Chapter 2.1 – Her Plan

“Does this make sense? Does any of this make sense?!”

During teatime with her parents, she hadn’t been able to express her dissatisfaction strongly, but only after returning to her room did she finally vent her frustration.

“I was only eight years old! Isn’t it even more ridiculous to think that a child that young could make a proper decision?!”

Rosalyn shouted out the words she hadn’t been able to say, letting her voice echo loudly into the empty air of her room. With no one to listen in the large room, her voice sounded hollow. Upset, Rosalyn threw herself onto her bed.

“I need to talk to someone about how I feel right now.”

Feeling like she couldn’t endure it unless she confided in someone, Rosalyn got up from her spot. The place she headed for was the Earl’s mansion, where her childhood friend Elian Rotern lived.

“Welcome, Lady Rosalyn. The young master is currently training with the knights. He should be done soon, so shall I escort you to the drawing room for now?”

The maid who came to greet Rosalyn was used to her frequent visits, so she responded naturally.

“Yes, please do. Since he’s training, I don’t particularly want to interrupt.”

“Understood, then shall I bring the tea you always have?”

“Yes, please.”

Finishing their brief conversation, Rosalyn was guided to the familiar drawing room. Sitting quietly and waiting, she was soon joined by her friend Elian, who must have finished his business, along with the maid who had gone to fetch tea.

“Welcome, Rosalyn. But what’s going on? You came without notice.”

Elian, happy to see her, took a seat on the sofa opposite. He was puzzled that she had come without sending a calling card beforehand, which she always did for her visits.

“Something happened. Oh, did I interrupt your training?”

“Nah, not at all. I was just finishing up anyway. Between us, there’s no need for such formalities. But since you don’t usually do this, I wondered if something was up…”

He raised both hands to show he didn’t mind, making a gesture that it was no bother. He must have showered after training, as water droplets still clung to his damp brown hair. His watery eyes turned to her, and Rosalyn, as if she’d been waiting for it, began to pour out her troubles.

“Yes, something happened. Something huge. It’s an emergency!”

“What is it? Are you sick or something?”

Her caring childhood friend immediately worried about her well-being.

“No, I’m fine. I’m healthy. But listen to me, Elian. Nothing as absurd as what happened today has ever happened to me.”

“What happened?”

Excited, Rosalyn told him about the conversation she’d had with her parents in the garden earlier.

“Huh? Wasn’t that already decided?”

“What, you remember it too?”

After listening carefully to Rosalyn’s story, Elian raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. Rosalyn was more surprised that he knew about it at all.

“Of course I remember. Do you know how much you talked about it? I thought it was set in stone—well, I figured it was settled anyway. Did you change your mind?”

“That was ages ago! Of course I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to go!”

“Yeah, that would be a disaster if you think about it…”

“Exactly, I was in a panic after hearing it.”

Elian spoke with sympathy, and Rosalyn felt some of her gloom lift at his understanding. With her excitement fading, the real problem came into focus. Just whining that she didn’t want to go wouldn’t solve anything.

“I need to think of a way. Should I just run away from home?”

“What?! Run away at your age?”

Elian, surprised by Rosalyn’s sudden declaration, looked at her in shock.

“What else can I do? Am I just supposed to let them drag me off to the convent? No way! If it comes to that, I’ll just leave home!”

“If you run away, where will you go? Do you want to come to my house?”

When Elian asked, Rosalyn shook her head.

“That’s no different from just visiting a friend’s house. I’ll go somewhere so far away that nobody can find me!”

“Somewhere even I don’t know?”

“Exactly. Elian, it’s been fun. You’ve been a really good friend.”

As if she’d already made up her mind, Rosalyn said goodbye to Elian. Her words left him dumbfounded. She was speaking as if she’d never see him again, and she wasn’t even going to tell him where she was going. He felt a pang of sadness.

But first, he had to stop Rosalyn, who seemed about to go off the rails in her excitement. She was the type to act on her words. If he didn’t stop her now, she might walk out the door and never be seen again.

“Wait, calm down, Rosalyn. I understand how you feel, and I don’t want you to just get dragged off either. But it’s dangerous to leave without any plan. How are you going to survive out there?”

“Huh? Hmm…”

Rosalyn couldn’t answer Elian’s question. She’d talked big and was full of resolve, but as he said, she had no plan for the future.

“Yeah, I didn’t really think about how I’d survive… If you think about it, I’m not especially good at anything, I’m just good at eating and playing, lazy and spoiled…”

“Wait, why are you suddenly putting yourself down? Rosalyn, you’re not that lazy. You’re actually pretty good with your studies…”

Elian was oddly calming her in another direction.

“Anyway, running away isn’t a good idea, Rosalyn.”

“You’re right. If I’d just left without thinking, it would’ve been a disaster. Whew, good thing you stopped me before I crossed the continent.”

“……”

Was she really thinking of crossing the continent…? Elian pictured Rosalyn arriving empty-handed on the other side and felt dizzy. He praised himself for stopping her, convinced his intuition was right.

“So what should I do…”

“How about this? What if I propose to you?”

“What—What?!”

Rosalyn reacted as if she’d heard something outrageous.

“What? Rosalyn, what’s that reaction? It’s not like I’m that repulsive, is it?”

Rosalyn shook her head vigorously. Of course, Elian wasn’t a bad choice for a husband. In fact, he’d make an excellent groom. But they’d been friends for so long.

“No, it’s exactly that! You and I, getting married? Ugh…”

“……”

Elian was a bit hurt by her extreme reaction.

“What’s wrong with me, anyway?”

“It’s not that you’re unattractive or anything, but getting married just to avoid the convent is a bit too much for a life-changing decision, isn’t it? It’s not something to take lightly.”

Seeing Elian’s pout, Rosalyn realized she’d gone too far and scratched her neck awkwardly, giving a sheepish smile.

“That may be true, but… It’s a way to avoid going to the convent. The Aimond family and our Rotern family have known each other for a long time. If a proposal comes in, maybe they’d reconsider?”

“Hmmm…”

Rosalyn folded her arms and thought hard about Elian’s words. But even so, she felt that just Elian’s proposal wouldn’t be enough to sway Earl Aimond and the Countess, who had been so firm that morning.

“I don’t think that’ll work. They even brought up faith…”

“But maybe we can persuade them…”

“No, we need something stronger and more certain.”

“Stronger and more certain?”

Elian pondered at Rosalyn’s words. Silence fell between them as both seemed to be thinking.

‘It can’t be something that breaks an important rule or is a serious crime…’

Rosalyn thought. Doing something like that might get her out of the convent, but she’d end up behind bars, which was absolutely not an option. As she considered, a good idea suddenly came to her.