Chapter 73
“What on earth is going on?”
When Roze ran to the lakeside in shock, Christina was soaked to the bone, crying in Jonathan’s equally drenched arms.
Judging from the way Jonathan was gasping for breath while sitting on the ground holding Christina, and from the yelling she’d heard earlier, it looked like Jonathan had rescued Christina after she had fallen into the lake.
“What happened?”
Thanks to Noah’s question as he approached Roze, she was able to understand why Christina had suddenly fallen into the water.
The events leading up to it went like this:
At Roze’s suggestion that they take a short break, the group stopped near the lake to rest.
Naturally, Oliver, who had been perched on Christina’s shoulder, also dismounted.
“Oliver! That could’ve been really bad! It’s obviously deep—what were you thinking, jumping into the lake like that?!”
[I couldn’t give up the precious ribbon Lady Roze gave me.]
It seemed the ribbon tied around his neck had come loose and flown into the lake.
Without thinking, Oliver had climbed down Christina’s body and leapt into the water.
He managed to quickly swim and retrieve the ribbon, but then came the real problem.
The current was stronger than he expected, and he had used up all his strength just swimming to the ribbon.
— Tina!
— Lady Christina!
The others hadn’t even realized Oliver had gone into the water. So just when Oliver thought he was surely going to die, Christina had jumped in after him to save him.
“Lady Christina, that was a very dangerous thing you did. Are you aware of that?”
“Well… sniffle. I’m a good swimmer, you know? He’s the one I’m looking after instead of Jonathan. I couldn’t just let him die.”
“If that were the case, you should have called for me. You shouldn’t have put yourself in danger.”
Even if Christina was confident in her swimming, she hadn’t accounted for how heavy a soaked winter dress could become.
In the end, though Oliver was saved, Christina had begun to struggle in the water, and Jonathan had jumped in to save her.
That’s why the two of them were now sitting on the ground, drenched and gasping for breath, clinging to each other.
“Oliver! Don’t ever do that again. What would we have done if something happened to you? Aren’t you about to have babies soon? I can give you more ribbons, as many as you want. What did I say before? Safety comes first!”
[Lady Roze… I thought you hated me, since you kept leaving me with others… sob.]
“What? Why would I hate you? You’re my number one royal servant cat!”
Since Christina was safe in Jonathan’s care, Roze picked up Oliver instead.
She explained that it wasn’t because she hated him, but because he kept getting into fights with the other cats and she was worried he’d be uncomfortable being squashed in the same basket.
[Sniffle…]
Only then did Oliver clear up the misunderstanding and burst into tears, moved that she had thought of him so much.
Roze added that if she had been the one by the lakeside, she would have been the one to jump in and save him.
She told him to stop saying things like “you’ve forgotten me” or “you don’t love me anymore.”
In any case, no one was hurt, and everyone was safe, so that was a relief—but the atmosphere around them was strange.
“Christina, get up now.”
“Ah… Yes, Father!”
Especially Duke Raymond. The man whose expression never faltered now had a faint crease between his brows.
It wasn’t just that he didn’t like the whispering about how close the two had become—it seemed he simply couldn’t stand the fact that Jonathan had saved Christina.
He couldn’t take his eyes off Jonathan’s hand that was still touching Christina.
Considering the Duke never treated anyone not of “Collain” blood as human, his reaction was no surprise.
‘Hmm… This doesn’t feel right…’
It had nothing to do with Noah doing anything wrong, so maybe it didn’t matter, but—
‘Still, this is another thing that wasn’t in the original story.’
A chill ran down Roze’s spine at the thought that something was off.
“Lady Roze, were you just talking to that field mouse in your hand?”
Suddenly, unlike those whispering nearby, Angelina came up and asked outright.
She must’ve been too young to hold back her curiosity.
Roze hesitated for a moment as all eyes turned toward her.
Even if she was a beastkin, saying she could talk to animals, especially with her red eyes, probably wouldn’t be taken well. She’d tried to keep it hidden, but—
“That’s what you were doing, right? The field mouse said something and you denied it. You’re a beastkin, aren’t you? Doesn’t that mean you can talk to animals?”
Completely oblivious, Angelina insisted she had seen it clearly and called Roze a beastkin on the spot.
That caused the noblewomen nearby to go stiff.
Some seemed to be only now realizing that Roze was a beastkin—they had assumed everyone already knew.
“Ah… Haha…”
“It’s so amazing! I really believe Lady Roze could bring the rain!”
That again. Roze asked Jonathan quietly what all the talk about rain was.
“Beastkin?”
Apparently, Noah had read about it in a book—something about beastkin being able to summon rain.
It was nice to be admired, but—
‘There’s no way I could do something like that!’
She was worried that giving people false hope would only lead to disappointment—and eventually resentment.
Before the whole rain issue, Roze had already made some enemies.
“What’s this talk about a roast all of a sudden?”
“Exactly. Does he think roasting a whole cow is easy?”
This time, it wasn’t the nobles, but the servants who were unhappy.
“I… I didn’t actually mean for them to really do a whole roast…”
Because Noah had taken her offhand comment seriously.
The kitchen staff, who had already prepared dinner, now had to butcher and roast a whole cow instead—and they were grumbling loudly.
Worse, their resentment wasn’t only directed at Roze, but ultimately at Noah, who had given the command.
“Your Majesty, really, I’m fine. I was just joking about the roast…”
Roze tried to explain that a well-cooked steak would be just fine, but it didn’t work.
Noah thought she was just saying that because she felt sorry for the staff.
She couldn’t offer to help without seeming disrespectful, but staying still felt like sitting on pins and needles—so she ended up pacing near the kitchen yard.
‘I worked so hard to build a good image!’
She even considered taking the blame herself, saying her mouth got ahead of her.
She thought about asking Evelyn to go gossip behind her back, just to take some heat off.
But then—
“What are you doing here?”
Aria approached Roze.
Roze tried to ignore her, but everyone’s attention naturally turned to Aria, so she had no choice.
She smiled at her, but her words came out cold.
“I figured I caused all this mess, so I was seeing if there was anything I could help with. Why?”
Her words were harsh, despite the smile. And she meant it—if they actually needed help, she would.
“You?”
Aria smirked, raising only one side of her mouth.
‘Ugh. Whether it’s a butler or a cat…’
Depending on perspective, the same situation could feel completely different.
‘Is she really the original heroine?’
What had seemed refreshingly blunt in the original now just grated on her nerves.
Roze couldn’t understand how someone like Aria could be the heroine.
“Looked like you were trying to get close to the priests earlier. Why? Was there a handsome one among them?”
There was a handsome one—but what did that have to do with anything?
“You sure are interested in me.”
“Of course. You’re sitting in someone else’s seat.”
Roze stared, confused by what Aria meant.
“What seat am I supposedly in?”
“The Empress’s seat. It’s not yours, is it?”
“I have no intention of becoming Empress.”
Apparently, Aria thought Roze was trying to marry Noah.
“No way. That can’t be.”
Roze denied it, but Aria didn’t believe her.
“Whether it is or isn’t, it’s none of your business whose seat this is.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Why would it be?”
Roze thought she’d dodge the question again, but this time—
“Because it’s my seat. Oh, not that I’m after His Majesty now—don’t worry.”
Aria blatantly declared her ambition.
Maybe she assumed Roze wouldn’t understand what she was saying, but Roze couldn’t let it slide.
“That seat isn’t yours.”
Aria just smiled at Roze’s warning and repeated:
“It is mine.”
Just like before, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Then—
“There you are, Roze.”
Christina, now dried off and in fresh clothes, approached.
And just like that, Aria left with a smile.
Never finishing what they started—Aria and Black were the same in that way.
‘Huh…?’
For a moment, seeing Aria walking away and Christina coming toward her in the same line of sight gave Roze a strange sense of discomfort.
“Lady Christina, are you alright? You fell into the water earlier—did you have some hot tea when you got back?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
Christina smiled, saying she was okay—but her gaze kept wandering, and she seemed somehow listless.
‘She looks like she might collapse any second…’
Roze had a feeling Christina was suffering inside and decided to go ahead and bring it up.
It felt like Christina had sought her out because she wanted to talk about it.
“Did something happen with Sir Jonathan in the carriage on the way home that day?”
At the mention of Jonathan’s name, Christina’s eyes darkened. She grabbed Roze’s arm, pulled her aside where no one was around, and looked around cautiously before speaking.
“I… I think I’ve fallen in love with Jonathan.”
“…Excuse me?”
Then came the words Roze never could’ve imagined.
