My Ruin to You - Chapter 121

“……A chance?”

“The Grand Duke’s knights are in the annex, right? If we slip out unnoticed, dodging the guards will be easy. I don’t fully trust her, but Lady Rodelac offered to help—she’ll have a carriage waiting nearby.”

She clearly hadn’t heard about Roseline sharing a bedroom with Valen. Too private for even the Count’s daughter to mention, perhaps.

Even if they had separate rooms, Schnitzel’s escape plan was full of holes—cobbled together in haste. The thought made Roseline’s chest ache. The plan was so naively kind.

“Why so quiet? Don’t tell me you’re not coming.”

“No. I’m not going, my lady.”

Schnitzel’s face twisted like she’d been slapped.

“I know it’s flimsy! But once you’re in the capital, there’s no way out—you won’t even make it past the gates!”

“Even if your plan were perfect, the one chasing us would be the Grand Duke. We’d be caught within half a day. I need… preparation.”

“……Preparation?”

Despite the magic still flickering under her skin, Roseline looked eerily calm. Her face was the same blank mask Schnitzel knew so well—impossible to guess what simmered beneath.

“I’ve realized something: every mess I’m in now came from rushing in unprepared.”

She wasn’t the only naive one. She’d thought years at the Academy had hardened her, but no—she was still that reckless child from the countryside, acting on impulse.

The day she accepted his proposal—no, the day she overheard his involvement with the Mage Corps and stormed off blindly. The day she’d provoked him with her self-righteous vow to save survivors. Time and again, she’d charged in without a thought.

What’s done can’t be undone, but the future? That, she could change. No more being ruled by emotion. From now on, she’d move with precision.

◇◇◇

Easier said than done.

The anger she’d tried to smother kept boiling over, churning her insides. Afraid to raise suspicion by lingering, she’d changed dresses quickly and returned to the dining hall—only to seethe when Valen calmly pulled out her chair.

“What.”

“Hm?”

“You’re glaring.”

Tilting his head, he studied her narrowed eyes, her stiff expression. Roseline forced her gaze to soften, tugging her lips into an awkward smile.

“……My eyes are just tired.”

Maybe I am exhausted.

She rubbed at them, relieved when Valen didn’t press further. Instead, he took her hand, murmuring about straining her vision. Roseline gritted her teeth and looked away.

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.

“The man who tore my life to shreds is now worried about me straining my eyes?”

The absurdity of it left her speechless.

‘How was life without me? Did everything go as you hoped?’

She almost wanted to ask if there had ever been a time when he wasn’t pulling her strings. Even when he wasn’t visible, she’d been a pawn on his chessboard—right down to the despair he’d orchestrated.

But what infuriated her most wasn’t the life ruined by his schemes. It was the way he’d saved her afterward—holding her, comforting her, showering her with affection, as if he hadn’t been the one to push her into the abyss. Just remembering those moments made her jaw clench so hard her teeth ached.

“Why are you like this?”

Valen caught her chin, his grip firm enough to force her lips apart. His gaze, though, was anything but casual. The lively hum of the dining hall stilled around them.

Get a grip, Roseline. If you act like a fool now, what’s left for the future?

She needed to pull herself together—especially with Schnitzel still trapped in this house.

‘Listen. They say the goddess’s messenger appears as a snake—a sign of gratitude.’

Before parting, Schnitzel had pointed to the scar on her wrist, referencing an old fable. Roseline had recognized it, though the suddenness made her blink. When she hesitated, Schnitzel exploded.

‘Ugh, it’s a blessing! How dense can you be?’

Roseline had laughed then.

‘Then I’ll bless you too. Take all my luck and return safely.’

‘Who asked for your luck? Just survive. And don’t bumble around making things worse. Got it?’

Schnitzel was right. Valen missed nothing—not even Roseline’s smallest twitch. Right now, those steel-gray eyes were dissecting her with terrifying focus.

“What happened?”

Even the Count, now hyper-alert to Roseline’s wellbeing, watched intently. He nudged his daughter, whispering urgently. As the young lady shook her head, Roseline finally spoke.

“I think… I might need help.”

“Say it. What’s wrong?”