Welcome to the Rose Mansion - Chapter 43
In the shadowed face of Rogéros, the beauty mark under his left eye was particularly prominent.
Richelle found herself nodding as if under a spell. Rogéros, with a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, interlocked his fingers.
“The truth is, I don’t particularly like the Otis family.”
It was an unexpected topic for a secret. Richelle’s eyes widened.
“But you said before, it feels like family.”
“That wasn’t a lie. But Miss Howard, not all families cherish and love each other as they do themselves. Sometimes, being family means being even crueler, inflicting deeper wounds because they are family. There are indeed more horrific relationships under the guise of such a title.”
Not all families cherish and love each other as they do themselves.
That statement pierced deep into Richelle’s heart.
Rogéros continued speaking calmly.
“I came to Bertrand for my friend, a friend who loved the Otis family more than anyone.”
“Um, your friend…?”
He answered with a smile. Understanding his meaning, Richelle silently paid respects to the departed.
Staring at the roses beside the swing, Rogéros resumed,
“I’ve been at Bertrand for quite a while, but I still don’t understand what my friend found so endearing about House Otis. And truthfully, I don’t get along well with Lord Alan all that well. You might have noticed.”
The reason he had sarcastically remarked on Alan Otis as ‘troublesome’ on the day they met in the garden bathed in morning sunlight became clear.
He whispered in a voice that felt cold for a moment.
“I see. Saying it out loud makes it clear.”
I’m fed up with it all. With Otis, with Bertrand.
“But still, I have no plans of leaving yet.”
The momentary chill vanished as if it were a fleeting dream. Rogéros, who had been fiddling with his interlocked hands, looked at Richelle.
Always armed with a radiant smile, but at this moment, he seemed as fresh and pure as a young boy.
“This is my hidden secret. Now that I’ve said it out loud, I feel unexpectedly relieved. Maybe I’ve always wanted to share it with someone?”
When Rogéros asked the question in a soft, fleeting voice, he looked into Richelle’s eyes with a light smile.
“Miss Howard, what about you?”
“Me?”
“Secrets, concerns… deep within your heart. Haven’t you ever wanted to let it all out freely?”
My secrets, my worries.
Have I ever wanted to talk about them?
Richelle looked up at the sky. A faint ray of sunlight filtered through the clouds filling the hazy sky. The answer came quickly.
Never. Not even once.
To be precise, she had never even considered the possibility of sharing it with someone.
Rogéros spoke softly to Richelle, who was blankly staring at the sky.
“Just try it. Think of me as just a piece of furniture if you like. Or one of these rose bushes here.”
Rogéros lightly touched a rose as big as a baby’s face. The scent of roses wafted over with the early spring breeze.
Richelle smiled faintly, then closed her mouth. Something coiled tight inside her began to bubble up. It was a familiar sensation.
But the fact that it burst open immediately afterward was, she’d swear, a first.
The remnants of the explosion spilled out before she could stop them.
“Everything used to be perfect.”
Once the floodgates were opened, the rest came easily, as if she had been counting the days for this moment, and the sentences flowed seamlessly.
“My mother was a niece of Viscount Oliphant, and my father owned vast lands. They loved each other deeply. And as I was their only daughter, I was also dearly loved. They wanted to give me only the best.”
“Those were good times.”
“Yes.”
Richelle looked down at her roughened hands. Indeed, those were good times, as Rogéros said.
“The Howard family was wealthy but not among the very top. Around the time I went to boarding school, arguments between my mother and father became frequent… Then, my father ventured into business.”
It was only after my father passed away that I learned he could no longer cope with my mother’s extravagance and greed. That’s why he recklessly expanded his business.
All for the love of his dearly beloved wife.
The end was the ruin of the Howard family. After my father’s death, all that was left of the Howard estate was one house and a small piece of land. There was nothing left to leave for his daughter and wife.
She paused to take in a shaky breath. Rogéros was quietly listening, giving Richelle the strength to continue her story.
“After my father passed away… my mother and I were robbed of everything by distant relatives. We later found out that the Howard estate had a condition that the heir must be male, a stipulation put by my great-grandfather who particularly disliked his daughters.”
