Chapter 11
Unlike Ria’s birth mother, who’d gone crazy over gambling, abandoned her own daughter, and ran away from home, the mother here, Gisella, was a true mother who knew how to cherish her child dearly.
She’d begged her mother and had finally managed to pry that thing away from Leopold’s side, and now she was trying to stick to him again using some ridiculous excuse?
There was no way she’d let that happen with such low, crafty tricks.
In truth, the reason she was always this sensitive and on edge about anything connected to Mina might have been an inferiority complex from having no choice but to grow up as an illegitimate child for so long. Whether it was misfortune or luck, Rose had quite a few things in common with Ria.
Rose still vividly remembered the ecstasy of that moment when she escaped the old, shabby house and stepped into the ducal residence that looked splendid and dignified. A big, nice room filled with sunlight, pretty dresses, and fine ornaments and dolls. Everything she liked became Rose’s.
Looks like listening obediently to Gisella really paid off. They say if you listen to your mother, you’ll get rice cakes even in your sleep. Rose was satisfied with the treatment befitting the protagonist of a novel.
It finally felt like the world was turning the right way. She was the chosen protagonist. The life she’d lived in Korea until now felt like a trial she’d had to endure for the happiness ahead. The proof was right in front of her now, wasn’t it, this dazzling life as a ducal lady.
More than anything, the biggest problem was that her Name still hadn’t manifested yet. She was the female lead, so what kind of irony was this?!
A lowly extra with barely any presence got a Name, and yet the female lead, her, didn’t? That couldn’t be.
Anxious, Rose recalled the tea time from this morning again. She tried to look back and see if there had been some suspicious circumstance she’d missed, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of it.
There was no way that thing had already babbled everything about the Name to Leopold, right? If she had, Leopold wouldn’t have stayed still. Names were compulsory, after all. Even if he didn’t care about Mina, that would still be true.
‘How do I make the Crown Prince completely mine?’
Thanks to Gisella telling the Duke everything about what happened today, they’d managed to lock Mina up for now, but this was only a temporary method. Soon, she would have to find a proper way to isolate that wench.
Biting her nails as she turned it over and over in her mind, Rose came to the conclusion that she had to know every piece of information about Names. Only if she knew how a Name manifested and how it worked could she respond appropriately, couldn’t she?
Satisfied with her quick mind, Rose immediately snapped her head up.
“Greta!”
The door cracked open, and her personal maid Greta came in.
“Yes, Miss!”
“Go to the library and bring me every book about Names.”
“Huh? Names?”
At Rose’s sudden order, Greta tilted her head. But Rose cut her off with an impatient wave of her hand.
“Yes, Names. Whatever’s in there, grab everything that catches your eye and bring it all, got it?”
“Yes, Miss.”
Greta’s expression turned a little odd, but she soon bowed her head and withdrew.
‘Honestly, I only called Mina to tea time with some flimsy excuse because I was curious what symptoms she’d show…!’
But that stupid girl suddenly threw the teapot at Leopold, so Rose hadn’t been able to see anything properly that day. So she had no choice but to study on her own like this, didn’t she!
Knock, knock!
She was anxiously biting her nails when the door quietly opened with a knock. Greta entered the room holding two books in her hands.
“Here, I brought them, Miss.”
“Thanks. Give them to me.”
Taking the books from Greta, Rose tilted her head.
“Is this all the books about Names? There’s only this much?”
“Yes, Miss. I brought all the books that were there.”
Rose tilted her head again, but then nodded as if she understood and waved her hand. The moment Greta quietly closed the door and left, Rose opened the books. Bringing her face close to the thick volumes, Rose widened her eyes.
She had never had much talent for studying, but this time she had no choice. This wasn’t just about whether Leopold would be taken from her by Mina or not, it was a critical issue of figuring out how she could make her own Name manifest, too.
After staring at the books for a long time, Rose suddenly let out a small snort of laughter. Something she hadn’t known until now, a fact tied to imprinting, caught her eye. A triumphant smile spread across Rose’s lips.
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