Robin brought a thick envelope while humming. The envelope Rose received was filled with banknotes.

“How about quitting your maid job and becoming a full-time writer? If needed, I could provide a room in my house.”

“Robin, didn’t you just have a baby recently? I have no talent for being quiet.”

Rose cleared her throat deliberately and squared her shoulders confidently. Her shabby coat fluttered with self-assurance.

Robin replied with disappointment.

“Well, I suppose you should remain a maid for the sake of your muse, whom you fatefully encountered by the pond.”

Robin’s words were not wrong. In fact, Rose’s life was divided into before and after meeting the Grand Duke.

“You know, just today, people who looked like servants from noble households bought this in a hurry. Asking if this was indeed the novel with the Grand Duke as the protagonist. So I……”

Just then, someone began pounding on the door. The two people, who had been in high spirits, froze in an instant.

Startled, Robin ran to the door and slightly lifted the cover to peek.

“We’re in trouble, it’s the enforcement squad!”

“What? Today isn’t an enforcement day!”

Rose jumped up. Robin threw the stack of papers he had been looking at into a drawer and said urgently:

“Just hide! Anywhere!”

Rose floundered before crouching down in the space under the window behind the bookshelf.

Then the door opened, and heavy footsteps filled the store.

Soon Robin’s glib voice was heard.

“Oh my, what brings the enforcement officers here……”

After looking around briefly, an enforcement officer replied bluntly:

“Well, bookseller. There’s a strange rumor going around.”

Rose’s ears perked up. Robin asked in a voice tinged with panic:

“W-what do you mean?”

“Someone is writing illegal novels about a real nobleman.”

At his words, Rose almost let out a gasp but covered her mouth with both hands.

‘That’s me!’

Robin had definitely said he would only publish through reliable distributors!

Just then, Rose noticed a hole covered by a flap. It was a dog hole for Robin’s pet to pass through.

Without hesitation, Rose immediately stuck her head into the hole. Fortunately, her body slipped out easily.

After crawling out of the alley while holding her breath, Rose began to run as fast as her eyes would allow. Though her breath reached her chin, she couldn’t stop sprinting.

‘I’m quitting writing for a while.’

Rose returned to the dormitory, making a firm resolution.

※※※

Early the next morning, Rose went down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

While naturally heading to the pantry to take out a basket of onions, she heard a loud noise at the kitchen entrance.

“Where is the maid named Rose?”

It was the voice of a knight directly serving the Grand Duke. Rose’s hand stopped abruptly as she was selecting onions.

‘Rose?’

It was definitely her name. With the basket tucked firmly against her side, Rose peeked at the kitchen situation through the pantry door.

One of the cooks cautiously asked.

“Why are you suddenly looking for Rose?”

“The Grand Duke has ordered me to bring her.”

At the mention of the Grand Duke, the murmuring grew louder. The basket fell limply to the floor.

Among the onions rolling around, Rose began to writhe, pulling at her hair.

‘I’m ruined!’

She thought she had escaped properly, but it seemed she had been caught.

“Rose! Rose!”

An elderly maid called for Rose in the pantry. Rose slowly walked into the kitchen with her hair completely disheveled.

“Are you Rose?”

“Yes……”

“Follow me.”

With countless eyes upon her, Rose trudged behind him like a cow being led to sl＊ughter.

After walking for quite some time, they arrived at a large room inside the mansion. One knight knocked on the door and stated his business.

“Your Grace, I’ve brought the maid.”

“Good.”

A low reply came back. The knights threw Rose into the middle of the office.

“You may leave us for now.”

The knights filed out of the room in perfect unison. A quiet stillness enveloped the surroundings.

Rose couldn’t lift her eyes from the floor as she frantically tried to figure out how to keep her head attached to her shoulders.

The Grand Duke was the first to break the silence.

“Your name is Rose, correct?”

“Yes, Your Grace……”

Rose answered in a timid voice, bowing her head even deeper.

“I’ve been reading an interesting book. I thought you might know about it.”

Rose decided to feign ignorance and asked in the most innocent voice she could muster.

“Wh-what book do you mean?”

Instead of answering, the Grand Duke flipped through a few pages of the book in his hand.

With the rustling sound, his low voice soon filled the office.

“The Grand Duke’s sturdy hips moved with astonishing speed. The woman moaned ecstatically……”

“W-wha-Your Grace!”

Rose jerked her head up and waved her arms in the air at the obscene sentences coming from the Grand Duke’s mouth.

Graciously forgiving the maid who had interrupted him, he continued reading the remaining sentences.

“……she twisted her body dizzily. Joy filled the space between them……”

Rose’s toes curled tightly. The heat rising throughout her body from embarrassment was an added bonus.

He showed no sign of shame as he continued reciting Rose’s novel as if reading a scholarly text.

“……their night deepened.”

Fortunately, the Grand Duke’s er＊tic reading session ended just before Rose could suffocate from shame. The Grand Duke closed the book with a thud and asked.

“This is some kind of novel. Do you recognize it?”

“Th-that…… I, I don’t, don’t know……”

“Is that so?”

The Grand Duke’s head tilted slowly to one side. His voice flowed with a calmness too serene for an interrogation.

“Strange. I heard quite definitively that you are the author, Camille.”

Rose shook her head vigorously as if trying to separate it from her neck.

“C-Camille! I’ve never heard such a name……”

“Are you going to deny it?”

“I absolutely……”

“Then I suppose Robin was lying.”

Robin! That man who would probably float with just his mouth above water if thrown in—it seemed he had spilled everything.

Rose’s lips moved without producing words. Noticing her conflict, the Grand Duke drove in the final nail.

“In that case, I’ll have to burn down that bookstore and kill Robin and his family immediately.”

Rose recalled Robin’s face, joyful after the recent birth of his daughter. She couldn’t possibly sacrifice them to save herself.

Rose spoke in a weak voice.

“I’m sorry. Camille…… is me.”

The Grand Duke quietly stared at Rose. His expression was closer to interest than anger.

“Do you know what nickname I’ve acquired outside the grand ducal residence because of this novel?”

To have earned a nickname—it seemed Rose’s novel had more impact than she could have imagined, just as Robin had said. Rose shook her head and replied.

“I don’t know……”

“A libertine who leads women to bed just by making eye contact. They say I never sleep alone for even a day.”

As soon as the Grand Duke finished speaking, Rose prostrated herself on the floor with a thud.

“P-please spare my life! I truly had no such intention! It’s just that Your Grace is so handsome and…… also……”

The Grand Duke raised an eyebrow slightly and asked.

“Also?”

“That…… y-y-y-your b-body is so magnificent……”

The Grand Duke gave no response. Rose wondered how else she could express her desperation.

Soon after, the Grand Duke rose from the sofa and walked steadily toward her. His voice pierced down from above.

“Have you ever experienced aristocratic society?”

“A-aristocratic?”

Rose blinked at the sudden question. The familiar lie flowed out.

“H-how could I possibly……”

“You seem to have done some research, but there’s too much poor historical accuracy for even noblewomen to secretly read. I’ll advise you from now on, so write more refined work.”

“Y-yes, yes!”

Rose answered, bowing her head without fully understanding. The Grand Duke continued his instructions with satisfaction.

“I’ll have a separate workspace prepared next to my office.”

“Yes!”

“If you come in as my personal maid, there won’t be much suspicion about you going in and out of there.”

“Yes! ……What?”

Rose, who had been answering enthusiastically, finally sensed something strange and slowly raised her head with furrowed brows.

“What are you saying……”

“Asking twice is an unnecessary waste of time. Refrain from doing so in the future.”

The Grand Duke placed the book on the table, walked to his desk, and sat down. Then he picked up some documents and a fountain pen, ready to resume work.

Rose still couldn’t grasp the situation and stammered strange exclamations.

“Th-th-that is, what……”

“From now on, you have only one role.”

The Grand Duke paused his signing and pointed directly at Rose with the fountain pen in his hand.

“To perfectly complete that scandalously immoral novel.”

Their eyes met in the air for the first time.

※※※

After collecting herself, Rose finally returned to her quarters. As soon as her face appeared, maids rushed over and began bombarding her with questions.

“Rose, what happened?”

“Why did the Grand Duke call for you?”

Rose trudged across the room with slumped shoulders, pushing through the crowd.

“It’s nothing……”

“Don’t lie. You look like you’re about to die.”

“The head maid said your assignment will change. Is that true?”

Rose nodded.

“I think I’ll become the Grand Duke’s personal maid.”

Strange exclamations escaped from several mouths.

“Oh my, why on earth?”

“Has the Grand Duke taken a liking to you? Otherwise……”

“That’s not it.”

Rose cut him off sharply and stood in front of the bed. Then she lifted the messily arranged blanket and pulled out a paper box.

The box was densely packed with popular novels. Rose picked up the entire box and held it out to the maids.