Chapter 2
“Gah!”
I snapped my eyes open—only to realize I had somehow fallen asleep with my head buried on the bed.
I jerked my head up, but I was alone in the room.
Kristan usually wakes up early—
…No, actually, I was the one who woke up late.
Checking the time, it was already close to eleven.
Rubbing my face, I forced my stiff body upright. I definitely remembered dozing off while leaning against the chair.
That chair was seriously dangerous. A chair that summons deep sleep.
Even the chairman’s chair at my old company probably wasn’t this good.
I figured I shouldn’t stay in this room any longer, so I quietly slipped out to fulfill my duty as a maid(?).
But… where was I supposed to go?
According to the original story, I did have my own room. But since I’d been taken straight to the grand duke’s bedroom the moment I arrived at the castle, I had no idea where it was.
In the novel, Roella had been highly wary and sensitive, unable to sleep at all while staying with Kristan. When morning came, she would return to her room, lock the door, and sleep alone.
The complete opposite of me—I could fall asleep the moment my head touched anything.
“Where is it…?”
I muttered quietly while looking around. I really wanted to go lie down properly in my own room.
“Turn left there, and it’s the first room immediately ahead.”
“Ack!”
The sudden voice startled me so badly I screamed and whipped my head around. Clutching my pounding heart, I looked behind me and saw an elderly woman in a neat, dignified dress staring at me.
Behind her glasses, the wrinkles around her eyes were set in a stern expression. I swallowed hard.
She looked far scarier than the director of the orphanage I grew up in.
I forced an awkward smile and straightened my posture.
Yeah… I totally looked like someone who’d snuck into another person’s house, didn’t I?
“Haha… thank you. Um, what should I call—”
“It seems my introduction yesterday was insufficient. You may call me Madam Rosette.”
Ah. Madam Rosette.
She was the person in charge of overseeing and managing the entire grand ducal estate—and someone Kristan trusted deeply.
She played an important role in the original story as well. It was Rosette who saved Kristan after Roella poisoned him, and later, she was the one who helped the female lead adapt when she arrived.
In other words…
The real power behind the grand ducal household.
“Yes, Madam Rosette. I think I was a bit disoriented because I was tired.”
I mean, suddenly transmigrating like this would throw anyone off. Who would’ve expected to wake up in the grand duke’s bedroom?
“I thought as much. You skipped breakfast, so you must be hungry.”
“Ah, well—”
Grrrrrr.
My stomach made a loud, unmistakable protest.
I grabbed my stomach tightly.
Read the room, will you?! Oversleeping, being sold here, and then whining about food—was that really acceptable?
Roella’s position in this mansion was extremely awkward.
Aside from acting as a conduit to release the grand duke’s magic, she had no real duties.
Because of that, the other maids looked at her with hostility.
They gossiped about how a sold-off daughter from a ruined viscount family did nothing all day yet lived in luxury.
As a result, Roella became the ugly duckling of the household, which only made her more sensitive and defensive.
On top of that, dirty rumors spread in the North—claims that Roella sold her body.
Unable to gain even a shred of goodwill from the grand ducal household or Kristan himself, she was easily deceived by someone claiming they would save her.
And so, without hesitation, she poisoned Kristan’s food.
“…I am hungry, though.”
“Yes. A meal has been prepared in the dining hall.”
“Th-Thank you. Um… after I eat, what should I do?”
“Your only role is to attend His Grace. You have no other obligations.”
True—just like in the novel, Roella was never assigned any work. She was only summoned to the bedroom at night.
But even so, I was practically a maid. Doing nothing all day and getting hated like the original Roella, then getting wrapped up in nasty rumors? Absolutely not.
“I don’t think I can do nothing all day. If there’s anything I can help with, please let me.”
Madam Rosette narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Then I will consider whether there is anything suitable for you to do. For now, before eating, you should wash up… and get yourself presentable.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
I’d just woken up, so I probably looked awful.
I was about to head to my room to wash when I hesitated.
“Um… where is the dining hall? I think I should know the way if I’m going after.”
“I will come for you in one hour.”
“Thank you, Madam Rosette.”
I smiled awkwardly. This was such a hassle—for everyone.
I really needed to memorize the layout of the grand ducal estate and adapt quickly.
Anyway, until the female lead arrived, I was trapped here.
If I tried to run away, they’d hunt me down no matter what. There was no way they’d let a hard-earned Compatible escape.
And the loyalty the grand ducal family—and the people of the North—had toward Kristan was terrifyingly deep.
Sigh.
I used to be an ordinary office worker. Now I was an “employee” of the grand ducal household.
Worse—I’d already been paid in advance when I was sold, meaning I wouldn’t receive a salary at all.
Unpaid labor.
Others transmigrated into gold-spoon lives.
So why did I get this?
I can’t run. I can’t save money.
Does that mean when the female lead shows up, I’ll be kicked out penniless?
My old job—with its steady paycheck—was better than this!
Seriously, this is heartbreaking.
Dragging my feet, shoulders slumped, I walked away—
Completely unaware of Madam Rosette watching my retreating figure intently.
* * *
After that, Kristan rarely had opportunities to speak with Roella.
She was quiet by nature. Occasionally she did strange things—but aside from that, nothing about her was particularly irritating.
She obediently held his hand—
…No. She was actually quite strange.
Kristan frowned as a small face with zero sense of tension came to mind—falling asleep while clutching his hand even before he himself drifted off.
According to Madam Rosette, who stayed close to her, Roella was friendly, dexterous, and intelligent.
And she had no contact with the outside world whatsoever.
Though only a week had passed since Roella arrived, nothing seemed amiss so far.
Most importantly, Kristan’s body had clearly improved.
The headaches that felt like they would tear him apart had subsided. He no longer coughed up blood.
‘Still… it wouldn’t hurt to observe her a little longer.’
Organizing his thoughts, Kristan reviewed the documents on his desk—financial records for the month.
As he flipped through them, he suddenly paused and blinked slowly. Then he turned back a page and lifted his head.
“Aidan.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Did you organize this as well? The format has changed. It’s much easier to read—everything’s clear at a glance.”
“It’s easier to see where money is leaking, isn’t it? I was surprised myself.”
Kristan’s brow furrowed slightly.
“If it wasn’t you… did Madam Rosette do it?”
“No. According to Madam Rosette… Miss Roella did.”
At the completely unexpected name, Kristan froze again.
He slowly lowered his gaze to the documents.
This?
That woman who slept with her face buried in his palm, drooling…?
It was utterly unbelievable.
Kristan let out a dry laugh.
“You must be mistaken.”
There was no way that absent-minded-looking Roella could have done this.
He snapped the folder shut.
“Find out who actually did it, Aidan.”
“And if I find them?”
“I want to hire them immediately. No jokes. Do this properly.”
Then he added firmly—
“And don’t give me nonsense about it being Miss Roella.”
