Welcome to the Rose Mansion - Chapter 57
“……Pardon?”
She asked blankly, and belatedly realized that his request was very straightforward.
‘After all, Rogéros, being the gentleman of gentlemen, wouldn’t have brought me into the room with any sinister intent.’
Richelle, with her face slightly red, awkwardly guessed Rogéros’s intention. She noticed that Rogéros’s eyes had been glancing at one place since earlier.
Right above her clearly exposed legs.
Following his gaze, Richelle finally became aware of her condition. Starting from her knees, where blood was flowing down, her entire body was covered in wounds.
With her face reddened, Richelle put down the lamp she had been holding onto dearly.
“I can’t be more of a burden. Please let me do it myself.”
“As long as it’s you, Richelle, nothing is a bother to me. So, if you don’t dislike it, I hope you would nod.”
Rogéros’s reddish-brown eyes seemed to look at something so lovely they couldn’t bear it.
Richelle clenched the hem of her night gown. Her flushed face eventually showed a slight nod.
Rogéros, with a gently lifted corner of his mouth, opened the box and took out the disinfectant. His large hand wrapped around Richelle’s white calf.
Rogéros, with his eyes half-closed, dabbed cotton on Richelle’s wound. The gesture felt incredibly careful and almost sacred.
“…Ugh—”
A sharp pain made Richelle’s body tremble. Rogéros gently stroked her skin with his thumb. The comforting gesture made even her heart tickle.
After finishing with the legs, it was the palms and arms next. Unlike the knees, they were just minor scrapes, so it ended quickly.
“Your face.”
Rogéros whispered softly and grabbed her chin. His face was close enough for her to feel his breath.
Richelle’s eyes wandered, not knowing where to look, and eventually looked down. The cotton soaked with disinfectant touched her cheek.
‘It feels like a dream…’
The room, lit only by a single lamp, was blurry and dim. The mind, completely exhausted from the terrible game of hide and seek, kept loosening up hazily.
Only the sound of breathing echoed in the quiet room. The touch tapping above her cheek was gentle.
Suddenly, Richelle thought that she wanted to lay everything down and rely on him for everything.
“It’s all done.”
Rogéros’s kind voice gently settled in her ears. If she turned her head, his eyes, dyed with the red light emanating from the fireplace, were full of her.
Eyes tangled at a distance where noses could almost rub against each other. With each breath, their hot breaths mixed. A slightly thicker and more enchanting scent of roses wafted from him than usual.
Feeling like her head would become strange, Richelle hurriedly averted her gaze. Rogéros also briskly moved back, allowing the air to circulate normally again.
‘…Wanting to rely on him, what was I thinking.’
Was today too hard? It didn’t just feel like her head would become strange—it might already have become strange.
While she was secretly blaming herself,
“Richelle, has anyone visited your room recently?”
While organizing the medicine box, Rogéros asked curiously. Richelle blankly followed his hand movements and then suddenly raised her voice.
“H-Huh?”
“Did someone enter your room?”
She was about to reflexively shake her head but then suddenly remembered Becky. The young cleaning maid who, despite trembling, had shared various stories with Richelle.
As far as Richelle knew, that girl was the only person who had entered the room. But should she mention her name?
After a bit of deliberation, Richelle shook her head anyway.
“Nothing special happened.”
It wasn’t a lie. Becky had just visited as usual for cleaning.
“Is that so.”
It was then. Rogéros suddenly gently grasped Richelle’s hand. It was cold but felt pleasantly so.
Therefore, Richelle stiffened her body and looked at Rogéros with a mix of caution. He smiled harmlessly.
“I’m asking because I want to help you. Trust me, Richelle. I am on your side.”
“……Why?”
I had always wondered. Why are you so good to me?
Even when I want to lay everything down and rely on him, my head feels as if it’s been dunked in water that’s full of ice. I feel infinitely close yet infinitely far at the same time. I promised myself I wouldn’t outright push away your kindness, but in the end, there’s a part of me that becomes wary and doubtful.
These conflicting emotions have given me no rest. Rather than tormenting myself alone like this, I wish to hear your honest feelings.
Rogéros, who had been quietly observing Richelle’s face, gently narrowed his eyes. His hand, with lines as fine as if they were carved from wax, softly caressed her face.
“That’s because you, Richelle, are the most valuable existence in this mansion.”
“……”
“Richelle, you are very precious to me.”
Rogéros Walter.
Your words, while whispering sweet confessions and scrutinizing me as if searching, are they truly honest or deceitful?
Indeed, this man is the one I most want to rely on and yet…
…the one I could trust least of all.
