Chapter 13.2
“Her majesty must have hated you.”
“What?”
“She must have tried to exterminate the Crimson Rose family but I got in her way.”
“The Empress doesn’t hold any personal grievances against them. She did it to comply with the Imperial laws of the Empire. Besides, the Earl of Crimson Rose is dead and sentenced to a fine. I have mentioned it to the Empress to let the whole thing go and not to dwell on it anymore.”
Ah… that was why you got into trouble. Melchor wondered why the emperor seemed happy. But he had no intention of understanding the emperor.
The Earl of Crimson Rose and his gambling proclivities were settled under the authority of the emperor, so Melchor could do nothing about it. Even if the Empress dabbled in gambling herself, Melchor had no evidence of it. He would only jeopardize his relationship with the imperial family if he mentioned it.
They had Count crimson Rose killed and recovered their taxes and returned them to the treasury. Since the Earl’s family was accused of gambling, it got public attention. Melchor hoped Empress would let it slide just this way.
Will she let go of Roseline?
Melchor still couldn’t figure out why. It bothered him immensely. Perhaps the Empress gambled with Count Crimson Rose for something else besides the money. Melchor’s head was filled with too many distressing thoughts.
* * *
Roseline was now the Duchess of Postenmeyer. The signed marriage vows had been approved by the emperor. She now held the title. Even so, it felt like nothing had changed. The Postenmeyer family mansion was so quiet.
I can’t believe I am married. Roseline stood up, squaring her shoulders. My body aches.
When she was locked up, she felt frustrated because the future was uncertain. But now that she was finally able, she felt depressed because she couldn’t even walk around freely.
It’s not like I have anything to do outside.
But that didn’t mean there was nothing to do in the house. She could always learn about the family’s work. Melchor was busy. He came and went to the palace frequently to take care of the post-marriage legalities. The butler was bust delivering news of the marriage that had taken place.
It would have been nice to have an elder of the family to talk to but the predecessor had died and Melchor had been appointed head of the family. Those related to this family did not even come close because they feared Melchor.
If I open my heart to the subordinate family, they will try to look down on me…
Until Melchor returned, there was nothing she could do. Roseline was so crippled with boredom that she decided to get up and do something to refresh herself. She wanted to swing a sword around.
But I don’t want to bother anyone. She looked at a duster that the man had left under the bed. Should I just use this to practice?
The duster had silk threads that were wrapped to make the handle sturdy. Dark brown ostrich feathers hung from it. It was long enough to be comfortable practicing sword fight. It had a nice weight to it. Roseline swung her wrists and slashed. The feathers fluttered in the air. She imagined enemies running towards her and slashing and dashing. Fortunately, the room was spacious enough so that she could swing the duster freely without breaking anything.
If an intruder came in, where would he break in? She looked at the curtains then under the bed, then at her closet.
Roseline stabbed the duster behind the curtain. She rolled on the floor and slashed underneath the bed. She turned the duster over and stabbed at the closet. Roseline had forgotten that what she was holding was a duster and not a sword. It was jammed between the handles.
Oh no! She pulled at it. Roseline was embarrassed. When the duster jammed through the handles, it poked a hole around the knob. How much is this closet?
The closet looked expensive. Gold plated on solid wood. I already owe Melchor a lot of money. I shouldn’t destroy his property! Roseline was truly in trouble now. She tried to pull at the duster. Just then the door to her room swung open.
Roseline was so startled that she dropped the duster. It fell on the floor and rolled down the carpet to come to a stop as it hit the shiny nose of a heavy black show.
Melchor glanced down at the duster at his feet and then looked up at Roseline. Her hair was messy and her face flushed. Roseline felt flustered under his gaze.
“Roseline.”
“Y-yes.”
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Melchor had assumed she was disheveled because she had woken up from a nightmare. He would never imagine in his wildest dream that Roseline was fencing with the duster instead of a sword.
Roseline thought about that for a moment. The truth was embarrassing. So, she just gave a curt nod. Nightmare sounded reasonable for her situation right now.
“You must be uncomfortable to sleep here alone. You better change your room to somewhere else.”
“N-no. It’s alright…”
“Come to my bedroom.”
“What?!”
If you want to support the Lunar Letters team, you can do so by pledging to us on Patreon and get to read advanced chapters of our novels! (Note: Patreon is not compulsory. Patrons are able to read ahead, but chapters will still be released to the public at a later date. This is only one way to financially support the team and keep the site running. Thank you very much!)