Amy covered her mouth with her hand, saying she’d made a mistake. The Duchess didn’t focus on the issue of subtly disrespecting Diovaha, but rather on Amy’s failure to hide her surprised reaction.

‘Well, that’s the kind of person she was.’

The Duchess told Rosana she wanted to know how she’d been living all this time. Rosana didn’t avoid it. Rather, it was an opportunity.

“Of course. How about tea time in the drawing room?”

“That sounds lovely.”

The servants began quickly setting the table. Watching the people move busily, Amy spoke.

“It’s been so long since the family gathered. Right?”

“I’m a married woman now.”

“Ah, right. I brought a gift for you, sister. Mother and I carefully chose it. I hope you’ll be happy.”

Amy signaled to a maid. The maid who briefly left and returned carried a small container in both hands. At the word “gift,” Rosana narrowed her eyes. 

The “gifts” her mother gave were always far from bringing joy. No matter how much Amy said she’d helped choose it, when the Duchess got involved, gifts became twisted.

“It’s the tea leaves you always enjoyed drinking at home. It’s hard to find this tea in Diovaha, isn’t it? So I brought plenty.”

“It should last several months. If you run out, just let me know. I can order more.”

Rosana looked at the familiar tea container. It was the tea container that had always sat on the table.

‘The tea I enjoy drinking…’

She had often drank it. Just not willingly. Amy naturally expected Rosana to be pleased. When there was no reaction, she tilted her head.

“I never liked sweet tea to begin with. I only drank it because it was there and the maids prepared it.”

Rosana took a sip of her own tea.

“Huh? Did your taste change?”

“No.”

It never had. That’s why Rosana answered firmly no. But it caused a misunderstanding.

She could understand if her taste had changed. But since she firmly said no, Amy rolled her eyes and quietly asked.

“Um… so sister… you couldn’t even drink the tea you wanted…?”

It was a situation she’d experienced countless times. In the past, she would have given up on speaking, but not now. Rosana murmured softly.

“Did I ever once say I liked that tea?”

At Rosana’s answer, Amy’s eyes widened. A foggy confusion clouded her clearly shining eyes. 

Only then did Amy realize the gift she’d given wasn’t beside Rosana but pushed away in front of herself.

Amy tried to say that wasn’t true. But thinking carefully, it really never had been. Rather, whenever they drank tea together, Rosana left more than half.

She’d just thought Rosana felt uncomfortable in that situation…

“Rosana, what’s wrong with you? Why did you suddenly change? Isn’t this the tea you always drank?”

The Duchess deliberately ignored it and urged her. Her insistence on delivering the gift to Rosana, who kept refusing, was strange. 

The maids and knights standing behind Rosana began to sense an odd atmosphere. The Duchess showed a coercive attitude that this must be accepted.

“Why is she acting like that?”

Puzzled, Yuna asked Celine in a hushed voice.

“Thinking about it, to Lady Rosana…”

“Yuna.”

Celine quietly stopped her mouth.

“Our role is to watch.”

“…Understood.”

Yuna immediately bowed her head. She judged it improper to interfere in family matters.

Celine kept her head solemnly bowed while thoroughly examining the gazes of the maids across from them. It was blatant and obvious. 

Their eyes weren’t much different from her own past gaze. There was no warmth in the eyes looking at Rosana. Only the winter wind blew fiercely.

“Mother. I don’t like sweet tea.”

She spoke clearly and deliberately to the Duchess who kept urging.

“The tea you liked for nearly 20 years changed?”

A bitter laugh escaped at her muttering in disbelief.

“I never liked it once. Everyone just mistakenly thought I did.”

Silence descended. Amy gently grabbed her arm from the side, stopping the Duchess. She closed her mouth, about to argue back. After holding her breath several times and working her mouth, the Duchess said:

“You should have said so earlier.”

“Right. Sister, why didn’t you say anything? If you’d told us sooner, we wouldn’t have gone through this trouble, and you would’ve been comfortable too.”

“The gift the young lady and madam personally ordered and brought…”

The ducal family’s maids felt sorry about the gift becoming useless and regretted that the two’s efforts had come to nothing.

‘What a foolish question.’

It was always this pattern. In the end, they pushed everything onto Rosana like it was all her fault. When she received the maids’ gazes and the reproachful looks from Amy and Mother, she’d felt endlessly small.

“I’m glad we know now at least. Why did you hide it? If you’d told us, there wouldn’t have been any misunderstanding.”

It was the finishing blow. Rosana felt nauseous. So she struck back.

“Misunderstanding? Didn’t you say so yourself, Mother? That ‘Rosana,’ you enjoy drinking this tea.”

It was the tea container the Duchess had suddenly presented one day. From that day on, Rosana couldn’t touch anything except this tea.

“What are you saying? There’s been a misunderstanding.”

She had once seemed as imposing as a giant, but now Rosana could face her with ease. 

The words came out effortlessly—she was finally saying everything she had wanted to say. Once she started speaking, her mouth didn’t stop.

“Then we must have lived with truly many misunderstandings.”

“Rosana… did something happen? Is that why you’ve changed like this? I’m worried.”

“You’re worried about my changed appearance… What reason is there to worry? Does something as trivial as changed taste matter so much?”

“It matters very much.”

At her firm retort, Rosana asked coldly.

“In what way?”

But the Duchess didn’t provide an answer to that.

“Because I’m not ‘Rosana’?”

The words she’d always had on her lips.

“Of course. ‘Rosana’ wasn’t like this. Do you know how much I’ve watched you? Rosana is…”

Rosana trying to deviate from the original story. The Duchess’s tone grew increasingly agitated at her attitude.

“Mother.”

Rosana cut off the Duchess’s words cleanly. She was sick of her repertoire.

“What are you talking about? I am ‘Rosana.’ The only difference is…”

There was no more Rosana defined by her words. She wouldn’t be trapped in words anymore.

“I’m just not swayed by your words anymore. It’s a place I’ve left anyway. You can’t interfere anymore either.”

“Why are you treating Mother like this… She cherished you so much…”

“That’s you, Amy. I didn’t exist within that fence.”

“S-sister?”

Rosana looked at Amy’s trembling eyes and smiled brightly while touching her teacup. Rosana had always been the one left speechless. But today, for the first time, she’d silenced them. That fact was even thrilling.

“If you truly cherished me… my childhood wouldn’t be filled with miserable memories.”

At Rosana’s words, the surroundings stirred. Behind Rosana stood palace maids with bowed heads, looking at each other, puzzled about what was happening. 

The ducal family’s maids looked at Rosana with sharp eyes, questioning how she could say such things.

Perhaps they didn’t like Rosana pushing back. The ducal family’s maids who’d held back well until now began sneering one by one.

“Miserable memories? Aren’t those all things you brought upon yourself, my lady?”

“That’s right. Do you remember my colleague Erin? The maid you kicked out just for dropping food on the carpet!”

One maid huffed indignantly. Since the Duchess and Amy, whom they served loyally, were exposed to Rosana’s criticism, it was a natural result. They looked at Rosana with eyes saying she was detestable for pretending to be a pitiful victim.

“Madam, you don’t need to say anymore.”

“That’s right. How hard it was for madam to go around cleaning up the incidents you caused… To come all this way and hear it called mistreatment.”

But this wasn’t the ducal family—it was Diovaha’s palace.

No matter how displeased or angry they were, if the target was Rosana, the Emperor’s fiancée, they needed to carefully control their gazes. 

But since they were directing raw, malicious looks at Rosana, someone had to step in. Baron, who’d been standing like a statue beside Rosana, spoke up.

“Many are sending impure gazes toward Lady Rosana. Shall I have them all removed?”

“I agree. If His Majesty knew, he’d be shocked.”

Fel chimed in from the side. But Rosana shook her head.

“Stand back. My story isn’t finished yet.”

This was her problem.

Rosana calmly looked at each maid one by one. Emma was there too. Rosana twisted her lips into a smile. The Rosana who couldn’t speak the truth was gone. The Rosana who couldn’t even speak properly for fear of being blocked had disappeared long ago.

“You know, of course you do. Did I say I kicked them out? Is that really true? I can’t count them all on both hands. Erin, Bella, Charlotte, Dana, Gemma. Known as maids driven out because of me. So many.”

She knew. They were maids expelled from the ducal family.

“I’ve always wanted to ask you all too. Did I really? Did I?”

It wasn’t just the Duchess and Amy. Everyone who existed in the Arcadi Ducal Family had distorted Rosana.

“Did I order the maids expelled with my own mouth? Did I wield the whip with my own hands? I didn’t. You were the ones who acted on your own. Didn’t you abandon your friends to survive?”

At the words boldly demanding the truth, the maids flinched. They hadn’t said anything. 

Fearing she might rage. Fearing the sparks might fly to them. They’d selected one scapegoat. Hoping Rosana’s anger would subside.

“Rosana. Why stir up incidents many witnessed? It’s not good for your reputation. And there are palace maids behind you too.”

“Mother, you don’t need to worry about that. These children believe in me. So, shall I ask?”

Rosana stood up. She turned and asked several maids including Celine and Yuna.

“Am I ‘that kind’ of person?”

“Absolutely not!”

Yuna was the first to speak confidently. Celine was next.

“…You’re not someone who acts meaninglessly or unnecessarily. If you did that, there must have been a reason. And I heard.”

Celine looked straight at the maid who’d been the first to rage.

“Erin, was it? Didn’t you see her wrongdoing?”

“Wh-what?”