6.
When exactly had she dreamed that dream? Rosetta opened her eyes abruptly, feeling distinctly unpleasant.
Judging by the throbbing pain throughout her body, she was still in ‘Lea’s’ body. Of course. Apparently, miracles—like waking up to find everything back to normal—only existed in old fairy tales.
Could it be because the dream had been from so long ago? Suddenly, she became acutely aware that the shell she now wore belonged to the daughter of one of the Empire’s only three ducal families.
In that case, in terms of status… were they on equal footing? Perhaps she might even meet him once while wearing this shell. But she would have to pretend not to know him. Prodding at someone who had already moved on would be cruel.
No one waits four years for a dead man. Not even that foolish man would need more time to come to his senses.
At that thought, an unidentifiable chuckle—was it relief or something else?—escaped her lips. If her fate was to remain stuck to the salt flats until she became a white-haired old woman, then his fate was surely to become a glorious ruler of the East.
It would be best for both of them to cherish those youthful memories quietly, as mere memories. Comforted by the thought, she closed her eyes again. Then, suddenly, she shivered at a grim realization.
Could it be… that bastard didn’t die following me, did he?
Now that she thought about it, it seemed horribly plausible. Instinctively, she tried to sit up sharply, but let out a groan—“Ugh!”—as pain shot through her. Her shoulders, back, ribs—every part ached. She must have been badly bruised.
A maid entering with a damp cloth rushed over upon seeing her awake and quickly supported her.
“Y-Your Grace! Y-You’re awake?”
A deathly pale face barged straight into the center of her vision. The maid’s eyes were puffed from crying, and Rosetta found she couldn’t even muster the will to be angry. Her heart had softened strangely, perhaps because she’d just dreamed of ‘him’.
“You…”
“F-Forgive me! P-Please, kill me…”
The maid prostrated herself flat on the floor. Her tear-streaked, snotty face looked pitifully wretched. Well, for a commoner who had caused a noble to faint, the crime was probably unforgivable. Rosetta studied the maid’s expression with narrowed eyes.
Guilt and fear. Emotions Rosetta was very familiar with handling. She deliberately asked slowly.
“You. What was your name again?”
“P-Please spare me, Your Grace! A-Anna!”
She flattened herself even more fiercely, yet her answer was loud and clear. Normally, someone trembling this badly wouldn’t even be able to form words. Was she bold, or simply simple-minded? Rosetta let out a hollow chuckle.
“Didn’t you just beg me to kill you a moment ago?”
“I-I didn’t mean it! I’ll do anything else!”
Even while trembling, she stood her ground—Rosetta found that somewhat admirable. She decided to be a little more lenient.
After all, she might have to remain a noble lady for three months… no, perhaps six. Better to have at least one loyal servant.
“Fine, Anna. Lift your head.”
The easiest way to elicit obedience, by nature, was to seize the other’s weakness. And intimidation and manipulation? That was a pirate’s specialty. Rosetta lowered her voice into a distinctly ominous tone.
“I’ll keep it a secret that you tied me up and made me faint—until the sea turns into a mountain of salt.”
“….”
“But in return, from now on, you obey my orders without question. If you try stuffing me into a ten-year-old’s undergarments again, I’ll fold you in half first. Understand?”
“Hnng…”
Had she frightened the girl too much? Anna’s innocent brown eyes trembled violently. She covered her mouth with both hands, clearly at a loss, then stammered.
“U-Um… Your Grace. M-May I speak, though it may be impertinent?”
“Go ahead.”
“W-Well… the rumor’s already spread. You fainted while putting on your corset.”
…What?
“Who told you… this ridiculous tale?”
As her voice dropped dangerously low, the maid frantically waved her hands and shook her head.
“I-I didn’t mean to! I couldn’t move Your Grace alone, so I had no choice but to ask the servants for help… to carry you to the bed…”
“….”
Damn it. Just how strong were ordinary women supposed to be? Couldn’t they even lift this frail body that looked like it would die if nudged? And yet they’d just squeezed her into that corset like her life depended on it? Anna’s face turned ashen again, watching Rosetta’s expression shift in real time.
“P-Please kill me!”
Now she looked ready to dig a hole in the floor with her forehead. Rosetta muttered wearily.
“You’re just going to beg for mercy anyway…”
Anna whimpered.
“W-Well, yes, but still!”
* * *
One week was far too short a time to transform a pirate into a noble.
Madame Famong had tried her best, but Rosetta’s etiquette showed no improvement. Not just etiquette—dance, composition, recitation, speech, basic cultivation… all were barely passing, if at all. The student had absolutely no desire to improve, so perhaps it was only natural.
“At this rate, it’s hopeless!”
After smashing her third teacup, Madame Famong said in a terrifying voice. Oh dear, how frightening.
“In just three days, you must attend the Madcel and meet the young nobles! In this state, you’ll only become a laughingstock!”
It was Rosetta who would be laughed at, yet Madame Famong was the one outraged. Rosetta tilted her head, puzzled by their strange relationship. In such a short time, she hadn’t observed any deeper bond than that of teacher and student.
Madame Famong said gloomily:
“And my reputation as your instructor will fall to the ground.”
Ah. So that’s how it is? Rosetta smirked. Then there might be room for negotiation after all. Fortunately, the only servant nearby was Anna.
Rosetta casually propped one leg over the opposite knee and said in a lazy drawl:
“Listen, Madame Famong.”
“How dare you address me like that…!”
Her voice was almost tearful. Rosetta instinctively recoiled. What had she done wrong? Still, she probably needed to calm her down first. She tapped the couch beside her with her hand.
“Sit here. Let’s talk.”
It looked suspiciously like calling a dog… but it was still an order from a noble lady, not easily refused. Madame Famong sat stiffly on the opposite chair, biting her lip inwardly but maintaining proper decorum.
“You never wanted to talk when I suggested it before…”
“Come now, have a cup.”
The noble lady poured her a cup of black tea from the teapot. The gesture looked disturbingly like an experienced drunkard offering a drink—surely not just her imagination.
Madame Famong narrowed her eyes. Since when had the lady developed such vulgar habits?
Madame Famong exhaled helplessly. Occasionally, after fainting and waking up again, the lady acted as if she had suddenly gained the right to behave recklessly.
Well, given how hard her previous life must have been—the restrictions placed on her during her ten years as Crown Princess—perhaps she found reality too painful and sought escape.
Regardless of Madame Famong’s misguided sympathy, the lady dutifully emptied her teacup—no, her teacup—and wiped her lips with the back of her hand before asking:
“How much does the Duke pay you per week?”
“…Excuse me?”
“The Duke must be paying you to teach me, right? How much is it?”
…All sympathy vanished instantly. Madame Famong crossed her arms tightly over her chest like someone encountering a lecher.
“H-How dare you speak to me in such a manner…!”
“If you keep refusing to answer me like this, then I’ll act like a wild hooligan—whether at Madcel or elsewhere—and drag this girl’s—no, my own—reputation through the mud.”
Madame Famong’s mouth fell open. Leaving aside how crude the threat was, it was strange that the lady was threatening with her own reputation.
Just as Madame Famong cautiously opened her mouth to point this out, the lady’s expression turned even darker.
“I’ll do all sorts of things in front of those young nobles. Do you think you can handle that?”
“….”
“And then, how pleased do you think the Duke will be?”
She was openly threatening, yet inside, Rosetta was trembling.
This was an empty threat. If she caused such a scandal and accidentally revealed that another soul now inhabited the noble lady’s body, it would be game over.
Besides, Madcel was a world she’d never set foot in, and there was no guarantee there wouldn’t be a witch like Calypso who could see souls. Just thinking about it sent cold sweat pouring down her back, and before her eyes, she saw a vision of a hanging rope swaying back and forth.
Whether Madame Famong believed her or not, she had no choice but to stay quiet to survive.
But if she were a pirate, bluffing as if she had stakes even when she had none was a skill learned even before walking. Rosetta asked darkly:
“What will you do?”
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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