Captain! Where is the Battlefield?

Upon entering the mansion, Rosalie immediately understood the meaning of those words. Inside her room were dozens of expensive-looking jewelry accessories sent by Derivis.

“Your Grace! Look at this. These are all products of top designers who claim that they are mined. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we have every kind of gemstone here!”

Emma exclaimed with excitement, looking around at the jewelry accessories in the box.

“These are all items that really suit you, Your Grace. His Highness the Crown Prince has a great eye.”

While Rosalie was examining the jewelry, her gaze turned to a set of diamond accessories in the most splendid red jewelry box. Suddenly, Emma approached her with an ecstatic expression on her face.

“Your Grace! That one seems to suit you the best. Aren’t they beautiful?”

Rosalie picked up a paper card that was among the accessories.

「 I sent them while thinking of you. I hope you like them. 」

The paper card had a fragrant floral scent and was decorated with dried petals in a corner. After reading the neatly written words on the card, Rosalie recalled the words she had spoken before.

‘Since it’s a gift sent while thinking of me, I like it.’

With a small laugh, Rosalie carefully placed the paper card in the first drawer of her bedside table. Somehow, this single piece of note appealed to her more than the jewelry.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

It was a beautiful afternoon. The ladies and noble young ladies sat around a table in the greenhouse, enjoying their tea time while being sheltered from the winter wind. The main topic of their conversation was the territory war involving Duchess Judeheart.

“Isn’t she amazing?”

“They say she looked like the goddess of war.”

“They say that the Crown Prince even knelt down in front of her!”

Sonia was trying to ignore the words she heard while enjoying the aroma of the tea. The main topics of conversation in the capital these days were Rosalie’s territory war and Derivis’s involvement in it.

The uproar had been caused by a member of the Imperial Knights who gave a newspaper interview after seeing Derivis kneel to Rosalie at the territory war.

Except for Sonia, everyone indulged in lively chatter. Lady Adine, an avid gossipmonger who was beside Sonia, slyly approached her and spoke.

“By the way, isn’t Lady Sonia close to Duchess Judeheart?”

At Lady Adine’s innocent question, Sonia momentarily stiffened, but she managed to force a smile and brushed it off.

“Yes, we’ve been friends since we were children.”

Lady Adine then clapped her hands, delighted. Talking about the most controversial topic was always fun, especially when the information came from a close friend.

“Have you heard any stories about the territory battle? Especially about the Crown Prince…”

At that question, Sonia secretly clenched her fist under the table. She couldn’t afford to break her expression here. Rosalie’s reputation was rising, while she felt like she was now reduced to a mere conduit for spreading stories.

“Well… Rosalie was very busy and I was also busy, so I haven’t heard any interesting stories that might pique your interest. But honestly, I find it a bit strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not long ago, Rosalie couldn’t even kill a single bug… It’s strange that she won the war.”

“Well, Duchess Judeheart has always been timid. She can’t even meet someone’s eyes… At the slightest criticism, she quickly sheds tears and hides behind Lady Amins.”

As those who overheard her began to murmur amongst themselves, Sonia secretly smiled and quickly erased it, pretending to mutter to herself.

“Surely, the Duchess wouldn’t resort to such cowardly tactics to steal the Imperial Knights’ achievements… It must be just a rumor.”

The nobles, who had been pretending not to focus on Sonia’s words suddenly become animated, gesticulating wildly and loudly chattering in response to her words.

“Maybe the newspaper exaggerated the story? If that’s true…”

“Oh my, oh my…”

In the midst of the changed atmosphere, Sonia’s expression became sad as the conversation shifted, and she spoke up in defense.

“No, it can’t be. Could Rosalie have really done such a despicable act? It’s true that the duchy was deteriorating… and of course, the Imperial Knights are strong and the newspaper could be exaggerating, but…”

“Oh, dear naive Lady Amins. You don’t know the ways of the world. It’s a reasonable question to have, given the Duchess’s behavior thus far.”

Whether it was true or not didn’t matter. Even a small provocative element was enough to pique people’s interest. Despite knowing it was nonsense, everyone except Sonia started spreading the rumors as if they were true.

“Well, the Duchess’s knights have lost their reputation a long time ago. It’s doubtful whether the Duchess really led the victory in the territory war. If she had stolen the Imperial Knights’ victory, it would be a shameful act. If so, she’s unworthy of the title of Duchess.”

“Rosalie wouldn’t do such a thing… Although I’ve never seen her display any strength.”

Sonia, who was still in distress, murmured quietly again. Her voice was small, but her hesitant tone conveyed her thoughts clearly.

The conversation among the people became busier, and Sonia savored the fragrance of tea once again, taking a full sip.

‘It really is suspicious. I was just throwing out a comment.’

Although a slight bitterness spread from her mouth, she felt good. Since the rumor would circulate for a while and then subside, there shouldn’t be any problems.

And exactly one week later, the rumor became even bigger and reached Bianca’s ears. 

Rosalie’s head spun as she tried to figure out what was going on.

It was because Bianca, who suddenly barged in during training this morning, was venting her anger in the reception room of the mansion.

“Sister! We need to take action on this quickly!”

“Bianca… let’s calm down first.”

“I can’t calm down!”

“First of all, it’s just an unfounded rumor. Besides, there hasn’t been any direct damage yet.”

Bianca huffed and plopped down on the sofa, exhaling through her nose. Today, Rosalie felt as if Bianca resembled an enraged bull.

“Can you find the source of the rumor?”

“It was mentioned by a lady who visits my salon, but it’s hard to trace the source because there are many gatherings during the winter. Do you have any guesses?”

Rosalie shook her head. It was such an unexpected rumor that she couldn’t even fathom it.

‘If I consider the possibilities… Could Derivis be doing this to solidify his honor and succession rights? But why would he spread rumors like this?’

He wasn’t foolish enough to spread rumors about something that wasn’t true. Moreover, he had received praise for his role in repelling the Lentil Kingdom’s advance, and Rosalie had a belief that it wasn’t Derivis who did this.

As Rosalie finished her thoughts and let out a small sigh, Bianca’s fists balled up in frustration. She couldn’t just stand by and watch Rosalie in that state.

“Sister, let’s quell this rumor!”

In truth, Rosalie didn’t care much about rumors. It wasn’t true and she wasn’t particularly concerned.

“Why bother? Won’t it die down soon?”

“Rumors have a way of turning into full-blown truths! It could damage the duchy’s reputation!”

Rosalie flinched at the words, realizing that she hadn’t been thinking clearly. The Knights of Judeheart shed blood and dedicated themselves to training and sacrifice for the duchy’s victory. Insulting them was unacceptable.

“That’s annoying.”

“I know, right? There’s a way to suppress a rumor by spreading an even bigger rumor. Do you have any good ideas, sister?”

At that remark, Rosalie, who had been lost in thought for a moment, smiled. There was a place suitable for spreading a big rumor. Its power was tremendous, and a single instance there would be enough without having to spread rumors in multiple places.

“Bianca, please open your salon. And if we can meet with Lord Venick too, that would be great.”

“My brother?”

That day, as Rosalie continued to explain, the sound of Bianca’s excitement and chatter filled the reception room.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that Bianca left the mansion. Rosalie, who had been busy dealing with Bianca all day and hadn’t had a chance to change into her training clothes, headed to her office.

“Rosalie, can I stay by your side now?”

Rosalie nodded as she saw Nathan open the office door and enter. Bianca had been traumatized by the image of Nathan lunging to kill her back then, and the mere sight of his red hair made her tremble. Because of that, Rosalie always hid Nathan whenever Bianca visited the mansion.

Nathan looked pleased with Rosalie’s response and walked into the office, with Derivis following quietly behind him.

“Derivis? When did you arrive?”

“Just a little while ago. Can I come in too?”

Derivis hesitated, realizing that he was already inside. Rosalie looked at Derivis’s face intently and shook her head. As expected, he had not spread such rumors.

“Lady Bright visited today, right?”

“Yes. In the end, I had to attend her salon.”

At Rosalie’s words, Derivis and Nathan looked surprised. Rosalie didn’t seem like the type to go to such a place, so it was unexpected. Reading their expressions, Rosalie added an explanation.

“There’s a strange rumor going around, and I want to resolve it a bit.”

“A rumor?”

Derivis cocked his head as if he had never heard of it before, and Rosalie let out a small smile at his expression.

“Why? Is it a rumor about Rosalie?”

As their faces filled with curiosity, Rosalie slowly explained the rumor. Soon, their expressions stiffened. Derivis’s low voice echoed through the office, his face hard.

“Has the person who started the rumor not been found?”

“Yes. Bianca said that they’ll be hard to find, so it’s probably difficult. But we’ll resolve it soon, so don’t worry.”

Watching Rosalie continue to speak with a calm demeanor, Derivis tapped the armrest of the sofa. 

“If you had told me, I would have issued an official statement.”

“I thought about that too. However, it’s difficult to silence people with an official statement. That’s why I plan to spread an even stronger rumor.”

“When is the salon?”

“In four days.”

Derivis, who had been lost in thought for a moment, smiled faintly and said.

“Rosalie, make sure to wear the accessories I gave you. Anything will do.”