16. Rosa Wants to Experience Love (1)
“Isn’t it cold, Sister? Shall I add some more firewood?”
“It’s all right, Bernardo.”
On that day alone, that exchange echoed through the room for what seemed like countless times.
Ancient stone walls, a worn carpet, and a shabby table.
The windows didn’t have any glass to combat the cold, only a piece of cloth. A filthy fireplace.
The dilapidated place was also known as the East 15th Orphanage.
The ramshackle place was located in the downtown area of the royal capital, next to the red-light district.
However, now that all of the orphans went to work, two things stood out in the empty space.
The first was the fireplace, which was usually only lit when it got freezing, was blazing in the early winter.
The second was the pair of young boy and girl who stood on the stools in front of the fireplace, with beauty unseen before in the downtown area.
The girl was wearing a linen shirt and a shabby skirt like a village girl, yet her fair skin and perfectly-shaped face exuded an indescribable elegance.
While her hair was an ordinary chestnut color, but her eyes were a mysterious, pastel purple, giving her an angelic look.
“Good grief, I contacted them beforehand and even brought gifts, only to find that both the children and director are out. Making my sister wait in such a freezing room, that bast—that director sure is a nasty fellow.”
“Don’t be so angry, Bernardo. I was the one who requested them to hide me, so I can’t possibly disrupt their schedule. In the first place, you recommended them because they won’t change their behavior or routine around an aristocrat, right? Come on, stop adding firewood.”
The girl spoke to the annoyed boy with a troubled look on her face.
Yes, the two were, of course, Bernardo and Rosa, who were planning to stay at that orphanage until the heat from the tea party incident died down.
The day before yesterday, Rosa had drunk a lot of muddy tea—or rather, poisonous tea—and collapsed, albeit she regained consciousness in the evening of the same day.
Amidst her drowsiness, she was taken aback to see that the three royal family members, Ladu, Anton, and Bernardo—whose breathing was ragged for some reason—were surrounding her bed with their eyes glued at her.
“Oh, Rosa! You’re awake! That’s a relief… I’m so glad!”
Everyone was glad that she had recovered, but she noticed that among all of them, Queen Dorothea had the strongest reaction.
As if her previous cold attitude was a lie, the queen embraced Rosa tightly with tears in her eyes. Then, Ladu deftly explained the situation to Rosa, who was befuddled.
The Queen’s Cup had been poisoned by a page.
The culprits had already been incarcerated.
Although Rosa was poisoned, her constitution and the soil she swallowed along with the poison prevented her from becoming seriously ill.
The queen was extremely grateful for her dedication.
Uhm… It’s a bit extreme and unexpected, but as a result of a series of fortunes and misfortunes, I’ve been recognized by Her Majesty the Queen as rotten, so it’s okay…?
The shock of unwittingly being involved in attempted poisoning and her sudden luckiness collided, and Rosa didn’t know how to react. For the time being, she decided to celebrate because her goal had been achieved.
Even when Chris and the others said, “Mother, you’re too rough on a sick person.” Dorothea maintained a friendly gaze to the end, which made Rosa happy.
“Uhm, well… It was a shocking turn of events, nevertheless, I’m safe, and if I was able to show Her Majesty my resolve, I’m overjoyed.”
“Ooh, Rosa…!”
“Are you kidding me?”
But then, a stern voice came down.
It was Bernardo, who didn’t even try to conceal his grim expression.
“Do you know how I felt when I heard that my sister had suddenly collapsed to poisoning while I was away!? How I felt when I fought the guards to break into the villa, and found the sleeping figure of my sister, who is as pale as a ghost!?”
Out of worry, despite being off-duty, Bernardo was on standby at the training ground near the garden under the pretext of self-training, and rushed over as soon as he heard the commotion.
However, the gardens were hastily put on high alert, and even though he had arrived to the villa, he was barred from entering due to the chaos surrounding Chris and the others. It was only just now—just before Rosa woke up, that he stormed in with a demonic look on his face.
“Do you know how worried I was these past few hours? Father Anthony, who told me to leave the follow-up to him, also didn’t help.”
Bernardo brazenly glared at the senior priest.
“Not only did my sister have a terrible experience at the tea party, but she also ended up dying after ingesting poison intended for someone else!”
Then, he gazed severely at the queen.
“—And yet, the royal family’s way of apologizing to my collapsed sister is by giving her said Queen’s Cup!?”
“Huh?”
Finally, ignoring the surprised Rosa, he looked Leon and Chris straight in the eye and spat out the words.
“That’s enough. I’ll take my sister back to Langheim. You can punish me as you wish.”
Even the royal family, who had been disrespected, gasped at his icy voice.
Not good, not good, not good! Bel-tan is furious…!
Rosa was so terrified, she almost wet her pants.
After all, even though Bernardo sent Rosa to the tea party to crush the engagement flag, after everything was said and done, she ended up putting a splint on it.
…In truth, Bernardo was furious at his rival—the royal family—for putting Rosa in danger and then selfishly trying to go ahead with the engagement. However, Rosa, whose mind was corrupted to the core, had no way of reading between the lines.
Sweating bullets, Rosa began to apologize, “I’m sorry…” Bur Bernardo shook his head as if to interrupt her.
Furthermore, he glared at Leon and the others again and said, “Sister is not to blame. Honestly, I had seen this coming.”
From the way he spoke, it was as if he was angry at Leon.
So, in case of an affair, Bel-tan is the type to blame the husband instead of the other woman…! What generosity! Truly the strongest uke in history! But this is no time to be thinking about such things!
She was so shaken up that her thoughts went everywhere.
“If I recall correctly, haven’t we spoke about taking Rosa away from the royal castle a while back?”
At that moment, a calm voice echoed.
The voice belonged to Ladu, the only one who had escaped Bernardo’s murderous glare.
At the raging Bernardo, Ladu calmly shrugged.
“I understand how you feel. You’re so angry, you want to take Rosa away. I would do the same if I were in your position. I don’t think those who allowed this to happen have any right to argue, even if they’re royalty. Nevertheless, I also think that it would be better if she wasn’t sent to Langheim—as a healer, that is.”
Bernardo blinked at the unexpected take.
“As a healer…?”
“Indeed. Rosa had ingested putrefactive toxin, which has magical properties. I had administered general treatment, and it seems that she’s recovering well at the moment, but there’s no saying there won’t be any side effects later. As the attending physician, I would prefer that she stays in the royal capital, where there are plenty of facilities and magicians, rather than in a remote rural area.”
“That’s…”
At Ladu’s explanation, Bernardo, who was boiling with emotions, had no choice but to stay quiet.
“Then, how about a monastery? One of the monasteries of St. Julia is close to the royal capital, and has a reputation for being tight-lipped. Not to mention, it’s girls only—”
“—I shall take her to an orphanage in the downtown area.”
Anton chimed in at the opportune time, but Bernardo interrupted him in a low voice.
“In the downtown area that used to be my home, there’s an orphanage. If it’s there, it’s close-mouthed, and it’s still in the royal capital. There shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“W-what about security…? Taking a marriageable young lady to a place filled with boys…”
“I’ll keep my sister safe. Besides, they usually welcome women with open arms, so don’t worry about public opinion.”
Anton fumbled to retort, but Bernardo wouldn’t give in.
Bernardo had once trusted Anton and left him in charge, but now he was deeply angry at him for exacerbating the crisis surrounding Rosa’s engagement.
“Hold on, Bernardo, I can see why you are angry, but it’s only going to get colder from here onwards. To make Rosa live in a rundown building…”
“With your budget, you can at least arrange for firewood and bedding, right Your Highness Chris?”
“Hey, calm down. Heading for the downtown area instead of the monastery as a place to recuperate could attract attention. We’re trying to quell the heat, but this will only escalate things—”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness Leon. You can just go to the monastery. I won’t tell you the name of the orphanage to avoid any slip-ups. After all, if we quickly determine who the mastermind is, won’t that naturally draw attention to them?”
“Well… then, as part of my training as a priest, I shall embark to the orphanage with you—”
“Wasn’t the priest the one who discovered the true nature of the poison this time around? In that case, wouldn’t it be more enriching for you to remain in the royal castle? For your training, you should provide knowledge about the unknown poison also known as putrefaction toxin and help solve this case.”
The three of them argued, but they weren’t even allowed to finish their sentences.
They could’ve used their authority to silence Bernardo, but they were too guilty towards Rosa to do so.
“I can’t just stand idly and watch as the situation gets worse. I’ll hide my sister in the downtown area until everything settles down.”
In the end, Bernardo, driven by worry and seething with anger, refused to give in. In just one day, he made all the arrangements for Rosa to settle in the downtown area—
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