The man looked at me, wiping his messy brown hair carelessly.
I gasped in silent.
Dylan? what are you doing all of a sudden?
Apparently I wasnât the only one who was flustered, the priests shouted at Dylan.
âYoung master Herthas! What kind of rudeness is this!â
âIâm sorry, Paladin Commander. Suddenly, this young masterâŠ.â
Although the priests were angry at Dylanâs sudden action, they looked at Richard and tried to explain the situation.
âLady, I know itâs rude, but Iâd like a moment of your time.
Dylan looked at me steadfastly, fighting off the hands of the priests trying to pull him away.
âYoung master Herthas, you barge in like a bull and ask to spare you some time.â
Richard stood in front of me and spoke to Dylan in a soft voice.
âIt makes no sense to act so recklessly. Next time, how about formally asking Lady to meet you?â
One of the priests admired Richardâs character when a friendly voice resounded like a childâs.
I, of course, was thrilled.
I feel bad for this man to treat Dylan below me.
âI asked lady Camilla.â
âThat kind of attitude is no different from intimidation.â
âIntimidated? When did I intimidate herâŠâ
âWhen you barged in with such a ferocious force and threatened her, you scared anyone, Young master. Do you really think a decision made in a state of fear is justified?â
Why are you all arguing over me?
I quietly put my head behind Richardâs back.
âWhat should I do?â
There were two options.
To give Dylan some space, or to turn him away.
âDylan isnât the type to be reckless.â
Seeing him acting like this all of a sudden, something must have happened.
I want to talk to Dylan, but it wasnât an easy decision. I had already decided to push him away.
I rubbed my tired eyes. and soon made a decision.
âIâd like to ask you to step aside for a moment.â
âYoung master, did you hear that?â
âNot the young master, but you.â
Richard, who had been cheerful, looked back at me as if he didnât understand.
I smiled broadly and gestured for him to leave.
âI promised to meet Young master Herthas, but I forgot. So I guess thatâs why he was so urgent.â
ââŠâŠ.â
âRight, young master?â
*****
Richard and the priests left the room dissatisfied.
When Dylan and I were left alone in the prayer room, I was naturally nervous.
âRose.â
Dylan called my name.
âHow did you know that too?â
I donât know how they found out about my identityâŠ.
âWho are you calling now? My name is Camilla, young master.â
Dylanâs face contorted slightly as he stopped flirting.
I have no intention of pretending to know you.
I didnât want to torture him in hopes of getting involved with him for nothing.
âDonât try to fool me, Rose. Do you think I wonât even recognize you?â
âI donât know what you mean.â
You canât even smell me like Yurtha. How could you recognize me?
â⊠Hah. Youâre going to push me away after all.â
But Dylan didnât back down.
He stood there like he was nailed to the wall, and then he took a heavy step.
When I saw the man striding towards me, I wondered if Dylan was this big.
As I swallowed instinctively, Dylan reached out and grabbed my wrist.
âWhat are you doing nowâŠ!â
âBeing around you, seeing you, being in this much pain, and youâre not Rose?
ââŠâŠâ
The strength I had in my hands to shake him off was gone.
âI didnât know you would find out.â
â⊠Rose.â
âWhy did you appear in front of me?â
Didnât our relationship end in that Northern castle?
âYou donât know? Thatâs what Iâm talking about!â
âWhat?â
âWhy did you suddenly say you were going to come back?â
Iâm going to come back? What do you mean?
âWerenât you never going to set foot in Herthas again? You thought it was a terrible place.â
ââŠâŠâ
âThen why do you suddenly want to come back?â
My head was spinning from the rapid-fire barrage of words.
âDylan, speak slowly. What do you mean, Iâm going back?â
â⊠You sent a letter saying youâd be back. Why are you pretending not to know?â
âI? when?â
ââŠâŠ?â
Something strange was going on.
Dylan and I couldnât understand each otherâs words, so we looked at each other blankly.
â⊠Whatâs the trick again this time? Are you trying to make fun of me? If thatâs the case, itâs not working.â
âDo I look like Iâm joking? a letter? You mean I sent the letter to Herthas? I never did that.â
âWhat? No. It was definitely your handwriting.â
âWhatâŠ.â
A thought flashed through my mind at that moment.
Thereâs no way Dylan would know my handwriting. Has he ever seen my handwriting?
If so, the handwriting Dylan is talking about is probably Roseâs handwriting, not mine.
And RoseâŠ
The woman who strangled me when I was in the North.
âIf you didnât send the letter, who sent it?â
Dylan asked the question.
But I was too busy to deal with my own questions, so I didnât have time to answer his questions.
âIf you didnât send it, who did?â
As I was sorting things out in my head, Dylan asked me again.
I lifted my head and looked at him. And I gave a firm answer.
âI did send it.â
âWhat?â
âI forgot for a second. It is true that I sent you to return soon.â
âDid you forget that?â
Dylan asked, saying it was nonsense, but I nodded brazenly.
A woman with the face of Rose.
I had no intention of spreading the word about her existence when I still didnât know if she was really Rose or not.
âYou mean that woman is going to return to Herthas sooner or later?â
It was good.
Because I too was looking forward to meeting her again.
âHuh, Marquis!â
Then another noise was heard from outside.
âOh no. Argen must have come.â
He must have been surprised that all of a sudden I went to the temple.
âDylan, I think our conversation isâŠâ
Bang!
Before I could finish speaking, the door swung open. Roughly.
âCome here, Camilla.â
Argenâs voice was somehow ferocious.
Are you mad at me for leaving without a saying word?
âWhat business does the young master of Herthas have with my mistress?â
The cool green eyes facing this way were unfamiliar.
â⊠Mistress?â
âDid you not know that Camilla was my mistress? Thereâs no way you would have approached her without knowing that.â
Dylan clenched his fists as if responding to the word mistress.
Richardâs expression, standing behind Argen, also hardened.
Richard looked at me with eager eyes.
He smiled at me, as if he were trying to hold back, thinking of his future reward.
However, the softly curved lips did not feel as comfortable as before.
âIt was nothing, Marquis. Letâs go back.â
I casually slipped my arm through his.
I smiled at him as best I could, because normally he would have folded.
But strangely enough, his response was unusually cold today.
âMarquis?â
âYes. I want my mistress to do that, and I have to listen.â
Ah. I can see why Arjen feels like a stranger.
He usually called me lover, not mistress.
âThings like that happen, too.â
A name isnât important, right?
âCome on, Marquis.â
I dragged Argen.
Argen looked at me like that and smiled meaningfully.
âIf you comfort him, it will be relieved.â
But that was an idle thought.
*****
Itâs definitely weird.
Argen had always been blunt, but today, he kept his mouth shut.
The atmosphere I felt was so fierce that it seemed to annihilate his surroundings, and I barely said a word the entire ride to the Marquis.
I had to patiently endure the pouring pain-like silence.
âRosie.â
That was when Argen led me into the room.
âIf the Crown Princess attends this holiday event, she will help you find the savior.â
A gentle smile appeared on Argenâs lips, as if the awkward atmosphere of an awl pricking my skin was a lie.
It was then that I was able to open my mouth to Argen in a more comfortable atmosphere.
âReally? Itâs not long until the holidays. Maybe we can go togetherâŠâ
âNo.â
Argen closed the door after cutting my excited voice.
Thudâ
There was a small sound of the door closing, but for some reason it felt like a huge iron cage was closing.
âIâm not going there with you.â
âWhatâŠâ
âYou are the one who broke the contract.â
What is this all of a sudden?
âYou shouldnât have betrayed me like that, Rosie.â
There was a click, the sound of the door being completely locked.