My Ruin to You - Chapter 118

His grip tightened around her hand—an answer that avoided the premise entirely. The key part was “right now.” Did that mean the past had been different? Or was it a hint that the future could change? His meaning stayed ambiguous.

Either way, his creative deflection made one thing clear: he wasn’t pleased about her time with the Count’s daughter. Best to keep Schnitzel’s presence in the territory a secret—for the sake of this fragile peace.

That evening, the Count—eager to make up for yesterday’s blunder—prepared a feast rivaling a banquet. The long table, fit for twenty more guests, groaned under lavish dishes, ornate silverware, and unseasonal floral arrangements. He’d clearly pulled out all the stops.

Even the knights from the annex had been summoned, each taking a seat. The head of the table remained empty. Though Valen, as the highest-ranking, should have occupied it, his preference for sitting beside Roseline won out—so the two seats nearest the head were left side by side, waiting.

Valen appeared with Roseline tucked under his arm and, as expected, didn’t even glance at the head of the table. After sitting, he dragged her chair flush against his own, as if the initial distance displeased him, then busied himself piling food onto her plate.

“A knight claiming to be Your Highness’s attendant has arrived. Shall I show him in?”

The butler’s announcement came as a relief. With Valen’s permission, it wasn’t long before Merrick and Roycen entered the dining hall.

“I’ll be back. Keep eating.”

Valen pressed a brief kiss to Roseline’s temple before rising. Watching him leave, she tilted her head in puzzlement. So the late arrivals weren’t just here to handle luggage?

Of course he wouldn’t send Merrick for something that simple. She guessed they’d been entrusted with something important. Just as she reached for her juice glass, she locked eyes with the young lady across the table.

“……”

The young lady blinked unnaturally, her eyes darting around with exaggerated emphasis—as if signaling something.

If it was a message she couldn’t voice aloud, it had to be about the letter Roseline had asked her to deliver earlier. How should I arrange a meeting?

‘Don’t you know that sometimes the simplest method is the most effective?’

Lady Schnitzel’s blunt voice flickered through her mind. Glass still in hand, Roseline glanced around the table—then pretended to slip, spilling juice down her dress.

“Ah—!”

She sprang up, shaking out the damp fabric as concerned looks flooded in from all sides.

“Are you alright?”
“Good heavens! What are you all standing around for? Fetch napkins at once!”

The Count nearly knocked over his chair in his haste to berate the servants.

“My hand slipped… And this was my only dress, too.”
“Oh dear, whatever shall we do? Would you like to borrow one of mine?”

The young lady swooped in with a honeyed smile.

“Yes, perfect! Alize, don’t you have dresses aplenty in your wardrobe? Lend her the finest one. Hm?”
“Of course. Shall we go?”
“Thank you so much, my lady.”

Roseline followed her out of the dining hall. Borrowing a dress—and continuing their conversation—would require going to the young lady’s bedroom, but protocol demanded she inform Valen first. Upon hearing he and Merrick had gone to the parlor, she knocked on the door.

“Your Highness, it’s Roseline.”

The door swung open moments later. Valen’s brows knitted as he took in the juice-stained dress.

“What happened to your clothes?”
“I spilled my drink.”
“Are you hurt?”

“No. I came to let you know I’m borrowing a dress from the young lady.”

Valen studied her with narrowed eyes before suddenly grinning and scratching his brow.

“Roseline.”
“Yes?”
“So you came to ask for permission?”
“Yes.”
“Why? You could’ve just gone.”
“You said you’d get uneasy and angry if I disappeared from sight.”
“I did. But what if I said no?”
“Then I suppose I’d have to embarrass myself in a soaked dress.”
“Ah, we can’t have that.”

She’d expected him to scold her for being calculating, but instead, he seemed amused. If anything, he looked pleased. You’ll catch a chill—go change quickly, he even escorted her to the stairs.

“Don’t be long, my lady.”

Still dazed, Roseline climbed the steps—only for the waiting young lady to seize her wrist urgently. After a furtive glance down the empty hallway, she practically dragged Roseline toward her room. The moment the door clicked shut, the young lady shoved her inside with a push to the back.

“Good grief, thanks to you, I’m resorting to all sorts of tricks.”

The voice that greeted her from within was unmistakably Lady Schnitzel’s.