Special Side Story 3

‘Mother! Father! I’m finally having a proper kiss!’  

Rose cheered inwardly as she gently nibbled on Felix’s lips. She alternated between his upper and lower lips, even letting their tongues lightly intertwine.  

Despite it being her first deep kiss, she felt proud of herself for showcasing such excellent skills.  

“You said you were an expert.”  

As their lips parted, those were the first words that came out of his mouth.  

“Didn’t I do well?”  

Rose blinked rapidly, her eyes wide in confusion.  

‘Huh… Was it not good? I thought it was…’  

This guy. He claimed to be a beginner, yet he acted as if he knew better. 

She had followed exactly what she had read in those R-rated novels!  

“Is that so? Perhaps I didn’t know because I’m inexperienced. Let’s try again.”  

Of course. That made sense. He humbly admitted his inexperience and pulled her head back toward him.  

“I’m an expensive person. Don’t think you can just keep kissing me on credit.”  

But that was unacceptable.  

Rose placed her palm over his lips and shook her head gently.  

“Is that so?”  

Felix lifted her into his arms, sat her down on the bed, and walked toward the safe.  

While he retrieved a velvet-covered box from the safe, Rose crossed her arms tightly over her chest.  

‘Descendant! Only kisses. Nothing more!’  

Just in case, she straightened her clothes and crossed her legs firmly.  

“Here. This should suffice.”  

Felix opened the box and dangled a necklace with a large ruby pendant in front of her.  

‘Crazy! Offering the Heart of the Goddess just for kissing practice? Selling that alone would let me live comfortably for the rest of my life!’  

The Heart of the Goddess. It was a necklace made of the largest and clearest ruby across both continents.  

“My lips are yours.”  

Rose sold her lips. If she could earn that ruby necklace for just 100 kisses, it would be an incredible deal.  

+++

The sensational rumor, “A woman has appeared at the Marquisate of Florin,” quickly spread beyond the capital to the entire empire.  

A few days later, Butler Gerald entered Felix’s office, carrying a letter from the Imperial Family on a silver letter tray.  

Felix, seated at his desk signing documents, greeted Gerald without changing his posture.  

“Your Grace. The Crown Prince has invited you to a banquet. Lady Rose is invited as well.”  

Gerald couldn’t hide the twitching corners of his lips as he cleaned his monocle.  

“Douglas? How bothersome.”  

Felix opened the letter from Crown Prince Douglas, glanced through it, and placed it back on the tray.  

Douglas, two years younger than Felix, had an odd habit of constantly trying to outdo him.  

“Don’t you have a close relationship with His Highness, the Crown Prince? This could be an opportunity to introduce Lady Rose, which might help her when she steps into society.”  

The problem was that no one else knew about Douglas’s competitive nature.  

+++

Three days later, Rose entered the Imperial Palace with Felix.  

‘The Imperial Palace of Ernst. The place where I was born and raised!’  

As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  

It felt as if she could hear the voices of her loved ones from a hundred years ago.  

“Rose. Wait in the garden for a moment. I’ll be back after meeting the Minister of Finance.”  

But when she opened her eyes, all she saw were the new buildings and unfamiliar faces and gardens that had replaced the memories of a century ago.  

“All right.”  

Rose nodded briefly in response.  

She and Felix had agreed that while she could speak informally when they were alone, she would use formal speech in the presence of others.  

‘This place…’  

As if drawn by something, Rose found herself wandering through the garden until she arrived at a small annex that bore the marks of time.  

In a sunny corner of the garden stood a large, well-maintained rose tree. Beneath it was a modest grave.  

He must have been the only one bold enough to build a grave within the Imperial Palace.  

‘Lexion. My brother.’  

Rose sat on a bench in front of her empty grave.  

The head maid, who had accompanied her from the Duke’s residence, opened a white parasol to shield her from the sun, but Rose dismissed it and gazed up at the sky.  

“This is not a place just anyone can enter.”  

Instead of the clouds in the sky, the face of a young man suddenly appeared in her view.  

Startled, the head maid hurriedly bowed deeply before him.  

“Greetings to His Highness, the Crown Prince. It has been so long since I last entered the palace that I momentarily forgot myself. Lady Rose is not at fault.”  

The head maid lowered her head even further, fearing that Rose might be blamed.  

Felix Florin, the Duke and nephew of the Empress, had unrestricted access to the palace.  

Moreover, this particular spot was one of his favorite places, so the Imperial Guard hadn’t bothered to stop them upon seeing the Florin family’s emblem.  

“Ah. So you’re Rose. The one surrounded by all those rumors.”  

Douglas gestured for the head maid to rise and then stared intently at Rose.  

“Greetings to His Highness, the Crown Prince. I am Rose, Duke Felix’s private tutor.”  

Rose gracefully held her dress and curtsied according to proper etiquette.  

‘Descendant. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you! You’re a direct descendant of Lexion!’  

What a fine young man. Handsome, too. The blood of the Ernst Imperial Family truly ran strong.  

Douglas had inherited the Ernst family’s striking features, with his jet-black hair and red eyes.  

As Rose admired him with a proud smile, Douglas leaned in with interest.  

“A private tutor? Is there something the Duke doesn’t know?”  

Douglas tilted his upper body toward her, curious.  

“s*x. Mm! Mm!”  

Just as she was about to answer, a large hand appeared from behind and covered her mouth.  

“Haha. We were discussing the philosophical implications of sacred human relationships. Rose is quite knowledgeable in philosophy.”  

Felix, who had approached without anyone noticing, covered her mouth and exchanged a glance with Douglas.  

“Philosophy, you say. Rose, we should have a discussion someday. Just as you do with Duke Felix.”  

“That is absolutely unacceptable, Your Highness.”  

When Douglas cheekily winked at Rose, Felix bristled and covered her eyes with both hands.  

+++

“Lady Cecilia, the Marquis’s daughter, that woman is said to be attending the banquet tonight.”  

Several young nobles from prominent families were invited to Crown Prince Douglas’s banquet.

The Crown Prince had instructed the young elites, who were meant to lead the empire into its next generation, to build friendly relations in advance.  

Cecilia subtly glanced at the two still-empty seats across from her and lifted the teacup in front of her.  

“I heard her appearance is unusual.”  

“Indeed. They say she has horrid red hair. Red hair in Ernst, of all places.”  

When Cecilia started the topic, voices criticizing Rose erupted from all directions.  

‘A girl of unknown origins sitting beside His Grace the Duke!’  

Everyone stared at Rose’s seat with unified hostility.  

Felix was considered public property. If they couldn’t have him, no one else should either. That made him all the more precious—their shared idol!  

Just as the women were brimming with venom and seemed ready to corner Rose, she entered the banquet hall with Felix and Douglas.  

“Rose, you must attend the upcoming hunting tournament. I’m extending a special invitation.”  

The banquet began on a warm and friendly note.  

Douglas opened the event with light greetings and naturally steered the conversation toward the hunting tournament scheduled for the following week.  

“Thank you, Your Highness. In that case, I’ll take the opportunity to shoot my crossbow again after so long.”  

Rose responded with a bright smile.  

The spring hunting tournament was held annually to control the population of predators and venomous snakes emerging from hibernation.  

At her response, Iliana, who was seated next to Cecilia, let out a small chuckle.  

“A crossbow? How outdated. These days, everyone uses guns.”  

Cecilia lightly tapped Iliana’s hand, as if scolding her, and then turned to Rose.  

She spoke in the tone of someone patiently explaining something to an ignorant child.  

“Guns, you say?”  

When Rose looked puzzled and glanced at Felix, unfamiliar with the term, Douglas added to Cecilia’s explanation.  

“Well, well. It seems you don’t know what a gun is, even with sharpshooter Felix by your side.”  

Douglas smirked playfully, his grin widening, while Felix wiped his mouth with a napkin and placed it back on the table.  

“Rose, if you want to see it, I can show you right now.”  

“Yes, I’d like to see it.”  

When Rose answered eagerly, Felix sought Douglas’s approval with a glance before standing up.  

“Your Highness, why don’t you also give us a demonstration?”  

“Shall I? It wouldn’t hurt to warm up before the hunting tournament.”  

Felix and Douglas locked eyes in a silent but intense exchange before leaving the banquet hall one after the other.  

‘So that’s what a gun is!’  

The two men broke open the barrels of their guns, loaded bullets into the chambers, and snapped the barrels shut with a click.  

With a loud bang, the smell of gunpowder filled the air as the bullets shattered their targets.  

‘Descendants! You’ve grown so splendidly! Truly remarkable, descendants!’  

Watching the power of the bullets that obliterated the targets, Rose alternated her gaze between the two men, covering her mouth with one hand.  

‘Has she fallen for me?’  

Felix, noticing Rose’s gaze lingering on him, deliberately broke open the barrel of his gun with one hand. Casually, he reassembled it with the same hand and hit the target again without hesitation.  

He had practiced for over ten years. A stationary wooden board was an easy target, requiring no precise aiming.  

“Felix, you’re amazing!”  

‘Well, I suppose I am.’  

Rose’s exclamation of admiration floated to his ears like a spring breeze. Amidst the acrid smell of gunpowder, Felix’s lips curved upward and stayed that way.  

+++

A week later, the hunting tournament was relatively small in scale.  

Due to the immense power of guns, Douglas had assembled only elite knights to minimize the risk of accidental discharges.  

After Felix and Douglas left for the hunt, Rose remained in the camp, holding a crossbow shorter than her forearm instead of a gun.  

– I want to shoot a gun too.  

– Not a chance. Don’t go causing unnecessary trouble, and stay with the other ladies during the tournament.  

– Then get me a crossbow. Otherwise…  

– Otherwise? Do you think I’m the type to give in to threats and hand over weap*ns?  

– I’ll have a philosophical discussion with Crown Prince Douglas about the sacred depths of human relationships, just as I did with you.  

– Don’t kill anyone.  

Though she hadn’t even begun her “threat,” Felix had promptly procured a rather decent crossbow for her a few days earlier.  

‘Rose. He even engraved my name on it.’  

When had he become so meticulous? 

He had engraved her name on both the bolts and the body of the crossbow.  

– I engraved your name, so if you kill someone, you’ll immediately be identified as the culprit. Be careful.  

He had added such an odd remark.  

Rose ran her fingers over the engraved part, reminiscing about a hundred years ago when she had led a hunting tournament with her crossbow in hand.  

“Capture the women as hostages!”  

“Kyaaaah!”  

Masked men stormed into the tent where the ladies were enjoying tea.  

It had been about two hours since most of the men had left for the hunt.  

By now, they would have ventured deep into the forest, aiming their firearms at the predators.  

The attackers were remnants of pirates captured not long ago, now targeting the women.  

“Lady Rose! It’s dangerous!”  

As Rose rushed out of the tent with her crossbow, the head maid and her escort knights quickly followed, surrounding her protectively.  

“Everyone! Drop your weap*ns on the ground! Or we’ll slit the throats of these women right here!”