My Ruin to You - Chapter 243

It seemed to be a letter written several months ago.

And it wasn’t just one page. On a few sheets, only Roseline’s name was written, solitary and round.

Trying to guess what he had been thinking as he wrote her name, why he couldn’t write more, something inside her crumbled away. The blank spaces left behind felt exactly like this man’s despair.

“…….”

The tips of her fingers holding the letter turned white.

Roseline’s reddened eyes turned towards Valen. His motionless eyelashes and quiet breathing.

As far as Roseline knew, the man with the most overwhelming presence in the Empire was the Grand Duke. It was an irreverent thought, but not only Roseline, but many imperial citizens thought so too.

The sight of such a man lying unconscious, and the time he must have endured alone, leaving behind unsent letters like this, pained Roseline. She strained her eyes, trying not to cry, but the tears that had pooled there already dropped onto the letter with a soft plop.

“……Why am I making such a fuss and crying.”

Roseline rubbed her wet eyes roughly. Sniffling, she carefully placed the letter that wasn’t hers back into the drawer, and took only a fresh, blank sheet of paper onto the desk.

To His Highness, Grand Duke Valerian.

Even now, as I write this letter sitting at the desk, watching you sleep, the faint scent of lavender drifts in.

But actually, I don’t like lavender. The scent is too strong.

Back then, being alone with you made me uncomfortable. Not because I disliked it, but because my heart beat too fast. And whenever we were in an enclosed space, you kept turning into a beast, you know. I felt like I had to get outside.

But life really isn’t easy. Even when I went outside, my heart kept being noisy. Because you, standing in the lavender field, were so magnificent.

Now that I’ve written this, the lavender scent blowing in now doesn’t seem bad. No, it’s nice. I think it will be even better when you wake up.

You’ll wake up before the lavender completely withers, right?

I don’t hate you anymore, so don’t get used to it.

I still have so much I want to say, but I just remembered something I have to do, so I think I should end it here for now.

I’ll be back.

Sincerely, Roseline.

After wondering where to put the letter, she placed it on the bedside table. If Valen were to wake up, he would be startled by her absence, so a place that would catch his eye immediately was most suitable. She intended to stay by his side until he fully recovered, but the content of his letter kept bothering her.

‘You kept thinking for a time you wouldn’t even dare to imagine. If things had gone wrong and the plague had broken out, whether I could push you into the pit of the plague.’

Even words she had dismissed before were now being interpreted differently. A time you wouldn’t even dare to imagine. Countless times. What did this mean?

She had let it go, sensing his discomfort with the topic, but her intuition was screaming fiercely. There was something more. It seemed his return involved some hardship that Roseline knew nothing about. She wanted to find out what it was.

◇◇◇

When Roseline said she was going to the temple, Merrick assigned the Silver Fist knights as her escort. Putting aside the inconvenience of having to be accompanied by armed knights just to go to the square, she felt sorry for bothering them unnecessarily.

However, Roseline’s worries were unfounded. With no particular duties other than personal training, they willingly followed her out.

“The Goddess will surely acknowledge your devotion, my lady.”

Edan, who had mistaken Roseline’s purpose for visiting the temple as prayer, tried to comfort her with a grave expression. I should offer a prayer too.

“Yes, thank you,” Roseline replied with a bitter smile.

“Instead of just standing around, let’s all offer a prayer together,”

“That’s a good idea,” one of the knights chimed in, and Edan nodded in agreement. It was then that Giorno, who had been standing apart indifferently, cut in.

“You’re all so naive. Do you really think just praying will accomplish anything? If that were the case, His Highness wouldn’t be lying unconscious for so long.”

“Sir Giorno,” Edan warned.

“Didn’t you hear? The unit leader has reportedly stopped eating and is doing nothing but praying,”

Giorno, who was far from devout, even added that if His Highness woke up today because of their prayers, he’d give them 300 louis.

“You’d best stop there, unless you wish to be punished for insulting the Goddess,”