. “That’s enough. Just throw them all away. If any more arrive, you can keep them yourselves or toss them out for all I care.”

“Ah… Understood, miss.”

The maids bowed at her command, never imagining what ripple effects this small order might cause.

The new maids the butler had assigned were a welcome change. They were discreet and kept to their work. Roselyn didn’t recognize any of them, which made it even easier to tune them out.

“Is the carriage ready?”

“Yes, the driver is waiting outside.”

“Good.”

“Um… Miss, are you truly planning to go out dressed like that?” One of the maids, unable to hide her anxiety, finally spoke up as Roselyn made to leave the room.

Roselyn’s dress was jet black, after all. In the Empire, black was reserved for mourning—no one wore it unless attending a funeral.

“Oh, well, I hardly have anything else to wear right now,” she replied matter-of-factly.

At that, the maids fell silent. Anyone could see that Roselyn’s wardrobe was pitifully bare—her clothes faded and threadbare, hardly befitting a noblewoman.

Roselyn left without another word, descending the stairs and stepping into the carriage.

‘I never thought I’d return to the Imperial capital of my own free will.’

The last time she’d gone, Geran had handed her over to the royal knights and she’d been locked up like an animal in a cage.

‘How long has it been since I last saw the Third Prince?’

At fifteen, she’d been engaged to the Third Prince—a naive, sickly, and difficult girl who believed herself to be the most noble creature in the world.

Roselyn: the illegitimate child in all but name.

Arma Dianitas: the weak, ambitionless Third Prince, with no claim to the throne.

The union between the Dianitas imperial house and the Bellion dukedom had always been the talk of high society—a burning topic of gossip.

Lost in thought, Roselyn barely noticed as the carriage came to a halt and the door opened.

Through the window, the splendor of the Imperial capital shimmered before her eyes.