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08.

And so I truly reported for duty.
"...Rose?"
"...Your Majesty?" ‌‌
I pushed open the office door with a ‌‌‌‌heavy sigh and found ‌‌‌‌myself ‌‌‌needing to check the calendar.
Saturday, January 2nd.
Today was clearly a holiday. ‌‌
Cassian had distinctly said he would be taking the day off as well.
"Collecting hazard pay from the new year already—that's just like you, Rose."
"How kind of you to offer such pleasant words right from the start of the new year, Your Majesty."
Cassian merely smiled with an unhurried expression at my sarcasm.
"So then? Should I have lamb prepared for lunch today?"
And my superior's perceptiveness was, as always, remarkably sharp.

*

The morning passed with such leisure that it was hard to believe I had actually come to the office.
I had processed an enormous backlog of work at year's end, and Cassian had deliberately assigned me only the simplest tasks.
Yet he himself frequently furrowed his brow in deep concentration, which only piqued my curiosity about what he was doing.
Absorbed in his work, he suggested lunch earlier than usual.
True to his word, it was thick, succulent lamb.
The Imperial Palace's chef possessed such skill that the meat was perfectly roasted without a hint of gaminess.
"The First Empress and the Marchioness Irenol truly don't understand Rose's preferences at all."
Cassian spoke with a satisfied smile as he watched me eat.
"What Rose loves is meat, wine, and beautiful things."
It was uncannily accurate knowledge of my tastes.
What truly unsettled me was that he'd even arranged for chilled mulled wine instead of spirits, given the ‌‌‌lunch hour.
"Of course, you also ‌‌‌love money."
If he hadn't added that ‌‌‌last remark, my favorability toward him would have risen considerably.
Naturally, I reported to Cassian about the Marchioness Irenol.
I boldly claimed that he had ordered me to work on the holiday.
"I apologize for acting without reporting first, Your Majesty."
"No. ‌‌Feel free to use me as a shield for such matters."
Cassian replied casually as he brought the meat to his lips.
It was hardly a new observation, but Cassian truly ate with impeccable grace.
From how he held his utensils to the way he chewed, there was absolutely nothing to criticize.
In the original story, Cassian had rolled around on battlefields so much that his etiquette was somewhat lacking, and he'd even been mocked for it.
Did my boycott of the ‌protagonist role affect even this?
My conscience felt slightly lighter.
Because things seemed to have worked out favorably for Cassian in the end.
"But Rose, even if you let this slide this time, the Marchioness Irenol will certainly try to attach you to that young master again."
"I know."
"Of course, I could block it with excuses like today's anytime, but that's not your style, is it?"
At Cassian's words, I nodded while placing the last piece of lamb into my mouth.
"Of course."
I already held the answer in my hands.

*

When the First Empress summoned me to discuss Marquis ‌‌‌Irenol's young master, a ‌‌sense of déjà vu washed over me.
And when House of Irenol extended an invitation to a dinner gathering yesterday, that déjà vu transformed into certainty.
'In the original story, the major incident that befell Roselita didn't occur when she arrived in the Capital City, but after she met the First Empress.'
I should have noticed this sooner.
That unsettling emotion I'd forgotten over the ‌‌past year surfaced once more.
But unlike then, instead of shrinking back, anger surged through me.
'How dare they make an office worker show up on her own?'
As if I'd respect the original story I'd already thoroughly destroyed!
Perhaps because of this self-summoned anger, the original story's contents came flooding back with vivid clarity.

'Think carefully, Miss Salice. Do you really need to risk your ‌‌life for Prince Cassian?'
'I'm grateful, Your Majesty. To think my son would become the son-in-law of the Salice Marquis Household! This would be impossible without your grace, First Empress.'
'Isn't this good news for you? After all, the young master of ‌‌‌House of Irenol is willing to ‌‌‌become the son-in-law of the Salice Marquis Household.'

No matter how I thought about it, they were absolutely insane.
Who did they think ‌‌‌they were, ignoring someone's will like that?
And Marquis Irenol's young master, who already carried ‌‌himself as though I were his wife, was equally insufferable. ‌‌‌

'I'll take a loss ‌‌‌‌on this, but I'll endure it.'

Both the shell ‌‌‌and the core are garbage, ‌‌‌yet he acts as though he's something ‌special!
Still, I've already crushed the first flag, unlike the original Roselita.
Since the dinner gathering was an intimate affair, the First Empress herself began spreading rumors that the original Roselita, who attended, had an acknowledged relationship with Marquis Irenol Youngsik.
How could she say something so horrifying!
But unlike ‌‌the original, I had a sturdy shield in my superior.
Well, the original Cassian didn't stay idle either.
Though it hardly helped.
That Cassian was far too naive compared to my current superior—instead of scheming, he boldly lodged an official protest.
In the end, the First Empress merely scolded him, saying a friend shouldn't meddle ‌‌in another's marriage affairs.
The original Roselita struggled alone to defend herself, but the more she tried, the worse things became.
Accusations that she was trying to break an already-arranged engagement, that she was disrespecting the House of Irenol—it started with nonsense and escalated to threats against Roselita's parents!
She offered to forget everything if Roselita accepted ‌‌the engagement, and questioned whether she'd considered what would happen to ‌‌Salice Territory if she refused. It was utterly absurd.
Of course, her parents bowed their heads and pleaded, wanting to respect ‌‌‌their daughter's wishes until the very end.
'Just remembering it infuriates me.'
Gritting her teeth at the sight of her parents, the original Roselita gathered every piece of information she ‌could find, dealt a blow to the House of Irenol, and resolved the situation.
Of course, I didn't have the Information Guild that the original Roselita possessed.
But instead, I had public authority!
Over the past year of suffering under that demon in the Winter Palace, I've confessed ‌‌‌‌information about countless nobles.
I ‌‌‌smiled darkly and began carefully selecting and organizing only the necessary information from the stack of documents.
I'll repay the resentment of working on a holiday, compounding interest upon interest.

*

The Marchioness Irenol was anxious and ‌‌‌displeased.
'Just a marquis household, nothing more.'
How dare she put on airs before our family?

'She's still a young lady, ‌‌after all. She must simply be shy.'

The First Empress may have said so, but the Marchioness Irenol could only think him presumptuous.
Without the First Empress's command, House of Irenol wouldn't even dare look his way!
To think my precious son would be sold off to such ‌‌‌a subordinate position.
Today, my husband's obstinacy irritated me more than usual.
'Still, I must endure. Didn't the First Empress say so? He's just a child—it's all a matter of education.'
Once he entered the Marquis Household, I planned to ‌‌wring every tear from him.
Working without shame to ‌‌‌‌repay family debts—what a sight that was.
Well, at least there was this consolation: once the marriage was arranged, the ‌‌‌First Empress promised to pay off all those debts.
Both the Salice Marquis Household's and House of Irenol's.
'Then from that point ‌on, every coin the Salice girl earns will belong ‌entirely to our household.'
It was an ‌‌‌‌open secret among those who worked in the Imperial Palace that Prince Cassian paid his advisor an exorbitant salary.
The First Empress had said she would let Roselita return to live in the Salice Territory, but the Marchioness Irenol had no such intention.
Beyond my reluctance to send my precious son to that distant, harsh rural estate, why would I abandon such a lucrative source ‌‌‌‌of income?
Squander money on my son and household? How dare he presume such a thing?
If she works herself to the bone for the Salice Marquis Household, she should certainly do the same for House of Irenol!
All I needed ‌‌to do was provide my beloved son with a mistress.
The Marchioness Irenol steadied her breathing and, contemplating the future, decided she would summon Roselita once more.
If she threatened that refusing twice would be an insult to the First Empress, the girl would surely ask Prince Cassian to relieve her of her duties.
It was precisely when the Marchioness Irenol had barely suppressed her irritation and picked up her pen that the lower floors erupted into commotion.
"W-What is the meaning of this!"
At the hot-tempered butler's loud ‌voice, the Marchioness felt her irritation surge anew.
The ink that had leaked from her pen tip had stained the paper, forcing her to fetch fresh stationery—a petty indignity that only ‌‌‌added to her frustration.
I should have dismissed that noisy butler long ago.
"What is all ‌‌‌this commotion about!"
Determined ‌‌‌to finally fire someone, the Marchioness descended the stairs with heavy, deliberate footfalls.
But the sight before her left her utterly dumbfounded.
"Y-You, Miss Salice?"
There stood Roselita, her body wrapped in a plain, ‌‌‌‌dark navy ‌‌‌‌dress.
What was this provincial spectacle, and what had she brought with her in such quantities?
Exasperated, the Marchioness barely ‌‌‌‌managed to open her mouth ‌‌‌and ask.
"What exactly are you doing...?"
Even as the Marchioness posed her question, Roselita finished issuing instructions ‌‌to the guard knights and the weary administrators before turning to face her.
Toward the bewildered Marchioness, she tucked her fallen hair behind her ear and produced a document.
"At 14:27 on January 5th, ‌‌‌‌I received Prince Cassian's direct order to conduct a seizure and search of House of Irenol."
"W-What! A seizure!!"
The ‌‌‌‌‌Marchioness shouted loudly at Roselita in anger.
"Miss Salice, you ‌shouldn't be doing this, should you?!"
To dare commit such an act against the household she would soon marry into!
There was no rudeness quite like this.
Yet Roselita, far from intimidated, smiled faintly and responded with pure professionalism.
"Please refer to the attached documents for further details, Marchioness Irenol."
As if such matters were entirely routine to her.
'What is that attitude! Shouldn't she be frightened?'
Why was this young lady so composed?
For some reason, overlaid upon Roselita's figure was the image of that Winter Palace demon, who had mocked the First Empress with such casual indifference.
‌

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