As the night deepened, after finishing his bath.
"Your Grace, a moment."
Bill, who had draped a robe over me, began meticulously straightening my clothes.
"Selma."
"Yes, Your Grace."
I asked Selma, the head maid who had been standing a step back, waiting in silence.
"How was attending to the madam?"
Bill's wife had served the Schmaichel household since my mother's time and was also my wet nurse. In other words, she had attended not only my mother but every madam who had set foot in this castle since.
"She seemed a little startled when I first showed her to the room."
"Did she not like the room?"
"No. Quite the opposite, actually. She was very satisfied with it."
The seven previous madams who had passed through this castle were certainly no ordinary women.
'Do you know who I am and still dare treat me like this?'
'You want me to wear a dress like this? Bring me another one at once!'
Endless complaints and impossible demands. Since they had entered this castle with ulterior motives in the first place, there was no way they would be decent women.
Those damn kin had targeted my life while constantly pushing women from their families into the castle.
If I were to die in an 'unfortunate accident,' the family's assets would be seized by the kingdom.
But if a mistress of the house remained? The situation changed. All assets would revert to her. And by marrying that mistress, one could swallow the family whole without any complicated succession disputes.
Selma had no reason to treat kindly the women who entered this castle with such sinister motives.
'Is the water too cold? You'll have to adapt. Those are the rules of Schmaichel Castle.'
'The dress is a bit plain, isn't it? It can't be helped, since this is all we have prepared.'
Selma had naturally found ways to torment them. She didn't bat an eye even when the madams threw tantrums.
But doing such a thing to the current Rose was unacceptable.
Swish.
As I raised an eyebrow, Selma immediately shook her head.
"No, Your Grace. I didn't do anything that would concern you."
"You didn't treat her like the previous madams?"
"Yes. I attended her with polite and respectful conduct, just as Your Grace instructed earlier."
Good thing I had called Selma aside to warn her in advance. Otherwise, Rose would have faced the same outcome as in the original story.
'There are maids in this castle who don't know how to serve their master. Are you aware of this, Your Grace?'
After her regression, Rose had subdued the insolent maids with just a few words. Having already experienced it in her past life, she had her response planned out.
'It was one of the most satisfying scenes in the novel.'
The current Rose had no need to go through such an unpleasant experience. If anything, it wasn't even enough to show her that Schmaichel Castle welcomed her.
"Well done, Selma."
"Not at all. To continue, she brought only a single bag, and even the dresses inside were excessively worn. I had no choice but to ask for her understanding and changed her into a dress I had prepared in advance."
Selma continued her explanation in a calm tone.
"However, the prepared dress was a bit too large for the madam. The waist was so loose that I had to cinch it tight. I believe we will need to order new dresses."
"Ask the madam's wishes and proceed accordingly."
"Yes. Also, the girl who attended to the madam's bath reported that the madam's physical condition does not seem very good."
"Is the madam small compared to her peers?"
"Very much so. She is exceedingly petite."
Selma sighed with a look of pity.
"She was easy to attend to. So docile that it was almost disconcerting."
She seemed to have already guessed a great deal about the situation Rose was in.
Having attended the previous seven madams up close, she had realized that Rose was distinctly different from them.
"I had heard the rumors about the madam as well, but... well, she didn't seem to be the person the rumors described."
"So it seems."
As I nodded and looked at Bill,
"Ahem, ahem."
He coughed awkwardly, apparently embarrassed.
"From now on, the two of you are to cooperate closely. There must be no misunderstandings between you."
Keep your husband in line.
—that was what I had phrased indirectly.
"......Yes, Your Grace."
"Of course, Your Grace."
They bowed equally, but Bill and Selma's expressions were in stark contrast. Judging by Selma's attitude, it seemed I wouldn't have to worry about Bill's side going forward.
"I'll head to the bedroom now."
I rose from my chair and stepped out of the room. The servants waiting outside, including Bill and Selma, followed me in a cluster.
"Your Grace, then today......"
Bill stepped forward to guide me, but
"Would you like to go to the marital bedroom?"
Selma subtly intercepted him. The moment Bill flinched and turned to look at Selma, I answered.
"I would."
"The madam has already retired to the bedroom. Please come this way."
"Very well."
The procession following me headed toward the marital bedroom. I asked Bill, who was still bewildered.
"What about the guards?"
"......Ah, yes. I assumed you would use your personal bedroom as usual, so security here is somewhat lax."
Bill scrambled to make excuses.
"I'll reorganize the guard shifts. Like your personal bedroom, I'll double the security around the marital bedroom—"
"No, leave it as it is."
"Pardon? But......"
"I don't want my time with the madam to be disturbed."
Clack—
Bill's jaw dropped open.
Clap.
Selma closed it for him with an audible smack and bowed.
"Understood, Your Grace. We will take our leave."
"Your Grace, but—"
"Dear."
Bill froze at Selma's single word. Selma had turned toward Bill, so I couldn't see her expression, but—
"-!"
judging by how Bill's face turned pale, I could roughly guess what kind of expression she was making.
"Please enjoy a comfortable evening."
Selma led Bill and the subordinate servants away, vanishing like the wind.
'As expected of Selma.'
Her perceptiveness was top-notch. From the look of it, she was about to begin Bill's re-education right now.
'Good luck, Bill.'
After silently wishing Bill well, I spoke to the servant standing guard in front of the marital bedroom.
"Open it quietly."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Just in case Rose might be sleeping.
'Though that's unlikely.'
Thinking so, I quietly stepped into the room. The door closed silently behind me.
As expected, Rose was not sleeping.
"Hmm."
She stood in front of the wine cabinet, scrutinizing the wines intently. With a very serious expression.
The marital bedroom.
Originally used by my parents, this bedroom had not been used even once since I inherited the castle.
It was excessively clean and spacious. It had only the essential furniture a bedroom required, lacking any warmth of human presence.
Perhaps the tears the seven previous madams had shed while spending their nights alone might linger here.
In the middle of such a bedroom.
Clatter.
Rose staring intently at the wines in the cabinet was somewhat out of place.
"Is this it?"
Rose examined a wine bottle closely by the dim candlelight. Her gaze was too sharp for someone merely judging the wine's taste.
"No, is this it? Ah, I don't know. There are too many wines......"
I swallowed a laugh watching Rose struggle.
'Is she trying to find the poisoned wine?'
Rose desperately wanted to know how I had been exposed to poison. She had spent her final moments in prison deducing the route of exposure.
But while she had suspected routes, she never had the time to verify them. She was murdered in prison before she could.
That was why Rose in her first life never managed to uncover how the poison had been administered.
'It was different in her second life.'
Using clues from her first life, she finally identified the route. And she even prevented me from being poisoned to death.
Her examining the wines right now was the first step in that effort.
She suspected everything Dane Schmaichel might consume. And she verified it thoroughly.
Keeping that slim possibility in mind, Rose was deliberating seriously.
"......"
I quietly watched Rose, hoping she would notice my presence.
But Rose was so absorbed in the wines that she seemed oblivious to the fact that someone had entered and was observing her.
It couldn't be helped.
"Ahem."
As I let out a small cough,
"Kyaa!"
Rose jumped in surprise and sprang to her feet. In that moment, the wine bottle she was holding slipped and fell to the floor.
Crash!
The wine bottle shattered into pieces with a loud crash. Seeing the broken bottle, I couldn't help but make a remark.
"That was expensive."
"Y-Your Grace!"
Rose's face had gone pale enough to be clearly visible even in the dim candlelight.
Rose clutched her chest and gasped for breath.
"H-how long have you— no, why are you here......?"
"Why? We're married, so we should use the marital bedroom."
Even after my answer, Rose's complexion didn't improve.
Rose's eyes darted back and forth between the floor and me several times. She seemed unable to figure out what to say first, or whether she should start with an excuse.
After taking several deep breaths, Rose steadied her trembling body.
"Your Grace, this is. That is to say."
"Stop."
At that short command, Rose's body came to a complete halt. My gaze was fixed solely on Rose's feet.