Chapter 5…………………………………………
Yellow Roses
I barely made it back before anyone else woke up.
Rowell looked around the quiet dining room and let out a sigh of relief when she realized it still wasn’t time for people to be up. There even seemed to be some time to spare. Maybe she should just go back to her room and get a bit of sleep…
“Rowell!”
“Kyaa!”
At that moment, a hand suddenly landed on Rowell’s shoulder. Already on edge, she startled at the unexpected touch, letting out a shriek and jumping in place.
“Where did you go and come back from?”
“Y-you scared me…”
Turning around, she saw her fellow maid, Ella, standing there with a hand still on her shoulder.
“Where did you sneak off to, coming back like this?”
“Huh? I just came from the young lady’s room—”
“Liar. I can see your skirt hem is wet. And what’s with that bouquet?”
Ella glanced at the flowers in Rowell’s hands and curled her lips mischievously, as if she had caught her red-handed.
“You suddenly disappeared yesterday while we were cleaning the garden too… Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”
“Well, that’s…”
“Keep this up and I’ll tell the head maid that you’ve been acting strange lately, okay?”
“I told her to.”
A voice from behind cut off their conversation.
“I told Rowell to go out and pick some flowers for me.”
“Oh—Miss…!”
“I’m sorry, Rowell. I sent you out too early in the morning.”
Standing there with her arms crossed and a gentle smile was Aria. It was a warm smile, but the firmness behind it was unmistakable.
“…No, it’s fine.”
Biting the inside of her cheek slightly, Rowell played along with Aria’s gentle yet resolute act.
“Ella, aren’t you assigned to clean the archive today? You’re not slacking off in the kitchen instead of working, are you?”
“N-no! I was just about to go!”
Frightened by Aria’s cold expression, Ella bowed quickly and hurried out of the dining room.
“Looks like you had a good time.”
When only Aria and Rowell remained, Aria slowly turned to her and said that.
“Ah, yes…”
Feeling Aria’s gaze fixed on the bouquet, Rowell answered in a mumble.
“……”
Sensing Aria inspecting the flowers, Rowell was glad she had listened to Leon and brought the bouquet with her. In suspicious situations like this, without even a shred of evidence, there would be no escape.
“Well, friends can do this much for each other.”
Aria met Rowell’s eyes and gave her a small smile. In that brief moment, Rowell thought she saw a trace of sorrow in Aria’s eyes. Was it just her imagination?
“Shall we go to your room?”
While Rowell stood frozen for a moment, Aria turned first and left the kitchen.
That’s…
Rowell’s eyes caught sight of the pieces of that letter in Aria’s hand.
In every repeated timeline, it always arrived for Aria—and every time, Aria tore it to shreds the moment she saw it.
Even without reading it, Rowell knew immediately who the sender was: Aria’s lover, Count Andy Davis.
The sense of déjà vu she had felt upon seeing Aria’s faint smile earlier was not a mistake.
“The weather’s nice today.”
Back in her room, Aria gazed out the window and said so casually.
“Oh! Then would you like to go to the shopping district with me today? Winter’s almost here, so—”
While brushing Aria’s hair, Rowell perked up and eagerly began listing ideas, all the things they could do in the shopping district before winter arrived flashing through her mind.
“It’s fine.”
Contrary to Rowell’s hopes, Aria smiled softly and cut her off immediately. Her tone was gentle, but the refusal was unmistakable.
“Even if we go, there won’t be anything special. It’s all the same. All pointless.”
After that, Aria added weakly, unaware that Rowell had stopped brushing her hair.
Of course. Because every time you go due to regression, you only see the same things again and again.
Watching Aria stare emptily into the mirror, Rowell felt a quiet ache in her chest.
“Ah, sorry. I keep saying strange things.”
Only after some time did Aria seem to notice Rowell’s worried face reflected in the corner of the mirror. As if to reassure her, she added an awkward explanation.
So Rowell decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed Aria’s act. If Aria didn’t want the mood to turn gloomy, Rowell was more than willing to play along.
She resumed fixing Aria’s hair, chatting lightly about how their young lady always needed Rowell herself to dress her properly and other trivial things.
Knock, knock.
Just as Rowell was pinning a bright yellow rose ornament into Aria’s hair, a knock sounded at the door.
“Miss, Count Davis has come asking to see you.”
“What?”
Aria’s gaze snapped from the mirror to the maid standing by the door.
That man again…
The same thought immediately crossed Rowell’s mind as well.
“Tell him I won’t see him.”
Aria bit her lower lip briefly, then spoke firmly.
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Tell him I have no intention of meeting him.”
The young maid flinched at Aria’s sudden sharp command.
“Ah! Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll let him know.”
Under Aria’s cold stare, the girl hurriedly closed the door and fled the room.
“Aria!”
Not long after, as the two stepped into the garden for a short walk, a familiar and unpleasant voice rang out.
Their steps halted simultaneously, and when they looked toward the sound…
There stood the person they most wanted to avoid. Andy Davis—Aria’s former lover—was standing in the reception hall.
“Aria, I read your letter and was so shocked that I came straight away.”
“Why are you—”
Aria stepped back, avoiding the man approaching her with a flushed face.
What? He’s never come inside the house before.
Rowell, standing behind her, widened her eyes in shock as well.
“I let him in.”
Another voice cut in, accompanied by the sound of a teacup being set down.
Where Rowell craned her neck to look sat Aria’s older brother, Sion Heinstein, wearing a relaxed expression.
“Aria, how many times have I told you? Act in a manner befitting the name Heinstein. Treating guests so coldly is discourteous.”
His slowly lifting lips carried the unhurried composure of a noble.
“Yes, Aria. I came all the way from Morto.”
While Aria’s attention was drawn to Sion, the uninvited Andy Davis took another step forward, deliberately mentioning the name of the territory where Aria had lived until she was fourteen.
“……”
Perhaps it was his shamelessness. Aria fell silent, and Andy, interpreting that silence as consent, continued speaking.
“What I wrote in that letter wasn’t serious, right? There’s no reason for you to suddenly act like this. Look—I even brought you a bouquet—”
“Go back. I have nothing to say to you.”
Aria cut him off. Her voice was calm, but Rowell noticed her hand trembling slightly.
Thinking the conversation over, Aria turned to leave.
“Aria! Is this because I asked you to put some magic into a magic orb and send it to me?”
Andy let out a loud sigh and shouted after her retreating back. Aria flinched and stopped, and Andy pressed on.
“Haah… I told you. My mother is ill…”
Now he was striding quickly toward Aria.
“Please leave.”
But in the next moment, Andy’s steps stopped.
Rowell had spread her arms and blocked his way.
“What is this?”
Because a mere maid had suddenly interfered in a conversation between nobles, a heavy silence fell along with Andy’s irritated question.
At the same time, Sion’s gaze, which had been quietly observing from behind, shifted to Rowell.
“Please leave. You’re making our young lady uncomfortable.”
Rowell spoke boldly, regardless of who was watching her.
“You—how dare you stand in front of me—!”
Andy glared viciously at Rowell, his body trembling as he raised a hand.
Whoosh.
Just as his hand neared Rowell’s cheek, her body was yanked backward and pulled behind Aria.
“Go back, Andy. I wrote it clearly in the letter. We’re over.”
Aria said coldly, gripping Rowell’s arm tightly behind her back.
“And Brother, I have no intention whatsoever of showing courtesy to someone who is not my guest.”
Aria’s icy gaze finally turned to Sion.
“Well then.”
With that brief farewell, Aria led Rowell out of the reception hall.
“…What was that? That maid—has she lost her mind?”
Only after their footsteps had completely faded did Andy raise his voice, unable to contain his fury.
“……”
In contrast, Sion calmly lifted his teacup and sipped his tea.
“Sion! Didn’t you say a bouquet would smooth things over easily?!”
Angered by the irresponsible reaction, Andy roughly grabbed the bouquet of yellow roses on the table. From the wilted flowers, petals fell one by one.
“Who do you think you’re raising your voice at?”
After briefly looking at the petals scattered on the floor, Sion stared coldly at Andy.
“Ah—no, I just—”
“From the start, didn’t it ever occur to you that the real problem was your failure to properly handle that naïve girl? Tsk. Just how poorly did you behave when you came up to the capital?”
Though Sion’s tone was even, each syllable carried a deep, barely concealed anger.
“I—I was just spending time normally back then! And Aria smiled and agreed with everything I said!”
Andy waved his hands, protesting desperately.
“That’s enough. It was my mistake to trust you. I’ll arrange lodgings for you in the capital—wait there for now. And don’t do anything unnecessary.”
With that, Sion cut Andy off and set his teacup down.
Clink.
The motion was refined, unmistakably noble—but the sound echoing from the table carried a clear warning.
