A Rose Dedicated to You

Chapter 14: An Idea

Translator: Blushy
Editor: delishnoodles

Countess Rosenstein’s reputation in social circles isn’t good.

However, an unexpectedly large number of nobles talk to me.

They want to get to know Orpheus through me.

Even now, I was surrounded by three nobles.

One is a young man, and the other two are young ladies.

From what I’ve heard, all three aren’t married yet.

They talked about the same thing as everyone else: Orpheus.

『I’m jealous that you could get married to such a wonderful person.』Most of the people who speak to me say this.

With irony, he’s too good for a woman like you.

“The women who admire him don’t mind being temporary partners, so have mercy.”

“My friends say that too. She is so attracted to Count Rosenstein, her face turns red, and she bursts into tears just by glancing at him.”

“Oh my, isn’t that you?”

“No way, I’m different. Although I am attracted to him…”

Both the young ladies are gorgeous.

They are lively and sparkling.

One of them had bright golden hair and resembled Diana somehow.

“But he’s as popular as always. I can’t believe a prideful lady would say that she wouldn’t mind being his plaything. Madam, aren’t you proud?” The young man, who was listening to the young ladies talk while smiling, interjected, and I replied with a vague smile.

As always, they continue talking even if I don’t say anything.

They ramble on about how excellent and popular Orpheus is.

However, I know how wonderful that person is even without having to be told by others.

Because I’m by his side.

“Come to think of it, I heard that he took in a blind relative and they’re living together.”

“I heard about that too. Earl Rosenstein is very kind, isn’t he? I envy the young lady. What kind of person is she?”

“I’m sure she’s a beautiful lady since she’s related to that handsome man, right? … Well, not as much as you, though.”

They also bring up Diana a lot.

People who are suspicious about the relationship between Diana and Orpheus, are particularly interested in knowing what kind of person she is since she doesn’t appear in social circles.

They look at my reaction to make sure.

“She’s a gorgeous person. I’m no match for her.”’

I return an unwavering smile at their rude stares.

I’m not lying.

Diana is beautiful.

She has a radiance that eminates out from within.

But they don’t agree.

“What’s her hair colour? Eye colour?”

“How is she compared to the Princess?”

“Her personality?”

I couldn’t help but give a small sigh behind my fan.

My fatigue came back even though I was taking a break.

My reputation is terrible in social circles, but there are still people who talk to me.

Not because they’re interested in me, but because they are interested in Orpheus.

I could probably answer their questions with a heartfelt smile if we were an average couple and our relationship hadn’t broken down.

I would possibly boast about Orpheus more than them.

My beloved husband is wonderful, and Diana is a good friend, I would say.

――― Also, if there was no irony or jealousy.

Renee had already returned and was standing behind me.

I got bored of what they were saying because it didn’t seem like they were going to change the topic, and was about to leave, when the young man said something that bothered me to the women who were praising Orpheus, “Come to think of it, this is something I heard from my friend, but Lord Rosenstein doesn’t like people who fall in love with his good looks. He gets uncomfortable when people approach him amorously. I guess that just shows how many women try to approach him. I’m extremely jealous of him, but I guess people struggle in their own way when they’re better than others.”

I, who was about to get off my seat, froze just like that.

This is the first I’ve heard of this.

Orpheus is a gentleman, and he’s kind to women.

I’ve seen many women approach him, but he gently refuses them all without looking disgusted or hurting anyone.

I’ve never heard or seen the kind of reaction that this man mentioned, and I’ve never heard about this before, and I can’t imagine it from the way Orpheus behaves typically.

I couldn’t believe it, and the women looked surprised as if this was the first time they’ve heard of this.

They covered their mouths and criticised the man with their eyes.

“Well, did the person himself say it? That person? It’s a lie.”

“I can’t believe it. Because isn’t he a kind, caring and a wonderful gentleman to everyone? Right, Countess Rosenstein?”

“… Right.”

See? The man, who was being glared at, shrugged and laughed in a troubled way, “You may not believe this, but my friend heard this from Lord Rosenstein himself. Most women change just by seeing him, and he’s sick of it. I mean, doesn’t he like that candid woman? I think it’s alright to be a little cold.”

I thought quietly as I glanced back at the three talkative people.

I can’t say for sure whether Orpheus hates women who approach him because I’ve never seen this before.

After all, he’s the type of person who is kind to a woman who he had married because of someone’s last request.

However, there’s a chance that he feels unhappy inside even if he doesn’t let it show on his face.

However, that wasn’t what worried me.

――― What would Orpheus think if I approached him like this?

The wife, who has disliked her husband until now, suddenly starts flirting and snuggles up to him.

He might think at first, maybe she’s reflected on her actions and want to start over, but then, I’ll act the same as before and remain a bad wife.

A normal person would get annoyed and wonder what I’m up to.

The relationship would deteriorate further.

All the more so if Orpheus hated women who flirt with him.

Still, the wife doesn’t stop persisting, and even Diana gets jealous…

“This is an interesting conversation.”

They stopped talking and concentrated their glances on me.

The man stiffened a little. Maybe he thought he had put me in a bad mood.

“Mm, Countess Rosenstein…”

I didn’t answer him and covered my mouth with my half-opened fan.

――― It’s not about pulling back all the time, sometimes I should push once in a while.

I acted in a lot of loathsome ways, but Orpheus was still putting up with me.

It might be only a matter of time, but I couldn’t take things slowly because I wanted to be divorced as soon as possible.

―――It’s worth a try.

If I fail, then I just have to think of another way.

It takes time to build trust, but it only takes a moment to break it.

“Thanks for letting me hear such an interesting conversation, Viscount Heidfeld. Please tell your father hello for me. Well, have a nice day, everyone.”

I got away from the three silent people and quickly left the gambling house.

 

“So, I think I’m going to change the way I do things a little bit,” I said, and Claude, who was sitting directly opposite me, and Claire, who was standing next to me, didn’t say anything and looked mixed.

I was once again at Claude’s apartment.

Today is the day I promised to meet him, and this time I brought Claire with me instead of Renee, and the three of us chatted while practising embroidery around the table.

Claude was the one who was teaching Claire and I how to embroider.

He is really skilful with his hands and is really good at embroidering even though he is male.

“I think it’s a great idea, but is there a problem?” I stopped embroidering and asked, and the two people still looked mixed as they stayed silent.

A little while later, Claude opened his mouth a little hesitantly, “Well, in the current situation, he will get iffy about it.”

“Right? What do you think, Claire?”

“I…” Claire also stopped embroidering, and for some reason, she looked at Claude a few times for help.

Claude turned away as if he was avoiding her, and Claire stared at her hand.

“I-I think Master will be shocked. I don’t know if it would make your relationship worse.”

“Even if it doesn’t get worse, he would be iffy about it. 『What are you doing now?』I can picture him saying that in a cold voice.”

“I wonder about that. He might be surprisingly happy to accept it. He might think that you’ve finally come to your senses,” Claude answered instead of Claire.

He crossed his hands behind his head, leaned back and crossed his legs.

“No way. I mean, nothing else will change, right? I’ll still go out like always, waste money, gamble and go to meet my lover, you know? He won’t say that I’ve come to my senses now, will he? He’ll definitely get angry. He’ll yell, what’re you scheming?” I said as if convincing myself.

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I told them about the idea that I had come up with when I heard about those things at the gambling house, but I didn’t think they would react like this and became a little uneasy.

“And my relationship with him is horrible beyond repair. If this method fails, then it wouldn’t be a big deal. He would be compelled to reject me in front of Diana, right?”

“He might think that you guys can talk and try to persuade you? He might think that you went back to how you used to be. He doesn’t just worry about Diana; he also cares about you too.”

“I don’t think so. Because I’ve said it clearly… This is the real me. I’ve been playing a good girl all my life.”