(unedited)

Looking back, it’s a cliff (4)

‘I’m sure they’re desperate to bring me down.’

“Rosetta.”

Leaning in close, Michael pulled Rosetta into his arms. Strong arms wrapped around her back, pressing her body against his, and she could feel his hard chest through the fabric of his shirt and hear his heart pounding in his chest.

“I’m by your side. No one will ever hurt you. I will never let you be wronged again…. I’ll do everything in my power, so just be patient for a few days.”

Instead, he planned to focus all his energy on making Rosetta happy for the rest of his life. Rosetta lifted her clouded expression and looked at Michael.

“No. We were supposed to spend a few days at Count Whirsen’s after we got married anyway. I was surprised when the Emperor offered to throw us a party, but…. It’s something we have to go through at least once.”

Even if Philip hadn’t been Michael, she would have come up to the capital every once in a while. It seemed unfair that she should be avoided when she wasn’t the real perpetrator.

‘But how do I reveal it?’

It was hard to tell when two people were lying in unison, and this was a medieval magical world with no cell phones or surveillance cameras. She’d heard there was a way to record it in a crystal ball, but…. But that was only possible by hiring a wizard.

With Count Whirsen’s powers, it was beyond her reach. There were dozens of others who had been accused of such things, and Rosetta knew there was no way she could prove it.

‘I’ve thought of confronting each one of them.’

She gave up after her father locked her in her room for a month for confronting one of them. It was going to take months to get a confession from one young lady, and she was getting frustrated with the number of young ladies who kept framing her.

“People might say bad things about me in front of you, Michael.”

“That won’t happen.”

Michael said firmly, but Rosetta shook her head. He had never been with a woman who was called a bitch. In the provincial town where Rosetta was recuperating, she was merely a noblewoman from the capital.

“That’s because even if I married Michael, it wouldn’t change the fact that I’m still Rosetta, and I’m sure you’re thinking that it wouldn’t matter….”

She didn’t want to tell him to suck it up. She just wanted to warn him that this kind of thing doesn’t come easy, even when he’s prepared for it.

“Rosetta.”

Michael released her arm and stared into her eyes, his face serious. Rosetta felt like she might cry if she looked into those eyes right now, so she averted her gaze.

“Rosetta Arden.”

It was the first time she had ever been called that, so she looked at him absentmindedly. Michael’s green eyes were glowing in a formidable way.

“You are no longer a Whirsen, but an Arden. You are my wife, and you are royalty, even if you are never exonerated.”

Most of Rosetta’s accusations had been made in private, at parties. She was accused of spilling alcohol down Iris’ dress, messing with her hair, locking her in a storage unit…. and pushing her down a flight of stairs. Luckily for her, Patrick showed up in time to get Iris.

She was almost accused of it, but a maid who appeared in the hallway testified that it was not Rosetta who had left Iris. Of course, the servant was the one Michael had assigned to watch over Rosetta because he was worried about her.

With the exception of a few life-threatening things, the rest were things that some could look the other way on.

Such was life in a caste system.

“Such things are not a blemish on royalty, and I will be your shield if Rosetta ever actually does them.”

If Rosetta had been a princess, such behavior would have been dismissed as a youthful indiscretion. Even the act of pushing Iris down the stairs could have resulted in a few weeks’ probation or a month or two in the countryside.

“So, Rosetta…. You have nothing to fear, for you are now royalty, and under my protection.”

At Michael’s words, Rosetta stared at him blankly. In truth, she didn’t even want protection. She just wanted….

“I’m…. I’m glad to have someone who believes in me, because no one else does, except for my handmaiden, Marie.”

As Rosetta burst into tears, Michael took her into his arms.

Rosetta may have been happy to have someone who believed in her and protected her, but Michael was not. Now that he had plucked the tears from the eyes of his precious one…, it was time to pluck the blood and pus from the eyes of the perpetrators.

He held Rosetta in his arms as she burst into tears.

? ? ? ?

Count Whirsen was very busy when a messenger from the imperial palace informed him that Michael and Rosetta would arrive today. The party to celebrate their marriage was to be held at the imperial palace tomorrow, so there was no need for the count to organize any celebrations. Their stay would only be for one day.

But there was much to be done to welcome their daughter into the royal family.

Selina, the Countess of Whirsen, looked on happily as her handmaiden bustled about the manor giving instructions. Endymion was in a state of mind, but Selina was not.

‘Yes, she is. She’s my daughter, and where else would her pretty face go?’

When their first child was born, they had treated her with some affection, but not much.

Selina was an extremely aristocratic woman, so childcare was entirely in the hands of maids and nannies. She was busy with pregnancy and childbirth, doing things she hadn’t done before and getting her body back in shape.

Endymion, on the other hand, had just inherited the county and was busy with business and managing his estate.

They showed some affection for their child, but that was about it. They had too many other important things on their minds to worry about childcare.

By the time she was eight years old and in the loving care of a nanny, her education had begun. Endymion realized that Rosetta had no talent for anything and was impatient. Disappointed by his child’s foolishness, Endymion lost interest in her from then on.

By this time, Gerald had been adopted as their own, so Endymion’s attention shifted to him. Endymion did not have a bad relationship with his dead brother.

Endymion’s brother was a womanizer and despised the foolish. He wouldn’t want the foolish Rosetta to inherit the title.

Endymion had his own affection for his own blood, but he couldn’t completely disagree with his brother that Rosetta would ruin the county. To Endymion, Rosetta seemed frivolous, unworthy of anything more than a pretty face.

Around this time, Selina, feeling competitive with Gerald, tried to educate Rosetta, but to no avail. All Rosetta wanted to do was play.

So Endymion obeyed his brother’s wishes. It would be unfair to Rosetta, but it was intolerable to see Count Whirsen’s downfall.

She thought that if Gerald liked her… they could end up together… but instead, she fell in love with a distant Lansfield lord out of nowhere.

The rest is a series of humiliating events.

Rosetta wrote hundreds of letters to Patrick, and he sharpened his knife on her when it was rumored that he was in love with Iris.

One thing led to another, and she was forced to flee the capital.

Of course, her parents were not present during her ‘convalescence’. Endymion had business in the capital, Selina was busy with socializing, and all they could do was send someone to check on Rosetta from time to time to make sure she didn’t get into another accident, and give her an allowance.

That was the way it was in most noble families.

‘My child did so well like this…. I shouldn’t have worried!’

Selina’s heart swelled at the thought that she had given birth to such a beautiful child. They had no faith in their child, no great affection for her, but they did take great pride in Rosetta’s appearance. Strangely enough, they thought she was as beautiful as any woman in society.

The possessed Rosetta wondered if that was a set response.

“My lady, they’re coming!”

A maid hurried into the parlor and announced it to Selina. Selina quickly set down her teacup and jumped to her feet. To her, Rosetta was like an ugly duckling coming home to roost.

“My daughter!

Endymion and Gerald were already in the doorway. Endymion was at a loss as to how to act as the duke’s father-in-law. Gerald looked worried.