Chapter 13 Part 2

It was a question without an answer. She never cared what the maid did, so why show interest now? Already on edge, Daisy’s nerves bristled. She cast a sharp look at Locus, who maintained a calm demeanor, and he muttered wearily.

“I was wondering how much we could discuss in front of the maid. Since this is a major issue, caution seems necessary.”

“Hmph… That does make sense.”

With a suitable reply presented, her narrowed eyes relaxed. She took a sip from her cooling teacup.

Daisy Queenie glanced again at Locus out of the corner of her eye. As usual, he had pronounced dark circles under his eyes and blinked with bloodshot pupils. He looked every bit like a mage who had stayed up all night, lost in his research. Recalling Carib, who used to show up in a similar state whenever he found an interesting topic, Daisy let go of her suspicions entirely.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Following Roland in was a maid with her eyes covered. While Roland seated the maid across from them and removed the cloth over her eyes, Daisy regarded the maid with a faint smile.

“M-my lady…”

“Welcome. The journey here must have been difficult.”

Feigning a kind smile, Daisy watched as the maid’s face went pale. It was as though she’d seen something she shouldn’t have, and Daisy Queenie’s expression began to crumple. She understood that she needed to win the maid over for an important task, but that blatant reaction ruined her mood.

“What’s with that—”

“The lady has a special favor to ask of you.”

Just as Daisy Queenie, unable to hold back her annoyance, was about to snap, Locus intervened. She felt as though her head was boiling with anger brought on by stress. Ever since she started clashing with Rose Knight at every turn, even small matters like this left Daisy Queenie on edge with annoyance and headaches.

If it were any other time, she would have lashed out at Locus for daring to cut her off, but she didn’t want to miss this golden opportunity to get rid of Rose Knight. While waiting for an answer, she quietly took a deep breath, trying to cool her heated head.

“What kind of favor…? Should I provide information like last time?”

It seemed the maid’s attitude had changed, likely recalling the taste of money she got previously. Realizing she stood to gain something if she helped, Daisy smiled again at that thought.

“This time, it’s different. So your role is very important.”

“What should I do?”

“I’ll give you a bottle. A few days from now at the party, you just need to pour the contents of that bottle into Rose Knight’s glass. That’s all it takes for you to receive my most cherished diamond ring.”

“A diamond ring…?”

“You can sell it to pay for your mother’s treatment. Ah, right. I’ll also send a priest so she can be cured. For a duchess like me, it’s no trouble at all. If you carry out my request, you’ll have a priest who can cure your mother and enough money to live on even after her recovery. Doesn’t that sound tempting?”

Wanting to persuade the maid, who still appeared hesitant, Daisy Queenie spoke to her kindly in a soft voice.

Flicking her gaze anxiously between Locus and Daisy Queenie, who held out the most tempting bait—money and a priest—Taryn finally glanced at Locus with unease.

“All right. I’ll do as you say, my lady…”

When the maid accepted the proposal, albeit with a frightened expression, Daisy Queenie—wearing an ‘I knew it’ look—extended her hand toward Locus. Observing everything from behind, Locus placed a transparent vial into Daisy Queenie’s palm.

“This is the drug I mentioned earlier.”

It was the poison he had taken with him before leaving, under the pretense of testing whether the toxic components had dissipated. Gazing at the poison in the same type of vial as last time with satisfaction, she handed it to Taryn, whose eyes were still darting nervously.

“Mix three or more drops of this into Rose Knight’s drink. Ideally, I want to witness its effect in front of everyone, so three or four drops would be perfect.”

“I—is this some sort of dangerous poison…?”

“No, this drug will bring happiness to everyone.”

She believed that returning to the old Rose Knight meant everyone would revert to those happier times. In the days when Rose Knight was silent and wary, everything went exactly as she wanted. She had not the slightest doubt about that.

‘What if, on the day I am the star, her face melts in front of everyone. Once I show that horrifying sight to them all, I’ll be able to crush her completely this time. So, no matter what happens, Rose Knight will be the main character on that day. Perhaps in a slightly different way than she anticipates’.

***

“How are the party preparations going?”

“It seems they’re going well. The butler said there should be no problem meeting the deadline.”

“That’s a relief.”

With everything proceeding smoothly, I felt more at ease. The gaunt face of the butler buried in a mountain of paperwork flashed through my mind, but I decided to set that aside for now, since I’m in the same boat anyway.

“Mr. Locus also stopped by earlier. He said to let you know everything’s going according to plan.”

“It must be tough being around her. They say her hysterics are no joke.”

“Don’t even start. I heard she’s practically insane. Her mood changes multiple times a day.”

Garnet made such an intensely disgusted face as she said this that I couldn’t help but laugh. After listening to Locus’s complaints these past few days, it felt like I genuinely sympathized with his situation. Apparently, she meets every condition of someone you’d never want to serve as a maid.

“Because things aren’t going according to her plan, she’s resorting to such an extreme method.”

“The thought of poisoning someone else… just hearing it is horrifying.”

Seeing Garnet recoil in disgust, I realized it wasn’t wise to continue discussing this topic. I casually shifted to a new subject.

“Come to think of it, about the dress code for this party…”

“Oh, right, my lady! I’ve been agonizing over what dress to wear on that day. But then I recalled you were planning to create a jeweled bouquet using emeralds, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“So I was wondering if a rose-themed dress made from red and green fabric would be nice! Or maybe embroider green leaves on red fabric as an accent.”

Feeling guilty at Garnet’s enthusiastic suggestion—because having “Rose” wear a “rose” dress might look comical—I couldn’t help thinking that. My expression must have betrayed my reluctance, because Garnet’s face quickly fell with disappointment.

“Is it… not good? I already thought about what fabric and embroidery would look best for you, my lady… I even picked out matching jewelry to go with that dress…”

…When did she manage to progress that far? With the party so close, I intended to wear an existing dress. It seems Garnet assumed I’d order a new one. I wanted to pacify her as usual, but recently she’s been giving up her break times to work, especially since I’ve been buried in tasks and macarons, so I hesitated out of a sense of obligation.

“Surely my lady will be the star of that day… The dress will be immensely beautiful… and among the jewels, there’s one Ten chose… Aah!”

“Ten?”

I had been half-listening until my ears perked up. Garnet, flustered, slapped a hand over her mouth. Anyone could see it was a clear sign she had slipped up. Narrowing my eyes at her, I watched as she became more and more visibly anxious.

“Why Ten?”

“Ah… well, my lady…”

“Hm, yes, what about him?”

“If I say this…”

“If you say it?”

“…Ugh, what do I do?”

Seeing me press the matter, Garnet looked more and more like she was about to burst into tears. Judging by the situation, it seemed Ten had given Garnet something and told her to keep it secret. Clicking my tongue, I thought she’d never survive trying to extort money from anyone—on the contrary, she’d be the one losing money, so maybe I should be worried.

“All right, if you can’t say it, just bring it here. Let me see what it is.”

“…You have to promise not to tell Ten I got caught… okay?”

“Yes, yes, anything. First, just bring it here.”

Just then, Garnet left to fetch the item in question, and I had a brief moment to myself. Maybe it was because we’d just been talking about him—my thoughts naturally drifted to Ten. Could he have come to the estate without my knowing? If so, why wouldn’t he see me…? I got that far in my thinking and then found myself laughing scornfully at my own foolishness.

“Here I am, pushing him away first, yet hoping he’d come find me…?”

I was the one who drew the line and spoke harshly. I convinced myself it was for his sake, indulging in a hollow sense of self-satisfaction, and now this? How shameless. With a wry smile, I ran my fingers through my hair. Feeling a bit gloomy over my own bitterness, I heard Garnet knock on the study door.

“It’s me, my lady!”

“Mm, come in.”

In Garnet’s hands was a box. Though it was wooden, its material and the intricately carved surface told me it was no ordinary piece. I spent quite some time handling the box, examining it from all sides, when Garnet, watching me, spoke up.

“Why are you just looking at the box?”

“Huh? Then what else am I supposed to look at?”

“The inside, of course! You seemed only interested in the packaging, so I wondered…”

“…Mm?”

“Could it be… maybe it’s something like this? Turns out Ten’s real father is a wealthy man who could easily afford something like this!”

“Ah… haha…?”

“Oh, but then Aunt Leila wouldn’t have a reason to stay at Tornado. Hmm, what could it be?”

At Garnet’s sharp deduction, my shoulders twitched involuntarily, but she seemed too lost in her own world to notice. I forced an awkward smile, trying to smooth over the situation.

“Everyone has their own… circumstances, I guess.”

“So, Miss, you don’t know anything either? I thought you’d know everything about Ten.”

Fortunately, Garnet didn’t seem to have any intention of digging deeper into the idea of “individual circumstances.” Taking advantage of her distraction with the jewels, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“They’re really beautiful….”

“They are.”

“And red diamonds and amethysts, too! It’s so clear how much Ten thinks about you, Miss!”

My heart, which had only just begun to settle, started to flutter again at those words. The way he always looked at me with such sincerity, as if he didn’t even know the meaning of giving up. A warm heat spread over my face as if it were burning.

Even though I pushed him away like that, has he refused to give up? Just as he returned all the way from the distant Empire of Endeavor, is he thinking of coming back to me again this time? Even though I couldn’t be certain of anything, my trembling heart refused to calm down.

My rational mind tried to cool my thoughts, but my heart continued to resonate with a dull ache, as if asserting its presence more strongly the harder I tried to ignore it. Could this be my feelings for you, Ten? The answer I could no longer deny was laid bare before me. And at this moment, I felt a deep sadness that Ten was not by my side. Even though it had always been me wielding the sword against him.