Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Calyx looked down from the window at the Radwiell’s spacious garden. People were walking in the colorful flower garden, where the craftsmanship of the gardener shone. Among them was a woman with tied-back hair wearing a white shirt and gray suspenders with pants. It wasn’t an outfit noble girls would wear, but Rosaline had been uncomfortable with dresses before. Dresses must have been a hassle when her job required a lot of free body movement.

Maids followed her as she walked among the flower beds. One was holding a parasol to protect her skin, and another was holding a shawl in fear that Rosaline might get cold. Another maid hurried after her with a fan in fear that she would be hot, and another maid held a snack basket in fear that she would be hungry. The girls, who are about the same age as Calyx, have followed Rosaline well since the old days.

‘Do they not sense the emptiness of this Rosaline?’ Calyx’s expression contorted.

“Look at this, my lady. The flowers are very pretty.”

“But are you not prettier?”

‘Oh my, oh my!’ The maids squealed in happiness.

Calyx had seen such a scene before. On one spring day when the flowers were blooming, Calyx, Rosaline, and the maids had gone on an outing that he didn’t care much about. But the little maids wanted to go out and play, so they went.

Whenever the maids praised the pretty flowers...

[You are prettier, Illya.]

...Rosaline would steal their hearts.

The maids were amazed that their lady’s behavior still resembled her old self, even though she lost her memories.

“Even if she can’t remember, our lady is still the same!”

“After all, our lady is our lady!”

Their words lingered in Calyx’s mind. That wasn’t Rosaline.

‘That’s not Rosaline. That’s not my sister. ‘It’ is not’.

Calyx flipped through Alter’s report with a complicated mind. It was a document about shadows. He habitually continued to look through it, and now he had memorized each line without making a mistake.

[I came to protect.]

[What?]

[I came to protect him.]

[To protect who?]

[The Master of the White Night.]

She was a perfect stranger, a simple monster wearing Rosaline’s shape. He had only considered her as something wearing his sister’s mask until she said she would protect the Master of the White Night...

Calyx felt like something was burning in his eyes. It was as if embers were trying to burst out of them. He smiled involuntarily. After suffering from numerous doubts, he could finally define her as a perfect stranger. But at that moment, she had truly spoken like his sister. She maintained Rosaline’s ideals even when he threatened her using his father’s name. Because of that, Calyx finally had to put away his sword.

For a moment, Calyx had thought, ‘Perhaps. Perhaps ‘this’ is what she sent. It may have been her best option as her death was imminent. Perhaps... this is what she wanted.’

That day, Calyx decapitated the spy that was lying on the floor of the office. Anyone would quickly question the strange appearance of a corpse with a twisted neck.

Calyx clenched his teeth and ran. Along the way, he heard voices ring out in urgency.

“Young Lord! Young Lord!”

Rosaline’s door was wide open, and outside, several maids could be seen shifting their feet restlessly. When they saw Calyx, they looked like they were about to cry.

“Young Lord! Young Lord! Young Lord!”

Calyx thought he’d heard his name called enough times to last him a lifetime.

The scene unfolding before his eyes reminded him of the day when Rosaline had grabbed and nibbled on a steak with bare hands... That... kind of... wild picture.

Inside the room was a man in the uniform of the Knights of White Night. Calyx was well acquainted with Raymond Cimarron. But at this moment, Raymond’s posture was a bit strange. He was trembling on his knees in front of Rosaline, who was standing there like a world-dominating military commander.

“Where did you just touch? Are you prepared to die?” Her tone of voice was very similar to that of Calyx’s.

These days, she had been secretly watching him from behind, and he thought she had just learned his way of speaking. That aside... what she said was a bit strange.

‘Touch? What touch?’ Calyx removed his gaze from her and grabbed Raymond’s shoulder.

“Sir, what is this now...? W- What are you doing? Sir Raymond? Sir?”

Calyx’s tone, which was cool and controlled even as he held Raymond’s shoulder, changed rapidly in a short period from interrogative, to doubtful, and then astonished. Raymond’s pale face looked serious. Raymond then trembled, grabbed Calyx’s arm, and fainted with a loud sound.

Thud.

The sound of Raymond’s body hitting the floor rang out. The young maids were startled and started to weep. The butler was seen running in a hurry from a distance. While this is all happening, Rosaline was picking at her scones on the table next to her.

“...”

It was a mess.

They moved Raymond to the bed in a guest room. When his uniform was taken off, there were bright red marks on his chin, and it looked like he was going to have a big bruise sooner or later.

Calyx first asked his sister what had happened. She pinned her flowing hair behind her ear and drank her milk tea with a frown on her face.

“That person is a really, really bad guy.”

“... You shouldn’t say that so casually.”

She was not helping at all, so Calyx asked the maid in charge of her care. The maid said that Sir Raymond hugged the young lady as soon as he saw her. He said it was a source of joy to see the young lady unharmed. He didn’t fumble or do anything weird. But unfortunately, the day before, the maids had been very worried that the gentle and kind young lady had lost all her common sense along with her memories.

[Young Lady. We, as your subordinates, will sometimes touch you to dress you like this. Other than this, if someone you don’t know tries to touch or stroke you, be sure to tell them that they’re a really, really bad guy. Alright? And make sure to punish them.]

[What about Calyx?]

[Young Lord Calyx is fine. However, if someone you see for the first time acts like that, then...]

‘Even if you lose’, they had continued, ‘Young Lord Calyx will take care of it.’

Calyx closed his eyes tightly. What they had overlooked was that to Rosaline, who had lost her memory, it would be her first time seeing anyone else except her family and employees. So, Calyx went back to Rosaline’s room and started the late education that only began after Calyx thoroughly scolded everyone.