Only then did she realize she was a servant, and hurriedly accepted his shirt.

As she stood there holding the shirt, he impatiently gestured with his chin towards one side of the sofa. There lay a comfortable linen shirt he had taken out.

“M-Me?”

“Would I call another servant when there’s one right in front of me?”

Faced with his growing irritation, she had no choice but to approach the half-naked man with the shirt from the sofa.

As she slipped the shirt onto his outstretched arms, her fingertips brushed against his bare skin.

Roselia tried to act as nonchalant as possible, pressing her lips together as she pulled the shirt up to his shoulders.

It was when she approached him to button up the shirt after successfully inserting both arms.

“Since you don’t seem inclined to talk about the matter at hand first, I’ll ask.”

Roselia focused on slowly fastening the buttons from the bottom up, trying not to reveal her trembling fingertips.

“Is Roselia really dead?”

Suddenly, her hands stiffened as she was buttoning up to the middle.

Roselia’s expression hardened as she looked ahead.

Could it be… Had the Duke noticed her true identity?

His chest, visible through the half-buttoned shirt, seemed even more threatening in the cool night shadows.

Roselia slowly raised her gaze from his chest to meet his eyes.

Cool navy-blue eyes like the night sky were staring down at her, as if piercing through.

“I’ll ask once more. Is Roselia de Hesink truly dead?”

Roselia swallowed dryly and tried to put on a grumpy expression.

“What do you mean…?”

Despite her wildly beating heart, her voice came out surprisingly calm. She was proud of herself for standing there so calmly, even while meeting his sharp gaze.

Klaus continued leisurely while staring intently at Roselia.

“It’s exactly as I said. Is Roselia really dead?”

Is he testing me…?

When we met in Algrisha village… I thought he hadn’t seen me properly, but could he have seen through everything?

Her hands were so sweaty from holding the shirt buttons that she felt she might drop them. But Roselia pretended to be as calm as possible while slowly buttoning up his shirt.

“Your joke is going too far.”

At that moment, Klaus suddenly grabbed Roselia’s wrist as she was buttoning his shirt.

“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

Her brow furrowed involuntarily at the strength of his grip on her wrist. But she tried her best not to appear flustered and met his eyes even more boldly.

Being so close while buttoning up, they could feel each other’s rough breaths right in front of their faces.

“I don’t know why you’re asking such a question, but it doesn’t seem like something you should say to a brother who’s lost his sister.”

Klaus released Roselia’s wrist as he sat down on the sofa, brushing his bangs up, seemingly bothered by her displeased gaze.

“If it’s true that my sister is dead, I should apologize. But if this is all an act, I’d like to applaud.”

“…”

“Antonio de Hesink.”

A chill ran through Klaus’s voice as he pronounced her name clearly.

“You’d better answer properly. If you’ve faked your sister’s death and smuggled her away out of some paltry family affection, our losses won’t be small.”

What is he talking about now? Surely not…

As Roselia stared at Klaus with a bewildered expression, she suddenly swallowed empty air as a thought occurred to her.

It seemed that he wasn’t suspecting her of being Roselia, but rather thinking that she had smuggled her sister away.

Perhaps he had only suspected the familiarity he felt from the woman he met in Algrisha village as a feeling shared between siblings.

It felt absurd, but in a way, fortunate as well.

However, she couldn’t agree that she had smuggled her sister away either, so she continued speaking calmly while maintaining a poker face.

“You’re going too far. If she were really alive, would I have left her to struggle alone in the harsh outside world? It would be much better for her to stay at the Duke’s mansion, even as a maid.”

It made sense. The treatment and living conditions of maids and servants at the Duke’s mansion were incomparable to those of ordinary commoners. In fact, ordinary commoners would interview to become servants at the Duke’s mansion. No matter how noble one was, if they fell from grace and lost their position, they would have to live a life no different from commoners.

If it weren’t for the pride of once being a noble, becoming a servant at the Duke’s mansion would be a hundred times better than starving while wandering the back alleys.

“I don’t know what you saw, but she isn’t my blood sibling. We don’t look that much alike.”

Klaus’s momentum faltered in the face of Roselia’s unwavering gaze.

In fact, if he thought about it, he couldn’t even clearly remember the woman’s appearance.

Yet why had he been so certain in pressing Antonio? As he said, they were complete strangers without a drop of shared blood, but he had suspected them because of similar eye colors and atmosphere… It was an irrational judgment.

This strange fragrance emanating from Antonio now… The similar fragrance that had wafted from that woman must have clouded his judgment.

Even now, alone in the room together, the unfamiliar and subtle fragrance was irritating his senses. His senses seemed to become more sensitive to that smell, and a headache was coming on.

Klaus finally rubbed his head and continued speaking irritably.

“I’m sorry. I admit I pushed you on something that wasn’t certain.”

As he apologized so readily, Roselia inwardly sighed with relief.

But her gaze curiously examined Klaus, noticing his somewhat uncomfortable appearance. Klaus waved his hand as if bothered by her gaze and stood up.

“I’m a bit tired today, so you may leave now.”

At this dismissal, Roselia had to bow her head and leave the room without a word.

Only after leaving the room did she feel the tension that had been tightly wound up finally release, making her legs tremble.

Belatedly, she realized she hadn’t asked a single question she had wanted to, but she decided to be grateful just for safely passing through a situation as perilous as a matter of life and death.

* * *

Unexpectedly, the opportunity came as if it had been waiting.

The Marchioness’s tea party that she was to attend as an il domestico alongside Closet.

Why hadn’t she thought of this before?

The Herden Marquis family that Closet was to attend was the Crown Princess’s family home. And the Marquis’s daughter, Ikelia, whom she was to meet today, was the younger sister of Crown Princess Ivellionne.

In other words, this meant she could approach the Crown Princess using this opportunity without having to ask the Duke.

Roselia was busy keeping an eye on Ikelia while standing behind the dozen or so young ladies gathered at the Marquis’s tea party.

Unlike previous tea parties, as this one was held at the Marquis’s house, which was the Crown Princess’s family home, the scale was larger, and a few young ladies had brought their il domesticos like Closet had.

The handsome men waiting far behind the ladies’ tea tables, like Roselia, were busy eyeing each other warily.

Of course, most of those gazes were directed at Roselia.

In reality, Roselia wasn’t concerned with the battle of wills between il domesticos, but she was too busy racking her brains thinking about how to bring up the topic of paintings to the Marquis’s daughter.

“Oh my, the il domesticos are such handsome men. It’s embarrassing to say this, but Lady Closet’s il domestico among them…”

“Is the most handsome, right?”

Closet, not missing the opportunity, answered proudly, even shrugging her shoulders.

Roselia, secretly watching this from behind, had to suppress a laugh that was about to escape.

“Yes, he’s a delicate beauty rarely seen among the rough and brusque men of Lugbelzet.”

Well, that’s because I’m a woman…

Roselia inwardly muttered those words while flashing a smile at Ikelia, who was looking at her.

Without fail, Ikelia’s face reddened as she covered her mouth and smiled pleasantly.

“Hmph, a man should be sturdy and manly. How can someone so frail even perform servant duties properly?”

It was the words of a young lady sitting opposite Closet.

Was she the daughter of the Belmont Marquis family? Her name was Jusid, if she remembered correctly.

Whether it was Delmont Juice or whatever, she had been picking fights unnecessarily since earlier, which was unpleasant. Closet seemed used to the Belmont lady’s provocations and didn’t even snort in response.

Since her mistress was keeping quiet, Roselia felt no need to intervene either, so she remained silent.

At this, Jusid’s face turned red, seemingly feeling humiliated that her words were ignored.

“Come to think of it, Lady Closet, you’ve tied your hair up today? I see a few other ladies with similar updos as well. It looks neat and refreshing, is this a recent trend?”

As the Marquis’s daughter complimented Closet’s hair, Closet, whose mood had improved again, excitedly opened her mouth.

“Isn’t it? Antonio did this hairstyle for me. He did an updo for Lady Merlin before, and it seems to have become trendy among the ladies already.”

“My, how delicate.”

As the Marquis’s daughter praised, Jusid, who had been quiet beside her, snorted.

Roselia, who had been observing this closely, approached Jusid with a smile.

“If it’s not too presumptuous, would you like me to style your hair as well, Lady Jusid?”

“What?”

There was nothing to gain by making enemies in high society. It was better to build friendships with influential figures in society and gather as much information as possible whenever possible.

Moreover, given the status of a Marquis’s daughter…

Most of the girls in this gathering were either just about to have their debutante or had recently done so, making it easier than eating candy while lying down to win them over.

Roselia was also a woman, and before being incarnated into the novel, she had been an office worker enduring the harsh competition among female colleagues.

“Forgive my boldness, but Lady Jusid’s face shape would look even more striking with an updo.”

“R-Really?”

People who enjoy criticizing others and picking fights are often those who are starved for affection or attention. Roselia skillfully manipulated her like a trainer handling a monkey, dangling the bait.

“Of course. Lady Jusid has a youthful appearance, so putting your hair up could add a more mature image.”

“Well, if you say so…”

Before she knew it, Jusid had naturally entrusted her hair to Roselia, her face reddening as she became docile.

Watching Roselia, Ikelia quietly whispered to Closet.

“It’s amazing how she’s made Lady Jusid so docile.”

Closet, who had been watching Roselia’s ingratiating behavior with a disapproving expression, saw Ikelia’s positive reaction and carefully opened her mouth.

“Isn’t it? Although he’s my il domestico, he’s very perceptive and good at his job. Moreover, he has an excellent sense of aesthetics that sometimes even surprises me.”

Closet naturally conveyed the words Roselia had asked her to, even adding an act of admiration. Intrigued, Ikelia asked curiously.

“You say he has an excellent sense of aesthetics?”

“Yes, he has an exceptional eye for art. Even the Duke acknowledges it, which says it all. Moreover, as he was originally of noble birth, there’s less worry about him being disrespectful to the Crown Princess.”

As she praised Roselia, even using Klaus’s name which she disliked, Ikelia looked very interested.