Chapter 101
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101.
"I apologize. I asked something far too personal."
I hastily rose to my feet and gathered the scattered documents, offering him my apology.
It was only natural he'd be flustered if I suddenly posed such an unexpected question about his romantic preferences while he was working.
He must have wondered what I was thinking.
"Oh, no—that's not it at all."
Francis Ashwood stood frozen like a broken mechanism before quickly bending down to help collect the documents.
"Did your grandfather perhaps mention something to you?"
"I'm sorry?"
Duke Ashwood?
I lifted my head in confusion.
Francis couldn't hide his bewilderment as he fumbled about clumsily.
A document had wedged itself between the floor tiles, only adding to his distress.
"If that weren't the case, there'd be no reason for you to ask—"
Since I bore responsibility for breaking him, I reached out to help.
"—not...!"
Our timing was unfortunate; his hand, reaching for the documents, brushed against the back of mine.
I certainly hadn't meant anything by it—
But Francis's pupils trembled violently as though something had gone terribly wrong.
"Ashwood Advisor...?"
The moment I picked up the document he'd been reaching for and looked at him with concern, Francis raised his hand to cover his face.
Then, immediately after—
"Forgive me!"
Without even organizing the documents he'd gathered, he hastily placed them on my desk and fled the office.
As I watched his retreating figure in silence, Cassian Artez—who had arrived at some point—fixed me with a displeased gaze.
"When did you arrive?"
"...When you asked the Ashwood Advisor about his ideal type."
But why did you wait outside the door instead of coming in?
Had you developed a habit of eavesdropping?
With that thought, I gently touched the back of my hand where Francis Ashwood had made contact.
Cassian Artez immediately snatched my hand away and began rubbing it vigorously with his fingers.
"I didn't ask him anything."
"I know."
"His hands were clean too."
"I know that as well."
Then why do you look so displeased?
Moreover, Francis Ashwood as well....
No matter how I looked at it, that reaction had to be it, didn't it?
"I suppose I was rather insensitive. I should have paid more attention to the Ashwood Advisor."
"...What?"
Cassian looked at me with a start, as if he might leap from his seat.
"Your Highness knew?"
"...."
At my words, Cassian's expression shifted—surprise, bewilderment, and even a hint of futility mingling across his features as he regarded me.
"That's impossible."
"Pardon?"
"Roselita, noticing something like that? Merely that?"
"You're treating me as though I lack all perception whatsoever."
And yet I had read countless novels until now.
"If Your Highness had known earlier, you should have told me."
"...What did you just say?"
Cassian's expression grew even more ominous.
Why was my superior acting this way today of all days?
"It's something one should be considerate about."
...."
As I opened my mouth to explain, the murderous intensity in Cassian's demeanor abruptly dissipated.
"Hmm?"
"Isn't it obsessive-compulsive disorder?"
I had noticed how he kept himself immaculately groomed from head to toe, even during the summer months.
In fact, during his early days at the Winter Palace, he would wear gloves throughout his working hours without fail.
I had simply assumed he was being scrupulously courteous.
'Wilhelmina would lament that I haven't read many novels because I'm too busy.'
It was a trait that appeared frequently in novels.
I would need to be more careful when dealing with the Ashwood Advisor going forward.
With that thought, I nodded—but then Cassian leaned his head against my shoulder and exhaled deeply.
"Your Highness?"
At my words, Cassian tapped my cheek lightly with his knuckles.
"Your form of address has reverted again."
"It's because we're in the Office."
I've grown far too accustomed to it—what can I do?
"The way you speak, one would think you only do it in the Office."
"Please don't say things that could be misunderstood by others."
"I wish someone would misunderstand, frankly."
Cassian exhaled deeply once more, then murmured softly.
At the words he uttered—"Far away"—I found myself bewildered as to what he meant.
The time when work would end?
"Roselita Salice."
"Yes?"
"You need to understand just how many sins you carry."
"...Yes?"
Without bothering to answer my question, Cassian Artez simply pulled me into a tight embrace.
"Perhaps I should consider myself fortunate."
"Fortunate about what?"
"That Roselita Salice lacks perceptiveness."
Wait, he'd even noticed my obsessive tendencies, yet he was criticizing me for being slightly slower to realize his? That hardly seemed fair.
Feeling wronged, I pouted and decided to tolerate Cassian Artez's bothersome behavior for just five more seconds.
*
"I exist, Roselita Salice."
"Yes."
After holding me for another thirty seconds or so, Cassian Artez finally released me and, having heard the conversation with the First Concubine, opened his mouth with noticeably dimmed eyes.
"For the first time, I found myself thinking the Ashwood Advisor was rather pitiful."
"Yes...?"
Shouldn't you have sympathized with him from the start if you knew his obsessive tendencies were an inconvenient habit to live with?
With so much to worry about, his life must be terribly burdensome.
"Still, it's fortunate that Roselita Salice didn't carelessly offer to send him to the First Concubine."
"That's only natural."
"True."
Mercifully, Cassian Artez didn't display the pettiness he so often showed Francis this time.
"As you said, it's also true that we have no right to do such a thing. Though if you had asked, there was a possibility I might have agreed."
Cassian Artez leaned back against the sofa's backrest, his expression distant in thought.
"That wouldn't have been the direction the Ashwood Advisor was hoping for."
"Of course not. The Ashwood Advisor came to the Winter Palace to do his job properly, didn't he? He's finally gotten in sync with the Administrative Officials."
Having earned recognition for his accomplishments at the Winter Palace, even that stubborn Duke Ashwood has apparently begun viewing Francis differently these days.
Moreover, recently when he offered his opinion on matters within the Ashwood Duchy, it was accepted, and the Administrative Officials were so delighted they spoke of it as though it were their own achievement.
After working in this harsh environment and finally seeing results emerge, of course he wouldn't want to transfer elsewhere.
"Well, let's leave it at that."
Yet my superior merely muttered incomprehensible words about how the Ashwood Advisor was pitiful.
"In any case, those who have endured long in the Imperial Harem are truly different, even though I haven't observed them closely."
"Judging by how little word has spread about such an incident."
"The First Concubine isn't a person without influence."
Cassian Artez straightened his head from where it had been tilted back and opened his mouth, looking at me.
"So I believe she won't make the mistake of antagonizing us over this matter."
He spoke as though he could see through what I was worried about.
"...I'm hoping that will be the case."
"It's alright, Roselita."
Cassian Artez offered me a beautiful smile.
As if to reassure me.
"Even if something were to happen."
"You'll protect me?"
"I'm always ready to flee at a moment's notice."
Cassian laughed playfully.
"But before that, I believe my capable Salice Advisor will handle things well. And as always, I'll be right behind you, providing steady support."
At those words, the tension that had tightened my face melted away.
His voice felt more reassuring than any promise of protection could be.
Yet as it always was, trouble had a way of unfolding in places we never anticipated.
*
"...You absolutely must refuse, do you understand?"
Francis Ashwood, the eldest grandson of Duke Ashwood and the Second Assistant Administrator of the Winter Palace, was ambushed on his way home from work.
And accompanied by nothing but complaints.
"Honestly, I have absolutely no intention of spending such a dreadful hour with you."
"...I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."
"This is exactly why Mother! She doesn't know my preferences at all."
In truth, today had been another day packed with duties.
The sudden vacancy at the Rose Palace had brought an exceptional surge of work to the Winter Palace.
There wasn't a part of him—shoulders, wrists, fingers—that didn't ache, though by now it was a familiar pain.
It was a pain that made him wonder each day if he was truly capable of such things, yet it accumulated into a quiet sense of accomplishment.
So Francis Ashwood, who had been leaving the palace with his guard down, found it difficult to comprehend what the Second Princess was saying to him.
Why he should spend time with her, or what exactly he was supposed to refuse.
So he responded to the Second Princess as he had learned well from Roselita.
"Your Highness, Second Princess, if there is administrative cooperation needed, please send documentation. If it is urgent and must be resolved verbally, I ask that you state your business clearly."
"Wow...."
But at his measured response, the Second Princess looked genuinely shocked.
"How could Mother force me to spend time with someone so utterly devoid of fun and charm...!"
"Pardon?"
Francis Ashwood found it difficult to agree with the Second Princess's assessment.
He found Roselita quite impressive whenever she spoke precisely from the midst of her demanding duties.
'Of course, I still fall short compared to Salice Advisor.'
It seemed he still had not learned humility.
To think so lightly that this much would be acceptable.
While Francis was thinking thus, the Second Princess let out a short sigh, then opened her mouth to explain to him.
"Didn't Salice Advisor tell you? Mother said that if you wait a little while, you'll be coming to my palace."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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