CH 3.25

“… Ro, hmm, what do you have to say to me?”

Haven almost involuntarily said her name, but he managed to change it successfully. His complexion was cool as usual, but the nape of his neck was slightly red.

However, since it was dark inside his office, Rosé did not notice the changes in him. No, it would be more accurate to say that she couldn’t afford to notice because she was so nervous.

She clutched both of her hands and exhales. Rather than looking straight at Haven, she cast her absent-minded gaze at the scenery outside the window over his shoulder.

“Ah…”

It was dark outside, and it seemed like it was going to rain, but the sun was shining through the clouds. Rosé admired the raindrops that fell from the top of the window as they reflected the sunlight and glistened. However, she immediately realized her mistake and bowed her head.

“Sorry. I took a peek…”

“… It’s okay. Instead, I’ll listen to what you have to say to me.”

He put his gaze to the window that Rose had been looking at. But he never knew what she saw and what she admired. All the sunlight came through the thinning rain.

He turned his head and looked at Rosé. She clasped her hands together as Haven’s met her eyes and took a deep breath. Haven’s eyebrows narrowed as she wanted to talk about something.

She honestly never had a conversation like this with any of a maid. Everything is up to the head maid or butler to take care of everything. The current situation itself was unusual. If others see this, he may hear unnecessary words.

‘Did I do something stupid?’

Just as Haven was about to regret his impulsive act, Rosé took another deep breath and looked straight at him before opening her mouth.

“I want you to spend more time with the princess, Your Highness.”

“… What?”

Haven’s expression hardened. Rosé continued to speak while facing his cold gaze.

“Your Highness spends too little time with the princess. Despite, except for breakfast time…”

“Wait for a moment.”

He raised his hand and interrupted her. Rosé opened her mouth and then closed it after seeing his gesture. Haven looked at her coldly and spoke disapprovingly,

“Are you trying to order me right now?”

“No, I…”

“No matter if I personally hired you as Flitta’s exclusive maid, I didn’t give you this right.”

Haven’s voice was displeased. If the maid had dared to speak in her tone of admonition, she would have naturally been displeased with him. Rosé felt her palms sweaty and wiped her hands on the hem of her skirt.

“I never dreamed of going beyond that. I’m just grateful to be able to serve Princess. The princess is a really lovely person.”

A faint smile crossed the corner of her lips, which had been stiff with tension. While conscious of his presence, she wasn’t trying to fake a smile at him. It was clear from her heart that she thought Flitta was adorable.

Haven felt his displeasure soften when he saw Rosé’s smile. However, his expression was still cold. The face of the Grand Duke, was familiar to everyone.

“I’m sure His Highness knows how lovely the Princess is.”

“…”

“Can you express that to the Princess a little more?”

Rosé’s green eyes were straight. Even though she was facing the cold face of Haven, she did not avoid him, but spoke out and said what she wanted to say in the first place. He looked at the maid, who in some ways could be said to be bold, and asked back.

“Why should I?”

“… Yes?”

“Has Flitta ever complained to you? Is that why you accepted the child’s grievances straight away and came looking for me?”

He curved up his lips. At his words, Rosé’s gaze wavered. He turned his head and looked out his window. The rain had completely stopped, and the sun was pouring in. But Haven didn’t see the sunlight, he saw the rainwater pooling on the window sill.

Suddenly, the memory of the morning came to mind. He immediately remembered the image of a woman stumbling around with a laundry basket that looked bigger than her own body.

She was a very stupid woman. She was also a consistent woman. Just like this, acting without knowing what she was saying is already one thing.

“She is no ordinary child. The one and only princess of Guinter’s bloodline, she is my daughter.”

Haven said in a calm voice. The blue eyes looking at Rosé were extremely aristocratic. It was a figure of him that Rosé did not know. He’s not the man who used to dig herbs with her, get muddy, and laugh as if there was no tomorrow.

So too is the child, he was saying. He sounded like he was declaring that even if she gave birth to her, she would never be her child.

A resentment grew in her. It was a feeling of sadness and other tangled emotions.

“She is a lovely, ‘five-year-old’ princess.”

Rosé hit Haven straight with her green gaze. He might be offended by her disrespectful behavior, but she wanted to talk anyway. Of course, that was not done entirely out of her grudges.

Rather, Flitta took precedence. She is her daughter who was intimidated and pays attention to others and acts like a child anymore.

“It is hard for a five-year-old to wake up early in the morning. If she was a normal child, she will barely wake up even if the sun is already high above the sky.”

“…”

“However, the princess wakes up early every morning without waking up from drowsiness. Even though she often dozes off when I touch her hair, she never got up late. At least since I came here. Perhaps she has done that before.”

Rosé looked at Haven, who was silently listening to her words. His hair, which had been wet, was already dry. But it wasn’t as tidy as usual. His wet hair was naturally dry, so it was slightly wavy.

Like Flitta’s head.

Even in the midst of this, her eyes lit up at the fact that she had found similarities between her child and him, the father of her child.

“Do you know why the princess wakes up so early every day?”

“…”

Haven, who had been listening to her story, looked up. And Rosé’s green eyes and his blue eyes crossed.

“It was because it’s the only time she can be with Your Highness.”

“….”

“The Princess is afraid of Your Highness very much, but on the other hand, she really likes you a lot. Because Your Highness is her father. Because she is the one and only family Your Highness has. That’s why that young child puts in so much effort…”

Rosé shut her mouth while talking. It was an abrupt silence that engulfed them. But it was also an insignificant silence. There was no way that the silence of a maid would have any great weight inside his office.

But why does he feels anxious?

Haven asked himself inwardly and narrowed his eyes as his question was absurd. He was nervous? He looked as if he was a child who got scolded badly.

No, he never got scolded when he was young. Who would dare to scold him who was born as the king’s son?

He could be called a gutsy maid. Rosé opened her mouth again at the same time that Haven swallowed his empty laugh and looked at her with his eyes wide open.

“Why doesn’t Your Highness try to put effort? No, why… Why should a five-year-old have to make the effort?”

Rosé asked Haven as if arguing with him. The words were so direct that the butler would have been frightened had he seen the scene unfolding. Fortunately for Rosé, however, the butler hadn’t returned yet, and Haven just let this maid speak to him without hesitation.

“Effort?”

“Yes, try putting effort. A child shouldn’t be trying hard. That’s an adult’s job. Shouldn’t a child be loved just for being born?”

“….”

“But Princess is always working hard to be loved. She has to grumble and shout, she also has to insist and insist, but she doesn’t do any of those.”

“That is normal. Flitta is a princess….”

“Before being a princess, she is just a five-year-old child, Your Highness.”

Rosé intercepted Haven’s words. And she looked straight into his eyes and said.

“Also, before you hold the title of a Grand duke, Your Highness is the princess’s father.”

“….”

“Just give the princess a little more time, Your Highness. Moreover, while eating a meal together, you can also try to greet Her Highness. If you just give her a little smile at her greeting, the princess will be very happy all day long.”

The bold maid talked a lot even though it wasn’t her job. Haven looked at Rosé, who was making demands on him. She was a slender woman, so he thought she would have a weak mind, but she seemed to have a stubborn side, on the contrary.

Although it was a little strange that the stubbornness was invoked for Flitta’s sake, not for himself.

“On the day the princess wears a ribbon, you can stroke her hair and say she’s pretty…”

“I think I should have done that.”

Haven interrupted Rosé. Then, Rosé, who was looking at him, opened her mouth. But a knock on the door forced her to shut her mouth again.

It seemed that the butler had returned.

* * *

“Where are you going around like that?”

As if waiting for Rosé to enter her room, a sharp voice flew in. It was the nanny’s voice. Rosé closed the bedroom door and lowered her head.

“I’m sorry. I have to take a break for a while….”

“I guess that was more important than serving the princess?”

The nanny glared at Rosé with her bitter eyes and sneered. Instead of answering the nanny’s words, Rosé lowered her head once more, keeping her mouth firmly shut.

And the moment she raised her head again, her eyes met Flitta, who was sitting next to the nanny and reading her storybook. Flitta looked at the nanny and held the storybook she was reading in her fingertips and then let go again. She wanted to take Rosé’s side, but she couldn’t, feeling sorry.

Rosé smiled slightly at the child. Flitta’s face brightened after seeing her smile.