NIYTR 23

Chapter 23

A Hothouse Flower

“…”

“And if you hadn’t been officially assigned as my sister’s maid, that’d be a different story. But taking you now would be like I’m snatching you away from her.”

“M-My lady—”

“That’s why I’m afraid I can’t grant your request to come to the Blossomweaver estate.”

At that moment—

Swish—

The curtain was suddenly pulled back. With arms crossed, Rosemary glared at Jane.

“Jane, what are you doing over there? Didn’t you hear me tell you to bring another pair of shoes?”

“I-I’ll go get them right away!”

Jane shot a nervous glance at Rosemary, then shut her eyes tightly and hurried out.

“Edel.”

“Sister. Fancy meeting you again today. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

“Father said I could come to Shubrets to cool my head. You sound surprised to see me here?”

“I’m just glad to see you, that’s all.” Edelweiss replied with a soft smile.

“By the way, what brings you to Shubrets? You always had your dresses made at Dior Atelier.”

“I came to have my coming-of-age dress made.”

“Your coming-of-age dress? I thought it was already finished?”

“It is, but they thought it’d be better to make a new one, embroidered with the symbols of Blossomweaver and Oberlin.”

Rosemary tilted her chin haughtily.

“But I don’t think that’ll work. I just tried to place a dress order earlier, and they told me they were too booked. Why not just go back to Dior, where you normally go?”

She added the suggestion as if offering a generous favor.

“Instead, I’ll come with you and help pick which fabric and color look best.”

“Thanks, but I’ll have to pass. Madame Teresa already accepted my order.”

“…What?”

“There’s only one coming-of-age ceremony in a lifetime. I think she understood how important it is.”

Rosemary blinked in disbelief.

“You’re saying… Madame Teresa agreed to make your coming-of-age dress in just a month?”

“Yeah.”

“…Good for you.”

She forced the corners of her lips into a smile, but the tension in her jaw betrayed the strain—her mouth trembled as if spasming from the effort.

“Oh, by the way, did you happen to hear what Jane said earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, never mind. If you didn’t hear, that’s fine.”

“Edel, you brought it up. Just say it.”

Edelweiss lowered her brows as if troubled.

“Jane asked me if she could come to the Blossomweaver estate. That’s a bit rude to you, right? She’s your maid now. Going to me without even talking to you—”

Rude…

A word Rosemary despised more than anything. Her face instantly stiffened.

“Jane said that?”

She glared fiercely in the direction Jane had exited.

“Sis, you’re not going to scold Jane later, are you?”

“She probably does need a warning. If she’s my personal maid now, it’s like she disregarded my position entirely by saying she wanted to go with you.”

“…Jane worked by my side for a long time, and… ah, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Sis, could you just… not say anything to her?”

“…”

“If I’m worrying for no reason, I’m sorry.”

Rosemary would definitely take it out on Jane once they were back.

“…Of course. I was just speaking offhand. It’s not like I don’t understand Jane, and like you said, it’s tiring to obsess over every little thing.”

Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes remained hard.

“That’s a relief. I don’t have to worry then. You’re kind, as always. I feel indebted to Jane, you know.”

“…Indebted?”

“Yeah. If my coming-of-age ceremony had gone ahead at House Stern like originally planned, I would’ve inherited your house and household authority when I came of age.”

“…So?”

“Then I would’ve had the right to appoint the next head maid. I planned to give that position to Jane. I even told her in advance… But now I can’t follow through.”

To Rosemary—who likely tasked Jane with spying—it would sound like this:

Jane dared to weigh her loyalty between Edelweiss and Rosemary.

Already anxious about losing her household power, Rosemary had just barely calmed herself knowing Edelweiss would marry out. But now this?

That would only deepen her inferiority complex as an illegitimate child.

If she even suspects Jane might be a double agent, she won’t trust her anymore.

That rift between Rosemary and Jane was exactly what Edelweiss hoped for. When collaborators fall out of sync, their first instinct is to discard the other.

No need to dirty her own hands—Rosemary would handle Jane herself.

“Edel, is everything alright in there?”

After sending Madame Teresa away, the conversation between the sisters dragged on long enough for the Blossomweaver Marquis to enter the room.

When Rosemary met his eyes, she stiffened, lips tightly sealed.

She couldn’t bring herself to call him “Uncle,” but addressing him as “Marquis Blossomweaver” wounded her pride.

“Edel, I want to give you a music box. Want to come pick one out with me?”

Rosemary cut in, turning to Edelweiss with a suggestion—as if the man before them didn’t exist.

The marquis scoffed coldly at the petty slight.

“Rosemary Benel, daughter of the viscount…”

He deliberately called her by name, forcing a response.

“…I was just surprised you came in so suddenly, that’s why I didn’t greet you, Marquis Consort.”

“You’re surprised, yet you had no trouble offering Edel a music box without so much as a stammer?”

“…I just—”

“Even if I let it slide, knowing you weren’t taught manners by Viscount Benel…”

He leaned in.

“…what gives you the right to speak informally to the heir of House Blossomweaver?”

It was a clear warning to act her station. Rosemary bristled.

“That’s too harsh! Edel is my sister. Can’t I at least speak comfortably to my younger sister?”

“Sister? Whether she was of House Stern before or of Blossomweaver now, you—daughter of Viscount Benel—have no right to call her your sister.”

“…Marquis Consort!”

“Maybe Duke Stern allowed you to stay at the ducal estate because he lacked foresight, but you shouldn’t overstep just because you’ve been sheltered.”

Rosemary could only tremble in silence.

“Do you really think you’re on equal footing with Edelweiss—daughter of a duke, and the legitimate heir?”

“…”

“That’s why one should be raised with awareness of their place. But pampering you, shielding your ears and eyes like a greenhouse flower, only made you think you were something special.”

To Edelweiss, this sharp side of the usually gentle Marquis Consort came as a surprise—

But also:

‘So satisfying!’

He was saying everything she couldn’t say to Rosemary herself. Edelweiss was grateful.

“Remember, you’re just a scentless imitation flower. It’s exhausting to have to keep reminding you every time we meet.”

A scentless imitation flower.

A flower that looks beautiful, but has no life—no fragrance. A perfect metaphor for Rosemary, who fancied herself a precious bloom, yet had no real essence.

As the biological daughter of neither Duke Stern nor anyone with power, she could never possess the ability to bloom a blue rose.

“If I tell Father everything that happened today, he’ll demand an apology for insulting me!”

Rosemary’s voice trembled with indignation.

“You’re still young, and clearly don’t think things through. Do you think I fear Duke Stern? What would I have to gain by doing so?”

“Even if we’re the same in ceremonial rank, Stern still outranks Blossomweaver in nobility! And your house serves ours!”

The marquis consort shrugged indifferently.

“Be sure to tell Duke Stern everything, then. If he’s even able to send that letter of protest.”

“What do you mean—”

“What authority does Duke Stern have to demand an apology from me over insulting Rosemary Benel?”

“……”

“You really didn’t understand what I was saying until just now?”

“What will you do if I’m entered into Stern’s family register someday? If I become a duke’s daughter, you’ll have to bow your head before me!”

Apparently, Duke Stern hadn’t fully explained things to Rosemary. He may have treated her as a daughter in public, but hadn’t made her status official.

‘That’s why she still firmly believes she’ll be a duchess someday.’