CH 31

Then she grabbed Bella’s wrist and twisted it backward.

“Ahh!!!”

Bella screamed in agony as she felt an intense pain coming from her wrist.

“How dare you.”

“Let go… let go!”

“How dare you touch my people and my knights?”

Rosalie growled softly, twisting her wrist even harder. Bella screamed in pain, feeling like her wrist was about to snap and the icy glare that stung her skin. Despite the ear-splitting screams, Rosalie remained impassive.

“What’s the use of this wrist, which only knows how to throw things and swing them at people?”

“Please let me go!”

Tears finally started flowing from Bella’s eyes, ruining her heavy makeup. Rosalie let go of Bella’s wrist with a shove, and Bella stumbled backward in a terrible manner.

Nathan, who had been secretly watching the escalating situation, appeared. As he slowly approached, Bella reached out to him as if he were her savior.

“Nathan… Darling!”

“Come here.”

Nathan scooped her up in his arms. He resisted the urge to remove his hand from hers at that moment and glanced at Rosalie, gesturing with his eyes. Rosalie also gestured subtly in response.

When Nathan and Bella were out of sight, Rosalie turned to look at the knights, who looked frozen and dumbfounded.

“Ask Dolan for some ointment and apply it.”

“Yes…? Oh, yes! I’ll do that.”

“Now, go.”

“Yes, Sir!”

The Knights, who had been absent-mindedly watching the situation unfolding before them, regained their composure at Rosalie’s words and hurriedly left the scene. As soon as they were gone, Rosalie turned to look at Erudit, who was standing still in the distance.

Rosalie stepped back a step after confirming that his face was unharmed. Erudit, who had unknowingly been biting his lower lip, slowly let go and opened his mouth.

“I… truly want to stay with the Duchess. I want to be here. I don’t want to work anywhere else.”

Rosalie paused at the sudden remark before answering, a faint smile on her lips.

“Alright. Do as you please, Erudit.”

“So… Please come back victorious. I’ll be waiting.”

“Okay, I won’t make you wait long.”

At those words, Erudit turned around with reddened eyes and quickly left the corridor.

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Meanwhile, in another part of the duchy, Dolan ran into Emma in the corridor as he held a small paper box in his hand. Emma looked at the box in his hand and asked.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a blue mask ordered by the Duchess.”

“A blue mask? What does she need it for?”

Emma asked, confused. Dolan shrugged, unsure of what purpose the mask would be used for.

“Does the Duchess like the color blue?” he asked.

“Well…I’m not sure. She’s never really expressed her likes or dislikes, even before.” 

Dolan’s question stumped Emma and she fumbled for an answer, smiling slightly. Although Rosalie had never expressed her preferences before, Emma could sense a difference in her feelings now, even though she still didn’t verbalize them.

‘Before, she was timid and didn’t express her opinions… And since she changed, she seems too lazy to bother saying anything. If I ask, she’ll probably answer, though.’

As Emma continued to smile, lost in her own thoughts, Dolan called out to her with a confused expression.

“Emma?”

“Oh! No, it’s nothing. Please go to the Duchess quickly. She’s waiting for you.”

Prompted by Emma’s urging words, Dolan started walking away. Then, as she looked at the paper box that was gradually moving away from her, she murmured softly.

“I should prepare a set of blue jewelry.”

Rosalie handed over all authority regarding accessories and clothing to Emma, stating that she had no interest in them. As a result, Emma’s current interest had turned to buying things that would suit Rosalie.

Remembering that a new catalog for jewelry accessories had just arrived from the capital, Emma happily walked away.

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“Blue, huh.”

He muttered while looking at the blue mask in his hand. Considering that she prepared the mask in a few days, the quality was good.

“I prepared it because I thought the color blue would suit you.”

“It’s the color of my eyes.”

When he put on the mask, the only thing visible below it was his lips, proving that he was indeed Derivis.

“What do you think? Does it look good?”

“Yes, it suits you well. You can roam around in that appearance and find the hidden knights.”

“It’s really like playing hide-and-seek.”

Rosalie spoke, glancing at Derivis, who looked excited.

“Yes. But can you please catch them after letting them off the hook three times?”

She had a feeling that the situation would be over in less than an hour if Derivis took it seriously. Derivis nodded lightly at Rosalie’s easy request. As they finished preparing and headed towards the mountains, the knights who had gathered in advance came into view.

“Today, your goal is to hit the target with your arrows without getting caught by this person. If more than half of you get caught today…”

Rosalie trailed off with a meaningful expression. The knights’ pupils trembled and they gulped in fear, imagining what she didn’t mention.

“You will have an enjoyable special training session with me.”

With the continuation of her words, sweat began to form on the knight’s foreheads.

“Now, start!”

At Rosalie’s shout, the knights quickly rushed towards the mountain.

“Your Highness, could you depart after counting to one hundred?”

Derivis nodded at Rosalie’s words as they watched the disappearing knights. After a few seconds, his lips, which weren’t concealed by the mask, moved.

“There are many ways to use one’s Auror, but typically, it is when you reach the level of a Master Swordsman through training or when you have a lot of combat experience.”

At his speculation, Rosalie had no easy answer. She suspected it was the latter, given her long years as a soldier, but she couldn’t say that to him.

His face was unfamiliar to her, perhaps because of the mask that covered half of his face.

“You don’t have to answer right now. I’ll wait until you can tell me.”

Waiting for a response, Derivis turned and began to walk away. For some reason, his steps seemed bittersweet as he headed toward the mountains.

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For a week after that, Derivis came to the Duchy every day for training. During that time, he asked Rosalie no questions; he merely maintained his usual laid-back demeanor with the occasional pranks.

His daily training sessions earned him the nickname “the Masked Ghost” from the knights.

After finishing the training, Rosalie and Derivis went up to the office together. Since changing his hair color and wearing the mask, Derivis had started moving around the Duchy confidently.

“Your Grace, letters and gifts have arrived.”

Dolan placed the letters and wrapped gifts on the table, glancing at the masked Derivis. Despite Rosalie’s introduction of Derivis as a new acquaintance, Dolan discreetly glanced at Derivis, looking dubious.

“It’s from Bianca.”

“If you need anything, please call me.”

Only after Dolan bowed his head and left did Derivis finally speak.

“Bianca, as in the Young Lady of the Marquis Bright?”

“Yes. We became friends somehow.”

As Rosalie slowly unwrapped the packaging, Derivis’s hidden face behind the mask turned disapproving.

He’d known for a long time that Bianca was responsible for the kidnapping that night at the ball. It was only because of Rosalie’s request that he stopped looking into it.

‘Instead, I assigned that task to her family, Sir Venick.’

In the process of discovering that his own sister, Bianca, was responsible for the crime, Venick, the Captain of the Imperial Knights, faithfully carried out Derivis’s orders secretly without informing the Emperor.

“What did she send?”

After Rosalie finally managed to unwrap the flashy and elaborate packaging, Derivis asked her.

“It’s a hairpin.”

What Rosalie pulled out of the box was a flower-shaped hairpin adorned with an emerald gemstone. As Rosalie read the small paper card accompanying the jewelry, she smiled lightly. Derivis, who was silently watching that smile, glanced briefly at the hairpin.

“Do you like jewelry?”

“I don’t particularly dislike them if they’re beautiful. But since it’s a gift sent to me, I like it.”

“Hmm… let me put it in your hair.”

As Derivis reached out his hand, Rosalie hesitated for a moment before handing him the hairpin. Since she probably wouldn’t have a chance to wear it in her hair anyway, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it now.

After receiving the hairpin, Derivis stood up from the sofa and moved behind Rosalie, gently touching her silky platinum hair. The touch was more careful and delicate than she’d expected, and she felt herself relax.

“Do you know how to handle someone’s hair?”

“A little bit. I used to play with my mom’s hair when I was little.”

Derivis’s mother, the former Empress, was known to have passed away due to a weak body. However, the truth was different.

Rosalie knew that Derivis’s biological mother was murdered by the current Empress, who was the first concubine of Emperor Patrick and the mother of the Second Prince, in order to ascend to the throne. She also knew that as a result, Derivis and the Second Prince were left with deep scars and guilt that could not be washed away.

“Is that so?”

“It was one of my favorite pastimes.”

Derivis glanced at Rosalie’s finished hair, then picked up a strand and played with it.

“Is it not finished yet?”

Rosalie, who was unaware of what he was doing because she was looking the other way, asked him. Derivis then put her hair down.

“It’s done. It suits you well.”

“Thank you.”

Derivis returned to his seat. Suddenly, he saw the clock and realized that it was time for him to leave.

“How’s your Auror training going? You can’t use them yet.”

“Yes, I’m only focusing on the breathing exercises as you instructed. Are you leaving now?”

The corners of his mouth, not covered by his mask, moved in response to Rosalie’s question.

“You also need to take it easy to last longer.”

At his answer, Rosalie couldn’t help but smile.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Duchess.”

Derivis placed a hand on his chest and bowed deeply. Rosalie’s eyes widened at the suddenly formal knightly gesture, and Derivis turned and walked away.

Rosalie didn’t take her eyes off the door until he was gone.