Bridal Lessons - Chapter 68
In her childhood, everything seemed like a wonder. Especially when she first learned to write, Rosen wanted to record everything she saw. She would rush to Iscarion, eager to share what she did that day and the new words she learned, but he was often too busy to devote himself solely to her upbringing.
Heeding the nanny’s advice not to disturb him during his busy times, Rosen suppressed her desire to see him. Instead, she wrote letters on her prettiest origami paper and handed them to the knight guarding his office.
“Miss Rosénia, should I inform His Highness that you’ve come to see him?”
“Oh, no… But could you take this to him?”
“Yes, of course.”
[Brother, Rosie ate carrots today too. Please praise me.]
[Let’s play with dolls later. Rosie will wait.]
[Don’t fight with the butlers and be nice to them.]
[I miss you.]
Short, colorful notes cut into star and heart shapes. The clumsy handwriting and the trivialities of a child’s day that she wanted to share with him, which must have seemed tedious to an adult like him.
Yet, whenever they met in the evening, Iscarion always greeted her with a smile and a hug, never showing any sign of annoyance. This continued until Rosen grew old enough to realize even such trivial things could be a distraction to him, and the notes stopped.
It had been such a long time, and it was such an embarrassing memory that she had forgotten about it. She never imagined he would have kept those letters all this time.
Under the stack of colored paper, there was also a child’s drawing in crayon.
It was a portrait of Iscarion that Rosen had drawn and gifted him for his birthday when she was nine. He had likely forgotten to discard it and kept it all this time.
Remembering how much she adored him back then made her heart ache. At one time, he was her whole world.
Rubbing her eyes, she picked up another piece of paper. A faded envelope fell out from between the documents.
‘A… letter?’
It was an unsent letter Iscarion had written to someone. Overcome with curiosity, Rosen opened the envelope, which had no postmark.
She couldn’t tell exactly when it was written, but the rough texture of the paper and the faint scent of ink suggested it was quite old. As she read through the letter, her eyes widened.
“……!”
It was a letter from Iscarion to his maternal relatives abroad, asking them to take care of Rosen until she grew up…
Staring at his familiar handwriting, Rosen’s mind went blank.
Judging by the lack of a postmark, it had never been sent, but the fact that it was kept ready in an envelope meant he had always been prepared to send it.
Now that she knew he had intended to send her away long before…
She could hear her heart shattering into a million pieces.
The people who whispered that His Highness had made a mistake out of momentary sympathy were right.
He took me in reluctantly, but I’ve always been a burden to him…
Tears she had been holding back began to pour down her cheeks. It seemed she loved Iscarion far more than she had realized.
‘I can’t stay here any longer.’
However. Just as she was about to leave in a hurry, Iscarion walked into the office.
Seeing her tear-streaked face, he approached quickly and embraced her.
“Rosen, did you come to see me? Why are you crying?”
“Hiic, let me go… hiic.”
“What on earth is wrong?”
Rosen struggled to hide her tear-stained face and tried to push him away with all her strength. Iscarion’s eyes fell on the marriage certificate lying on the desk.
“Is it because of this?”
“Yes.”
“…I see.”
Iscarion’s expression hardened. He stood still for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“Do you hate it that much? This marriage, is it really so bad that you’re crying?”
“Yes! I hate it!”
Crying, Rosen pounded his chest with her fists.
It was true she had been afraid of and resented him for keeping her confined in the annex and subjecting her to those indecent lessons.
However, she had also been confused by her inexplicable feelings for him, and now she was certain of one thing.
She couldn’t bear the thought of Iscarion being someone else’s husband.
Whether it was a beautiful foreign noblewoman or a noble princess worthy of his status… she didn’t want to lose him to anyone.
“Of course I hate it! I really, really hate it!”
Even though she had convinced herself that she needed to leave him, her honest feelings, which she had hidden out of fear of being discovered, wanted to stay by his side forever… But she knew it was too late to reveal her true feelings now.
“Ah, Rosie. What am I supposed to do with you?”
Iscarion murmured as if deeply troubled, holding his forehead with his hand. But even as he spoke, he didn’t release his tight embrace. His soft sigh scattered over Rosen’s head.
“Let me go…! Why are you doing this to me?!”
“That’s what I should be asking you, Rosie.”
