[We would only send the things you couldn’t bring, but Mother added two more carriage loads.
-Your brother, Hans.]
While reading the letter from her brother delivered by the coachman, Rosé walked into the sitting room.
As she inspected the items sent from home one by one, Rosé grumbled.
“Why on earth did they send all this useless stuff!”
She ran her hand over an elegant table and chair set engraved with ivory-colored rose patterns, muttering in confusion.
“Do they think I have time to drink tea leisurely?”
“Your Majesty, there’s something stuck to this!”
Natalie quickly peeled off a note attached to the table and handed it to Rosé.
[Since I’m sending the tea leaves you like, I’m also sending a matching table and chair set.]
It was written in Countess Audrey’s handwriting.
“There’s another one here!”
[I’m sending a few fabrics that match the earrings you liked.]
“And another one!”
[I wanted to send the art teacher you liked, but since they refused no matter what, I sent all the art supplies instead.]
Rosé couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She laughed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes.
That was just like Countess Audrey.
Rosé could vividly picture her mother directing the servants with military precision while dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
She also imagined the art teacher’s terrified face, which likely turned pale at the mere suggestion of going to Hellevant.
Rosé could almost see her mother stepping out of bed repeatedly to inspect every item, ensuring nothing was left behind.
Thinking of the fuss her mother must have made, Rosé felt strange as she looked at the lavish items that didn’t fit this castle.
Oddly enough, she started to feel invigorated.
Perhaps her mother’s thoughtfulness in sending all these things to ensure she didn’t feel lonely in a strange place was taking effect.
Just then, a maid entered the sitting room.
“Your Majesty, some ladies have come to visit you.”
“What? Who came to see me?”
Rosé looked at the maid in confusion.
Noble ladies behind the door smiled awkwardly and greeted her when their eyes met hers.
“Why are they suddenly visiting me?”
Though Rosé was puzzled, she naturally responded to their visit.
“Oh my, goodness. What is all this?”
Even though they knew, the ladies pretended to be surprised as they cast sidelong glances at the lavish items.
The unopened chests were filled with jewelry, extravagant dresses, and the finest shoes, making it impossible for them to look away.
Even by Solstern’s standards, everything was best, so their reactions were understandable.
“Come in. I never expected you to come visit me.”
At Rosé’s invitation, they exchanged glances and quickly approached the table where she was seated.
When the maid soon brought in tea, the ladies sat around Rosé.
An awkward atmosphere hung in the air between them for a moment.
“……”
Their eyes, filled with curiosity and fear, sparkled as they looked at Rosé.
Although they had respectfully greeted the new lady of the castle whenever they crossed paths, Katriona’s presence had made it hard to behave naturally around her.
It was as if an invisible wall had been between them, keeping them at a distance while they observed Rosé.
Now, sitting face to face with her, they seemed genuinely curious.
Rosé wondered why they had suddenly decided to visit her. Has something prompted a change of heart?
“I should have invited you first, but I’ve been feeling unwell lately.”
Before Rosé could finish speaking, one of the ladies burst out.
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. The fact that you’ve endured this long under Katriona’s pressure is amazing. Oops!”
“Ahem!”
The lady beside her quickly nudged her in the ribs to shut her up.
“Haha. That’s not what I meant.”
“To be honest, Katriona is from a northern nomadic tribe. Because of that, it’s always been hard for us to approach her.”
“And whenever we did talk, she was so cold and distant.”
A more refined-looking lady, sitting with a prim expression, continued.
“Northern nomadic tribe? What do you mean by that?”
Rosé, thinking she must have misheard, asked again.
“Oh my! You didn’t know? Katriona is from the Yank tribe.”
Rosé shook her head, completely unaware.
“When Chancellor Pieri lost his first wife early and moved to the border as a Duke, he met her there and remarried. It caused quite an uproar back then. It was the first time the Lankert family married someone of foreign origin.”
“Well, the royal family values pure bloodlines.”
“I see. I had no idea.”
“But now that you’ve taken up the role of lady of the house, it’s such a relief to see Your Majesty adapting so well.”
She ended the conversation by complimenting Rosé.
The ladies exchanged glances and nodded slightly.
Rosé quietly sipped her tea, listening to their words without comment.
Before long, they all began pouring out their feelings as if a dam had broken.
When they first saw Rosé at the wedding, they considered her a young girl. But now they saw her as someone who could finally stand against Katriona.
Still, they were cautious in their words, as if they didn’t fully trust her yet.
When unfamiliar names of northern nomadic tribes came up, and the ladies began whispering old stories only they knew, Rosé felt like she was drifting on an isolated island.
Eventually, she barely understood what they were talking about.
However, it was surprising to learn that Katriona wasn’t from the same Arianne tribe as Rosé and the people of Hellevant.
“They had plans to marry her niece, Lady Aila, to King Maxim, but she must have been furious when that fell through.”
Lost in thought, Rosé’s ears perked up at the mention of an unfamiliar name.
“Lady Aila?”
When Rosé asked, the ladies looked startled and waved their hands.
“Oh, no. It’s nothing at all. Haha.”
Strangely, they claimed it was nothing while swallowing their words nervously.
Rosé didn’t press the issue any further.
Thus, another noisy day came to an end.
***
Sitting on the sofa doing embroidery, Natalie watched Rosé, who was leaning against the window with a worried expression.
Rosé was tapping her chin with her fingers, mumbling to herself as if lost in thought.
Occasionally, she shook her head, smiled in satisfaction, and sighed softly again.
To an outsider, she looked pretty odd.
“What’s with her? She’s scaring me.”
Since the Etoile family carriage arrived and the noble ladies visited, Rosé had acted like this.
Could she have become homesick after seeing the carriage and items from home?
“Your Majesty, what are you thinking so hard about?”
Natalie finally set down her embroidery hoop and cautiously asked.
“Huh?”
“You keep giggling to yourself and muttering things. It’s strange.”
“Me? I did? When?”
Rosé widened her eyes in surprise and looked at Natalie.
“See? Just now, you covered your mouth with your hand like this! Like this! And giggled.”
Natalie imitated Rosé’s refined gesture, which made Rosé burst into laughter.
“I just had a good thought. It must have made me happy just thinking about it.”
“Really? Well, keep laughing, then. It’s better than crying, after all.”
Saying that, Natalie forced a smile to follow Rosé’s lead.
***
At first, Rosé wondered why Countess Audrey sent so many things, thinking her mother was being overly generous.
But the surprise gifts from home turned out to be surprisingly effective.
Seeing beautiful things and brightening her surroundings with familiar items lifted her spirits.
Rosé finally broke free from the discomfort of feeling like an unwelcome guest in someone else’s castle.
She realized clearly that she was the lady of this castle.
If she had to stay here, she resolved to make it as comfortable as her home.
Feeling better after a few days of rest, she became more active.
With the head maid leading the way, Rosé spent the day being shown around every part of the castle.
“This is the kitchen. Most of the food for the entire castle is prepared here, and meals for His Majesty and the nobles are made in a separate kitchen.”
Rosé nodded gracefully as she followed the head maid.
“That area is the food storage. There’s a separate wine cellar in the basement. The stairway over here leads to a hallway connected to the laundry room.”
The head maid eagerly guided Rosé.
Her attitude had changed significantly, partly because of the recent incident before the maids, and partly because of the castle’s growing rumors.
There was a clear sense of urgency. The head maid feared that if she got on Rosé’s bad side, her position might be in jeopardy.
The head maid’s unwavering loyalty, once solely directed at Katriona, began to waver in the face of reality.
To survive long in the castle, one had to understand the hierarchy—both the obvious and the unspoken ones.
Her loyalty now subtly shifted toward Rosé.
The incident when King Maxim returned to the castle had become common knowledge among all the attendants, even the gatekeepers.
“King Maxim stayed by Her Majesty the Queen’s side all night when she was ill.”
“When His Majesty was bathing, Her Majesty dismissed all the attendants and personally took the bath brush herself.”
“On the night His Majesty returned, quite a few people saw the two holding each other tightly.”
“It’s only a matter of time before Hellevant has an heir now.”
These rumors, coupled with the head maid’s respectful treatment of Rosé, transformed the atmosphere in the castle.
The once suspicious and hostile gazes that followed Rosé now regarded her with caution and respect, recognizing her as the lady of the house.
Rosé naturally settled into her position as Queen of the North and found her voice.