Chapter 09
In the original story, the female lead and Duke Arteum never even brushed past each other—and yet now they had not only met at an auction house, but he was even inviting her to a banquet? Rose was bewildered. What made it worse was that the invitation wasn’t addressed to “Count Wens,” but to “Countess Wens.” There should have been absolutely no reason left for the duke to take notice of her.
He was the one who had glared fiercely at Rose and practically declared war, saying he wouldn’t let it slide if the item turned out to be genuine. But in the end, Luna’s tears had revealed it to be a fake. In the original story, Eric had sent the gift to the empress, only for it to be exposed as counterfeit—and this time as well, it was said that some noble had sent it to the empress and been found out. That was why Rose had believed she would never again have anything to do with Duke Arteum.
At least, until she received this invitation.
‘…What should I do?’
Rose was deeply conflicted. Since she’d received an invitation from the duke, etiquette dictated that she should attend—even if only out of courtesy. But at the same time, the thought crossed her mind: He’s going to die soon anyway, so do I really need to go?
‘Ah… what am I thinking? No matter how much he’s just a character in a novel, how can I think something like that about someone who’s going to die?’
Shaking her head, Rose scolded herself.
“I should go.”
She let out a low, gloomy sigh. Soon, however, she tried to think positively. It wouldn’t be so bad to take this opportunity to dip her toes into high society and get a feel for the atmosphere.
While Rose was lost in thought about the duke, Doana was rummaging through Rose’s wardrobe and jewelry box as if they were her own. Her fingers toyed with the hem of Rose’s dresses, her eyes glittering with greed.
‘Once I become the countess, I’ll have to make him fill this wardrobe with brand-new dresses.’
Without even asking, she pulled out a flashy red dress and held it up against herself.
“As expected… it suits me much better.”
She lifted the corners of her lips as she admired her reflection in the mirror. After hanging the dress back up, Doana reached for the jewelry box. She had assumed that a countess would own countless beautiful jewels, but when she opened it, she tilted her head in confusion.
“What? There’s hardly anything here.”
Inside were only a diamond necklace, matching earrings, and a tiara. Doana tried the tiara on her head and smiled in satisfaction.
‘Yes, this is me. I shouldn’t have gotten mixed up with that beggar-like guy.’
After marrying Lee Dohyun, she had always been short on money. Even though he worked at a major corporation, he’d grown up in an ordinary household and could never truly satisfy her. He bought her luxury bags from time to time, but that was far from enough. Traveling abroad every quarter and draping herself in designer brands had been her everyday life. She had been born with a “silver spoon” in her mouth, after all.
Searching the box to see if there was anything else, Doana suddenly widened her eyes at an unexpected item she found in a drawer.
“Baby shoes?”
They were tiny baby shoes. Spotlessly white and immaculately maintained—clearly never worn.
“Hm. Why keep something so useless? You miscarried anyway.”
With a remark devoid of empathy, Doana tossed the baby shoes back into the box. Seeing them suddenly reminded her of the child she herself had forgotten. People said you’d adore your baby to death once you gave birth, but she had never felt any maternal affection. Managing her figure was more important than caring for a child; sleeping for the sake of her skin mattered more. When the baby cried or fussed, she’d even thought she shouldn’t have had it at all.
After briefly recalling her own child, Doana adjusted her hair in the mirror and muttered,
“Well, they say nannies raise the children here anyway, so I won’t need to worry.”
There was not a trace of motherly love in either her words or her actions.
Having decided to accept the duke’s invitation, Rose finally noticed how unusually quiet Doana had become. Normally she would be chattering away, asking this and that. Curious about what Doana was up to, Rose looked over—only to see her rummaging through Rose’s jewelry box without permission, a tiara perched on her head.
Rose walked toward her, click, click.
“What are you doing?”
“I was just looking around. This is really pretty. Doesn’t it suit me?”
Rather than being startled, Doana smiled and pointed at the tiara on her head. The tiara was probably a gift from Eric—the first and last gift he had ever given to Rose, the novel’s female lead. Rose remembered reading how dearly she had cherished it.
“You can’t wear that.”
Rose gently took the tiara back from Doana and smiled playfully.
“Maybe it’s because Rose treasured it so much, since it was a wedding gift from Eric. I guess I ended up cherishing it too.”
In truth, Rose had no interest in the tiara or any jewelry Eric had given her. But if she gave up the position of countess without the slightest attachment, Doana’s personality was such that she might start suspecting her. Doana coveted what others valued. That was probably why she had even married someone like Lee Dohyun, who was beneath her station—because someone else’s rice cake always looked bigger.
“Oh, it was a wedding gift?”
“Yeah. It’s the first and last gift a count ever gives his countess.”
“Oh my, the first and last?”
Doana’s eyes widened in apparent surprise. She touched her ear thoughtfully.
‘And I already have three.’
It was hard to hide the twitch at her lips. She had received three gifts in less than a month, while the countess had only that one after more than three years.
“How sad… I’ve already received several from my boyfriend.”
Pretending to console her, Doana subtly boasted about her own gifts. With a fake look of concern, she suddenly grabbed Rose’s hand.
“Should I talk to the count for you? He might listen if it’s my request.”
“…My husband?”
As Rose trailed off, Doana waved her hand innocently, eyes wide.
“Oh, you didn’t misunderstand, did you? I mean, I’m the maid in charge of the count, so I’m with him every day. I actually spend much more time with him than you do.”
She casually emphasized her closeness with the count and smiled at Rose.
“He’s such a gentle man. So kind. I can’t even imagine how well he must treat you, his wife.”
‘She’s really something—saying that even after seeing how cold he actually is. She’s an expert at getting under people’s skin.’
Fortunately, since Rose didn’t care for the count, her feelings weren’t hurt. Still, she didn’t forget to put on a dejected expression. For the sake of the bigger picture, even such small acting was necessary. With a bitter look, Rose hurriedly excused herself.
“…I left something in the study. I’ll go get it first.”
To Doana, it would look like Rose was retreating because she’d been hurt. The moment Rose left her room, her expression turned icy. Anyone who saw her might have thought she had a split personality.
Walking slowly, Rose glanced at the large clock hanging on the wall and murmured,
“There’s still some time until dinner.”
Perhaps because his lover was staying at the estate, Eric didn’t go out as much as he used to. The downside was that Rose now had to face him at meals more often. Wondering how to pass the remaining time, she headed toward the study. She hadn’t been there much outside of lesson hours, but it seemed perfect for killing time.
When she opened the door and stepped inside, Rose tilted her head.
“Huh?”
Unsorted documents were scattered across the desk. Assuming they belonged to Count Wens, she turned her gaze toward the bookshelf. Just then, a gentle breeze drifted in through an open window. The papers on the desk fluttered down to the floor in an instant—probably because the window hadn’t been closed.
Rose stared blankly at the papers at her feet, then slowly bent down to pick one up. She hadn’t meant to read it, but when she saw a familiar name, her eyes were drawn to it.
“Th-this is…!”
Her hands began to tremble violently.
“The execution… of Duke Arteum?”
What… did I just see? Rose’s mind went blank. The documents contained discussions on how to deal with Duke Arteum. Not only were there plans to kill him in a “reasonable” manner, but it even seemed they had been involved in the deaths of the late emperor and empress.
[If he were to waste away and die as the late emperor did, too many would suspect poisoning. If the late emperor, late empress, and then the duke all died one after another in the same way, suspicion would be unavoidable. If we ruin Duke Arteum’s reputation through this incident, there will be no one left to oppose his execution.]
Rose clapped a hand over her mouth, unable to speak. The document didn’t lay out a detailed plan, but as she stood there in a daze, she hurriedly began gathering the scattered papers.
‘I need to find out… how things are unfolding.’
Even from these fragments, it was clear: they had killed the innocent former emperor and empress, and now intended to kill their son as well. Perhaps because she had already read about how Duke Arteum would be killed in a way too horrific and cruel to put into words, Rose couldn’t help but be shaken by the death of a man she’d only seen once.
Her hands trembled as she collected the papers. Biting her lower lip, she muttered with difficulty,
“Why… are there so many documents?”
Normally she would have gathered them quickly, but in such a dizzying situation, staying calm was extremely difficult. Only after quite some time did Rose manage to collect them all. She spread them out on the desk and let out a deep sigh. They were completely out of order, and she couldn’t tell which one to read first.
As she picked up a document, lost in thought—
Bang.
Someone threw open the door to the study.
