‘So she decided to deflect like this.’
If she had even breathed a single rumor about me, she would have been interrogated about where she had heard it.
So, Rose had answered to avoid it. It was a wise method that didn't sell out someone else's name. It was a quite satisfactory answer.
Above all, if she hadn't known even this much upon marrying into the Schmaichel family, that would have been a problem in its own right.
“······.”
Rose and I stayed silent for a moment. We merely looked into each other's eyes.
Her unwavering green eyes remained steadfast even against my cold gaze.
“······I've lost the mood.”
I lightly released Rose's arm and set the wine glass down on the table. Rose briefly gauged my expression, looking relieved.
“If you wish, I'll send all the wine to your room. You seem quite interested in it.”
“Huh? You don't have to go that far... No, um.”
Rose hesitated for a moment before eventually accepting.
“Yes, please do that.”
Between shedding her image as a greedy villainess and seizing the chance to inspect the wine for poison.
Rose chose the latter. She was picking practicality over saving face.
“I shall do so.”
“Really? Are you sure you don't mind?”
“I don't mind. I've never drunk it even once anyway. I'll send the entire cabinet over tomorrow.”
“Excuse me...?”
Rose looked as if she had been struck.
“You've never had even a sip? Until now?”
“Since no one has ever entered the marital bedroom. Ah, though there is someone who drank it.”
Rose's eyebrows shot up, then...
“Perhaps the previous wives drank it?”
...dropped at my answer.
“Ah...”
A hollow sigh escaped her. Watching her do that, I held back a laugh.
‘I'm trying to help you.’
It was a consideration to prevent her from wasting time inspecting the wine. She would realize it later, but my route of poisoning hadn't been through the wine.
I couldn't just say it out loud, so I had to subtly hint at it like this.
The difference in perspective between someone who already knows the answers on a test and someone who doesn't is vast. Rose had to narrow this gap through indirect methods she was unaware of.
“What's wrong, my lady?”
When I feigned ignorance and asked, Rose pouted.
“No, it's nothing...”
“Are you dissatisfied even after I gave you all the wine? I suppose you really are craving the one you broke earlier.”
“No! That's not it!”
Startled, Rose vigorously waved her hands.
“I can try to acquire it again if you want.”
“There's no need to do that. And I've changed my mind. You don't have to send the wine.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes!”
Seeing her answer with such vigor, she seemed quite relaxed. It felt like I could now have the conversation I wanted.
“I shall do as you wish.”
“Thank... you?”
I left the bewildered Rose alone for a moment and cleared the tray from the table. Then, I leaned back comfortably in my chair.
Rose's gaze inadvertently drifted down to my chest, and...
“-!”
...she hastily turned away. I saw her breathing falter slightly.
“?”
Wondering what it was, I looked down, only to see my chest visible through the loosely parted robes.
‘Reacting to something like this.’
How did she expect to manage married life being so naive?
Rose, now twenty, was two years younger than me. I thought to myself that she was indeed still young.
That was exactly why we needed to firmly establish the dynamic of our relationship.
“I shall ask you a few things first.”
“Yes.”
Rose straightened her posture and focused on me.
“How was your day today?”
It was a question that held a lot of implication.
“······.”
Rose swallowed a few times, her mouth seemingly dry. She glanced at the moonlight spilling onto the table, fidgeting with her fingers before...
“······It was a strange day.”
...she finally parted her lips.
“Strange?”
It was an answer that could be taken as good or bad.
“What do you mean?”
“It's just... everything was strange.”
Saying so, Rose stared at me.
Her green eyes shining clearly even in the darkening surroundings. Within them, various emotions like suspicion, caution, and curiosity were chaotically mixed.
They were eyes that said today was strange, but the most bizarre thing of all was me.
“Answer me precisely. Did you like it, or did you hate it?”
“I didn't hate it. It was just... unfamiliar.”
“Unfamiliar?”
“Exactly.”
Rose bit her lip. She seemed reluctant to talk about it, displaying an unwilling attitude.
“You must know of my reputation in high society, Your Grace.”
As expected, Rose reluctantly brought up her own flaws.
“So at first, when you came out to greet me, I thought you were going to kick me out right there.”
It seemed the attempt to dress up that welcoming ceremony was a failure.
The moment a burning desire for the loyal butler threatened to surge up once again.
“But it wasn't like that. The meal in the dining hall, the maids assigned to me... everything was so warm.”
“······.”
“That's why it was strange. Unfamiliar, too.”
A bitter smile hung on Rose's lips.
“I never even received treatment like this in my own home...”
Rose didn't stay lost in her thoughts for long. She shook her head and asked me.
“So, why are you asking me this? Does it mean something to you, Your Grace?”
“It holds meaning not just for me, but for you as well, my lady.”
“What kind...?”
“I would like to propose a contract to you.”
I spoke, putting emphasis on every single word.
“A contract that could change your life.”
Rose's face completely stiffened. From the nape of her neck to her shoulders, every visible part of her was rigid with tension.
‘I am proposing a contract marriage with you.’
The line that Rose spat out the next day after regressing, as she went looking for Dane. An extreme measure she squeezed out to protect herself and save Dane.
This thought, which had vaguely surfaced on her way to the castle, Rose was able to finalize after contemplating all night.
Since I suddenly brought up that very conclusion, how could she not be flustered?
“······What kind of,”
The end of Rose's voice trailed off, cracking.
“What kind of contract is it?”
“I said I knew what situation I—in truth, the Schmaichel family—was in, didn't I?”
“······Yes.”
“Then, you must also be aware of what danger you could be in.”
Rose steadied her breath, trying hard to speak calmly.
“I am aware. It's the reason I came as your eighth wife.”
The seven wives before her had all met grim fates. They either stormed out on their own two feet, cursing, or they were carried out as corpses.
I never killed any of them myself. I simply didn't protect them from the countless assassination attempts directed at me.
The marriage proposals that poured in voluntarily at first eventually started to dry up after the fifth wife died vomiting blood.
Risking death to gamble on a single sliver of hope. Marrying into the Schmaichel family held that sort of meaning.
The collateral branches of the family seemed to value their daughters' lives, so they stopped sending them as wives. Instead, they began using the children of the small and medium-sized noble houses under their control.
The families with at least some wealth could avoid this. But the Vikander family, which had absolutely nothing to throw around, could not.
‘That's why Rose ended up here.’
A place where she could die. No. A place where the odds of dying were overwhelmingly high. Knowing full well she wouldn't be treated as a proper wife, yet left with no choice.
But thanks to that, a path opened for me to live. It was an ironic twist of fate.
“I shall protect you from that danger. I will also promise a comfortable life and financial freedom.”
“······.”
“In return, you will offer me your absolute cooperation.”
After a brief pause, I brought up the most central point.
“That is to say, I am proposing a contract marriage.”
“A contract... marriage.”
I continued speaking to Rose, who repeated my words soullessly.
“For your information, the danger I speak of isn't restricted to within the castle. I mean that I will also block outside interference, namely from the Vikander family.”
As well as assisting you in taking revenge against your family.
-I swallowed those words, deciding there was no need to say that part right now.
When the time was right, Rose would ask for my help with her own mouth. It could also be achieved naturally in the process of her helping me.
“I will also root out the malicious rumors surrounding you. If you wish, I'll cut out the tongue of whoever spread them.”
“No, there's no need to go that far...”
Rose, who had been waving her hands hastily, paused.
“Your Grace, what did you just say?”
“I'll cut out their tongue.”
“······No, before that.”
“The malicious rumors surrounding you?”
Rose's eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“You knew about them?”
“Do you take me for a fool?”
Even without knowing the original novel, anyone could have caught onto this. The original Dane was simply too apathetic, but there were countless clues proving Rose's innocence.
That was why Rose, after regressing, was able to slowly turn the castle's servants to her side. Except for exactly one person: me.
That was also the reason Dane Schmaichel was a trash character and a villain in the novel.
“After seeing your carriage and attire today, there is no fool who would believe those rumors.”
Just like that, Bill had become a fool.
“Your family truly has no sense of decency. No matter how high the chance of death is, to omit even the bare minimum of formalities...”
“Ugh.”
Rose tightly clenched one of her hands resting freely on the table. Noticing my gaze, she immediately lowered her hand below the table.
“To think you knew everything...”
“There is no need to feel ashamed. It is not your fault.”
“I understand even less. How could you propose a contract when you know all of my circumstances?”
Rose chewed on her lip.
“I have nothing I can offer you, Your Grace.”
“No. It is precisely because of that, I chose you.”
I whispered, leaning my body closer to Rose. Rose flinched slightly, but she didn't back away.
No, I should say she couldn't back away. As if caught in my gaze, Rose, who locked eyes with me, couldn't move an inch.
“I needed someone trustworthy. Someone who is entirely on my side, not my family's.”
“Are you talking about the absolute cooperation you mentioned earlier?”
As expected, Rose was clever. Even within a conversation dyed in confusing colors, she precisely pinpointed the core of the matter.
“First, faithfully fulfill your role. So that we look like the perfect couple in the eyes of others.”
Rose's throat bobbed with a *gulp*.
“...In the eyes of others, you say?”