Chapter 07
“Sold for three hundred and sixty million Les!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
While Rose stood frozen, staring at Duke Arteum, Luna’s Tears was sold to some unknown noble. For a staggering three hundred and sixty million Les.
“Why aren’t you answering? Don’t tell me you’re planning to run away without taking any responsibility.”
Duke Arteum glared at Rose sharply, like a ferocious beast baring its fangs. The look in his eyes made her shudder, as if he might devour her at any moment. Overwhelmed by his intimidating presence, Rose’s palms grew slick with sweat. Stiff with fear, she looked back at him with trembling eyes. If she couldn’t say anything now…
I might die.
His nickname, the Mad Killer of the North, hadn’t been given for nothing. Surely, he had cut people down whenever the mood struck him. She had to answer, but for some reason her mouth wouldn’t open. It had to be fear—the terror of what the duke might do to her tightening around her throat. At last, Rose’s thin, quivering voice escaped.
“I—I can take responsibility… with my body.”
“My body?”
Rose, who had answered with her eyes tightly shut, realized in an instant that something was terribly wrong. Because of her nerves, she had said body instead of life. As if delivering a final confirmation, the duke asked again.
“Ah…”
At the same time, Rose’s face flushed bright red, as if it might burst.
Have I lost my mind?!
Her nerves had made her blurt out nonsense. How stupid.
“N-no, that’s not what I meant—”
She tried to correct herself, but Duke Arteum looked as though he had no intention of listening.
“I’m not interested in women who already belong to someone.”
Seeing Rose flustered, the corner of his mouth twitched despite himself. But Rose, her head lowered in embarrassment, failed to notice his expression.
I have to explain. Otherwise, he’ll misunderstand me as some strange woman.
Convinced that the duke had completely misunderstood her intentions, Rose hurriedly reached out toward him.
“Duke Arteum, please—”
But before her hand could even touch him, Duke Arteum stood up from his seat. Watching him turn away without clearing up the misunderstanding, Rose screamed silently. Stopping a man who had already turned his back was no easy task—especially not when that man was Duke Arteum. In the end, Rose could only let him go without ever explaining herself. Unaware that the duke had taken her slip of the tongue completely to heart, she clutched her head and silently wailed.
Duke Arteum left the auction hall without a shred of hesitation and headed for his carriage.
Buying it after hearing it’s a fake doesn’t sit right with me.
He had come here solely to acquire Luna’s Tears, and now that the auction for it was over, there was no further reason to stay.
Or should I have just ignored her and bought it anyway?
To be honest, he hadn’t fully trusted Rose’s words. To him, she had the image of a foolish woman—someone so blinded by love that she couldn’t tell right from wrong and drove nails into her parents’ hearts. She hadn’t even contacted her parents first. Shaking his head, Duke Arteum boarded the carriage after leaving the auction hall completely. The auction was already over; thinking about it now wouldn’t change anything. Recalling the noble who had won Luna’s Tears, he murmured quietly,
“I can just buy it from him for a higher price.”
He spoke casually and turned his gaze out the window. The cold night air seeped into the carriage as it sped along.
“She looks exactly like Lady Serviat.”
Murmuring to himself, Duke Arteum recalled Rose staring at him with those large eyes. He had thought the same thing sixteen years ago when he first saw her. Rose bore an uncanny resemblance to Lady Serviat—so much so that it was impossible to find even a trace of Count Serviat’s features in her. Though it had been sixteen years since he last saw her, he had recognized her instantly. Rose, on the other hand, seemed not to have recognized him.
“Well, it’s only natural she wouldn’t remember me.”
The duke recalled the day he had visited the Serviat estate at Count Serviat’s invitation. When he first met Rose, she had peeked out from behind the countess and said:
‘You’re not the Crown Prince…’
‘Oh my, Rose. You spent the whole week singing about the Crown Prince. Come out and greet him properly.’
‘No… he’s not the Crown Prince… My Crown Prince doesn’t look like that… Waaah!’
Rose had stared at the duke’s face, her eyes filling with tears, before bursting into sobs, insisting that the Crown Prince she had imagined wasn’t so frightening-looking.
The memory of Rose sobbing with her cheeks puffed out made a smile bloom on Duke Arteum’s face without him realizing it. Thinking of her brought back a flood of happy childhood memories. But it was only for a moment. Soon, the smile vanished, and his face turned cold and vicious. Only a fierce, angry glint remained in his eyes, unreadable. ***
“Sirne.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I think… I might have made a mistake with the duke.”
Having bought nothing in the end, Rose spoke blankly to Sirne, looking as if she had lost her senses. At times like this, even a comforting lie of ‘No, you didn’t’ would have helped—but Sirne was still a rookie knight, lacking in social grace.
“Y-yes… Please don’t worry, my lady. No matter what happens, I will protect you.”
Did Sirne know that his words of comfort only sounded more ominous to Rose? Looking even more distressed than before, she let out a deep sigh.
“I hope there won’t be anything for you to protect me from.”
Perhaps he hadn’t heard her mutter, because Sirne tilted his head and asked,
“But why did you say it was a fake? The host of the auction is someone highly trusted—trusted enough to do business with nobles. He’s run this auction house for years without a single issue.”
“It’s not that the host sold a fake on purpose. Someone switched it with a counterfeit.”
“W-what?! Really? How do you know that?”
At Sirne’s voice, Rose hastily clapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that—her mind had been so muddled that she’d spoken without thinking. She didn’t know when, where, or who had swapped it for a fake. After all, she hadn’t read the book carefully enough.
If only I knew that much, I could’ve spoken with confidence.
Deciding that saying more while knowing nothing would only make things worse, Rose forced an awkward smile to smooth things over.
“I dreamed it.”
“……”
Sirne, who had been looking at her with bright eyes, awkwardly averted his gaze at her mention of a “dream.”
“By the way, my lady, you couldn’t buy a gift for the count. Will that be all right?”
Changing the subject, Sirne smiled as if nothing were wrong. Clearly, he didn’t really believe her. Shrugging, Rose replied indifferently,
“Do I really have to give him a gift?”
“W-what?!”
Sirne’s eyes widened so much they looked ready to pop out.
Every year on the count’s birthday, people made such a huge fuss they’d click their tongues in disbelief.
There were even rumors that Rose hadn’t married him out of love, but to deliberately drain the count’s finances and ruin the household. And yet, to hear such words from her mouth—Sirne couldn’t hide his shock.
“He doesn’t celebrate my birthday either.”
Rose spoke calmly, as if unconcerned by his reaction. Count Wens not only failed to celebrate her birthday—he didn’t even remember it. Every year, Rose waited for him with great expectations, but instead of coming to see her, the count spent the night with other women and only returned the next day.
“W-well… that’s true.”
Sirne nodded in agreement.
“So I decided that starting this year, I won’t celebrate his birthday either.”
With an innocent, childlike smile, Rose climbed into the carriage. Watching her slender figure as she walked away, Sirne murmured quietly,
“Has Lady Rose… changed?”
She had once rushed headlong into anything involving the count, yet now she seemed oddly detached.
“Is she trying to catch the count’s attention by pretending not to care…?”
Still, Sirne wondered if this, too, might be part of Rose’s strategy. He couldn’t believe she would truly turn her back on the count so easily.
“Poor Lady Rose… so young and beautiful…”
A dull ache spread through Sirne’s chest.
“If her heart cools like this, the count will surely regret it someday.”
Shaking his head, Sirne mounted his horse. The carriage raced toward the count’s estate. Even inside the moving carriage, Rose couldn’t shake the image of Duke Arteum’s piercing gaze, which made her uneasy.
“Let’s not worry. We’ll never meet again anyway.”
Since Luna’s Tears was definitely a fake, he wouldn’t have any reason to vent his anger on her. Even knowing that, her heart continued to pound.
“And besides, he’s someone who’ll die before long anyway…”
Her voice trailed off. Despite having met him only once, thinking about his death left her with an unpleasant feeling. She soon shook her head and muttered,
“Let’s not dwell on it.”
Rather than worrying about someone who would soon die, she thought it better to focus on how she would survive in this world from now on. ***
After returning to the count’s estate, Rose soon forgot her encounter with the duke and spent her days quietly and peacefully. She studied every day, learning more about this world. Word spread that Eric and Doana, perfectly in sync, shared the same bedroom every night. Everyone avoided talking about it in front of Rose, but there was no way such things wouldn’t reach her ears.
Doana shamelessly visited Rose often. Though she was supposed to work as Eric’s maid, she did no real work. All she did was wear the uniform and stay by Eric’s side.
“What are you always staring at like that?”
“I was just bored, sitting around doing nothing.”
Doana’s voice rang out—I don’t know when she had entered. Seeing Doana walk into her room without even knocking, Rose quietly gathered her documents. At Rose’s words, Doana let out a soft snort and smiled.
Well, no one here bothers to keep you company. Of course you’d be bored.
Tucking her long hair behind her ear, Doana mocked Rose with a sideways glance. Then, putting on a bright smile, she approached Rose and said,
“Good thing I’m here, right? You don’t have anyone else to talk to. I wish the count were just a little kinder to you.”
Rose didn’t even find it worth reacting to Doana’s fake concern, which was clearly meant to scrape at her nerves. As if to show off a gift she’d received, Doana toyed with her earrings, flipping her hair from side to side.
Eric must’ve given them to her.
It was obvious—there was no way a maid’s wages could afford such expensive sapphire earrings. Watching Doana try so hard to flaunt them in front of her, Rose gave a faint smile and pretended not to know, asking casually,
“What about those earrings?”
“Aren’t they pretty? I got them as a gift.”
Doana brazenly boasted about the earrings she’d received from Rose’s husband, reveling in her sense of superiority.
“I have a boyfriend now.”
She couldn’t hide the curl of her lips. She wanted, more than anything, to tell Rose the truth right then and there—
Your husband is my lover.
