10. Rosa wants to Avoid Flags (4)
Uncle doesn’t give me any signals. In other words, things are going well.
On the other hand, Rosa snuck a glance at Anton, who was talking with Matthias, secretly feeling relieved.
Anton had promised to follow up if Rosa messed up.
As of the present, Anton was immersed in the conversation, so everything must’ve been perfect.
I was nervous about whether or not I could do it, so it was a relief. I did my best.
Rosa happily reflected on her actions so far.
Being late, violating the dress code, and breaching the etiquette by refusing to engage in conversation.
A versatile, multifaceted, and not to mention, most effective method to make people despise her.
From a while ago, Chris was becoming more and more tense. He kept whispering, “Hey, Rosa. That’s enough, let’s go home.” Leon and Ladu also stared at her in what she thought was an accusatory manner.
Surely, that’s because I made a mistake.
I apologize for making you nervous, everyone. However, I want to avoid betraying my dear Bell-tan at all costs…!
Leon, Ladu, and Chris accepted her even though she was rotten. Rosa was disheartened that she had to show them such a pathetic sight.
However, in the unlikely event that Rosa ended up being one of Leon’s fiancée candidates, what would happen once the news reached Bernardo?
As she imagined the sight of Bernardo with a single droplet of tear falling down his cheek, her heart was shattered into a thousand pieces.
No…! That’s just not good! As a gentleman, Bell-tan is only allowed to cry three times! When he was born, when his mother passed away, and when he bonded with his ideal ‘seme’…!
Only the seme was allowed to make the uke cry!
Mustering her focus, Rosa quietly averted her gaze from the ladies who were starting to gush over romance novels.
Apparently, a romance novel starring a knight was very popular nowadays, but Rosa had never heard of it. Besides, the title sounded like a romance between a man and a woman, which didn’t really appeal to her. She remained silent, as if she was merely a boat crossing by.
More importantly, I wonder how high-class Her Majesty’s pages are?
Ahead of her averted gaze, she spotted a group of professional men working hard, and her attention was immediately drawn to them.
Elegant type, smart type, puppy type, flirty type.
There were all kinds of handsome boys, and they worked in pairs, which worked in her favor.
In particular, the duo consisting of the chestnut-haired page with fishy eyes and the brawny page seemed really nice.
—Pfft, I knew it. Rosa von Langheim can’t keep up with the topic of new books. Poor her. (Petronella)
On the other hand, when she saw how quiet Rosa had become, Petronella von Hugler smiled deviously.
Not only was Petronella evicted from the mansion because of Rosa, the latter also made her lackey rebel against her. Her resentment was building up.
She had to teach Rosa a lesson. Seeing that Rosa remained as a silent listener until now, Petronella purposefully included her in the conversation.
“Hey, Lady Rosa, what’s the matter? Why are you so quiet? Don’t tell me, you’ve never heard of ‘The Earth Knight and the Princess of Love’ before? Even though that series is trending throughout the royal capital?”
“Come on now, Petronella. Even in the royal capital, it is in short supply, and you cannot obtain it unless you have a lot of connections. For an orphaned girl who has just left the Langheim territory, isn’t that too much to ask?”
Immediately, the queen followed suit, pretending to scold Petronella while casually attacking Rosa.
Chris, who couldn’t bear to see it, interjected.
“Don’t be rude. Rosa has been working diligently for me ever since she arrived at the castle, so she doesn’t have time to go outside the castle to books, or share her excitement about a popular romance story, for that matter.”
“But Chris, doesn’t that just put your qualifications as a mistress into question?”
However, this time, the queen refuted Chris, who tried to defend Rosa by citing her busy schedule.
Raising one of her shapely eyebrows, the queen tilted her head ever so slightly.
“For someone who is supposed to be your maid and friend, Ms. Langheim is in such a miserable state, denied of all the pleasures of a woman, such as delectable sweets and popular romance stories.”
“…”
Chris also frowned at that.
The queen was using his friend, Rosa, to criticize Chris, who still didn’t behave in a feminine manner.
Chris’ cross-dressing was a sign of rebellion against her mother, who saw her daughter as nothing more than a tool.
However, Dorothea still didn’t get a clue, and even dared to call his dear friend a ‘country girl.’
Chris clenched his fist, and his cheeks flushed red.
Seeing that, Petronella was convinced of her victory and decided to take it a step further.
She spread her fan; sighing knowingly.
“Aah, what a shame. Who would’ve thought that Lady Rosa doesn’t enjoy popular books? Because Lady Rosa visits the Royal Library every day, I thought she’s an educated woman. I was so looking forward to hearing your explanation about the Mystery of Melgo…”
“…Melgo?”
Rosa was taken aback when she heard that name.
She doesn’t even know the name of the protagonist! (Petronella)
Tickled, Petronella gleefully explained to Rosa, spelling it out in a condescending manner.
“That’s the name of the protagonist. Melgo, a fearless knight who can bend the earth, and Eva, a beautiful princess. No one in the royal capital is unaware of those names. Well, the Mystery of Melgo refers to the climax when Princess Eva is attacked by the enemy. Melgo, who was invincible until that point, suddenly turns into ash and dies. Among us avid readers, various theories have emerged, including that it has a religious connotation, or that the story was canceled, hence the abrupt ending…”
“—Oh, you mean the Death of Emeth!”
However, Petronella’s wholehearted ‘explanation’ was interrupted by Rosa’s bright voice.
Rosa was clasping her hands together with a somewhat refreshed look on her face.
“When I heard the names of the characters, I finally understood what kind of book everyone was excited about. Isn’t that work originally titled as The Death of Emeth?”
“…Eh? Original title…?”
“Yes, I read the original Kushmal version several years ago, when Berg was beginning to translate it. Sorry, how ignorant of me!”
Everyone present was taken aback by Rosa’s smile.
Yes, in fact, when she was intensely studying the Kushmal language, she devoured every novel in that language.
When it came to The Death of Emeth, aside from the romance element with the princess, she recalled how solid the character development of the aggressive protagonist was, while the overall writing itself was excellent.
“Isn’t there a lot of wordplay in that work? I thought it’d be difficult to understand in Bergian, so I was surprised that it was translated.”
“W-wordplays…?”
Petronella blanched at the sight of a girl who had already read Berg’s most popular work several years ago in foreign language.
As Petronella parroted her in awe, Rosa answered innocently.
“Yes. See, for example, the spell that breathes life into the golem, which is also in the title. In the original text, it says, ‘Dwell in the truth.’ In Latin, ‘Emeth’ means ‘truth,’ and if you lose the first letter, E, you get ‘Meth,’ which means ‘death.’”
“Eh?”
Even if Rosa laid it out like that, there was no way the average young lady would comprehend difficult classics.
“If you erase the ‘E’ from ‘Emeth’, a golem will perish, reduced into a pile of stones. In the same way, Melgo, who lost his ‘E’—Princess Eva, met his demise. I think it would be difficult to convey this if the translator isn’t careful.”
“…Eh?”
“To begin with, ‘Melgo’ is an anagram of ‘golem.’ In other words, it is implied from the beginning that the true identity of the Knight, Melgo, is a golem. I can see why it’s a little hard to understand in Berg.”
“…!?”
“Also, ‘Eva’ itself means ‘life’ in Latin. That’s why the moment he lost Eva, he lost his life. Although it’s well-written, I think it’d be more fascinating to read the original work.”
Everyone, including Chris, were stunned. After all, Rosa could only achieve such a profound interpretation because she was deeply familiar with so many languages.
Petronella paled and shuddered as she realized that she had completely misinterpreted the Mystery of Melgo.
Ah… oh? (Rosa)
It was at that moment that rosa realized that something was wrong with everyone.
W-what is this deafening silence—!? (Rosa)
She panicked and reflected on her own words and actions, and a terrifying possibility came to mind.
Totally immersed in my delusions, when someone spoke to me, I joined the conversation without thinking… Did I just drop a huge spoiler!? (Rosa)
…That was the best conclusion she could reach.
Otherwise, why would everyone be so shocked after a small talk about a novel?
“Ah… aah, you are—…”
Petronella and others were tearful. Poor them.
T-they must’ve taken great care in reading it! (Rosa)
Apparently, it was only recently released in Berg, so they may not have reached the end.
I’ve committed blasphemy! (Rosa)
Spoiler—from Rosa’s point of view, was the greatest taboo of humankind. Had it happened to herself, she wouldn’t have forgiven the culprit—ever.
No matter how much she was committed to being hated, she was aiming for failure, not atrocity.
No, this is an even worse act than stealing flowers. In fact, this can be considered an actual crime!
Remorseful, Rosa broke into a cold sweat.
“Uhm… I’m sorry, I’ve spoken too much…”
She muttered her apology in a small voice.
Of course, in reality, Rosa was just overly-fixated with spoilers, and there was nothing wrong with her actions.
Rather, the audience was simply astonished and overwhelmed by Rosa’s intelligence, which was even further ahead of the modern standard.
If anything, by acting humble after demonstrating her intelligence, Rosa only came off as a modest girl to everyone.
A girl who didn’t want to stand out, but when her dear friend, Chris, was made fun of, she couldn’t stand it and showed her true feelings.
—OOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIII, ROSAAAAAAA! (Anton)
At the men’s table, Anton was about to have a seizure.
“Pfft.”
A charming laugh echoed around the place.
It was Leon, the Crown Prince of Berg, who covered his mouth as his shoulders trembled.
“Simply amazing.”
He stood up with the gracefulness of a lion and slowly approached the women’s table.
He went behind Rosa, who was tense as she sweated bullets, and took a lock of her hair. He kissed it, maintaining eye contact with the queen the entire time.
“I’ve never had such a fun tea party. Why don’t you enlighten us more, Rosa?”
Are you telling me to further throw the tea party into a melting pot of chaos!? (Rosa)
Rosa was shocked when Leon laughed and told her to continue.
Oh, I see!
His Highness must be angry because a tea party was thrown without his permission, threatening to destroy his relationship with Bell-tan…!? (Rosa)
To exact vengeance, Leon used the taboo spoilers as his weapon of revenge!
Rosa was horrified at his utter ruthlessness.
For the sake of Bell-tan, I have to proceed with this abject cruelty—
—but still, it’s a spoiler!
Not the spoiler! (Rosa)
Rosa’s heart was torn asunder.
B-but, I’ve already done everything I can, and I think I’ve already fulfilled my mission, which is to mess up horribly at the tea party!
Ultimately, due to her guilty conscience, she arrived at a certain conclusion.
“Uhm, I… I’m not feeling well, so please excuse me…”
However, as Rosa got up from her seat and was about to turn on her heel, an unexpected development struck her.
“Wait, Rosa von Langheim.”
The queen had stopped her.
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