Chapter 11
“Is Sasha satisfied?”
“…Hmph.”
“I hear he’s exceptionally good at cleaning up rats.”
Even at Shinoa’s attempt to soothe him, Relte’s irritation flared and he grumbled like a sulky child.
“Just look at those eyes. They’re the eyes of a brat who’s gotten his hands on an amusing toy… like a child. I know it, my dear. Once something has tasted blood, no matter how much it pretends to be a tame animal, it can’t hide it. You have to pull out its fangs before it bares them.”
Shinoa, who had been watching her husband’s darkened expression, rose to her feet and flicked her hand lightly. The melancholic look on the man’s face was still to her taste, but his earnest worry did not please her.
“Relte. My husband.”
Shinoa, Duchess Tinya, whispered sweetly to him.
“There’s something you don’t understand.”
“And what is that?”
“That brat called Vasilisa seems to have come from that place, just as I expected. I thought the rumors were exaggerated, but it seems they weren’t.”
“And yet!”
“And yet.”
Cutting him off, the Duchess wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder as she chuckled softly.
“Trust our daughter. I believe that lovely child of ours will even embrace that venomous little viper.”
“Of course Azalea is so adorable I want to bite her cheeks.”
Relte’s eyelids trembled. He remembered—how lovely and beautiful Azalea had been when she was born into this world, his daughter.
Moment by moment. He hadn’t known how much despair would follow when tears welled in those large, clear eyes.
Their daughter was a very special child. A treasure. Someday, some scoundrel would recognize the value of that treasure and sing a confession of love—but not now. He did not want such impurities near her.
Even now, just imagining some slick fellow in the distant future proposing to his daughter made his teeth grind.
How could he let that lovely child go? Should he just kill him?
“Let go of your obsession, Relte. A child isn’t meant to be raised clutched in your arms forever.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry, husband. She’s your daughter and mine. And—”
Shinoa tugged at the overdoting father’s hair and whispered,
“Before you even have the chance to worry, if that boy shows any strange behavior, I’ll kill him first.”
When the Duke heard her ruthless whisper, he finally smiled softly. As expected of my magnificent wife.
He clasped the hand around his waist tightly and gazed at doll-like, adorable Azalea.
Always. Forever.
There was nothing parents wouldn’t do for their child’s happiness.
…Even if it meant changing fate.
In Red Rose, there were two male leads who loved the charming Tesha. One was our noble and gentlemanly Adrian, and the other was the personality-disordered, obsessively possessive Vasilisa—whom I had chewed out, cursed at, and criticized countless times.
If the world you died and were reborn into was the very book whose pages had worn thin from how often you’d read it, who would you want to see first? My favorite was Adrian!
“I don’t know what His Grace the Duke is thinking.”
“…Mm. Well, because he’s a Tilet?”
“That makes it even more dangerous—a Tilet of unknown origin.”
“That’s prejudice, Sasha.”
“Do you truly think so, my lady?”
Sasha looked quite displeased. Perhaps more than that—deeply irritated. After all, the door was open.
The black-haired boy who was starting his first day as my attendant stood lazily leaning against the wall, visible at a glance. And just now, Sasha had practically said out loud for Vasilisa to hear, “I really don’t like you.”
As expected of our Sasha—perhaps the boldest in our household.
“Let it go, Sasha. Hmm?”
“It’s not my place to oppose His Grace’s decision.”
Sasha, who had been holding my hair to brush it, slammed the brush down in frustration.
“But, my lady. Not a maid, but an attendant… and to leave you alone with that child, who knows where he came from—I truly cannot understand it. Especially when His Grace knows exactly what happened to the carriage.”
It was a cold voice, unlike our usual cloud-soft and gentle Sasha. I scratched my cheek with an awkward smile. Did she really dislike Vasilisa that much?
“It’s fine. I’m not going anywhere far—it’s just inside the mansion. If something happens, the maids will come running to save me, right?”
“My lady, you’re far too relaxed…”
“You worry too much, Sasha.”
As I rolled my eyes and glanced toward the door reflected in the mirror, I saw the boy—who had been looking at the door—now turned to face Sasha.
‘Ah.’
Honestly, I was startled the moment I saw him. His violet eyes, fixed on Sasha, were especially cold—like ice. It wasn’t a gaze filled with murderous intent, but it was so inorganic it sent a chill down my spine.
‘Right. That’s the real Vasilisa I know.’
Perhaps because of our conversation yesterday, when he teased me and spoke casually, I had mistakenly begun to think of him as just a pretty boy next door. I needed to come to my senses. That wasn’t some ordinary bomb. It was a massive one that could level everything around it if it exploded.
“Sasha, I think that’s enough. We have a guest.”
Sasha’s expression turned frosty.
“…He doesn’t seem like a guest. Understood, my lady. If the ‘guest’ says anything unpleasant or if you need someone by your side immediately, ring the bell. You understand?”
“Y-Yes.”
“And don’t forget to brush your hair.”
It wasn’t that I was wary of Vasilisa. There was simply no need to poke at his nasty temper for no reason. At my gentle dismissal, Sasha shot him a sharp look and headed for the door, while the boy in the black attendant’s uniform entered with steps as light as air.
For a brief moment, Sasha and Vasilisa crossed paths.
“Hmph!”
“….”
A tense moment. Sasha snorted coldly, and Vasilisa smiled like a yokai. Ugh—his wickedly spreading grin was quite pretty, but just as eerie.
‘It’s like I’m watching an action movie.’
They simply passed each other, yet the tension was so palpable I swallowed dryly. As if nothing had happened, the boy approached lightly and shrugged with a bright smile.
“Hi, noona.”
“……”
“You’re swearing with your face again today.”
No matter how many times I heard it, I couldn’t get used to that form of address. As if unconcerned whether I responded or not, he narrowed his eyes slightly and muttered,
“Your maid is really fascinating. It’s not easy to act like that toward me.”
Sasha, what? And isn’t it just as fascinating that you’re my attendant?
“Don’t pick a fight with Sasha.”
“Is that an order?”
“If I said it was, would you listen?”
I narrowed my eyes and shot him a glare through the mirror. He twisted his lips mischievously and shamelessly spoke.
“Did you sleep well, my lady?”
His deliberately gentle tone sent chills down my spine. I stared at him in shock, and he shrugged brazenly.
“Why? I heard attendants usually start with that. Want me to make it softer?”
“…No thanks.”
“So what shall we do now? Give me an order.”
Haah. I could only imagine how our frail head attendant’s heart must have pounded while trying to train this insolent brat. The thought made me sigh sympathetically.
He was a Tilet. And a high-ranking one at that. My parents were unusual—most people would go their whole lives without ever encountering a high-ranking Tilet.
According to Sasha, rumors had already spread that the little brat had destroyed my famous carriage. And without even looking, I knew the source of those rumors—Sir Jeffrey, whose mouth was lighter than a feather. Tsk tsk.
I sighed and picked up the brush Sasha had left behind.
“You don’t need to do a maid’s work. Honestly, there’s no real reason for an attendant to be assigned to me, and there isn’t much for you to do. Just keep up appearances.”
At my words, Vasilisa stopped moving and stared at me.
No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t seem pleased. What now?
“So you’re telling me… to loaf around and freeload?”
What? No—how did he interpret it like that? I was dumbfounded by how twisted his thinking was.
“I’m just saying you can pass the time and do whatever you want.”
To be honest, for a brief moment—just a very brief moment—I hadn’t been free of petty thoughts. Had I once found Vasilisa annoying? Of course. The damn rival blocking Adrian’s path! Sparkling Tesha belonged with our Adrian, yet this guy always showed up to interfere—how furious I’d been.
And now the opportunity had come. I was the young lady, and he was the attendant! But even as I briefly imagined happily tormenting the real Vasilisa, I couldn’t ignore the consequences.
‘This is my reality.’
Bullying Vasilisa was out of the question. Hurt him once, and he’d repay it tenfold. Besides, I had no intention of changing what was set. The original story was precious.
‘Safety first. I can’t ruin the story of Red Rose.’
At that very moment, I failed to notice the flicker of irritation that passed over the boy’s neat face. Nor did I notice how Vasilisa approached with light, silent steps, or that he reached out to snatch the brush from my slowly moving hand.
‘Ah.’
I flinched at the warmth of his fingers brushing against mine.
“I asked you—what do you need from me? If your answer is like that, it twists my insides.”
I widened my eyes and looked into the mirror. The boy stood right behind me, meeting my gaze through the reflection. Holding the brush he had taken, he smiled—his crescent eyes curving beautifully.
“Here. Shall I brush your hair, my lady?”
…Strange. He’s smiling—so why does it feel like he’s cursing at me?
