CH 33

‘If it’s as I expected… Devi must be visiting the Duchy.’

For the first time, she secretly hired someone to tail Derivis, but he disappeared like a ghost and they weren’t able to gain any reliable information. But somehow, Sonia had the feeling that he was visiting the Duchy.

She impatiently visited the manor, thinking that if she could get a confirmation, she might be able to find out what they were hiding. However, Rosalie’s reaction was unexpected, and it added immeasurable anger to her impatience.

“Talking about Rosalie…”

Sonia didn’t like what was happening, starting with Rosalie’s relationship with Derivis to her friendship with Bianca. Blood began to trickle down her finger, which she was biting. Her innocent and lovely appearance was nowhere to be found.

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Rosalie left the reception room and headed to her room to change into her training uniform. It was then that she noticed a familiar figure leaning against the wall in front of her room.

“What are you doing here, Nathan?”

“I came to see you.”

Rosalie glanced down the hallway, worried that someone else might be around, but Nathan casually waved his hand.

“Don’t worry, no one’s here.”

“Where’s Bella?”

“She’s taking a nap. Don’t worry about her either.”

Nathan smirked, and when Rosalie gave him a look that told him to speak up, he tilted his head.

“By the way~ did you and Devi meet around the duchy?”

“It just happened.”

A dry reply came from Rosalie. She had expected Nathan to know anyway, especially with his abilities. She hadn’t bothered to tell him because she didn’t feel the need to explain, and it wouldn’t make any difference if he did.

“Did you become close with Devi? He even went here using a disguise.”

“Well….”

“I happened to see you two together. You guys looked close, aren’t you?”

Rosalie gave a short shrug at Nathan’s comment. She had gotten used to having Derivis around since they spent most of their time together, but as of today, her relationship with Sonia had been irreparably damaged.

‘And that could be a factor that would form a rift between me and Derivis.’

Rosalie felt an unpleasant sensation in her stomach. It was probably the aftermath of her argument with Sonia.

“Rather than that, hurry up and go back. What if Bella wakes up?”

Nathan spread his arms at Rosalie’s firm command. When Rosalie looked at him, puzzled by the gesture, the corners of Nathan’s mouth lifted up.

“I need an advanced compliment.”

Nathan lowered his arms and hugged Rosalie.

“I told you not to fool around.”

When Rosalie raised her hand and spoke in a low voice, Nathan quickly let go of her. Rosalie shrugged off his arms and was about to reach for the doorknob, but stopped.

Then, she gestured for Nathan to come over. As Nathan tilted his head obediently, he felt a clumsy but gentle hand stroke the top of his head.

“Haha. You’re really giving me a compliment in advance?”

“Now, go away.”

With that chilly voice, the door opened and slammed shut. Nathan looked at the closed door with a regretful expression then walked away, humming a tune.

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It was a bluish morning when no one had woken up yet, and even the sun was just starting to rise. Rosalie was already in the third training ground earlier than usual and was doing some personal training. It was probably because her nerves were on edge from the approaching territory war, or because of her recent habit of waking up early.

“Ha…”

Rosalie finished her training and sat leaning against a tree, gazing at the gradually brightening sky as she caught her breath. As the cold morning air filled her lungs, she felt her mind becoming clearer.

“The sky is so clear….”

Looking up at the sky, Rosalie let out a small laugh, feeling uncomfortable in the pit of her stomach.

“Maybe Nathan was right. We might have gotten a little closer.”

Now that she thought about it, she had spent a lot of time with Derivis since entering the novel and received significant help from him. Without realizing it, she had started to feel a sense of familiarity with him.

As Rosalie continued to gaze at the sky, she felt her eyelids becoming heavier and eventually closed her eyes completely. After training too hard without getting enough sleep, it was difficult for her to resist the sweet temptation of sleep.

After such a deep and brief sleep, Rosalie slowly opened her eyes to the familiar body heat next to her. Beside her was the masked Derivis, lending her a shoulder to lean on.

“Looks like you had a good sleep.”

Rosalie blinked at him, then noticed the jacket covering her. Derivis smiled at her dazed appearance, which looked a little groggy from her sleep.

“Did you not sleep well?”

“…When did you get here?”

“Not long ago.”

Rosalie knew that it was a lie. The warmth she had felt next to her had been there for a while.

“You’ll catch a cold if you fall asleep here, so you shouldn’t do it again next time.”

‘But I didn’t wake up even though I felt the warmth beside me…’

Due to her habit of being alert and having a keen sense of hearing while asleep, she was usually easily awakened when someone approached. However, she suspected that she had become accustomed to Derivis’s warmth, which was why she didn’t wake up even with his presence.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

When there was no answer, Derivis turned to look at Rosalie. Specifically, it was his masked face that met her gaze. Blinking, Rosalie raised her hand and slowly removed Derivis’s mask. Once it was gone, Rosalie smiled at the blue eyes staring back at her.

“Indeed, this is familiar.”

Noticing Derivis’s slightly wavering gaze, Rosalie tilted her head and leaned in. Derivis’ hand twitched.

“Your Grace.”

At that moment, they heard Dolan’s voice in the distance. Rosalie jerked her head back and quickly put the mask back on Derivis.  

“I’m here.”

Watching Rosalie’s back as she pushed herself to her feet and walked away, Derivis let out a long breath as he bowed his head and covered his face with one hand.

“Ha….”

At Dolan’s call, Rosalie headed towards the back yard of the mansion. In the back yard, dozens of wooden crates were stacked one on top of the other. Next to the boxes, Aaron and Erudit, who had arrived earlier, bowed their heads towards Rozalli.

“Where’s Bella?”

Rosalie asked, and Dolan answered in a low voice.

“She’s still asleep. It doesn’t seem like she’ll come here.”

Rosalie nodded. She had already told Nathan to stop Bella from coming here, but she felt the need to double-check. Aaron and Erudit approached her.

“Your Grace, the quantity is correct. The quality of the goods is also satisfactory.”

“Okay. Then, move them all.”

Rosalie replied as she examined the documents handed to her by Erudit. These crates contained supplies for the knights that they had ordered from Count Seth.

‘Equipment plays an important role in war.’

The original supplies were old, so they purchased new and better quality products this time.

“Your Grace, there’s one more crate.”

“You said the quantity is correct, right?”

“The ordered quantities are all correct. But that crate is not part of the order. There was a letter addressed to the Duchess inside the crate.”

Rosalie approached the crate pointed out by Erudit. Unlike the other crates, this one had a small pink ribbon attached to it. She pushed open the lid of the crate and inside, she found a letter, a piece of paper, and a small green spherical object with a metal ring attached.

“No way, is this what I think it is?”

Rosalie picked up the letter. The sender was Moiron.

「 To Duchess Rosalie Judeheart,

Have you received the ordered goods safely?

This is a new product the wizards have been working on lately. It hasn’t been released yet, so it doesn’t even have an official name.

You can call it whatever you like.

It is similar to the item you were looking for and has the best performance.

Since the purchase amount was high, I included it as a special gift.

After your plans are completed, I have a premonition that good luck will come to me as well.

With my best wishes, Moiron Seth. 」

Rosalie put down the letter and unfolded the instruction manual that was in the corner of the crate.

“Grenades…”

She had asked Moiron to find her a portable magical explosive device in case she could find one, but she never expected to receive them as a gift.

It seemed that Moiron, like Rosalie, also felt that they could become good partners for each other. It was an unexpected and satisfying outcome.

‘How lucky. This will be a great help in the operation.’

After closing the crate, Rosalie called Aaron.

“Sir Aaron, keep this separately. Make sure no one touches it.”

“Yes, understood. I will submit a report on the items and storage locations by this afternoon.”

Rosalie nodded and frowned at the gaze of the strange knights that she had been feeling on her skin since earlier.

” Sir Aaron, why are the knights acting like this today?”

At Rosalie’s question, Aaron looked around with a bewildered expression. Upon seeing the knights’ gazes directed at her, he seemed to realize something.

“Since you’ve only been training with the firing squad lately, it’s probably the first time they’ve seen you in a while.”

“So?”

“After Toronto and Whitney went to the capital, they’ve been spreading rumors about how the Duchess was an amazing person and that they admire you. And not long ago, when the knights were in trouble, the Duchess saved them, so their respect for you has grown even more… “

Aaron hesitated, swallowing the next words. However, Rosalie tilted her head as if to encourage him to continue.

“And… because Your Grace is so amazing, the firing squad has been boasting that even a strong ghost follows you… Your Grace, you are quite admired these days! Haha…”

Aaron explained with a forced smile while keeping an eye on Rosalie, wondering if she would make any icy comments about the knights’ slackening mental state.

However, contrary to expectations, Rosalie burst into an incredulous laughter. The knights who were moving the crates almost dropped them because of her laughter.

“Hey… Am I seeing things?”

“Did the Devil Duchess just laugh…? Is it the end of the world today?”