Welcome to the Rose Mansion - Chapter 66
“I’m their governess. How could I ignore what’s happening now?”
Richelle responded calmly. Alan opened his mouth wide as if to shout, but then his face hardened frighteningly.
“Remember this. Meddling people like you are the first to die.”
“…”
“Don’t get attached to anything in Bertrand. Nothing that happens here has anything to do with you. So stop poking your nose around. Just stay put and leave without looking back once your contract is up.”
“Young Master Otis…”
“There’s nothing you can do. Nothing at all.”
Without giving her a chance to respond, Alan Otis turned sharply. The study’s door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Richelle looked blankly at the firmly closed door. Despite the harsh words, she wasn’t angry.
Perhaps it was because she saw the deep frustration on the young man’s face.
“Alan Otis…”
With a face that desperately needed help, yet telling her not to get involved in the mansion’s affairs… How could she…
“…”
Richelle turned silently. Having failed to persuade Alan, she decided to find another way to save the Otis siblings.
***
“Tea time with Miss Howard, today is a very good day.”
Mrs. Otis said cheerfully. Her voice was clear and melodious like a small bird’s chirp. Richelle responded with a small smile and anxiously rubbed the handle of her teacup.
Facing Mrs. Otis was always uncomfortable. However, it wasn’t something she could avoid forever. After all, the matter of the Otis siblings’ future was in the hands of their mother, Mrs. Otis.
Regardless of the mansion’s secrets, at least on the surface.
“Is this the first time I’ve invited you to this reception room? There are so many things I’d like to show you. This table was made by an artisan who exclusively crafted furniture for the royal family two hundred years ago…”
Today, as always, Mrs. Otis was engrossed in boasting about the Otis family’s wealth. Richelle nodded and responded appropriately.
But how should she bring it up?
Mrs. Otis was extremely reluctant to talk about her children. Still, since this was about sending her children away, wouldn’t she secretly welcome the idea?
Richelle set down her teacup and cautiously began.
“This mansion is so beautiful, it’s a shame it’s just quietly sleeping.”
“Sleeping, you say?”
“I was thinking, perhaps it would be nice to show Bertrand to more people.”
“…More people?”
The pink excitement in Mrs. Otis’s face faded. She twisted the expensive dress in her hands and spoke as if spitting out the words.
“No guests. That’s out of the question.”
“Well, but for the sake of your children who will eventually enter high society…”
“High society? Hahaha!”
Mrs. Otis’s lips twisted into a cynical smile. The face filled with resignation and hostility looked very much like Alan Otis’s.
“Yes, Alan will eventually enter high society. But that’s not my concern. That’s all up to him.”
“Mrs. Otis.”
“And presenting those children to society?”
Mrs. Otis, trembling like someone struck by lightning, suddenly stood up. The teacup she was holding fell onto the carpet, soaking the hem of her dress.
Ignoring it, Mrs. Otis clutched her head.
“Disgusting! Disgusting! Those horrible, hideous things should rot and die locked up in this mansion!”
“Mrs. Otis! Please calm down!”
Richelle was shocked. She had heard that the Otis family was once a loving and harmonious household.
But calling her children horrible and hideous? Disgusting? Saying they should rot and die?
What on earth had happened to the Otis family? What had turned them into this?
Richelle grabbed the hand of the hysterical Mrs. Otis. The words she had calmly prepared spilled out in a hurry.
“I know you’re suffering because of your children. So, how about sending them far away? You could send Young Lady Penny and Young Lord Nero to a boarding school. I can help you with that. Please?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I can’t do anything. I need his permission for everything!”
“Permission? From whom… Oh. Do you mean Master Otis?”
It was a remark made without much thought, spoken in the effort to calm Madam Otis. Probably because she had been thinking about Master Otis’s whereabouts all along.
“Otis…”
But she never expected that a single, thoughtless word would provoke such a reaction.
