Welcome to the Rose Mansion - Chapter 151
The Second Path
[ P.S.
This is Charlotte Otis. My handwriting is a mess, isn’t it? Before even the last bit of my body that can hold a pen disintegrates, I leave this message.
I believe it’s highly unlikely that Rose would break his promise. He values promises deeply. The entity that defined itself in human terms has an obsessive commitment to imitating humans, to the point of creating certain rules to bind himself.
However, humans are not inherently honest beings, and as naturally as the sun sets and the moon rises, they betray trust. No one can predict how Rose may act in the future. After all, he is a being far beyond the understanding of mere mortals.
So, I prepare for the ‘just in case’.
When I safely reached adulthood in Bertrand, my father, Damon Otis, could finally rest in peace. Yet even then, Neil Otis remained alive. And, indeed, for a very, very long time afterward.
It seemed that Rose had no intention of easily letting go of Neil Otis. Neil did not die, even without the basic acts of eating or drinking. At some point, he surrendered all hope and confined himself to the household head’s room on the fourth floor.
As I mentioned in my previous letter, the household head’s room where I am confined were originally Neil Otis’s room. It became a place of exile for dying earls after their bodies began to decay. That’s also when the key to the household head’s room came under the care of the lady of Otis.
Although no one can access it now, I had comparatively free access to visit Neil Otis back then. Rose never bothered to stop me.
I would visit him sometimes. Not out of affection or sympathy, of course, but for purely pragmatic reasons. Occasionally, when he was in a good state, he would share useful information.
One day, Neil grinned and said to me,
「 My poor granddaughter, I actually know a way to break the contract with that devil. 」
My ears pricked up. I didn’t think he was lying. Ironically, the one who knew Rose best in Bertrand was none other than Neil Otis himself.
If you’re wondering why, the reason is simple: Neil Otis was the one who made the contract with Rose.
Because of their bond through the contract, Neil sometimes received information about Rose in the form of dreams.
I asked him,
「 If it’s possible to break the contract, why don’t you do it? 」
「 It’s not that simple. It’s not that simple. 」
Neil clicked his tongue as if pitying a fool. Then he twisted his body, cursing reality. It wasn’t a pleasant sight, so I quickly left the room.
The next time I heard about the contract-breaking method was when I was moved to the household head’s room on the fourth floor.
Since two people couldn’t share the room, Neil Otis had to vacate the household head’s room to make way for me. That day, he seemed in unusually high spirits.
「 Finally, I’m leaving this room. Do you know, my granddaughter, the shame this room has brought me? 」
「 Is it shame that ‘he’ bestowed upon you? 」
「 No! This was the room that some miserly old man tossed me into, as if out of charity, during my most miserable days. I had to share this space with mere employees… 」
Rubbing his eyes with his frail, withered hand, Neil continued,
「 That damn Rogéros! No, wasn’t his real name Rose? I saw that damn Edgar calling him that in my dreams… Damn it. Roses are such a nuisance. Why do things with the name ‘Rose’ persist in tormenting me? I need to get revenge on him. I must see that smug face of his twisted in agony… 」
Then, like a madman, he chuckled.
「 Breaking the contract would be the sweetest revenge, wouldn’t it… but unfortunately, it’s not possible at the moment. 」
「 So, what exactly is this method of breaking the contract? 」
Today, he seemed inclined to talk. Neil smirked, then pressed his hand to my mouth, leaning close to whisper,
「 Did you know that, in taking a human form, he imposed restrictions on himself? 」
「 Restrictions? 」
「 He, too, is bound by ‘roses’! 」
Neil Otis was as excited as a child.
「 To maintain his human shape, he bound his immense power to roses. And roses are vulnerable to fire. Of course, a fully bloomed rose can only be burned with a special fire, but if you find and burn Rose’s roses, you can drive him away from right before your eyes! 」
「 If that happens… will he die? 」
