Upon his words, Roselia involuntarily burst into a bitter laughter.

She, who was supposed to go to the royal palace, found it absurd and bewildering that she had almost ended up on the execution platform as a traitor overnight.

At that moment, Johannes, who slowly approached them, quietly offered words.

“It seems like we should start with treating the wounds.”

Klaus, who lifted his head with difficulty at Johannes’ appearance, furrowed his eyebrows and asked in puzzlement.

“Rather than that, why would you say such a thing?”

Even with Klaus’s serious expression, Johannes only responded with a wry smile.

“I meant to save Antonio.”

“Weren’t you the Marquis who said that once it’s revealed he’s of the Raphaelios lineage, he won’t stay quiet in the Raphaelios palace?”

In response to Klaus’s sharp remark, Johannes spoke bitterly.

“It couldn’t be helped. After death, whether he’s of the lineage or not doesn’t matter.”

Having said that, Johannes added a reassuring remark to calm Klaus and Roselia.

“Besides, even if this fact reaches the Raphaelios palace, it’s still okay for now. As long as Antonio is a man.”

In Raphaelios, the appearance of Raphaelios’ lineage, especially a woman with the strong pheromone fragrance of the lineage’s females, was a significant restraint. Moreover, in the already divided factions among the royal women, the appearance of Raphaelios’ lineage, especially a woman, was a tremendous target for opposition.

Reacting to the fact already known to her, Roselia tightly sealed her lips with a determined expression.

At that moment, when the atmosphere unintentionally turned serious, Closet, who was supporting Klaus on the opposite side of Roselia, asked with confusion.

“‘As long as Antonio is a man?’ What does that mean?”

As Closet spoke like that, she sharply opened her eyes as if realizing something and looked around.

“Don’t tell me everyone already knew?”

Come to think of it, she hadn’t told Klaus and Johannes the fact that she was Roselia.

While Roselia awkwardly smiled at Closet, Klaus, who had lifted himself, moved.

“First, let’s return to the mansion… Ugh…”

However, shortly after, he seemed to lose consciousness, and in a limp state, he collapsed, causing Roselia and Closet to exclaim in confusion.

“K-Klaus?”

“Your Excellency!”

With the help of the attendants, Roselia disinfected Klaus’s wounds and wrapped bandages around him. Although the urgent treatment was over, due to the heat around the wound, Klaus was continuously covered in cold sweat.

While wiping the sweat on his forehead and neck with a damp towel, Klaus suddenly opened his eyes and reflexively grabbed her wrist.

When Roselia looked down at Klaus in surprise, realizing that she was by his side, Klaus’s eyes, confirming her presence, flickered with a sense of relief.
Attempting to lift his upper body, Klaus suppressed a groan and gripped Roselia’s arm.

“Ugh…”

“It’s still not time for you to get up.”

Klaus, scanning his surroundings with concern, asked in a hoarse voice.

“How long have you been here?”

Roselia, hesitating for a moment in response to Klaus’s question, replied quietly.

“From the beginning…”

Surprisingly, when Klaus looked at her with a puzzled expression, Roselia averted her gaze, changing the subject.

“What on earth happened? Why did you end up like this?”

Since on the trial day, officially even a duke could attend the trial, the assumption was that the royal encirclement order had been lifted.

However, the wounds on his arms and shoulders were clearly sharp cuts as if inflicted by a sharp sword. As Roselia stared at him firmly, Klaus sighed heavily and spoke softly.

“I was ambushed on my way to the palace.”

“Ambushed?”

Surprised, Roselia asked for more details, and Klaus, clenching his fist, continued with a growling undertone.

“I couldn’t chase them because I was in a hurry to get to the palace, but they must have been from the Grand Duke’s faction.”

“Why…”

In response to Klaus’s words, Roselia wore a puzzled expression.

She, too, hadn’t completely dismissed the suspicion of the Grand Duke. However, she thought Klaus would want a favorable outcome from the Grand Duke’s perspective since he had praised her during the trial…

Answering her question as if responding to her doubts, Klaus muttered quietly.

“I suppose they were determined to finish you off in this trial.”

“What could I have possibly done…”

“I noticed that if you disappeared, I would be in trouble.”

To Roselia’s unexpected response, her expression twisted.

“Me?”

On the other hand, Klaus’s gaze towards her remained unyielding.

“If you had gone wrong there, I would have aimed my sword at the royal family.”

Roselia’s expression froze at the unexpected words.

His words… implied that if she had even tried to die, it would have been a real rebellion against the royal family.

Why… to that extent…

Although the words lingered on the tip of her tongue, Roselia could only meet his eyes.