Lady to Queen

“Baby.”

Rosemond was creeped out by the title Baron Darrow used for her. Baby? Ha, baby. That disgusting scoundrel… She wanted to ask God. Where was this man’s conscience dropped when he was made? In addition, with shame missing as well. With a disdainful look, Rosemond stared at Baron Darrow.

“Gone crazy, Baron?”

“I’m not crazy, my daughter.”

As if they were people born to get on her nerves as much as possible, the Baron and Baroness continued to disturb Rosemond’s mind. She felt like she just wanted to kill everyone and get out of this place, but the downside was that she couldn’t handle the future consequences of those actions. When he noticed this, Baron Darrow said with a smile.

“Baby, you are definitely my precious daughter.”

“…”

“How do you think you’re going to break the heavenly bonds? Such divine retribution…”

“Divine retribution?!”

Rosemond exploded with a furious voice.

“Good job. Divine retribution, divine retribution you say!”

Soon Rosemond mumbled with cold eyes.

“By the way, how is that brat Bruchenka, these days?”

“… ”

Bruchenka, the eldest child born between the Baron and the Baroness, was living in his in-laws home. Rosemond laughed in a mocking manner.

“Does his wife know? About how that creature raped his half-sister?”

“Rosemond!”

“I said don’t call my name!”

Rosemond shouted in rage. In response, both the Baron and Baroness flinched and backed off. Eventually, Rosemond, who had even mentioned such a taboo topic with her own mouth, muttered with a voice full of rage.

“If I could, I want to shred you all up and kill you. Right now, I want to end your lives with methods that I can’t even put in my mouth.”

“…”

“It’s not that I can’t do that. It’s that I won’t. I don’t want to be connected with you anymore. So while I am saying it nicely, sign the waiver.”

“…”

“If you don’t do that, I don’t know what kinds of things I will do to all of you.”

“…”

“Hurry up!”

When Rosemond yelled, Baron Darrow calmly answered her.

“Alright, alright.”

He had a dissatisfied expression on his face. Of course. Anyways, since she was his daughter, he had been able to stretch out his shoulders due to the fact that she received the Emperor’s favor. When Rosemond thought about that, she wanted to just receive the Emperor’s hate instead, and die right away.

“But just stay for the night, for one day today.”

Baron Darrow asked this in a friendly voice, but it was just a request that would not work on Rosemond at all.

“Why would I?”

There was no desire to be in this dirty and ugly household where she was forcibly violated. She would rather sleep on the street. Baron Darrow seemed to read her thoughts and added more.

“Anyways, the time is late and you can’t move. You have to think about the horse.”

“…”

“Stay only one day and then leave. Anyways… Wouldn’t it be the last night as father and daughter?”

“Ha.”

Father and daughter. Had he ever thought of her as a daughter? Rosemond glared at Baron and Baroness Darrow with contempt, then climbed upstairs with loud footsteps. When she left this house, she had been determined to never step foot in here again, her own space.

Rosemond closed the door loudly and sat down in her shabby room. Shortly after that incident had occurred, she had cried in silence right here. Sad and scared. Now there was no more of that young and weak girl. All that was left was a villainess full of ambition. Rosemond still stared coldly inside of the room. Obviously, the place where her childhood had been contained made her want to vomit.

“… ”

She was confident that she had a very unhappy childhood. Baron Darrow was clearly her biological father, but Baroness Darrow was not her biological mother. Her mother was a prostitute, and she had gotten her life through a night of play between her mother and Baron Darrow.

‘Would have been better to be erased in the womb.’

Rosemond got rid of her bitter smile. Her mother, who she couldn’t even resent anymore, had been killed by Baroness Darrow who had gone blind with jealousy, and her father Baron Darrow had just looked on. At that time, she was ten years old, and she immediately entered the Darrow household. As a daughter of a prostitute, which was too embarrassing to even say.

‘Should have died then.’

If she had died then, would there have been this anger now? Would all the wicked evil and sorrow not have been created? The sure fact was that this was now only a regret, and there was no way to turn back time.

“At some point, Rosemond’s brother started seeing her as a woman.”

Lucio continued to speak.

“After that, the incident happened. The brother forced himself on his half-sister. Baroness Darrow knew this fact and still condoned it. Must have thought it was something to dismiss.”

He spoke in a bitter voice, and Patrizia was at a loss for words at that moment. She had wondered if there was anyone more unfortunate than her in the world, but there was Lucio, and there was another unfortunate person like Lucio, which was Rosemond. Patrizia felt her heart grow heavy at the moment. That woman was hateful, and Patrizia despised her, but at the same time pitied her.

“She said she wanted to die then.”

Makes sense. Patrizia closed her eyes with a facial expression showing her thoughts on how terrible that was. After much time had passed, she asked.

“… How did you two meet?”

“It was a coincidence.”

Yes, it was a coincidence. Thinking about it now, she thought about how even that could be a manipulation, but he thought it was a coincidence anyways. A woman of beautiful pink hair, which he had stumbled across on a long, long journey, learned of her situation and shared a sense of misery in terrible childhoods and wounds.

Rosemond was smart and gambled to change her life. She had wrapped up her wounds and sold them to Lucio, in exchange for empathy from the Emperor. Not stopping there, she dug into Lucio’s wounds, pretended to comfort him, and made him depend on her. As if no one else could understand his secret and shocking wounds. As if she was the only one who could understand and accept him.

His trauma was the Achilles’ heel that made him most vulnerable. Rosemond’s scheme was successful. Lucio was forced to fall in love with her. There were many women taking their clothes off in front of him, and women seducing him, but no woman like Rosemond.

In addition, the fact that she had a big wound, similar to himself, also served as a safeguard to prevent Lucio from throwing away Rosemond. Rosemond was convinced that Lucio could never abandon her when she was so full of wounds. And Rosemond’s thoughts were generally correct.

After hearing all of Lucio’s story, Patrizia felt her head throb from the shock. Was this the identity of an inexplicable bond? A scary, shocking childhood scar that even a noble spirit like herself could not dare to have. He had thought that anyone that had grown up normally would never be able to understand him.

In fact, his words were not completely wrong. She could not fully understand him. She had never been in a situation like that. But was that not true for Rosemond as well? A person could not fully understand a person if they had not gone through the same experience.

However, Rosemond was a little unique. As if she was different. Like she was the only one that could fully understand him. That didn’t mean Lucio was bad for having fallen for that. He would have needed it. Someone who could fully understand him. Someone who could tell him it’s not his fault. In that way, that someone could help relieve the burden, even by a little bit.

“I felt bad for her. In the same way, as she pitied me.”

“…”

“So I identified her with myself. That is the reason why I could not leave her.”

“… ”

She understood. It was annoying, and honestly, she didn’t want to understand it, but she couldn’t stop herself from understanding. If she had been either Rosemond or Lucio, wouldn’t she have done the same? She couldn’t be confident that she wouldn’t.

“That woman… do you love her?”

“… ”

It was a question that he would have answered ‘yes’ if it had been in the past. But strangely, he couldn’t open his mouth so easily. He had loved her. He had definitely loved her. But now? Did he still love her now?

Occasionally, even before he married Patrizia, he had doubts. Did she really love me? Did he really love her? Was it simple compassion, or actual love, between the two of them? If it was compassion, could it be seen as love?

At one time, he had been convinced that compassion was also love, but as he got to know her inner self, his beliefs began to crack. And now, Lucio thought ‘I am not sure’. There was no doubt that he considered her pitiful. He pitied her even now. But did he really love her? Did she really love him as well? Were the feelings that remained between the two of them really true?

“I say.”

So he replied vaguely.

“I am not sure myself.”

“… ”

It was a love that began with compassion. Compassion, or feelings of sympathy did not last long. That is, it was only temporary. It was also normal for him to be confused, and the likelihood of Rosemond really having loved him was less. At least, Patrizia thought it was.

So she had to be careful with herself too. Love that began with compassion could never last long. If she couldn’t distinguish compassion from love, she would also be miserable.

The next day, Rosemond opened her eyes in an uncomfortable state. As soon as she opened her eyes, she glanced around her surroundings. Ah, she was inside the room that made her sick. She got up, thinking that she should leave here as soon as possible.

“Are you up, Lady Rosemond?”

“Yea.”

Now, Glara knew her shameful secret, but she hadn’t said anything about it. Rosemond thought it was a relief, but her mood turned bad thinking about it. Of course, she didn’t express it at all and spoke to Glara.

“If you just bring over the signed waiver from the Darrow couple, we will leave here right away. Make the preparations.”

“But Lady Rosemond, will you not take a bath?”

“I will do it elsewhere. It’s not like there’s a lack of money, and there’s no reason to stay here any longer?”

Rosemond’s voice sounded so irritated as she said this, and that Glara didn’t say anything. She quietly replied that she understood, then left the room, and Rosemond soon left through the door and found the Baron and Baroness. They faced her with the same expressions as yesterday.

“Did you sleep well, my daughter?”

Nausea formed. How long did she have to listen to that bullsh*t? Rosemond asked, while fully revealing her discomfort.

“Did you sign the waiver of parental authority?”

“Oh dear, baby. You are in such a hurry.”

Baroness Darrow said this with a bright grin.

“I talked with your father all night yesterday. How to be of help with your future…”

“Put away those words that aren’t even in your heart.”

Rosemond smiled coldly and cut her words.

“The waiver of parental authority, give it over.”

“Ah, seem so urgent.”

Baroness Darrow revealed slight displeasure and talked to Rosemond.

“Fine, if you want it that much. We will sign it.”

“Right this instant…”

“However, there are conditions.”

Baron Darrow smiled and interrupted the conversation between the two of them.