Chapter 27

She felt completely exposed.

Rabiana opened her mouth to explain, but since he had hit the mark so precisely, she shut it again.

“Were you perhaps… feeling something for me…”

She just wanted to cover her ears.

Whatever was coming next, she wished Alberto would just stay silent.

“I—it was just because you were too close.”

“If I was too close, then why would that make you—”

“I felt like I was going to sneeze! And—just, you were so close, and it made me—there’s no other meaning behind it. Really. I swear.”

For the first time in her life, Rabiana blurted out a flood of words all at once.

Rapid-fire, even.

It didn’t feel like she was speaking—it felt like everything just came tumbling out in a rush.

Alberto widened his eyes as he watched her catch her breath, flustered.

Then his expression relaxed, and his eyes returned to normal.

Her transparent reaction was so clear, so readable—it made Alberto smile without realizing it.

He tried to suppress it, but he couldn’t.

The small snickers that slipped out made Rabiana’s ears turn red with embarrassment.

She quickly turned her back to him, pretending nothing had happened, focusing furiously on scooping soil from the flowerbed.

It was unbearably hot.

Maybe it was just the humidity of the greenhouse, which had to maintain a steady temperature.

***

From that day on, Alberto began visiting the greenhouse more often.

He said it was just to look around, but it was practically interference.

If Rabiana ever reached for a rose with bare hands, he would flare up.

He didn’t raise his voice, but his quiet tone struck her like a thunderclap.

“There are thorns. Leave these to someone else.”

“I’m fine—”

“My Lady.”

Whenever he addressed her as “My Lady,” Rabiana would tense instantly.

In the end, she could only reply meekly with, “Yes, yes,” and follow his orders.

Fortunately, Alberto wasn’t here today.

Rabiana was curious why someone who had shown up at the greenhouse every day had suddenly stopped coming. But in truth, she was relieved—finally able to relax.

She knew, of course, that he was a busy man. The past few days had just been an exception.

“My lady, the freesia we went through great trouble to get has arri—”

The servant pushing in the flower cart slowed his steps.

His expression turned startled as he looked past Rabiana at someone else.

It was because someone even scarier than Duke Roen himself—perhaps more terrifying—had appeared at the estate.

A red dress swept past the glass walls of the greenhouse.

The buttons fastened all the way to the collar spoke of stubborn propriety. Her strides were unhesitating, and her cold gaze scanned the greenhouse.

The crooked twist to her lips made it clear she wasn’t pleased with what she saw.

“Why has my mother’s greenhouse ended up like this?”

It was Bianca Devin—the hidden power behind House Roen, and Alberto’s second aunt.

“That’s the Duke’s aunt, Madam Bianca Devin,”

Julia whispered to Rabiana, introducing the unexpected visitor.

Rabiana, who had been seated at a table tending to flowers, quickly rose to her feet.

Someone from Alberto’s family.

Flustered, Rabiana’s reaction was obvious. Julia gently took her hand and shifted her direction.

Tension wrapped around her.

Julia stepped forward to introduce her.

“This is the Duchess of Roen.”

“This woman?”

Bianca’s brow arched sharply.

When the former Duke had pestered Alberto to marry, he hadn’t even blinked.

But then he’d suddenly gone and married someone—and she had only found out about it through the newspaper.

Curious about what kind of woman Alberto had taken in, Bianca had shown up without warning.

Not that she felt any need to announce her visit.

Though she now lived elsewhere after getting married, this estate had once been her home.

Bianca had been the previous Duke’s most cherished daughter. Backed by her father, she had strutted about the estate like its rightful mistress.

Marriage hadn’t changed that.

Even though Alberto now held the title of Duke, to her, he was no more than a figurehead.

And the long-serving staff, worn down by Bianca’s tyranny over the years, still followed her every word without question.

Of course, it was only possible because Alberto silently tolerated Bianca’s overreach.

To Bianca, Alberto was nothing more than a guard dog that watched over the house.

And the woman that dog had brought in without permission? The rumors were endless. But—

“So the rumor that she’s blind was true?”

Bianca scoffed in disbelief.

She waved her hand right in front of Rabiana’s face, and yet there was no reaction.

Even more unsettling were her hollow eyes, which didn’t seem to be looking at anything at all. Bianca rubbed her forearm, creeped out.

“Lady Devin, please refrain from—”

“Are you giving me orders?”

It was blatant insult.

Julia tried to stop her, but Bianca’s sharp retort came before she could even finish.

Though Julia had worked at the estate for a long time, she was still just a servant. She had no power to stand up to Bianca.

As Julia fell silent, Bianca let out a scornful snort and slowly looked Rabiana up and down.

“Your name?”

Rabiana knew the question was directed at her.

She didn’t want to clash with Alberto’s family.

They weren’t exactly friendly, but beyond a certain coldness, she didn’t feel particularly offended either.

“Rabiana Selden… no, Roen.”

Her surname had changed from Selden to Roen after marriage, but for some reason, speaking that name out loud made her falter with embarrassment.

“Rabiana, is it. This greenhouse belonged to my mother. Why are you managing it without permission?”

“I heard it had been left unattended for quite some time…”

“But you’re not truly part of the Roen family yet, are you?”

“…Pardon?”

“You do know that if you don’t bear a child, the marriage can be annulled at any time, don’t you?”

Since passing on heirs was essential to maintaining noble bloodlines, a marriage could be nullified if the wife was unable to produce children.

Technically, the same could be said of the husband’s fertility, and the law had plenty of loopholes—but the council had only ever discussed reform, never acted on it.

No real revisions had been made yet.

Bianca’s words were blunt.

It was a clear declaration: she did not recognize Rabiana as the lady of the house.

Everyone around glanced toward Rabiana, gauging her reaction.

“But they’ve only just been married—”

“You stay out of this.”

Bianca’s cold glare snapped toward Julia, cutting her off.

Rabiana stepped in front of Julia protectively, lifting a hand in her defense.

The people of the Roen estate—harshly put—were not affectionate.

They upheld hierarchy and authority above all.

So when Julia, who had never once felt protected in this household, saw Rabiana’s awkwardly outstretched arm in front of her, she stared at it in disbelief. Before she realized it, the bridge of her nose had turned red.

Of course, Rabiana had no idea.

“I know.”

Bianca, observing Rabiana’s mild, unassertive manner, concluded that she was a soft and spineless woman.

Someone like that would never last long under Bianca’s pressure—she would be crushed in no time.

In other words, she didn’t belong in the Roen estate at all.

“Clear out all the flowers in this greenhouse and return it to how it was.”

Bianca’s command brought a heavy silence over the space.

Rabiana was the lady of the house.

And while Bianca might have held more actual power, from the servants’ perspective, the one they’d be seeing daily from now on was Rabiana.

They couldn’t move so easily.

Bianca let out a mocking laugh at the silence of the servants who normally jumped at her word.

“This household’s really fallen apart.”

She suddenly grabbed Rabiana by the wrist.

Startled by the sudden touch, Rabiana’s face went pale.

Before she could even cry out, she was being dragged away.

Bianca’s stride was so fast that one of Rabiana’s shoes slipped off.

Unable to keep up, she twisted her ankle slightly—but Bianca pretended not to hear her soft gasp and only quickened her pace.

When Bianca dragged her into the mansion, Alberto was just coming down the stairs.

She had been looking for him anyway, and now that he was there, Bianca shot him a disapproving glare before shoving Rabiana toward him like tossing aside baggage.

“Ah!”

Alberto caught Rabiana’s shoulder firmly as she was flung toward him.

Trembling, she clutched his collar with an unsteady hand.

“Right now—”

“…”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

His voice was low, but the anger in it was unmistakable.

To disregard Rabiana was to disregard Alberto.

Whatever else she might be, he had chosen her as the lady of the house.

Just moments earlier, a servant had come rushing to tell him Bianca had arrived—and his head had immediately begun to ache.

Bianca was the most useless person in his life, a petty woman constantly trying to expose his flaws.

And though he knew what kind of person she was, he still hadn’t expected her to treat a stranger this harshly.

But she, of course, never failed to meet expectations.

“How could you bring a woman in on your own whim? And the Selden family, no less—isn’t that a house rumored to be cursed? Honestly, I’m speechless!”

“Mind your language.”

“Hah, now you’re trying to lecture me? Did I say anything wrong? As if sneaking into the house like a stray cat weren’t enough, you even bring in that kind of woman…”