CH 50

"How did this happen?"

In disbelief, Rose jumped off the bed and took small steps around the room to test her foot.

Her light body bounced gently with every step it took.

"I remember hurting my ankle!"

The pain of falling down the mountain and hurting my ankle was real.

Rose looked down at her legs with a serious expression, her chin scrunching as she thought, and headed toward a small table.

"Tomorrow, I'll ask the physician what happened."

A glass and a jug of ready-made water waited on her desk. Rose poured a glass of water and sipped as she inspected the desk.

Well, her focus rested on the calendar placed in a corner of the desk.

After putting her glass down once more, Rose went over and picked up the calendar.

It was the previous year's calendar, but Rose couldn't take her eyes off the last date of the last month.

"Handed it over."

Rose swiped the date with her fingertips before she slumped down into the chair as her legs gave out.

"Now there is no excuse to postpone the engagement ceremony any longer. Elliot will go ahead with the engagement no matter what."

Flutter.

Rose flipped the calendar over.

Next to a specific date on the calendar, it read "engaged to Elliot." 

This was something she wrote in the past.

The sight of it burned her eyes, so Rose tore off the page from the calendar and crumpled it. Then, she threw it into the trash can that sat beside the desk and put her elbows on the desk while she rested her chin.

"Alison left right after the year-end banquet. I can't ask for help again..."

Rose stared blankly into the darkness, recalling the course of events before she passed out in the cave on the mountain where the hunting festival was held.

"Come to think of it, at that moment, I felt a burning pain. I think I also had a hallucination."

Shaking her head, she tried to remember the hallucination she witnessed in the cave, but found it impossible.

"Urgh! I can't remember! It was obviously very painful..."

Rose tried to once again recall the memory with her eyes tightly shut, but eventually, she gave up and shook her head. She burrowed under the covers of her bed again.

"Tomorrow I will ask my older brother about my condition from last night, and also--- Ohh! I need to talk to Ilya. I didn't hear what she had to say to me."

She slowly closed her eyes.

Rose thought she wouldn't fall asleep after sleeping for a long time, but she drifted to sleep sooner than expected.

After a long time, Wells was finally able to take a brief holiday.

The three of them always had breakfast, but it had been a long time since they had a leisurely discussion of their holiday plans.

Rose sipped her soup with a spoon before she looked up at Wells.

"Brother."

"Yes? Rose?"

"Am I really not hurt at all?"

"Ah! According to the physician, there was nothing wrong with you, it was only accumulated fatigue."

Wells did not mention her injured ankle.

As Rose tilted her head in question, Wells further explained.

"What's the matter? Where are you injured?"

Wells immediately rose to his feet, clearly ready to call for a physician at any moment. Rose waved a hand at him.

"No, no, just... It was raining... but it was strange that I didn't have any sore spots."

Rose twirled her ankle in a circle motion under the chair. 

My ankle really feels fine.

Wells sighed.

"I see. I'm glad you didn't get sick."

Rose's healthy body must have been a miracle even to Wells, so she remained silent and continued to eat.

It was Wells' voice calling her that made her raise her head from her plate.

"His Majesty is asking you to come to the Imperial Palace when you feel better."

"His Majesty? I'm alright now, so does that mean I should see him today?"

"No, I told him that he would have to wait a few days. Rose, you seem to be getting better sooner than I thought, so I guess you can go to the Imperial Palace tomorrow. Are you okay with that? If it's inconvenient, let's put it off for a few more days."

Rose quickly shook her head vigorously, wondering if Wells would send a letter to the Imperial Palace.

"I'm sure. I will go tomorrow."

"Hmm, alright. Then I'll write a letter. What are the both of you going to do today?"

Wells asked Ilya about the schedule while he and Rose ate quietly.

Ilya informed them that she was going out to buy things that she had seen in the store the other day when she went out to the plaza.

After hearing her describe her plans, Wells turned to Rose.

"What about you, Rose?"

"I will be at the mansion. Will Brother be at the manor too?"

"No, I have an appointment with Count Holt, so I have to go out and come back later."

"Then I'll be alone in the manor."

Rose rummaged through the plate of vegetables with a fork and peered at Ilya, who was sitting across from her.

I have to tell her about Stanley, but only after hearing the story of what happened in the forest from Ilya... but she's going out.

[TL/N: Here you can see that Rose doesn't fully remember what happened to her when Ilya led her to the forest.]

Rose made up her mind that when Ilya returned from an outing, she would find a place to sit and talk, no matter what.

With that, mealtime ended at the same time as usual.

Wells immediately left to get ready to leave, and Ilya also stood up, saying that she had to change her clothes.

"Rose, I'm going to the plaza, do you need anything?"

"Yes? Ah, I don't need anything. Come back safely."

After replying with a smile, Ilya left the dining room.

Left alone, Rose began to feast on the tea and dessert prepared by the chef.

Is it because I went through a rough day yesterday? 

For a moment, an unexplainable, harmonious peace came to Rose.

It's time to forget everything about Ilya and Elliot and focus only on sweet things.

When Rose came out of the dining room after finishing her meal, Wells was about to leave the manor and board the carriage.

She ran to him like a baby bird that had found its mother.

"Brother. Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, Rose. Don't forget to bring Anne and the knight with you, should you choose to go out."

"Yes, of course. Goodbye, Brother."

After kissing Rose lightly on the cheek, Wells left the manor, his fluttering cloak wrapped stylishly around his shoulders.

Shortly thereafter, Ilya also came down to the first floor.

"I will leave now, Rose."

Ilya, bowing at her waist, before climbing onto the carriage and leaving.

After seeing the two of them off in an instant, Rose, who was left alone, turned and climbed the stairs slowly.

"...What should I do?"

I've lived peaceful and quiet days countless times before. But I don't know what to do today.

Rose walked through the hallways of the mansion, following her steps as her instincts led her.

After going up and down the mansion for a long time, Rose stopped at the library.

"Should I rest while reading a book?"

Rose opened the door and entered the library, then carefully closed the door.

Thud. 

At the same time, the sound of something falling came from inside.

Rose walked into the library, looking for the source of the sound.

While walking between the bookshelves, Rose found a book lying on the floor.

"Was the sound from before this book? If it wasn't placed properly inside the shelf, then the book will fall."

Rose picked up the book and brushed off the dust with the palm of her hand, as her eyes were naturally drawn to the title.

<Abaddon of Tristan.>

"This book...?"

It was a book I borrowed from the Imperial Library for Alison last year when she stayed at the Imperial Palace.

As she stared blankly at it, she remembered the incident with Russell in the Imperial library.

Rose fanned herself with the book to calm the heat that had risen to her face. 

After calming down a bit, Rose picked up the book and headed for her desk.

History and folklore known to all citizens of Tristan.

Rose also turned the pages of the book, reading the words she was so familiar with.

Rose's hand stopped for a moment as she quickly flipped through the pages one by one.

The red eyes that shone in the sunlight flowing through the library window couldn't turn away from the words in the book.

What Rose was staring at was an illustration from a history book.

The history books she had read so far had no illustrations, so she had to use all her imagination to imagine the lives spoken about in the stories.

"This is what Abaddon looks like. It looks scary! It won't be in my dreams tonight... hopefully."

Rose ran her finger over the monster in the illustration.

Abaddon, in the form of a horse, had a crown of gold on his head; however, the face was like that of a person.

Overall, it has a grotesque appearance.

It had wings larger than its body, and instead of a horse's tail, it had a tail with sharp stingers like those of a scorpion.

Rose stared at the monster in the illustration in horror, then she touched her forehead with a frown.

"What...? Why is my head---"

Rose shook her head lightly and opened her eyes. Her vision was covered in darkness for a split second, then vanished.

Flames shot up in front of her eyes. People screamed and ran away. Countless corpses piled up on the ground.

Rose slowly turned her head. 

She felt her head turn. At the end of her gaze, there was a monster that was raging as it trampled on Tristan.

It was Abaddon in the illustration.

"No!!!"

Rose gasped in surprise and leaped from her seat.

The chair she was sitting on tipped over with a loud bang.

Rose breathed hard, with cold sweat breaking out. She turned her head so quickly that she could hear the sound of the wind passing her by, and she looked around.

The fire, monsters, and dying people were not to be seen in the quiet and peaceful interior of Honeywell's library.

"What---what is that? Earlier, that---"

Rose's knees trembled. Eventually, both legs collapsed, and she fell to the ground as the history book fell in front of her.

The book hit the floor, revealing the page with an illustration of Abaddon.

Swallowing her saliva, Rose picked up the book with trembling hands. Whether she was nervous or frightened, she didn't know.

"It must have been this monster."

After straining her eyes to see the details of the illustration of Abaddon clearly, Rose raised her head and blinked, but she didn't see the same hallucination as before.

"Was I focusing on this book more than I thought?"

Rose tilted her head and looked at the illustration once again. Memories of the Imperial Library come to mind.

"Really... Is there a monster sleeping under this Imperial Palace?"

"Well..."

She didn't know if he was teasing her, but Russell's answer was ambiguous.

Rose felt a chill run down her spine. 

She frightfully looked around for no reason and was wary of something suddenly appearing.

"Haa... I must be very tired. Seeing such hallucinations..."

Rose vigilantly put the history book back in its place.

Then, without looking back, the young lady ran toward the door.

It feels like a monster will appear from inside the library's darkness.

Bang!

Uncharacteristically for her, Rose slammed the door shut, took a deep breath, and wiped the sweat from her face.

Anne approached her.

"Young Lady, you are here."

"Anne, you came to find me? What's the matter?"

"I'm here to give you an outing report. I got permission from the butler to go out. I will come back later."

It seems that the weather is nice today, and everyone is going out.

Rose, who was about to say goodbye to Anne, changed her mind and grabbed Anne's arm instead.

"Anne, I want to go with you."

"Young Lady? I don't mind, but what if it will be like the last time..."

Anne blurted out her thoughts with a troubled expression. 

She must be talking about my sudden disappearance on the last outing.

Rose gently shook Anne's hand.

"This time, I will stick by your side, alright?"

Anne bit the tender flesh of her inner cheek and thought. 

I've looked after Lady Rose for over ten years, but this is the first time I've seen her so eager.

She nodded.

"Great! Then I'll get changed quickly!"

"Huh?!"

Looking at Rose, who was excited as a little child, Anne thought that it was like seeing Rose as she used to be when the late Duke and Duchess were around.