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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: For a Child to Be a Child (1)
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At that, a maid with auburn hair who introduced herself as Joan approached with a smile.
“It's alright. We'll just get things ready for you and wait outside the screen.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Young Lady Isabelle does the same.”
“Isabelle… no, my sister, too?”
“Yes.”
Rosette, emboldened by her words, took a step forward.
“Okay.”
Thanks to that, Rosette was able to finish her bath smoothly on her own. The presence of three maids standing beyond the screen was a bit unsettling, but it was something she would have to get used to now that she was here.
After she finished bathing by herself, the maids helped her change. The three of them fussed over Rosette once she was dressed.
“My goodness, you're so beautiful, Young Lady.”
“You look like an angel.”
“How could anyone be so lovely?”
Rosette thought they were exaggerating to get on her good side.
‘I know very well that I'm not pretty.’
Elisha, the beloved youngest daughter of Marquis Dallas, always used to say this to Rosette.
-I've never seen anyone as ugly as you in my life. How can you be so hideous? And your hair is such a drab shade of pink.
Elisha belittled Rosette every day, and her words practically brainwashed her. As a natural result, Rosette believed she was hideous.
“Please look in the mirror. See how adorable you are.”
“No. I don't want to.”
Rosette desperately covered her face, avoiding the mirror. Joan, who had tried to show her a hand mirror, was inwardly surprised by her strong refusal but didn't let it show as she put the mirror away.
“I'm sorry.”
“Not at all.”
“Shall we go for breakfast, then? Everyone will be waiting.”
“Okay.”
Guided by the kind Joan, Rosette headed to the first-floor dining room. Just as Joan had said, the other children were already there.
Rosette's cheeks grew warm at the thought of being late. The only relief was that Duke Adrian hadn't arrived yet.
“I'm sorry.”
She hurried to the chair a servant pulled out for her and sat down. Lucas was the first to respond.
“Not at all! We're the ones who came early.”
He rubbed his stomach with an exaggerated gesture, unbecoming of a child from a noble family.
“I worked hard at my morning training, so I was starving and rushed over.”
“Lucas.”
Isabelle chided her younger brother.
“You're being crass.”
Though his feelings could have been hurt, Lucas just laughed. Rosette thought he was like a puppy she often saw at the orphanage—a little white dog that would wag its tail and follow the children around no matter what.
“*Pfft.*”
The thought made her laugh unwittingly, and all eyes turned to her. Belatedly sensing the gazes on her, Rosette composed her expression.
“It's nothing.”
“I don't know what you were thinking, but you look nice when you smile.”
Daniel, sitting across from Rosette, smiled.
“Do you like your room?”
“Yes, very much!”
About to speak excitedly, she felt Isabelle's gaze and lowered her voice.
“I like it very much.”
“That's a relief.”
Just then, Duke Adrian entered the dining room. As soon as he took his seat at the head of the table, the appetizers began to be served.
‘Ah…’
Rosette bit her lip slightly as she looked at the salad placed before her.
‘It's shrimp.’
She had a shrimp allergy. It wasn't severe enough to be life-threatening or cause difficulty breathing, but every time she ate it, her whole body would break out in an itchy rash.
She first learned of her shrimp allergy after going to the Marquisate of Dallas. The orphanage where Rosette had lived was far from the sea, and seafood was rare.
‘If I tried not to eat the shrimp, I'd get scolded.’
Marquis Dallas knew Rosette had a shrimp allergy, yet he forced her to eat it. Would she be scolded here, too, if she didn't eat the shrimp?
Misinterpreting her hesitation, Lucas, who was sitting diagonally from her, chimed in.
“It's difficult because you haven't learned dining etiquette yet, right? Just use the fork on the outside first! It's not hard at all!”
He seemed to think Rosette was struggling to figure out which of the several forks to use.
‘But I know all about dining etiquette…’
She had learned it at the Marquisate of Dallas, getting her hands whipped with a switch every time she made a mistake. Thanks to that, she could now dine as perfectly as any other noble.
Still, as Rosette hesitated, Isabelle, sitting beside her, picked up the salad fork and placed it in Rosette's right hand.
“Didn't you hear him? You're supposed to use this one.”
“Ah, yes.”
*If I don't eat, they'll scold me for being a picky eater. I hate being scolded. And I hate the thought of being kicked out even more.*
Rosette gripped the fork so tightly her already pale hand turned whiter, speared a piece of shrimp, and put it in her mouth.
She chewed the shrimp thoroughly with her molars. It tasted good. In truth, Rosette only had an allergy; she didn't dislike the taste of shrimp.
When Rosette finished every last bite of her salad, including the shrimp, Daniel praised her from across the table.
“You eat your vegetables so well. How lovely.”
Rosette's cheeks flushed slightly as she popped the last remaining shrimp into her mouth without hesitation.
‘I'm glad I ate it.’
…she praised herself.
She managed to get through the rest of the meal without issue, thankfully because the allergic reaction didn't appear right away.
It was a little unusual that they were served meat for breakfast, perhaps because everyone had come from training.
As Rosette blinked in surprise at the steak, which was bigger than her palm, Isabelle once again placed a knife and fork in her hands.
“What are you staring at? Hurry up and eat.”
“Huh? Y-yes.”
When Rosette tried to cut the meat with her child-sized cutlery, Daniel simply took her plate.
“I'll cut it for you.”
He then cut the steak into pieces small enough to fit in her little mouth and returned the plate. Rosette swallowed hard, her mouth watering at the sight of the pinkish meat.
“Go on, eat!”
Lucas urged her on, looking curious to see her reaction to the steak.
With a determined expression, Rosette speared a piece of steak and brought it to her mouth. As her molars bit down, the juices sealed within the meat flowed out. It melted tenderly after only a few chews.
In the decade she had spent at the Marquis of Dallas's estate, she had never eaten a steak so tender and delicious. The meat she'd been given was always tough and stringy.
‘So, I was being treated differently.’
The belated realization washed over her. No wonder she could never relate when Elisha praised the chef, saying the steak melted in her mouth.
Whether from the belated sorrow or the sheer deliciousness of the meat, Rosette shed a small tear. At that, Lucas burst out laughing.
“Is it that good?”
“Y-yes.”
Rosette continued to eat the steak, piece by piece.
But her happiness didn't last long. By the time dessert was served, the allergic reaction had begun to set in. First, her arms started to itch, and then the itch spread to her neck.
Rosette frantically scratched her arms under the table. The stinging sensation told her she had likely broken the skin.
“What's wrong?”
Duke Adrian, who had keenly noticed the change in her, asked. Rosette shook her head vigorously.
“It's nothing.”
“Then why aren't you eating dessert? It's custard pudding, our chef's specialty!”
Lucas tilted his head.
“Well…”
If she raised her arms to eat the dessert, she might reveal the red, blotchy hives. And then they would find out about her shrimp allergy.
Just then, Duke Adrian approached with a grim expression. Kneeling on one knee beside Rosette, he gently took her arm.
“...!”
Seeing the hives and red scratches on her arm, the Duke spoke in a low voice to Sebastian, who was waiting to the side.
“Fetch the physician at once.”
***
The Adrian family physician, whose hair was as graying as Sebastian's, examined Rosette. Duke Adrian stood a step back, watching both the doctor and Rosette.
The three Adrian siblings, seeing their father's angry demeanor, had already retreated to their rooms.
Rosette hung her head low, feeling like a criminal. Even so, she could feel the Duke's sharp gaze on the crown of her head.
“It appears to be an allergic reaction.”
The physician concluded after his examination.
“An allergy?”
“Yes. I was told shrimp was served as an appetizer today. Shrimp allergies are more common in the Empire than one might think. However, it seems she was unaware of it until now, likely due to being in an environment where seafood was scarce.”
“…”
“The hives should subside quickly with some allergy medication. However, the scratches on her arm may leave scars.”
“I see. You may leave.”
“Yes.”
Even after the physician left, Duke Adrian's stern expression did not soften. Rosette hesitantly took the allergy medicine he offered her.
Only after Rosette had finished a full glass of water did the Duke speak.
“I'm sorry.”
“...?”
“I should have checked beforehand if you had any allergies. It was my oversight.”
Rosette couldn't understand why Duke Adrian was apologizing. Marquis Dallas had told her it was her fault for having an allergy.
Elisha, the beloved youngest daughter of the Dallas family, had even sneered, "You can't handle such fine food because you're lowborn. If you'd been eating it since you were young like me, you wouldn't have developed an allergy, would you?"
If anyone should be apologizing, it was her.
So why was Duke Adrian the one apologizing?
She wanted to ask. But after parting her lips, the words that came out were completely different.
“I'm sorry.”
Duke Adrian's expression finally softened. He knelt on one knee before Rosette, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and took her hand.
“This is not something you need to be sorry for.”
“No, it is. It's because I'm flawed… I shouldn't have something like an allergy…”
Duke Adrian keenly noticed something strange in Rosette's words. The child not only accepted the fact that she had an allergy but also naturally considered it a flaw.
In that case…
“You already knew you had an allergy.”
“…”
“Who told you it was a bad thing?”
“…”
“Was it the orphanage director?”
Rosette shook her head vigorously.
“No.”
“Then who was it?”
“…”
When Rosette clammed up like a seashell, the Duke changed his question.
“Why did you eat it, knowing you were allergic?”
“…”
“Rosette.”
“…”
“Rosette Adrian.”
Rosette sensed that she was being scolded now, but she couldn't figure out why.
She had endured the pain and eaten the shrimp to avoid being scolded, only to be scolded in the end? It wasn't that she felt it was unfair, but she was scared.
Marquis Dallas was a mage, but Duke Adrian was a knight. There was a difference in their physique, and an even greater difference in their strength. How much would it hurt if a man like that hit her?
Rosette clasped her hands together and mumbled.
“...'cause.”
“Hm?”
“Because being a picky eater is bad.”
