Captain! Where is the Battlefield?

As Derivis exited the office and headed back to the stables, he was stopped by a familiar gaze. When he turned to where he felt the gaze, he saw the blond-haired Nathan standing there. Nathan smiled warmly at Derivis, who was wearing a mask.

“Indeed. It wasn’t my imagination, was it?”

“Nathan.”

“I could smell Devi’s scent all over the mansion. Especially in Rosalie’s room and office…”

Nathan trailed off, his gaze sweeping over Derivis with a strange gaze.

“Why are you here?”

“To serve as Rosalie’s eyes and ears?”

Nathan said nonchalantly with a short shrug of his shoulders. However, his golden eyes, unchanged from the color of his hair, seemed to glow with curiosity for a moment.

“What about you, Devi? You even used magic to change your hair despite saying that you didn’t like it because it felt stuffy.”

“And you normally don’t do favors for nobles, do you? You said nobles were disgusting.”

Nathan smirked and tapped his lips with the tip of his index finger. Derivis waited patiently for his answer.

“Rosalie is a little different. That’s why it turned out like this, I guess?”

They stared at each other for a long moment after Nathan’s answer. After a long pause, Derivis started to walk away, and Nathan turned to him.

“Our goals seem to be similar.”

“Seems like it.”

Derivis continued to walk away. Nathan muttered to himself while looking at his receding back.

“What a flippant answer… Based on the sound of his heartbeat, he’s clearly dissatisfied.”

Nathan muttered in a low voice filled with curiosity and amusement and quickly turned away.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

The next day, after finishing her training, Rosalie headed to the Duchy alone. Derivis had left early today, claiming to have business at the palace. As she entered the mansion, she was approached by Dolan, who looked a little confused.

“Your Grace, a guest has arrived.”

“There shouldn’t be any scheduled visitors today.”

“Well… It’s just that Count Amins’ daughter unexpectedly visited, so I allowed her to use the portal and brought her to the duchy.”

Rosalie was puzzled by the unannounced visit. Dolan inclined his head, worrying that she would be displeased with him for opening the portal without her permission.

“I see. But next time, report the use of the portal to me immediately.”

“Yes, I’m sorry. The Young Lady is in the reception room.”

Without even changing her clothes, Rosalie immediately went to the reception room. When she opened the door, Sonia, dressed in a simple yellow dress, was sitting on the sofa with a dark expression.

“…Hello. It’s been a while, Rosalie.”

Rosalie sat down on the sofa across from Sonia.

“I didn’t expect you to come by first.”

Sonia smiled awkwardly at Rosalie’s words.

“I came to apologize. I was a bit harsh last time, wasn’t I?”

“You came all the way to the mansion without any notice just to apologize?”

Sonia’s expression momentarily stiffened at Rosalie’s indifferent tone, but she quickly put on a smile. It was undoubtedly her usual charming smile, but there was something foreign about it as if it had been forced.

“Rosalie is a longtime friend of mine… and I was too harsh.”

As Sonia spoke, tiny teardrops burst from her eyes, and Rosalie looked on as she wept wordlessly. After sniffling for a while, Sonia reached for her handkerchief and wiped away the tears.

“I’m sorry. I came here to apologize and ended up crying instead. The truth is, I’ve been feeling really exhausted lately… I thought Rosalie would understand and listen to my worries…”

After wiping away all her tears, Sonia smiled shyly and hesitated before continuing her words.

“And… because I’ve listened to Rosalie’s concerns so far… If Rosalie is my friend, you’d listen, right?”

“Tell me.”

Sonia drummed her fingers together, paused, and then, as if gathering courage, spoke.

“Actually, it’s about Devi… I’ve noticed that Rosalie seems to be getting a little too close to him lately.”

Sonia’s voice trailed off as she blushed. Despite her cute and awkward appearance that was full of embarrassment, Rosalie remained indifferent.

“The truth is, I think I’ve started to like Devi.”

“So?”

Sonia crumpled the handkerchief she’d been secretly holding into a tight ball as she tried to hide her embarrassment at Rosalie’s overbearing behavior. The eyes that were always so busy hiding now seemed to pierce through her, stirring up unpleasant feelings deep inside Sonia.

“Um… yeah, so maybe you could help me? Friends should help each other, right?”

As far as Sonia knew, Derivis had always been indifferent to others. Even when she first met him as a child, it was difficult to get his attention, and it took a long time to get close to him.

However, his relationship with Rosalie became closer in a short period of time, and Sonia became unbearably irritated at the secrets between the two of them. She wanted to somehow restore the relationship to the way it was before, so she decided to come and intervene under the pretext of a false apology. 

‘I’m sure that Rosalie must be regretting distancing herself from me, too.’

And Sonia thought that Rosalie would naturally accept her apology. However, contrary to Sonia’s plan, Rosalie had been pondering over the unsettling emotions she had been feeling since earlier.

‘She apologized. She even cried and confided her own feelings… but why do I feel hostility?’

It was not long after Rosalie began her military service. With a prominent military family and outstanding skills as a soldier, envy and jealousy always followed her like a shadow.

Of course, when she was harmed by them, she always returned the favor, but it wasn’t always easy. In the process, she became more sensitive to hostility than other emotions.

“Right? You’ll help me, won’t you? Like I’ve helped Rosalie so many times before.”

Rosalie stifled a laugh; she wasn’t the kind of person to help someone who had a grudge against her. Rather, she was the kind of person who would pull out all of her enemy’s teeth once they bared them against her.

“Are you not confident?”

“What did you say?”

Sonia repeated as if she had misheard, but Rosalie’s expression didn’t change. In fact, her sharp tone intensified. 

“I asked if you lack confidence to the extent that you need my help.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you seem desperate enough to come to someone you don’t want to apologize to and pretend to apologize just to get their help.”

“How… can you say that? I just wanted some help.”

Sonia buried her face in her handkerchief against the tears that were falling. However, Rosalie was unperturbed by the sobs that filled the reception room. She seemed to have no intention of soothing Sonia, nor retracting her words. After a while, Sonia lowered her handkerchief, revealing her reddened eyes.

“There’s nothing I can do to help you, so stop pretending and go home.”

“…You’re so mean. Pretending? How could you do that to a friend?”

There was no longer any trace of tearfulness in Sonia’s voice. Her emotions became honest, leaving only a strong sense of hostility.

“Rosalie, this is your chance to restore our relationship.”

Upon hearing those words, Rosalie’s face showed signs of deep contemplation, and Sonia’s smile deepened at that. There was a hint of arrogance in the smile, but Rosalie’s contemplation was nothing like what Sonia expected.

‘She’s playing with our friendship as if she were holding my life in her hands. She has exceeded the limits of what I can tolerate.’

Having made her decision, Rosalie faced Sonia. Sonia flinched slightly at the clear change in her eyes, but she persisted and continued speaking.

“While being friends with me, the best thing you liked was me. Whenever you were going through a hard time, I was the one who comforted you and gave you helpful advice. I was your only friend.”

It wasn’t a nice thing to say, but Sonia feigned compassion and acted as if she were trying to be nice. Rosalie, who had no intention of falling for the pretentious kindness, murmured grimly. 

“I don’t need that opportunity, so just leave quietly.”

Sonia jumped up from her seat at the sound of her low growl. 

“How can you say that?! Are you sure you won’t regret it?”

“Do you want me to call the knights to drag you away?”

Sonia shut her mouth at Rosalie’s sincere words.

“I’m giving you a chance, too. A chance to walk out on your own two feet.”

Sonia stood up with an angry expression and clenched her fist. Then, she swiftly turned around and left the reception room, leaving Rosalie alone on the sofa.

Rosalie leaned back and let out a long sigh. Along with the sigh, words of lamentation escaped her lips.

“Sigh… I guess I should give up on trying to change her stubborn nature.”

Meanwhile, Sonia, who had come out of the reception room, didn’t return to the carriage with an angry expression. She wandered around the mansion instead, thinking that she couldn’t go back empty-handed like this. Then, she spotted Callie and approached her with a kind smile on her face.

“Aren’t you Lady Bella’s personal maid?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Callie eyed Sonia warily as she approached. She wasn’t fond of Sonia, who frequently clashed with her mistress, Bella.

“What is it?”

“Has Devi, or rather, His Highness the Crown Prince, visited here by any chance?”

“No?”

“Really? You haven’t seen anyone like him?”

“No, I haven’t. But I have to go see Lady Bella.”

As Callie turned and walked away, Sonia approached several other maids who were still in sight, talking to them. Emma, who had been silently observing Sonia’s actions for a while, called her.

“Lady Sonia. What are you doing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Emma had been with Rosalie since they were children, so Sonia didn’t dare question her. Emma’s piercing eyes turned to Sonia. She was the one who served the people in the reception room, so Sonia knew that their conversation would not be pleasant.

“What are you so curious about?”

“It’s nothing.”

Sonia turned and left the mansion. She got on the carriage right in front of her, biting her thumbnail when she didn’t get the answer she was looking for.