“Tell me. Did you get kicked out of your home?”

Roselia, who was preparing to leave, awkwardly smiled at Nadia’s blunt words.

“Ah, yes… Well… That’s how things turned out.”

Nadia rested her chin on her hand with an enigmatic expression at Roselia’s voice, which was full of discomfort.

“When you suddenly came last night, I thought you might have been dumped by a man.”

“What??”

“Why. You’re at that age.”

Nadia curled up the corners of her mouth as if finding Roselia’s horrified reaction cute.

“It’s not like that.”

Roselia, suddenly reminded of Klaus’s face and feeling strangely guilty, avoided Nadia’s gaze.

Then, Nadia narrowed her eyes and gave a meaningful smile.

“Right, it’s a good time for that.”

“I told you it’s not like that.”

Roselia, who had been speaking gruffly, suddenly noticed the medicine bottle on the table and froze.

Noticing that Roselia was staring at the medicine bottle, Nadia leisurely approached the table, casually touching the bottle as she spoke.

“Well, it wasn’t the amount from selling the painting, but I gladly used the sponsorship money from a wealthy gentleman who appreciated my talent. Thanks to that, I was able to buy medicine and receive proper treatment, so don’t worry.”

Roselia’s heart felt a little more at ease at Nadia’s frank words.

“That’s good to hear. When I receive the next sponsorship money, I’ll come to deliver it again.”

Nadia smiled brightly in response to Roselia’s words.

“You can come often even if it’s not for the sponsorship money.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m saying you can come visit often because I get bored.”

Roselia found herself smiling back at Nadia’s easygoing smile.

“Yes, I’ll come again.”

With those words, Roselia opened the door and stepped out into the street where the sun had not yet fully risen.

Fortunately, a carriage was approaching from a distance.

Luckily able to catch an early morning carriage, Roselia quickly changed clothes inside.

By now, she was so accustomed to being Antonio that she always carried men’s clothes in a small bag.

The coachman wore a bewildered expression, as if possessed by a ghost, seeing a woman board the carriage but a man disembark, but Roselia paid no mind and quietly entered the duke’s residence.

As maids and servants already preparing for the morning began to appear, Roselia carefully avoided them and headed to her room.

It was truly a perfect infiltration operation.

Roselia, sighing in relief as she opened the door and entered, began unbuttoning her crumpled shirt to change into neater clothes.

“So you’ve returned.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Roselia inhaled sharply and whirled around.

Her gaze fell upon Klaus, who was sitting leisurely in a single-seat sofa.

“Your Grace…?”

To Roselia’s look that seemed to ask what on earth he was doing here, Klaus slowly rose and put his hands behind his back.

“Where have you been?”

Where else? I slept at Nadia’s house where you dropped me off.

Roselia struggled to hold back the words that threatened to spill out and tried to respond nonchalantly.

“It’s my personal life.”

Klaus exhaled in disbelief, as if he hadn’t expected such a retort.

“Personal life?”

Was she saying she had met a secret lover?

Klaus’s expression suddenly twisted unpleasantly.

“What kind of personal life requires you to stay out all night?”

In response to Klaus’s interrogation, Roselia, who was already feeling wronged, could not utter polite words.

Roselia spoke words that could defend herself rationally while trying not to violate etiquette as much as possible.

“I believe that even as an employer, you don’t have the right to invade an employee’s privacy.”

That talk of rights again. As if to prove they were siblings, Klaus smiled crookedly at her response, which was similar to his own.

“As an employer, I have a duty to manage and protect my employees. So I think I have the right to ask these kinds of questions.”

It seemed he wouldn’t leave until he got a proper answer.

Roselia, tired from an uncomfortable night’s sleep in an unfamiliar place, sighed deeply and spoke as if resigned.

“I met a friend.”

“Which friend?”

Roselia’s face crumpled in frustration at Klaus’s persistent questioning.

“Would you know even if I told you who?”

“Is it a man or a woman?”

Even Klaus, who had asked the question, was taken aback.

What difference would it make if it was a man or a woman?

Which one did he think would be more reassuring?

While Klaus was confused by the sudden rush of chaotic thoughts, Roselia sighed deeply and answered.

“It’s a woman.”

Roselia had answered honestly that it was a woman because Nadia was indeed a woman.

But Klaus’s expression was one of great shock.

As Roselia looked at Klaus quizzically, he cleared his throat and averted his gaze.

“A woman, a woman it was. I see…”

Roselia’s eyebrows furrowed.

Should she have said it was a man?

As she was pondering this question, Klaus, who had seemed lost in thought, suddenly hardened his expression and looked at Roselia coldly.

Roselia was confused by his sudden cold demeanor, not understanding the reason.

“Even if it’s your personal life, as a servant of the duke’s residence, you shouldn’t let it interfere with your work, should you?”

Roselia, who had been wearing a bewildered expression, furrowed her brow and replied.

“It’s not work hours yet.”

The servants’ official work hours started at 7, so it was still early.

Klaus, who had forcefully cleared his throat, suddenly frowned at the faint scent wafting through the room.

Did he put on perfume because he was meeting a woman?

The thought made Klaus even more displeased.

“Did you put on perfume?”

Roselia responded with a bewildered expression to the sudden question.

“I didn’t put on any perfume.”

Did Nadia’s perfume scent linger on me?

As Roselia wondered about this, raising her arm to sniff it, Klaus continued coldly.

“Don’t wear it in the future. It doesn’t suit you.”

Roselia felt wronged.

As she was opening and closing her mouth in astonishment, Klaus turned and walked towards the door.

“Come to my office after breakfast. I have something to tell you.”

It seemed he was going to relay the crown prince’s proposal.

Although Roselia already knew the content, she nodded calmly.

Klaus glanced at Roselia briefly, stood still for a moment, and then left the room.

Finally sighing, Roselia flopped down on the bed with a dejected expression.

She couldn’t understand at all why the duke was in such a bad mood.

“I’m never having dinner with His Highness the Crown Prince or that person again.”

Roselia couldn’t help but smile at Closet’s grumbling voice, finding it cute.

Upset by her reaction, Closet frowned and protested.

“I’m not joking. I really almost died. Melda gave me three fingers, you know?”

At the mention of giving fingers, Roselia was struck by the thought that this world wasn’t so different from the one she used to live in, which felt strange.

While Roselia was thinking this, Closet, perhaps feeling guilty for leaving Roselia behind first yesterday, spoke cautiously with a subdued expression.

“I’m sorry about yesterday… Nothing happened, right?”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Your Highness. It was His Highness the Crown Prince’s fault for insisting on keeping me there.”

Originally, Roselia had intended to leave quickly when Closet left.

If only the Crown Prince hadn’t made strange threats about the meal not being over yet, or asking if she was okay with leaving without hearing more about Antonio.

Come to think of it, if it weren’t for the Crown Prince, she wouldn’t have had to ride in Klaus’s carriage, and today’s incident wouldn’t have happened either.

Realizing that the Crown Prince was the root cause of everything, Roselia’s expression naturally soured.

Feeling inexplicably guilty, Closet mumbled with a dejected face.

“Are you angry, Antonio?”

“What? No. I’m not angry at you, Your Highness.”

As Closet looked depressed, Roselia quickly waved both hands with a smile.

Finally looking relieved, Closet approached Roselia with a beaming smile and whispered meaningfully.

“Actually, Her Highness the Crown Princess seemed concerned yesterday and sent a letter.”

“Her Highness the Crown Princess?”

“Yes! She wants to invite us to a tea party again today as an apology. Of course, it’s a ladies-only tea party, so neither His Highness the Crown Prince nor Klaus will be able to come near.”

Unlike the excited Closet, Roselia broke out in a cold sweat.

It would be so much easier if she just didn’t go to the palace in the first place.

As Roselia hesitated, unable to find the right words to refuse, Closet interrupted with a grin.

“And the dress I ordered for you has just arrived.”

“A dress for me??”

It was a rather unsuitable topic to discuss while dressed as Antonio in servant attire.

But Closet, already full of anticipation, clapped her hands excitedly.

As if on cue, Closet’s personal maids and Melda appeared.

Uh… This situation feels very familiar…

“I ordered several dresses in the size of the green dress we fortunately had made for your debut. Come on, choose one!”

It seems like more than just a few…

Roselia looked at the dresses hanging in a row on a wheeled rack with a sick expression.

“Um… Your Highness, I think I’d be fine wearing an existing dress…”

“What are you saying! You need to wear at least this level when going to the palace! You’re not calling that poor quality clothing you wore yesterday a dress, are you? To be honest, I didn’t say anything yesterday because you were Antonio, but that outfit was a bit embarrassing.”

Was it that bad…?

Although it was a dress she had bought at a considerable expense for when she needed to dress as a woman, it wasn’t of very good quality as it was hastily purchased from a clothing shop frequented by commoners.

As Roselia hesitated, Melda and the maids swooped in at Closet’s signal.

This time, with plenty of time, Melda’s expression was full of determination to properly dress her up as a woman.

After a full two hours, the completed look ended up being even more elaborate than at the masquerade ball.

“My goodness, Rozel… I mean, Antonio! You’re just too pretty!”

“You can call me Roselia when I’m dressed as a woman.”

Unlike the green dress from the ball that matched Roselia’s green eyes, this time a blue-toned dress accentuated her innocent charm.

Roselia, wearing accessories and shoes to match the blue dress, sighed deeply at the thought that it was finally over.

And as if it was now her turn, Melda brought Closet’s dress as Closet rose with an excited expression.

It was a blue dress similar in color to Roselia’s.

As Roselia looked at the dress quizzically, Closet smiled brightly and said.

“I prepared mine to match with Roselia. Isn’t it pretty?”

Seeing Closet’s excited expression, Roselia smiled wryly and carefully stood up.

“Then, please get ready. I’ll go to my room to pack my clothes and come back.”

She always had to carry men’s clothes with her, not knowing when or where she might need to change into Antonio.

As Roselia greeted Closet and was leaving the room, she ran right into Klaus who was about to enter Closet’s room.