CH 19

Without waiting for an answer, Nathan turned and started walking ahead. When Rosalie didn’t follow, he turned to face her.

“Rosalie, I’m pretty capable even though I don’t look like it.”

“I know.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better for me to do it?”

Nathan, who appeared to have a slightly slender build, didn’t show any signs of fatigue even while carrying people on both shoulders. When he started walking again, Rosalie followed him.

As she followed him, Rosalie became lost in thought.

‘I don’t know what he’s thinking, but maybe it’s better to let him do the job. With his senses, he won’t miss anything important about Bella. Above all, with that appearance, it should be easy to approach her.’

As they walked together, they gradually arrived at a shabby, empty alley. They stopped in front of a shabby tavern with all of its windows boarded up. It was where she and Derivis had met the night before.

“Do you live here?”

“Yeah. It’s an abandoned alley, and it’s rarely populated. It’s quiet, so it’s a nice place to live in.”

Nathan pushed the door open with his foot.

“I have good hearing, so if there’s a lot of people, it’s loud.”

The store, which still didn’t have a single ray of light coming in, was dark. Nathan placed Toronto and Whitney in a corner and lit a candle.

He pointed his chin at the only long sofa in the store.

“Sit down.”

As Rosalie sat on the sofa, Nathan lit all the candles in the store and leaned against the end of the sofa. Since the sofa was long, there was still space even when he raised one foot, looking like a lazy cat.

“So what’s the job?”

“I need your word first, or else I can’t tell you what it is.”

Rosalie’s deep khaki eyes looked heavy in the faint scarlet candlelight. Nathan tilted his head in amusement.

“Hmph~ I wonder what I should do~”

At Nathan’s troubled expression, Rosalie jumped to her feet and Nathan stopped teasing her, smiling widely instead.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

Rosalie glanced at Nathan, then sat back down.

“Firstly, why did you say agree to do it?”

“Because I enjoy being with Rosalie? And maybe I’ll get more chocolate if I do well.”

Nathan licked his lips slowly. His black leather suit and unruly red hair in the dim candlelight made him look even more tempting. His bewitching lips parted in a smirk.

“If you leave it to me, at least you won’t regret it. I’m pretty good.”

Despite that, Rosalie’s expression did not change. The voice that came out was also blunt.

“Bella Derit Judeheart. Your task is to approach this woman and monitor her. Tell me everything she says, does, and everyone she meets.”

Rosalie took out a photo of Bella from her handbag and handed it to Nathan. He examined the photo of Bella closely.

“Is it that simple?”

“You need to approach her deeply enough for her to tell you everything, and enough so that you can influence her with your words.”

“Okay, I’m confident in seduction.”

Nathan stared at Rosalie, his eyes seductive. A normal person would have drooled, but Rosalie only snorted. Nathan blew out a long sigh, as if losing his cool because of her indifferent response.

“I heard she’s going to watch the opera tomorrow night, so make contact with her there.”

“I’ll take care of the approach.”

“Okay. The deadline for this job is probably before winter. And this job is…”

Nathan nodded his head, reading between the lines and understanding what Rosalie didn’t say.

Rosalie stood up  and walked towards Toronto and Whitney, who were slumped in a corner and nudged their legs with her toes.

Whitney snapped back to reality as soon as she nudged him, but Toronto was still snoring heavily. Rosalie kicked Toronto’s leg even harder.

“Get up now, you can’t lie there forever.”

“Uh… Uh, I hear the devil’s voice… This… must be a nightmare.”

Rosalie leaned over at Toronto’s muttering.

“If you don’t get up right now, I’ll make you sleep forever.”

Toronto’s eyes snapped open at the eerie voice in his ear. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around to find Nathan sitting on the couch.

“Where am I? And who are you?”

Nathan smiled and covered his eyes with one hand. Toronto and Whitney quickly sprang up, drawing their swords.

“Isn’t he the guy who kidnapped us?”

“Don’t talk nonsense and come out.”

Rosalie turned and strode out of the shop, ignoring the two frantic knights. Unable to comprehend the situation, the two men stumbled and hesitantly followed Rosalie out of the shop.

“Your Grace! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, we’re going back.”

Rosalie shook her head at Whitney’s question.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

When Rosalie returned to the mansion, it was almost time for dinner. When Rosalie invited them to stay for dinner, Toronto and Whitney shook their heads.

As they headed to the training grounds with determined expressions on their faces, Rosalie thought that today’s experience would have been a good motivation for the two.

She ate her dinner and headed to the bathroom for a bath, where Emma was waiting for her with warm water in the tub.

“You can soak in now, Your Grace.”

As Rosalie slowly soaked her body from her toes into the bathtub, she felt the exhaustion of the day melting away. The temperature of the water was just right, and the scent of the bath salts was wonderfully fragrant.

“It smells good.”

“It’s a new rose scent.”

Emma carefully washed Rosalie’s hair and rubbed her body. Although her massage skills were awkward, Rosalie let Emma continue because of her sincere efforts.

“Your Grace, your body looks great since you’ve increased your activities. You’re still a bit thin, but it’s an improvement.”

“This body isn’t good at building muscles. I also get injured easily, and I don’t like it.”

“You talk about your body like it’s someone else’s.”

Rosalie flinched a little at Emma’s mild criticism. Luckily, Emma was too preoccupied with helping her to notice.

“Please be careful not to hurt yourself. I’ll be heartbroken if that happens.”

Rosalie’s eyes had been closed in exhaustion, but she opened them and looked at Emma.

“Okay. Thank you.”

As Rosalie got up, Emma gave her a gentle smile and wrapped her body with a towel.

When she came out of the bath and into her room, there was a stack of letters from Martin on the table. Rosalie picked up the letter from Bianca.

Rosalie had written what must have been a short letter of less than a page, but the reply was well over six pages long. Apart from the candy preparations, Bianca filled it with her daily feelings, work, and expressed her desire to hang out with Rosalie.

“Your Grace, shall I dry your hair?”

“No, I’ll rest now.”

“But…”

“It’s okay.”

When Rosalie waved her hand, Emma reluctantly left the room. While she was grateful for Emma’s care, she wanted to be alone and rest. Honestly, it was a bit of a hassle for her.

After finishing reading the letter, Rosalie leaned back on the sofa cushions and lifted her legs onto the sofa, placing her arm on her forehead. Since she had just taken a bath, her body felt sluggish and she was overcome with drowsiness, gradually sinking into a deep sleep.

Tap, tap!

There was a knock on the terrace window. For a moment, Rosalie thought it was a bird, but then she heard it again and sat up.

Grabbing her dagger from beside the bedside, she opened the terrace door, and there stood Derivis.

“Aren’t you opening it too easily?”

“What kind of intruder would knock politely on a door?”

At the words, Derivis let out a small laugh and suddenly covered his eyes with his hand.

“I suppose I should refrain from unannounced visits at night.”

Rosalie tilted her head at the sight of him still shielding his eyes.

“Duchess, your clothes.”

Only then did Rosalie notice her state. The scent of roses still lingered in her undried hair, and her silk nightgown faintly revealed her fair skin.

“I will get dressed. You can come in and sit down.”

Rosalie nonchalantly picked up her nightgown and put it on, and Derivis moved towards the sofa after removing his hand from his eyes.

“I’m sorry, you asked me to come to you unofficially and secretly.”

“You did well.”

Derivis let out a breathless laugh. It was the first time he had realized that there could be such emotionless praise in his life.

“Also, thank you for listening to my request. I’ll repay you later.”

“No. I don’t need a repayment, I need answers. What is it that you have to do that requires burying the kidnapping case?”

“…Why on earth do you care about my business?”

“Because it would worry me in more ways than one if you get hurt. Even if I offered to take care of it for you, you might not like it, so it’s better if we do it together.”

Derivis’s clear blue eyes held nothing but Rosalie.

‘What does he mean by worrying? Ah, was he worried that Sonia might get involved if I get hurt?’

Rosalie thought that Derivis was worried that Sonia might be involved because of the situation. Even in the original novel, when he fell in love with Sonia, he tried to be involved in everything she did and had to know about it. He was a person who would only be content when she was by his side.

Rosalie decided to explain the situation to prevent him from intervening.

“Okay, fine. In exchange for letting you know, can you promise me that you won’t ask me anything?”

Derivis made a displeased expression, but Rosalie continued.

“And can you promise not to stop me from doing what I need to do?”

Derivis reluctantly nodded his head. He knew he was being stubborn, but he also knew Rosalie was stubborn as well. If he didn’t promise her, she wouldn’t tell him anything.

“I won’t create anything for you to worry about.”

Rosalie, who was confident that there was no connection to Sonia in the situation, spoke with a firm tone. Derivis looked at her with a doubtful glance, but at her determined expression, he finally gave a small nod.

“Ha… Okay.”

“The Marquis of Windell is considering a territory war.”

“What?”