Chapter 43
“…Huh? What did you just say…?”
“Just talking to myself. Don’t mind it.”
The reason Roze had wanted to become human was so she could communicate properly.
Even though Noah knew she was a beastman, they still couldn’t converse. She would talk, but she had to keep guessing what Roze was thinking. The longer that went on, the more suffocating it became.
Noah’s resolve to keep Roze by his side forever, no matter what form she took, hadn’t changed.
“Crazy bastard.”
“Your Majesty…?”
But never in his wildest dreams did he expect that seeing the transformed Roze would bring him such thoughts.
He was just going to tell her she’d be pleased when she heard he was arranging her patronage. That was all he had in mind when he opened the bathroom door.
— We can talk later. I’m taking a bath right now.
The moment he heard that, his vision cleared—and there was Roze, sitting in the bathtub.
Her body was hidden behind shadows and her hair, but since it was a form he had seen once before… his imagination instantly filled in the body beneath the frothing bubbles.
There was nothing else to call it but madness.
No wonder she kept insisting they sleep separately. He thought he had hidden it well, but clearly the problem was himself all along.
* * *
After Noah left the bathroom, Roze quickly dried her wet body.
Even alone, her face wouldn’t stop burning, making it impossible to enjoy the bath.
It was nearly time for Christina to arrive, so she had to get up anyway.
“Still, wasn’t that way too careless of him?”
Because her thick hair was impossible to handle alone, Evelyn and Amelia helped her dry it.
All the while, Roze grumbled to herself:
“Why doesn’t he just chew me up like a cat while he’s at it.”
“Oh, that’s troublesome.”
“What is?”
The words slipped out, but come to think of it, Noah had never actually nibbled or licked her even when she was a cat.
Yet the thought of him nibbling her ears popped into her head—and her face flushed red all over again.
“I’m a perfectly healthy woman standing right in front of him! A cat, really? He still thinks of me as a cat!”
If not for the reminder that Aria was inside the palace right now, Roze might have stewed in those thoughts for a long time.
“Thanks, Evelyn. Amelia.”
“Not at all. We’ve trained on brushing cat fur.”
“This is much easier than that.”
Since Noah’s bedroom didn’t even have a proper vanity, Roze sat down on a single-seater sofa and let out a heavy sigh.
“…They treat me like a cat too.”
No wonder no one questioned why she and Noah slept separately.
And then suddenly—
“There’s a way, isn’t there!”
Her gaze landed on Evelyn and Amelia, who were wrestling with her long hair. More precisely—on their maid uniforms.
“Aria disguised herself as a maid. Why couldn’t I?”
The palace had so many servants that no one thought twice about unfamiliar faces. That’s why Aria had managed to slip in disguised as a maid.
There was no reason Roze couldn’t do the same.
Well, except…
“The eyes might be a problem…”
But if she pulled her bonnet down as far as possible and kept her gaze lowered, only walking in dark areas, it should be fine.
“And I can climb out the window.”
She couldn’t leap down in one bound like a cat anymore, but if she gripped the window ledge carefully, she could manage.
“I just need to check if it’s really Aria.”
If circumstances allowed, she’d also look for a way to drive Aria out.
It wouldn’t be catastrophic if she couldn’t, but there was no way she could tolerate an enemy boldly intruding into her domain.
“Guess that’s the cat instinct talking.”
For now—
“Roze! I’m here!”
“Yes! Just a moment, Lady Christina!”
—she had to deal with Christina first.
* * *
Christina had put care into her appearance yesterday from head to toe, but today she had gone even further.
Even the soft bounce of her hair, curled into a neat shell bun, was impeccable.
Roze’s own hair, still slightly damp, was only tied loosely on both sides to keep it from getting in the way—a far cry from Christina’s polish.
“Today I brought a cake I baked myself.”
“A cake?”
When Roze entered the study where Christina was waiting, Christina immediately launched into showing it off.
“Mm-hm! A blueberry cake! The berries just arrived from the estate yesterday, so I baked it right away!”
Roze expected she had just tinkered with it a little to say she “made” it. But no—it was the real thing.
On a large silver tray, under a clear glass dome, the cake was more splendid than any that had ever been on Noah’s table.
It looked mouthwateringly good.
Chocolate, cookies, fruit—just one slice would feel like a week’s worth of sugar, but that’s exactly how cake should be. Just looking at it made Roze’s mouth water.
“It looks delicious!”
At Roze’s expression, Christina casually slid the cake aside and said:
“I heard His Majesty is in the palace today. He’ll be joining us for lunch, won’t he?”
“Yes. He said he’d be here exactly at noon.”
So that’s why she baked it herself—not just to eat, but clearly to impress Noah.
Her transparent intentions were almost cute.
“So Duke Raymond’s daughter isn’t entirely useless after all.”
There were young ladies who thought hot water for tea magically poured itself from the pot. At least Christina wasn’t that bad.
Of course, there was no way she had baked the whole cake singlehandedly, but still—better than girls who never even approached a kitchen.
“But we’re dressed alike today.”
“Really? Oh… if you don’t like it, should I change?”
“No, no. It’s fine. I just thought it’d be funny if people mistook us for twins.”
“Twins? Me and you, Lady Christina? No way!”
Roze wore a soft pink dress layered with white lace, and by coincidence, Christina’s dress was similar.
But twins? Their features, eye colors, and hair colors were completely different. Who would mistake them?
“By the way, Lady Christina.”
“Yes?”
Smiling at Christina’s playful imagination, Roze suddenly remembered something.
“Don’t you find my eyes creepy?”
“Your eyes?”
“…Yes.”
Her father, Duke Raymond, was practically the champion of bloodline supremacy. As his closest daughter, wouldn’t she have inherited at least some of his views?
“They look like His Majesty’s eyes. They’re beautiful.”
Whether she had those views or not, it didn’t matter—Christina was too blinded by love to care about such social prejudices.
That, too, made her a perfect match for Noah.
“If Noah hears that, he’ll be happy.”
Most nobles shuddered at the sight of his eyes. But here was Christina, smiling and saying they were beautiful. Noah would surely be pleased.
“And he’ll take a second look at her.”
Children are not the same as their parents. This was something Noah had always tried to prove in the original story.
That he was not cruel like his mother, nor cold like his father.
So surely, Noah would see that Christina wasn’t the same as Duke Raymond.
“I can’t wait until lunchtime.”
Then Noah would notice Christina more, even if only a little.
Roze was delighted—Christina had surprising qualities, and her plan seemed to be going smoothly.
“But come to think of it… Noah never told me I looked pretty yesterday, did he? Could it be he didn’t even notice I changed clothes?”
Because she felt a little relief that her plan was working, her mind drifted to strange, trivial things.
* * *
“Your Majesty! We’ve been waiting. Please, come in.”
“Your Majesty! Sit here!”
It had seemed suspicious ever since Roze suddenly insisted Christina be brought in as a play companion.
If Roze liked her, she could have just enjoyed her company alone. Yet she argued Christina was a guest and should show her face properly.
—Did she get advice from Duke Raymond’s household?
That was how strange it felt.
Sure enough, when Noah entered the study right at the promised time, Roze immediately gave up her seat beside Christina.
Then she herself sat far off, in a spot where Noah wouldn’t see her unless he deliberately turned his head.
And from there—
“Look, Your Majesty. Lady Christina baked this cake herself. Doesn’t it look delicious? She says cooking is her hobby. Tomorrow she’ll be bringing macarons she made too!”
Roze kept praising Christina and doing her best to highlight Christina’s good points.
