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76.

My garden stroll with Baron Salice proved to be quite an enjoyable affair.
Through his occasional mannerisms and habits, I could discern ‌‌‌traces of Roselita's character.
The only reservation I harbored was whether it was somewhat presumptuous to constantly associate everything with her.
"Well, ahem, as you know, Your Highness."
"Yes?"
The Baron's voice, which had been delivering customary pleasantries and inquiries, grew heavier.
I had anticipated that I might face reproach for arranging the betrothal without ‍‌seeking their permission upon arriving at Salice Barony, so I began preparing to lower myself respectfully.
I was even prepared to endure accusations of having seduced his innocent ‌‌‌‌daughter.
Observing how she typically regarded her family, I could discern just how cherished a daughter she was.
Even if this contractual betrothal would eventually reach its conclusion, since I had proposed it, I accepted that bearing harsh words was entirely my responsibility.
"Sigh...."
The Baron's deep sigh that followed nearly prompted me to bend my ‌‌‌‌knees in full apology.
"Our Rozi is quite capable and intelligent, you see—and this isn't merely a father's boasting, but something anyone would acknowledge."
"Of course. Even within the Imperial Palace, everyone recognizes her professional competence."
I quickly agreed.
After all, the Baron's words were not mere paternal pride but absolute fact.
If anything, I genuinely believed that ‌‌describing Roselita as merely "capable and intelligent" actually diminished her professional abilities.
'Perhaps adding "relentless" and "cunning" as modifiers would strike a better balance?'
Just as Roselita herself would not, neither would I attach such descriptors ‌‌‌to her in mockery.
"I'm ‌‌‌‌relieved you understand. Reading the articles in ‌‌the newspapers, I know it's unlikely, yet I worry whether Roselita might be suffering any harassment...."
Even as the Baron spoke, he muttered, "Though of course, she's absolutely not the type to ‌‌tolerate such treatment...," revealing a ruthlessly objective perspective on his daughter. ‌‌‌
"But that's ‌regarding her work. As for my daughter, she's had a certain indifference in other matters since childhood, which concerns me."
"Indifference, you say...."
"Truly, this isn't just a father speaking, but ‌‌Roselita is quite lovely, is she not?"
I wanted to correct him—not ‌‌‌merely "quite lovely," but genuinely beautiful and captivating enough to enchant others if only she would keep silent—yet I restrained myself and simply nodded.
"Salice Barony is, frankly, ‌‌a place where I help with farming and the residents mingle freely, so Rozi has gotten along well with children since childhood without any formality."
"Yes, she still maintains good relations with people."
"Naturally, for she possesses great warmth. In any case, many children sought to gain her attention and affection." ‌‌‌
Somehow, I felt I already knew the fate of those children without hearing the rest.
"...Some even went too far and bullied her, but without any need for adults to intervene, Rozi resolved it herself."
I hesitated whether I should immediately agree with this statement. ‌‌‌
While I greatly admired that ‌‌‌aspect of ‌‌‌‌Roselita, I feared it might sound like I was endorsing harsh words ‌‌about her to her father.
"Well, after she made Count Theodima Youngshik ‌‌cry rather badly around age ten, things quieted down. But afterward, she showed absolutely no ‌‌‌‌interest in such matters...."
The Baron poured out his concerns, troubled by this development as well.
"Then a boy from the Orphanage named Wesley caught her attention because he was handsome, ‌so I brought him nearby to ‌‌be her playmate...."
The Baron let out another deep sigh before continuing.
Cassian Artez understood perfectly well what had been left unsaid.
'He ‌‌thought ‌‌‌she was a woman who ‌‌‌would naturally develop such interests.'
Roselita Salice was indeed rather indifferent in that regard.
She possessed sharp intuition, ‌‌detecting even the slightest ‌‌shifts in his emotions with an almost terrifying precision, yet she accepted his evasions at face value without question.
Lately, I had begun to wonder if perhaps such obliviousness worked in her favor.
For now, it was equally fortunate for me, so I wasn't dwelling on it too deeply.
"In any case, even as her debutante season approached, she showed so little interest that my wife ‌‌and I have already discussed the possibility of keeping her with us for life."
'That's probably her true wish, after all.'
I concealed the bitterness beneath my tongue and regarded Baron Salice.
"Therefore, I understand that I must express ‌both admiration for Your Highness's engagement to that child and gratitude for serving as her pillar of support in the Capital City, but..."
"That's not—"
"Still, as her father, ‌I cannot leave this unsaid!"
"Pardon?"
Faced with the Baron's sudden resolve, I found myself thinking that I might actually be overwhelmed ‌by his momentum—a rare occurrence.
Perhaps it was because he was Roselita Salice's father that I was instinctively holding back.
"From what ‌I've read in the newspapers, you seem to go out to various places together quite frequently, and it appears Your Highness even prepared the residence where Roselita Salice stays."
"That is true, but..."
Even as I answered, an inexplicable tension crept up the back of my neck.
"I am truly grateful, but please, I beg you...! I hope you will conduct yourselves with proper discretion! After all, Your Highness is of imperial standing and possesses far greater physical strength!"
Having said that much, Baron Salice bowed to me as though he had exhausted every ounce of his courage, then withdrew hastily.
Left alone in the garden, I gazed after the direction the Baron had disappeared and muttered with a wry smile.
"...It seems even ‌‌‌greater discretion than I currently exercise would be difficult to manage."
Of course, I hadn't entirely refrained from indulging my desires, but I couldn't help feeling somewhat wronged.
'I'm always the one exercising caution, while ‌‌‌‌his daughter is the one ‌‌‌constantly testing my resolve.'
I clicked my tongue lightly and turned my gaze toward the window of Roselita Salice's room.
The timing was ‌‌‌‌almost too perfect—Roselita Salice had just emerged from her bath with wet hair, and the moment our eyes met, she smiled and waved.
"...It really does seem like she's always the one going too far, Baron Salice."
Even as I said this, ignoring Roselita Salice's greeting was ‌‌never an option for me, so I drew a beautiful smile across my face and waved in return.
All the while worrying that she would ‌‌catch a ‌‌‌‌cold if she didn't dry her hair soon.

*

Home-cooked food after so long tasted absolutely divine.
While it lacked the luxurious ingredients I had grown accustomed to in the Capital City, the familiar flavors I had missed for so long were seasoning enough.
Of course, my parents and the household staff were anxious that the food might not suit Cassian Artez's palate, but watching him eat heartily, they quickly relaxed.
'...But everyone in our household wears their hearts so plainly on their faces—is that really alright?'
I suddenly wondered if Roselita's parents in the original story, ‌‌‌‌‌living in the Capital City beside their daughter, had truly been so happy simply by her side.
Of course, the narrative never depicted the Baron and Baroness complaining about their hardships.
'They must have endured considerable humiliation in high society, just as Roselita did.'
To thrust such gentle, herbivorous ‌‌souls into that jungle of a place seemed utterly unreasonable to me.
My parents would certainly endure anything if I said I was struggling, but ‌I was not so fragile as all ‌‌‌‌‌that.
'And neither was the original Roselita, really.'
After all, Cassian Artez had brought her there secretly because he thought she ‍‌seemed lonely and suffering.
I found ‌‌‌myself grateful once more that my superior was not that incompetent fool from the original ‌‌‌‌‌story, but rather someone cunning ‌‌‌and calculating.
However....
"...Why are you looking at me like that?"
When Cassian ‌‌Artez entered that evening and gazed at me, his eyes seemed somehow different from usual.
His expression was complicated—as though ‌‌‌‌he ‌‌had something he wanted to say, yet nothing at all.
Cassian Artez stared at me ‌‌‌‌for ‌‌a moment, then smiled softly and placed the thickest-cut steak onto my plate, speaking as he did.
"You seem to be eating less than usual, though it doesn't appear to be a matter of taste."
Then, with an oddly mischievous expression, he leaned ‌close and whispered to me.
"Is it because there's no wine?"
No—surely I'm not someone so lacking in self-control when it comes to drinking?
I glared at Cassian Artez in exasperation, and he let out a small laugh.
And seeing the two of us like this, my parents seemed reassured about something further, their expressions growing noticeably ‌‌softer.
...Could it be that my parents actually found it reassuring to see their daughter being teased by her superior?

*

Since Cassian Artez and I behaved ‌as we always did, the evening meal passed in warm harmony.
The only exception was when my parents brought up stories from my childhood and mentioned they had kept many portraits and photographs.
After the meal, Cassian Artez and I decided to take a brief walk to aid digestion.
I followed ‌‌along thinking we would inevitably discuss work matters, but Cassian Artez suddenly asked me with a forlorn expression, as though he had heard something troubling.
"So, Roselita Salice, is Count Theodima Youngshik pretty?"

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