Salvation of the Fallen - Chapter 22
As they spoke, past events rose to the servants’ lips. The incident that had driven Arsena to the brink of hell became the topic of conversation. Even the time when Rosalyn had directly handed Arsena a jewel only to throw it away. Witnesses who had kept their mouths shut out of fear at the time began to speak up as Rosalyn’s arrows turned towards them.
The truly bad one was Rosalyn, who had been as lovely as the spring sunshine. Not Arsena, who had lived as if erased because of that incident.
Being dragged to the room of silence, which even adults found difficult to enter with a sound mind, happened several times. Arsena, who had to endure Rosalyn’s tantrums from morning till late at night, seemed unfortunate even to them. Forgetting how they had once blamed her for throwing away her blessings, the servants now pitied Arsena. The beautiful Arsena who had withered away without even blooming, was trapped in the shadows.
“Lower your voice. You might get your head chopped off.”
“Oh, I wish it would be chopped off already. They won’t let us quit because there are not enough people. How can we keep working here? It’s terrifying.”
“No, really, we’ll die. If Miss Rosalyn catches us, our heads will roll, you know?”
After the coming-of-age ceremony, Rosalyn’s behavior went beyond common sense. She would visit Viareche in the middle of the night, wailing about the injustice and begging to find the culprit, multiple times.
Suddenly screaming, then sobbing and shivering, Rosalyn would pile her jewels in her room and frequently count them. Her muttering about something seeming to be missing was tinged with madness.
It was common for her to strip the maids entering her room, claiming to prevent theft. Once, upon finding the Peter brothers with Rosalyn, when a maid sobbed with shame, she lunged at her, threatening to gouge out her eyes for disrespecting her. She was truly out of her mind.
She would grab passing servants and beat them without reason. Only when Arsena appeared and fed her medicine prescribed by the doctor would Rosalyn finally fall asleep. Peacefully, as if dead. And when she woke up, the same cycle would repeat.
Even servants who had long served other nobles were shocked by Rosalyn’s behavior and often quit. The once-lovely spring sunshine was now burning everything in the Count’s household.
Some had already run to Morpheus, pleading, but Morpheus only hushed them and focused on his duties. As if he were already the Count.
“She acted as if the position of Crown Princess was already hers… But I heard someone sent a proposal?”
Naturally, even long after the coming-of-age ceremony, no proposal came from the Crown Prince. It was only fitting, as all the nobles who attended the ceremony had witnessed Rosalyn’s atrocities. It was unlikely that anyone would send a proposal to Rosalyn.
“I heard it was from the Margrave. Being at the border, he probably hasn’t heard the rumors. That’s why he sent a proposal. Let’s hurry and prepare for the banquet. We shouldn’t give them any reason to find fault. I’ll only be able to live if Miss Rosalyn gets married soon.”
“By the way, is there no other news?”
“What?”
“You know, about that other young lady who went to the coming-of-age ceremony.”
The conversation that followed was predictable. Forced to attend the ceremony due to Rosalyn’s insistence. With her well-known lowly bloodline, a noble in name only, no one asked her to dance. Arsena was also too busy attending to Rosalyn to even look around. The imperial palace where servants couldn’t enter. That was the reason Rosalyn had forcibly brought Arsena to the coming-of-age ceremony.
Arsena resumed her halted steps. There was no need to hear about her circumstances through others’ mouths. She already knew well enough.
***
Not long after, a grand banquet was held at the Count’s mansion. It was to publicly announce the engagement before the ceremony.
The banquet hall was lavishly decorated for the first time in years, and people gathered with murmurs. The scent of Felita wine was overwhelmingly sprinkled amidst the constantly fluttering fans. It was said that Viareche had specially prepared it to erase the unpleasant incident from the coming-of-age ceremony.
“How have you been all this time?”
In line with this, the Count who had left for his territory also returned. The Count, who had been absent from the capital for a while, was busy exchanging greetings among the people. As if he didn’t even have time to face Viareche.
“It seems you have good news. To even serve such precious Felita wine.”
The nobles closed their mouths as they tilted their glasses filled with wine as red as blood. Keenly aware that Viareche before them was the owner of Felita, and of the solid wealth and power that couldn’t be shaken even by Rosalyn’s scandal.
“I hope you enjoy it to your heart’s content.”
Despite her composed voice, Viareche secretly swallowed dry saliva. Every time the wine, brought out to salvage the reputation ruined by Rosalyn, disappeared into others’ mouths, her lips dried up. It felt as if her own life was disappearing.
“Morpheus! It’s been so long.”
The Count and Countess weren’t the only busy ones. Morpheus, who had been away from the capital for a long time for his duties, was also busy greeting those he hadn’t seen in a while.
Only Arsena of the Katarini family remained alone, decorating one corner of the hall. As always. Painfully lonely.
“Why are you alone?”
The one who spoke to Arsena, standing like a doll with her gaze fixed on her toes, was a man with fiery red hair and a strong jaw. With his giant-like physique dressed in a pure white uniform, his identity was unmistakable.
Rosalyn’s fiancé.
The new Margrave of the family guarding the southern border. The man who had arrived in the capital to succeed in his title and sent a proposal to Rosalyn. He was imposing, befitting the position of Margrave. However, despite his gentle and soft smile, there was something unsettling about him.
“Why aren’t you with your family?”
Arsena couldn’t readily answer the cruel question, as if a snake was flicking its red tongue. Perhaps being far from social circles, he knew nothing about her. How should she explain? That she was adopted? That she bears their name but isn’t the same? Hadn’t he noticed the different hair color already? No, he might have heard from somewhere. After all, Arsena was one of the Katarini’s most splendid decorations.
Even as she pondered miserably, the Margrave was patiently looking at Arsena, kindly waiting for her answer. After an awkward silence filled with discomfort, Arsena carefully opened her mouth.
“I am…”
“What are you doing there?”
Morpheus, approaching with large strides, blocked Arsena’s view. This was the first time his appearance had been so welcome. Arsena bit her lip.
“You’ve come.”
“What’s going on?”
The Margrave greeted the sharp-edged Morpheus with a good-natured smile. Morpheus’s gaze as he looked over the Margrave was sharp. It looked as if he was warning a thief trying to steal what was his.
Thick cold sweat ran down her spine at the strange tension. Even though the two were just standing face to face, it felt suffocating. Arsena carefully changed the subject.
“Rosalyn is late, isn’t she?”
“Ah, that’s why I was looking for her too.”
Come to think of it, the main character of this banquet had not yet made an appearance. Rosalyn, who had been bustling around Arsena since morning, said she would appear in her most beautiful form.
“I’ll go look for her.”
Arsena stepped forward, grasping her dress with damp palms. She wanted to escape this situation somehow.
“I’ll go with you.”
Arsena quietly nodded to Morpheus, who roughly grabbed her wrist. It was now a familiar occurrence. She could ignore the throbbing pain. She was just grateful that their destination wasn’t the room of silence.
“It’s me. May I come in? Everyone is looking for you.”
Arsena carefully knocked on Rosalyn’s door. She turned to Morpheus with a troubled expression, but he seemed indifferent. He just kept grinding the wrist he hadn’t let go of. Arsena tried to ignore the creeping sensation.
“Uwaah.”
Suddenly, an ecstatic moan was heard through the tightly closed door.
