42. Resolute

“This won’t do, young master. I don’t think you should be alone like this. We need to come up with a plan quickly.”

It was highly suspicious that the person presumed to be an assassin had infiltrated the ducal residence so naturally.

He must have been an extremely skilled killer.

How could anyone live peacefully with such a person roaming around?

There were many castles within this place.

If we went to a place with more people where the guards frequently patrolled…

“It’s alright. Half of the knives were from this place.”

The young master spoke with a bitter smile as if comforting me.

“The intruder has already fled.”

“But they could come again. Next time, with thorough preparation. Ah… no, this isn’t the time to argue with you, young master. The guard unit to protect you…”

“Rosie.”

He looked at me with a surprised face.

“That’s not possible.”

Then he grabbed my wrist.

For a brief moment, my arm hurt as if it would break.

But the hand holding me didn’t appear to be exerting any strength on the surface.

His bony finger joints gathered inward seemed to have no strength at all.

“Seeing you again is enough.”

He looked at me with pleading eyes and said.

“Trust me.”

“……”

His attitude was somehow resolute.

Both his unwavering expression and the hand loosely wrapped around my wrist expressed strong denial.

It was a weak grip I could easily shake off, but somehow it felt like I shouldn’t.

Though there wasn’t the slightest threatening attitude in the young master’s expression, it seemed like something about him would break the moment I shook off that hand.

I couldn’t specifically pinpoint what that something was.

“…Yes, I understand.”

“Thank you, Rosie.”

He released my hand.

Naturally, his fingers, which had barely formed a fist, came off disappointingly easily.

“Father regularly maintains the devices for my protection, so there’s nothing to worry about at all.”

He added quietly while fiddling with his teacup again.

Though he looked somewhat precarious, I couldn’t force him any further.

Perhaps the young master might appear covered in blood again.

Either from an assassin’s attack or perhaps from his chronic illness worsening.

“But I can’t… help worrying at all.”

The moment our eyes met again, his emerald eyes merely curved gently with a bright smile.

It was a flawless smile, but I felt uncomfortable, as if a large, heavy stone had been placed on my chest.

❀❀❀

On my way back from the carriage, I saw Robin Wellers heading toward the outer castle.

Suddenly remembering my original business, I quickly knocked on the carriage window.

I believe the coachman’s name was Watson.

“Just a moment, Mr. Watson. Please let me off!”

“What’s the matter?”

He asked without turning around.

“I have someone I need to meet right now… No, I must meet them! It will only take a moment.”

As Robin Wellers was getting further away from the carriage, I became anxious.

The carriage made a small noise and soon stopped.

Fortunately, unlike public carriage drivers, Mr. Watson was extremely kind.

With his help, I got down from the carriage.

“Please be careful. I’ll wait here.”

Mr. Watson greeted me kindly.

“Yes, I’ll be back soon.”

I greeted him and closed the carriage door.

“Ah… you could have left this to me.”

Leaving him behind as he muttered with an embarrassed smile, I quickly began running toward where I had seen Robin Wellers earlier.

Due to the nature of the outer castle being isolated from the center, endless forest paths stretched out.

The forest, which had grown more lush due to the suddenly warmer weather, made strange sounds whenever the wind blew.

The trees shaking in unison created dense shadows on the ground.

The pitch-black shade was reminiscent of late evening hours.

“Chief chamberlain! Chief chamberlain Robin!”

It was strange.

Robin Wellers, whom I had seen just moments ago, wasn’t far away.

By now I should have at least caught a glimpse of him, but he had disappeared somewhere and was nowhere to be seen.

To make matters worse, I could see the sun about to set at the edge of the sky.

At this rate, it would be dark soon.

It would be wrong to make Mr. Watson drive through a forest after sunset.

However, I wanted to confront Robin about forcibly bringing me here as soon as possible.

“……”

But I thought I heard rustling sounds from somewhere.

I slowly approached where the sound was coming from, muffling my footsteps.

Could that be Robin Wellers in those bushes?

“Miss, what are you doing here?”

“Gasp…!”

Contrary to my expectation, Robin Wellers approached from behind rather than from ahead and asked me in a low, warning voice.

His eyes were fierce.

When was it?

When had he come so close?

“I’m glad I found you…”

He covered my mouth with his hand wearing satin gloves.

I was dumbfounded and glared at him.

“Let’s leave. This forest is dangerous.”

He spoke in a stern and low voice as if scolding a child.

The moment he covered my mouth, I knew he had no intention of listening to my answer. Sure enough, he roughly pulled my arm.

“Mmph…!”

I tried to struggle, but his strength was overwhelming and forceful.

I was furious.

This situation wasn’t part of the plan.

When I should be properly questioning his wrongdoings, being dragged away by him as if being chased out was not a good look.

Everyone in the ducal residence except this person, regardless of rank, was kind and respectful to me. Even the Duke.

Ah. There was one more exception, Mrs. Wellers.

Come to think of it, this man was also a Wellers.

Is this excessive aggression a family trait passed down in the Wellers family?

Though both of them are recognized for doing their jobs well within the ducal family, their attitudes seem quite rough.

But I had not the slightest inclination to understand their innate nature.

I was huffing forcefully against his palm, but my body continued to be dragged along.

Not once, but twice dragging me like this was absolutely unforgivable.

❀❀❀

“Now, what did you want to say to me?”

Once we exited the forest, Robin Wellers generously gave me a chance to speak.

I glared at him while panting.

I was furious at being pushed around twice.

“Why do you keep dragging me around!”

I questioned him accusingly.

“Sigh……”

Incredibly, Robin Wellers let out a big sigh.

I was astounded.

Not an apology or excuse, but a sigh!

He seemed not to understand the reason why I was confronting him.

“You’re too much, chief chamberlain! I never said I would follow you. Twice now.”

“I truly apologize. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

He answered perfunctorily with an expressionless face.

Naturally, I felt no sincerity at all, and my mood didn’t improve.

“So, are you finished with what you wanted to say?”

I looked at the chief chamberlain with an incredulous face.

He wasn’t showing any remorse.

He was just avoiding the immediate situation as if soothing an angry child.

“No!”

He still maintained an expressionless face, but I could sense that he was subtly annoyed by my persistence.

“I think this will happen again! I want you to promise never to do this again. Let’s be clear about this.”

I spoke with emphasis on my pronunciation, my arms firmly crossed.

Incredibly, the arm he had grabbed didn’t hurt at all.

If it had hurt, I could have at least seen a doctor and extracted treatment costs from him, but I couldn’t even do that.

At my request to get a promise from him, he let out a sigh as if troubled.

That appearance felt very hateful again.

“Don’t tell me you can’t do it? You’re planning to drag me around as you please in the future, right?”

I asked sharply, opening my eyes even more fiercely.

“Miss.”

He called me quietly.

But it’s no use. No matter how much he tries to control the atmosphere, my anger won’t end.

“What!”

I answered curtly.

“For the young master’s sake, can’t you just let it go?”

This person… really.

The moment he pulled out his trump card, I couldn’t help but hesitate.

But Robin and the young master are completely separate entities, aren’t they?

Robin Wellers grabbing my arm was entirely his issue.

Therefore, such an excuse doesn’t work on me at all. I pride myself on not being easily swayed by his excuses.

“What does he have to do with this?”

“The person who wanted to call you here was the young master.”

But his words shattered my misconception.