Roselia placed a ship model that had been tucked away in a corner onto the desk with a meaningful expression.

“How about this, grandfather?”

“Who’s your grandfather?”

“Don’t be like that. Don’t you feel like something’s coming to mind and your hands are itching?”

Seeing Roselia’s expectant expression, Count Bernas stared intently at the model ship before scratching the back of his hand.

“My hand is itchy, but it’s probably just a mosquito bite.”

Seeing the Count’s disinterested reaction, Roselia let out a deep sigh and slumped her shoulders.

She was currently cleaning the dust-filled Bernas mansion.

Though she called it cleaning, it was closer to looking for things that might stimulate Count Bernas’s memory while cleaning.

She was cleaning in the process, but since it was nearly impossible for her to clean this vast mansion alone, she was focusing on tidying up the spaces where the Count lived.

As Roselia wiped the dusty table and side table with a cloth, she noticed a frame that had fallen behind the side table and grunted as she pulled it out.

In the black and white photo inside the frame, a young man stood in military uniform with a rigid posture. Since photographs hadn’t been around for very long, Roselia naturally assumed it was the Count’s son and asked as she held the photo in front of the Count.

“Grandfather, is this your son?”

The Count, who was playing chess alone at the table, responded to the suddenly presented photo with an indifferent face.

“Yes”

“It seems your son was in the military?”

In fact, all the works that had earned Count Bernas the title of genius painter were related to the navy and war.

The paintings depicting survivors raising victory flags amidst fierce battles and capturing those intense moments appeared grand and even sublime.

The countless years he spent as an active naval officer must have played a part in the creation of such works.

Hoping that the Count might find inspiration for his work through his son, Roselia watched the Count’s face with an expectant expression.

“Well… he’s far from my level, but he’s received imperial medals in his own right. He’s also commanding the fleet of the Eskivan Navy, the finest in Lugbelzet.”

“But it seems he hasn’t been home for quite some time.”

This was something that could be guessed just by looking at the state of the mansion.

If the young viscount had been frequenting the mansion, it wouldn’t have ended up in such a state.

“That ungrateful brat, no matter how busy he is with national affairs, isn’t he even curious whether his father is dead or alive?”

The Count seemed to be quite hurt by this, and though he tried to appear nonchalant, his shoulders looked infinitely small as he turned away.

Feeling suddenly apologetic at this sight, Roselia forced a smile and replied.

“He must be very busy.”

Roselia quickly changed the subject as the atmosphere grew heavy.

“Grandfather, how was it when you were in military service?”

It was actually a question thrown without much expectation.

As is typical with dementia patients, memories of the past come and go, so it would be difficult for the Count to perfectly remember his time as a soldier.

However, it was a question asked with a small hope that even if he could recall a little of those memories, it might inspire some thoughts about his artwork.

But contrary to her low expectations, the Count, who had been lost in thought with a pensive expression, began to pour out stories with a lively expression, like a fish taking to water.

“In my prime, I led dozens of ships in the vast Calio Sea. Braving rough waves, I even encountered the sea monster called the Kraken a few times. You thought it was all just rumors and legends? The beast is real. I lost quite a few of my men to it.”

“Oh~ Is that so! That’s amazing! Grandfather, what else? Do you have more stories?”

Seeing the Count speaking so fluently, Roselia, who saw a glimmer of hope, exaggeratedly reacted to boost the Count’s spirits.

“The fleet I led during that time was invincible. We led the Evels Civil War and the Clamman Battle to victory, earning recognition from the imperial family for our contributions.”

“My goodness, that’s incredible!”

Roselia looked at the Count, who was puffing up his chest with his shoulders full of strength, as if she found him adorable, and continued to interject with exaggerated expressions. The Count, excited, began to continue his story.

“During the Clamman Battle at that time, there was both a land and sea battle, and because the land forces were all wiped out, some of the naval forces had to come down and fight. My fleet and I had no choice but to participate in the land battle.”

The Count’s expression suddenly turned sour, as if recalling the horrors of that time.

“It was hell… We had to lose many comrades.”

The Count fell silent for a while, his head bowed as he said this.

Was it because of the unpleasant memories from that time?

While Roselia was worriedly observing the Count’s expression, suddenly the Count slowly raised his head and began to look around.

“Bagnen… Where’s Bagnen? Bagnen??”

“Grandfather?”

“Bagnen!!! If you go that way, you’ll be annihilated!!! We have to abandon the advance party!!! Come back!!! Bagnen!!!”

Roselia was taken aback by the sight of the Count suddenly standing up and shouting at thin air.

“Grandfather! Come to your senses! Grandfather??”

Despite Roselia’s actions of grabbing and shaking the Count’s arm, he continued to shout and fumble about as if he were in the middle of a war.

“4th Fleet, retreat!!! Damn it!!! Abandon the wounded!!! Only the living should board the ships!!!”

“Count Bernas!!!”

Sensing that this could lead to trouble, Roselia firmly grasped both of the Count’s shoulders and made him look at her.

Only then did the Count’s clouded eyes slowly begin to regain focus.

“Huff! Huff……”

“Are you… coming back to your senses?”

Roselia supported his arm with a concerned look as the Count rolled his eyes in confusion, breathing heavily.

But the Count roughly pushed away her hand and spoke in a deeply sunken voice.

“Get out……”

“Pardon?”

“Get out of my mansion right now!!!”

Faced with the Count’s sudden outburst of madness and his throwing of the few household items, Roselia had no choice but to leave the mansion.

Roselia’s worried gaze fell heavily on the door of the mansion she had just left.

But it seemed better to leave him alone for now.

Roselia turned her reluctant feet and left the mansion, heading towards the Duke’s residence.

A woman who had been glancing at Roselia leaving the Count’s mansion through the curtained window of a carriage spoke in a brusque tone.

“That person is her brother?”

“According to a servant bought by the Duke’s family, that’s what they said.”

“Hmm… The rabbit we’re looking for is nowhere to be seen, and only a black cat is prowling around.”

Despite her calm tone, a well-built man was clinging to her.

Even though he was fumbling around her neck and chest area, she was just leisurely stroking the man’s head as if petting a clinging cat.

The man sitting opposite her for reporting seemed accustomed to her behavior, not even blinking an eye at the entangled couple before him.

“Mmm… If he’s her brother, we might be able to find that woman by following him. You’ve had him tailed, right?”

The woman, making a pleased nasal sound, stroked the face of the man who had half-pushed open the front of her dress, and spoke to the man opposite her.

“About that……”

“What? You didn’t have him followed?”

The woman grabbed a handful of hair of the man clinging to her, showing a thoroughly displeased expression.

However, neither the clinging man nor the man reporting in front of her showed any reaction, as if they were just doing their jobs.

“Duke Balthasar’s security is exceptionally tight.”

The man opposite her spoke with difficulty, and the woman put on an arrogant expression as if telling him to continue.

“That person already has a shadow assigned by the Duke conducting close surveillance.”

At the man’s explanation, the woman frowned one eyebrow as if she didn’t understand.

“The Duke is protecting a mere servant to that extent?”

The woman, saying this, stroked the hair of the man who had moved down to her waist, lost in thought.

“Isn’t it too overprotective for just being the brother of his lover?”

Saying this, the woman roughly pushed away the servicing man with her foot, as if unsatisfied with his actions, and grumbled discontentedly.

“Is it necessary to put so much effort into finding that woman? I really can’t understand that person’s thoughts.”

The man who had been pushed away was now kneeling.

The woman, not even paying attention to such a man, looked sharply at the man in front of her.

“For now, keep a close watch on that man.”

“As I mentioned earlier, we can’t tail him……”

“You fool! Who said to follow him around? I said to keep watch while hiding in specific areas he frequents!”

“Yes, I understand.”

The woman, who had been huffing as if frustrated, muttered while looking out the window after the man who had boarded the carriage for reporting left.

“I’ll have to try to sweet-talk the Duke’s side. He’s taken a brothel woman as his mistress, so why not me? Right?”

Saying this, she pulled the kneeling man back into her embrace. As the air in the carriage heated up once again due to the entangled couple, the coachman’s voice was heard.

“Viscountess Clement, it’s time for you to attend the Blimond Count’s party.”

“Let’s go.”

It was a remarkably calm voice for a woman entangled with the man in front of her.

Having tea time as Closet’s il domestico after a long while, Roselia was sitting across from Closet, drinking the tea Melda had served.

Looking at Roselia sitting neatly in a tidy servant’s outfit drinking tea, Closet spoke in a sulky voice with puffed cheeks.

“Where have you been going so much lately? You’re not even playing with me……”

At Closet’s complaints, Roselia smiled awkwardly as if to appease her.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been a bit overwhelmed lately……”

“Are you looking for artwork again?”

Closet, who had previously played an important role in connecting artwork to the Crown Princess through Herden young lady, knew that Roselia was collecting artwork.

“Um… something like that.”

To be precise, the artwork hadn’t even been born into the world yet, and she was waiting for the Count’s mind to become whole so he could paint those pictures, but…

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped if you’re trying to escape from Klaus’s clutches. I’ll understand.”

Closet seemed to think of her own brother as some kind of harmful beast or monster.

Roselia looked at her as if she couldn’t be helped and smiled brightly.

“You really are the only one, Princess.”

Closet tilted her teacup haughtily, her shoulders tensing as if to say ‘of course’.

Then, as if something had occurred to her, she lowered her teacup and looked at Roselia.

“Oh right, Her Highness the Crown Princess has extended an invitation to a tea party. Of course… to Roselia.”