“What?”

As Jusid frowned deeply, Roselia continued indifferently.

“If I’m not a servant, then I have no reason to stay here at your command, my lady.”

Jusid, who had been frozen with her mouth open in disbelief at Roselia’s words, soon scrunched up her expression.

“Y-you, a mere domestic, dare to ignore my words?”

Roselia heaved a deep sigh and continued coldly.

“Just now, you said I wasn’t a servant.”

“Ugh! Stop talking back! Can’t you just stay with me for a little while?”

Roselia sighed heavily and reluctantly sat down on the opposite sofa, keeping her distance.

Well, she didn’t need to reject and get flushed over a request to stay together briefly, so she planned to sit for a moment thinking of it as taking a short break.

Jusid, who had been carefully observing Roselia, suddenly began slowly removing her mask while speaking languidly.

“By the way, isn’t it a bit hot in here?”

“Is it? I don’t really…”

Suddenly, her head started spinning and she felt dizzy.

Her vision blurred as a feeling of heat surged throughout her body.

While Roselia was flustered by the sudden physical reaction, Jusid had already risen and was slowly approaching.

“See, it’s hot, isn’t it?”

“What is this…”

Roselia had to clutch her head, dropping the champagne glass she was holding.

The clear champagne spilled onto her shirt.

“Oh my, look at that… Your shirt is all wet. Shall I help you?”

Roselia’s blurry gaze uneasily turned towards Jusid.

Could it be she had done something to the champagne?

Why? For what reason?

What could she possibly gain from herself, merely a servant of the duke’s household?

Jusid, who had already come to sit beside Roselia, removed her mask.

Roselia glared at Jusid, her face flushed as she struggled not to lose consciousness.

Regardless, Jusid sat close beside Roselia and languidly murmured while caressing her face.

“It’s such a waste for you to be Closet’s domestic.”

Even in her drugged state, goosebumps rose on her skin.

Damn this woman! I’m a woman too!

But Jusid, unable to hear Roselia’s inner cry, licked her lips and smiled wickedly.

“If I can’t have you, I won’t let Closet have you either.”

I thought something was strange before, but what is this crazy woman mumbling about?

In her mind, she had already pushed Jusid away and escaped the reception room, but as time passed, her body only grew heavier like a water-soaked cotton.

“Do you think Closet would still take you in, knowing you’ve been defiled by me?”

A disgusting chill ran down her spine for a moment.

This crazy woman, surely not…

Jusid’s white hand was already unbuttoning Roselia’s shirt.

Roselia’s mind went blank.

It was hard to tell if this was due to shock or the effects of the drug.

Damn it. At this rate, the bandages wrapped inside her shirt…!

Even as her consciousness grew hazy, she worried about the chest hidden by bandages under her shirt.

She never dreamed her identity would be exposed in such an absurd situation…

Ah… I don’t know. So… sleepy…

That’s when it happened.

BANG-!!!

With a sound so loud it seemed like thunder had struck, the reception room door was roughly flung open.

And through the doorway appeared a woman, breathing heavily.

“Clo…set…”

Closet’s face contorted like a demon’s as she confirmed Roselia and Jusid sitting atop her.

“You crazy b****!!!!!!”

After that, Roselia’s vision went white.

Just before she fainted, she thought she saw Closet’s white, slender leg in a blue dress fly through the air and strike Jusid’s side…

She couldn’t remember clearly after that.

[This is the timeline separator]

When she opened her eyes, her body felt much lighter.

It was as if something constricting had been released, allowing her to breathe freely.

More precisely, it felt like her chest had been freed.

Her chest…

Roselia suddenly remembered and jolted awake, sitting up as if having a fit.

She was sure she had fainted just as that Delmont Juice or whatever was about to unbutton her shirt…

But as she looked around in a panic, what she saw was Closet, resting her chin on her hand and staring intently at Roselia.

“You’re awake?”

“My lady…?”

Only then did she recall hearing Closet’s voice just before she lost consciousness.

And Closet flying through the air like a butterfly to deliver a flying kick to Jusid…

“…!!! What about Lady Jusid…!”

Closet replied curtly to Roselia’s anxious question.

“I scolded her severely and kicked her out.”

Roselia was stunned by Closet’s words for a moment, but then an odd feeling made her gaze drop automatically.

Only then did she realize the cloth wrapping her chest was gone, and Roselia frantically felt her chest in great distress.

Closet, who had been calmly observing this scene, reluctantly spoke up.

“It was soaked, so I changed your clothes.”

As Closet said, Roselia was wearing a loose, nightgown-like silk dress instead of her original suit.

It was clearly Closet’s sleepwear for indoor use.

Roselia’s gaze turned to Closet in disbelief.

Which means…

“Did you… see everything…?”

Closet smiled and answered Roselia’s trembling voice.

“They were quite big, weren’t they?”

“My lady!”

No, more than that. Why was Closet so nonchalant despite knowing she was a woman?

Could it be she had noticed all along?

Roselia cautiously eyed Closet and spoke hesitantly.

“You don’t seem very surprised. Did you know all along?”

Closet replied curtly to Roselia’s question.

“No? I just found out today.”

“Then why… aren’t you saying anything?”

“Hmm… I was a bit surprised, but Antonio is still Antonio, right?”

Roselia was dumbfounded by Closet’s simple answer.

Looking at her, Closet even gave a mischievous smile.

“And honestly, there were times I wished Antonio was a woman, so this worked out well.”

“What??”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it a secret from Klaus. You dressed as a man because of Klaus, right?”

As expected, Closet’s intuition was devilishly sharp.

When Roselia remained silent with her lips tightly closed, Closet smiled innocently, resting her chin on both hands.

Finding that gaze burdensome, Roselia deliberately avoided eye contact and continued gruffly.

“So… where are my clothes?”

“What you were wearing? They were soaked, so I sent them to be washed.”

“What…? Then what am I supposed to wear…”

As Roselia looked at Closet with wide eyes, Closet snapped her fingers with a meaningful smile, as if she had been waiting for this.

Then, Melda and two maids slowly emerged from a powder room on one side of the reception room.

Roselia started in surprise and curled up, covering her chest.

Closet crossed her legs leisurely and grinned at her reassuringly.

“Don’t worry. Melda and my personal maids are completely loyal to me. Even if Klaus pressures them, your secret won’t leak out.”

In the maids’ hands was an elegant green dress she had never seen before.

Even Melda, bowing her head before them, maintained her usual dry expression to a surprising degree.

Roselia stared at them in bewilderment, then looked anxiously at Closet.

Closet grinned as if to say her thoughts were correct.

“What is that dress for…?”

“It’s quite a coincidence, really. I had a dress made for you at the same time as your suit, just in case, but I didn’t expect to use it so soon.”

Just what kind of ‘just in case’ was it for…?

Roselia shook her head in alarm.

“C-couldn’t you just bring me a servant’s uniform instead?”

Despite Roselia’s plea, Closet wagged her finger with a stern expression.

“How would I have a servant’s uniform in my room? Besides, Jusid is probably lurking outside like a hungry lioness. Just obediently dress as a woman today. Though I guess it’s odd to say ‘dress as a woman’ when you’re already a woman… Anyway.”

With those words, Closet clapped her hands, and as if on cue, Melda and the two maids approached Roselia with determined expressions.

“Eh?”

Before the flustered Roselia could protest, she was dragged away by Melda and the maids.

And in an instant, Roselia was changed into the dress, had her makeup done by the swift hands of Melda and the maids, and found herself standing dazedly before Closet.

Melda scrutinized Roselia with a face full of professional pride, as if finding something unsatisfactory.

“If we had more time, I could have dressed her up even more perfectly.”

No, really, I’m already a woman…

On the other hand, Closet’s eyes sparkled as if she had received a birthday present, her hands clasped together.

“My goodness, Antonio! You’re so pretty!”

At Closet’s compliment, Roselia awkwardly scratched her forehead with a sulky posture.

As Closet had said, the green dress with sparkling gold embroidery suited Roselia very well.

Of course it did, as it was a dress specially ordered by Closet for Roselia, so it couldn’t help but suit her.

As Roselia awkwardly rolled her eyes above it with her short black hair, Closet clicked her tongue as if somewhat disappointed.

“We’ll need a wig after all.”

As Closet muttered to herself, Melda held out a golden wig as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Roselia broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of Closet examining the golden wig with a serious expression, as if inspecting it.

A golden wig of all things could catch Klaus’s eye if she wasn’t careful.

“That blonde is a bit…”

“You think so too? I guess I’ll have to order a long black wig separately.”

No, that’s not what I meant…

Roselia had to wear an even more troubled expression at Closet’s very serious reply.

“I’ll just wear that one.”

As Roselia slumped her shoulders in resignation, the waiting maids swarmed around her to finish putting on the wig.

It was a much higher quality blonde wig than the one Roselia had obtained in Algrishia village, shiny and lustrous.

The blonde hair, combined with Roselia’s green eyes, created a very feminine and elegant atmosphere. Moreover, after styling it in the updo that Roselia had made popular and decorating it with hair ornaments, an elegant lady that would make even the crown princess weep sat before the mirror.

Closet, who had been watching this scene with what seemed like deep emotion, spoke up.

“My goodness, Antonio… Blonde suits you so well too…!”

Roselia was filled with an uneasy feeling that the future would not be smooth sailing, seeing Closet’s expression full of madness as if she had become an overzealous fan.

And then, as if she had been waiting for this moment, Closet brought something up to Roselia’s face.

It was the green peacock feather eye mask that Closet had tried on before.

“As expected… this mask had a different owner.”

Closet nodded with a satisfied expression after placing the mask on Roselia’s face.

Roselia also stared blankly at the mirror for a moment.

In the mirror sat a woman wearing an alluring eye mask, her green eyes sparkling.

The eye mask seemed as if it had been made as a set with the dress, with gold embroidery over the green mask.

Below it, red lips that shone temptingly like ripe fruit from the maids’ handiwork.

And so, Roselia unintentionally became a mysterious lady attending a masquerade ball.

[This is the timeline separator]

Klaus, having shaken off the persistent Viscount Belmont, unconsciously scanned the surroundings for Antonio.

Perhaps due to the mask that had been doing its job of hiding his face so well, he couldn’t find him anywhere in the banquet hall.

Suddenly realizing that Closet was also nowhere to be seen, Klaus looked around curiously.

Then, Closet descending from the second floor reception room with a woman in a green dress entered his field of vision.