Chapter 137
Standing on the balcony, watching everything that Rosy was doing, Ainar almost ran inside impulsively when he saw her collapsing on the stage.
But a hand holding him back stopped him, and it was Tom.
“You need to go now.”
Biting his lip with a troubled expression, Ainar looked at him.
In truth, he had risked coming all the way here because of his selfish desire to see Rosy’s face one last time.
He wanted to see her healthy with his own eyes. And, if possible, he wanted to tell her once more that they should leave together.
He couldn’t promise that she would live lavishly as the lady of the Portreys now that the family had completely fallen, but there were other things he could promise.
At the very least, he could say he would let her live without getting her hands dirty, let her travel the world, see and eat the best things, and enjoy life.
But now, she had collapsed.
“…Rosy. Rosy isn’t right. What’s happening? Could it be that the demon is still alive? That her curse hasn’t been lifted?”
Ainar asked Tom as if he couldn’t comprehend it.
He had assumed that since he had awakened in the temple and had seen the grand hall hosting the banquet, the demon had been dealt with—but apparently that wasn’t the case.
Tom nodded at Ainar’s question.
“It hasn’t been made public yet, but it seems the demon is currently imprisoned in the temple’s underground dungeon. I’ve seen Viscount Cliden descend there every day.”
“Hah.”
Ainar let out a sigh, as if utterly exasperated.
So, what does this mean?
Rosy is still unwell, and that bastard Cliden is still attending this banquet without having defeated the demon…?
“You bastard.”
Pushing past Tom, Ainar stormed out onto the balcony and immediately leaped onto the stage where Rosy had collapsed.
The knights who recognized him drew their swords with a scream, but he ignored everything and went straight up to Cliden, grabbing him by the collar.
“Take me to the demon.”
Cliden’s eyes widened in shock upon recognizing him.
The emperor’s expression was the same.
“…Ainar Portrey?”
News had spread that he had disappeared while being transferred to the imperial dungeon, delaying the banquet. No one expected him to appear so boldly in the middle of the hall!
Yet Ainar did not fear being captured by the imperial knights again. He looked only at Cliden and said:
“If you can’t do it, I will. So take me to the demon immediately.”
If you couldn’t kill the demon, you should have at least made a contract. If that was really the only way, then you should have done it to save Rosy.
Ainar spoke with burning eyes.
It was a life he had intended to give for her anyway.
The marks on his neck, left by the demon, were still there. If it meant saving Rosy, he would have done anything—made a contract with the demon, offered a thousand other sacrifices, anything.
But then…
Rosy, who he had thought had lost consciousness, spoke to him with a pale, ashen face:
“…I don’t want that.”
“…What?”
Ainar furrowed his brows, looking at her as if struggling to understand what she was saying while barely able to breathe.
She spoke painfully, each word carrying weight.
“…Never, don’t do that.”
“But if I’m to save you…!”
“…If you think of making a contract with a demon to save me, never do it. I will never forgive you.”
Ainar felt his eyes burn at Rosy’s stubborn words.
“…If you do something like that, I will never see you again. Absolutely not.”
Tears streamed down his face, burning hot, when they hadn’t even flowed when he thought he might die.
“…Then what exactly can I do for you?”
You’ve never taken anything from me.
Let me do something for you.
The words that couldn’t form on his lips spilled out as tears.
Whether she knew it or not, Rosy’s head lost strength and drooped for a moment.
“Rosy!”
Both men cried out her name in desperation at the same time.
A court physician arrived belatedly and placed a finger under Rosy’s nose:
“She’s still breathing. But…”
The physician’s words trailed off uncertainly, and the two men’s gazes trembled as they looked at him.
“…Her pulse is very weak.”
Cliden immediately lifted Rosy into his arms and stood upright.
Looking outside, it was already past midnight.
So… how much time did they have left? Three days? Two? Or… just one?
And could they even trust the demon’s words? Was there really any guarantee that Rosy wouldn’t die right now?
“…This isn’t the time.”
He couldn’t waste precious time here. He should have immediately searched for other demon hearts to destroy, even with just a few items.
Cliden muttered to himself, standing there with Rosy still unconscious in his arms.
It was no wonder the banquet’s atmosphere was completely ruined.
People murmured and exchanged glances, unsure of what was happening.
Amid it all, the emperor shouted:
“The banquet will be temporarily suspended. Contact the high priests of the temple—or rather, the Pope—and move the viscount who presented the Baron to his estate. Also, the criminal Ainar Portrey—”
Ainar’s desolate violet eyes met the emperor’s.
“…will be detained in the west wing’s guest quarters for the time being.”
To detain a prisoner who had escaped during a transfer to the dungeon in the guest quarters was practically impossible if it weren’t for Rosy’s influence.
…Strangely, the emperor could not just ignore her words.
Thus passed a chaotic night. With so many guests invited, rumors spread like wildfire.
A woman who dared to speak against the Portreys in front of the emperor, a woman who collapsed bleeding, a woman whom both Viscount Diero and the second son of the Portreys tried to save, rumors that she was a maid, rumors that she was a foreign noble…
Lily Kichern screamed hysterically at all the questions that came her way as soon as morning broke:
“Rosy Lannen, junior Baroness? I don’t know her! I said I don’t know her! And apparently she looks like my maid, but that’s ridiculous. She doesn’t look anything like her!”
Taking Rosy, who had been under Marina’s watch at the banquet, and later claiming not to know her to those asking was not really for Rosy’s sake.
‘This is just… repayment. I’m not someone who forgets favors.’
Rosy had been a bad girl who quit recklessly without remembering any of the favors she had received, but she was a noblewoman who understood gratitude. Helping someone who had saved her from danger was simply a matter of repaying a debt.
That was all it was.
“Anyway, Rosy Lannen, junior Baroness, wasn’t my maid. And, the name Rosy is common, isn’t it? Why is everyone making such a fuss with me?”
Other nobles who tried to hear more from her grumbled, but she had no intention of saying anything more.
However—
“…After all this, she won’t just die, right?”
After all the good she had done, and yet nothing came of it.
Sometimes she thought this as she gazed at the imperial castle where Rosy stayed.
And at that moment:
“…What did you say?”
The emperor spoke in a hollow voice, shocked by what he had just heard.
“…Of course, I cannot be certain. But—”
“…”
“There is a faint sense of the blessing of Lanke upon Rosy Lannen, junior Baroness.”
“Th-That means…”
“Yes.”
The Pope continued, his face firm:
“…Perhaps, she may even be the lost Princess Rosalyn.”
