Chapter 7
Startled, Rosie lowered the letter and grabbed the server.
“Has Sir Cliden already left? Which way did he go?”
“Eh? Well, he left by carriage, so I have no way of knowing.”
“Then—what about the crest on the carriage? You didn’t see it?”
“There wasn’t any special crest on the carriage. Ah, and he settled the bill before leaving.”
“What?!”
Rosie felt her strength leave her as she sat back down in her chair and muttered:
“…‘Spend a brilliant remaining life,’ he says.”
If she understood correctly, this key allowed one to enter Vine Rose.
It was far too extravagant a gift to receive from a man whose face and name she barely knew. But he had already left, and she didn’t know his family—there was no way to return it.
She had thought all nobles were vain peacocks who lived only for their own pride, yet this man was nothing like any noble she had known.
For him to give such a gift to a commoner girl he had met only today, just to offer her three months of comfort…
Somehow…
Rosie couldn’t help feeling as though this man was a guardian angel sent by the gods just for her. So she hurried off to find the public carriage station.
Beidos was a small port city located at the far eastern end of the empire.
It would take at least two or three days to reach it, so the sooner she left the better.
“Your Highness, Princess—His Grace, Duke Cliden Diero, has arrived.”
Inside the imperial palace.
The emperor’s precious golden daughter, Rozelina Bianche, rushed to the reception room and shouted the moment she saw Cliden entering.
“Cliden!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Why are you so late today?”
Cliden calmly removed his coat and gloves despite Rozelina’s whining.
“I met someone.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Someone Your Highness does not know.”
“Lies! There’s no one you meet whom I don’t know. Impossible. If that’s true, then that is disloyalty, Sir Diero!”
Cliden lifted his shoulders slightly at Rozelina’s attempt to scold him.
“It was neither a lie nor disloyalty. I simply happened to meet a woman, and lent her the key to Vine Rose.”
“…Pardon? Did you say the key to Vine Rose?”
Rozelina’s voice shot up several octaves.
“How could you! Ever since I gave you that key, you haven’t visited Vine Rose even once! And you gave that to someone else? That is actual disloyalty!”
“Yes, my apologies. More importantly, let’s talk about the matter at hand.”
Cliden shifted the topic naturally. Rozelina looked displeased but quickly brightened.
“The task you left me with is nearly complete. And that woman you met—the new one you mentioned—she was connected to that matter.”
Rosie rode for three days and nights before finally arriving in Beidos.
“Woooow…!”
Outside the small carriage window lay a scene so grand it was almost unbelievable.
“That’s the sea?!”
“Haha, it is indeed.”
The coachman laughed at her excitement.
“See how the water moves? That’s what we call waves. Not like the still lakes of the capital—this is a whole different beast.”
“…You’re right. Water that moves on its own… I’ve never seen anything like this, not even in a dream.”
Rosie leaned so far out the window that she looked as though she might stick her whole head outside.
“You haven’t even seen the real show yet. Look—see where the waves break?”
“Yes, I see. When the water breaks, it turns white like that!”
“Aye, it’s a beautiful sight. But don’t get too close. The currents are strong. One wrong step and it could cost you your life.”
“…My life?”
“Oh yes. Fall in there, and even the best swimmers get swallowed up. They say bodies dragged in by those waters can’t even be recovered. So be careful.”
“I understand, sir.”
Rosie stared at the shimmering sea with her bright green eyes, mesmerized by the endlessly moving water.
Water fierce enough to swallow a person whole—everything here was astonishing.
Then the coachman pointed to the horizon.
“Ah, look over there! That’s Vine Rose.”
“Oh, really?”
Rosie pressed against the little window again.
Indeed—far on the horizon stood a towering white building.
“It looks like a castle.”
“Haha, here in Beidos, it is basically a castle. Bigger than most noble estates, and all the fancy folk gather there.”
“…”
“Why, even our princess visits every summer! You won’t be disappointed.”
Reducing speed as they entered the town streets, the coachman guided the carriage into Beidos proper—lined with homes and shops.
Watching through the window, Rosie finally felt it become real—she had truly left the capital and arrived in Beidos.
“Their clothes are all so short.”
“Haha. Hot weather does that. Beidos is warm.”
Women wore dresses barely covering their knees, and men walked around with their shirts unbuttoned to the chest.
Such a sight could never be imagined in the capital.
Smiling brightly, Rosie stared at the approaching Vine Rose.
To spend her final months in a place like that—it felt unreal. She clutched the key tightly in her hand.
Before long, the carriage was stopped by guards.
“Halt. This area is private property of the hotel Vine Rose. State your business.”
The guards checked both the coachman and Rosie. She spoke up.
“I’m here to stay.”
“…Pardon?”
“I have a key. I was told I could stay if I brought this…”
“…What?”
The guards exchanged glances.
Rosie suddenly felt panicked. Only now did she realize the letter hadn’t explained how she was supposed to use the key.
Would they throw her out?
But instead—
Vine Rose erupted into chaos.
All because of the key Rosie carried.
“…She brought a key engraved with a rose?”
The manager of Vine Rose, Ainar, stood up immediately upon hearing the guard’s report.
Vine Rose did not operate with keys at all.
The hotel was structured like a fortress with guards and staff everywhere—guests never needed to open doors themselves.
There were only two places in Vine Rose that required a key:
Ainar’s private office, and the “Room of Roses”—the VIP suite.
The Room of Roses was an ultra-exclusive chamber reserved only for those whom the Rose Queen herself had gifted the key.
And until now, the only times it had ever opened were during visits from the princess.
Ainar’s eyes sparkled.
“I should greet this guest myself.”
One guard hesitated.
“Sir… I’m not sure if I should say this, but…”
“Speak.”
“She… doesn’t seem to be a noble.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Her clothes… and her hair doesn’t even reach her waist. She looks nothing like a noble.”
…Which was why we didn’t realize she was a guest and stopped her carriage.
The guard swallowed his remaining words. Ainar stared into the air for a moment before smirking.
“Interesting.”
If the Rose Queen had sent someone who wasn’t a noble, then this was something worth investigating.
