CH 72

<Ehem. Excuse me, Young Master, we’re in a very dangerous situation right now, aren’t we?>

<Anyway, it’s your fault that this happened, so you’ll have to give me some time. I’ll call someone right away.>

Dylan remembered what had happened that day.

‘It must have been Rose’s voice—’

Is it a similar voice?

It’s already been two years since he heard her voice, so his memory is hazy.

And Rose didn’t sound like that when Dylan thinks of her. She was different enough to feel like a completely different person.

It seems that her personality is completely different—.

The Rose that Dylan knows was very emotional.

One day she laughed, one day she cried.

But she didn’t seem like the maid who worked here. He has heard that she is bright and has no shady spots—.

But—.

Although they are different, there are many similarities.

So, he wondered if Yurtha was really interested in the maid, but he couldn’t believe that there was someone like her.

‘I thought she was avoiding me because Yurtha ordered her—’

It doesn’t even seem like that.

Come to think of it, did they say the maid’s name was Rosie?

Dylan recalled his faint memories. 

When was it?

******

“Am I weird?”

He was sitting on the grass with nothing to do, Rose at that time was picking flowers.

It seemed crazy to her that grass had stained her white clothes.

Dylan sighed and threw the robe beside her.

“Sit down on it. If father finds out that there is grass in it, he will scold you for not acting like a noble lady. You are bothered by that.”

“It is already late. Even if you give it after staining—”

Rose focused on picking flowers as if she were not interested in Dylan’s coat.

Dylan asked her, sitting by Rose’s side.

“So.”

“So, what do you mean?”

“You said you were weird. I think something’s strange.”

“Um, so—”

Rose opened her mouth as if she had thought of something while she was thinking about what to say.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m not me.”

“—What does that feel like?”

“I’m not sure maybe because you have one name, but I have several names.”

Dylan counted her names using Rose’s words.

“Three. Right?”

“That’s right. I have three names.”

“My father gave you the name you have now.”

“Is it because I have three names, or is it my problem? Sometimes I don’t feel like I am me. I just feel like I shouldn’t be here.”

With a casual smile, she shared a pretty complicated thought.

She wasn’t pretending to be calm. It was something she had already gotten used to. 

Dylan pondered whether or not to offer any words of consolation, but there were no words to help.

“Maybe you don’t know.”

Yeah. He’ll never understand how she feels.

Then, suddenly, he was curious about her names. 

“What is the name you used before?”

“The question is late. Yurtha asked me a long time ago.”

“Why are you talking about that child all of a sudden?”

Dylan frowned and Rose answered with a light smile.

“Rosie. That was the name.”

******

Dylan, who had escaped from the flashback, jumped up from his seat.

Her hair color, body shape, and voice are the same—. Can their names even be the same?

******

After going to the punishment room, Richard became strange.

“Do you have any favorite things, maid?”

“…What do I like? I can’t think of anything in particular.”

“You really don’t have any?”

“You suddenly asked. Well, I think it was nice to take a nap…….”

He has been asking me a lot of questions lately.

He started asking this and that as if he wanted to know about me.

“What did you do before you got a job here?”

Why does he keep doing that these days?

Richard often pretended to like me, but he never really got to know me.

He’s been pretty good with me so far.

“I’m curious about the maid’s name.”

“…Don’t you know?”

In front of Richard, I think some people have called me Rosie or Maid Rosie.

“I know, but I want to hear it for myself.”

…So why are you doing this these days?

Has that changed how he talks to me?

Either way, his change was not welcome.

“As you may already know, it’s Rosie.”

“Rosie.”

Richard spoke my name as if it were the first time he heard it.

His red lips curled seductively. That’s very awkward.

He called my name, and his beautiful face kept a smile on it the whole time. 

Then Richard looked at me. It was like he want me to ask for his name, too.

“If you’re done eating—.”

“Aren’t you asking my name?”

I felt uneasy, so I tried to stop the strange flow and jump, but Richard, who was smart, didn’t give me a chance to escape.

It wasn’t that difficult to ask him his name as he wanted.

But strangely, it seemed that I shouldn’t ask for his name here.

“What’s the point of asking now?”

“We’ll be together forever.”

Richard really seemed to believe that.

I’m gonna run away with him.

It was a strange thing.

He has always had doubts about me, hasn’t he? But what made him stop thinking that?

It was fortunate for me, but—I started to wonder if this was really fortunate or not.

“You haven’t done that to other maids until now.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You didn’t ask the other maids to ask for their names.”

“Well, there is no need for that.”

Perhaps slightly offended, his brows narrowed.

Richard’s actions were confusing. 

I know I’m special to him, but—.

So, he was kind to me, even though he had the ego to hate the people in this mansion.

It was a deliberate favor done out of need.

But what is his favor now?

“These days, I have a lot of questions about you.”

Richard smiled softly.

“Is it because you think I saved you from the punishment room?”

“….”

He doesn’t deny it.

Perhaps that’s where his interest came from.

I suddenly understood his change.

Well. I’m sure it’s the same in my country. When someone holds hands in a difficult situation, it comes like a warm comfort. 

“It’s not always like that…Do you need a reason?”

“No. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Richard seemed puzzled, not knowing what I meant.

It’s too late to come all the way here and beat him.

“If you want me to ask your name, why don’t you tell me first? How the hell are we going to escape?”

“…Hmm.”

“The festival is next week. You agreed to run away then.”

They say they will run away next week.

He still doesn’t seem to trust me completely, since he hasn’t told me how to escape.

“If I tell you, will you call my name?”

“….”

“Do you not like it?”

“…That’s not it, but I thought for a moment that your business would be ruined.”

Richard opened his eyes wide at my words and burst into laughter. 

I looked at him with a cold face. 

I’ve felt it before, but he really didn’t make a deal. 

It’s because whenever a condition was put on me, Richard’s side of the loss was always bigger when the loss was calculated.

“I will tell you where to run.”

Richard stopped laughing.

“If I was going to run away, it was a place the maid had been to before.”

“…Where have I been?”

“Yes. The maze garden in the Marquis.”

I couldn’t believe Richard’s words.

It was a completely different plan from the original—. What’s the point of running there?

“That’s what I felt the first time I tried to escape, but there’s something quite mysterious about it.”

“Mysterious?”

“There seems to be a travel portal.” 

At Richard’s words, I frowned.

Travel portal? 

—Isn’t that the imperial family authority?

The travel portal can only be owned and managed by the imperial family. But the fact that it is in the Marquis—.

‘It’s rebellion.’

Somehow, I can understand how much effort he was putting into the maze garden.

“The portal was hidden so that no one could access it. So it was quite difficult to decipher the magic.” 

—Why on earth did the Marquis Evantes make such a travel portal?

It would be quite dangerous if caught, but I couldn’t understand it.

“So you’re going to run away there?”

“I think that would be more efficient.”

“…You failed last time, is it okay?”

Richard looked at me with a mysterious expression.

Ah. 

Every time he failed to escape, the cause was always me. I laughed awkwardly.

“Then call my name now, Rosie.”

Richard said as if he was waiting.

“…Richard.”

I had always thought about calling, but this was the first time I called him myself, so it was a little strange.

When I try to say it with my mouth, I suppose that’s how it sounds, but Richard’s eyes became really big when he heard it.

Then he smiled softly as the ice melted and flowers bloomed. Really pretty. 

“Call me one more time.”

“I don’t want to.” 

I wish I could do it once.

I don’t want to call it because it’s awkward.

Richard laughed as if my reaction was funny.

But at the same time, he looked disappointed.