Don’t Remember Me

As Flitta was in Rosé’s arms, she stuck her head out and softly asked.
Rosé fortunately had calmed down, but it appeared that she was still concerned.
She cleared her stuffy mind and forcefully smiled at Flitta.

“Of course.
Why would I be angry with the Princess? You are so brave.”

“Yes! I am really strong Princess!”

She nodded her head proudly upon hearing Rosé.
She caressed Flitta’s cheeks and spoke,

“But don’t you enjoy eating together like this?”

“Pardon? Yes…”

Flitta’s round eyes turned from side to side.
Rosé smiled and placed a cup of milk in the child’s hand.
After receiving he cup, she looked up at her.

“Likewise, Princess.
Eating alone feels boring and lonely.”

“… Rosé too?”

Rosé spoke in a friendly tone to Flitta, who was looking at her with her round eyes.

“Even if you’re still young, Princess, eating alone is lonely and boring.
So does adults feel the same in the same situation.”

“… Hnngg.”

Flitta listened to Rosé’s words, and she blinked sluggishly.
The child’s eyes wavered slightly.

“Nanny… she told me not to act like a baby.
Because then Dad will hate me.”

“… Why would he hate you, Princess?”

Rosé was temporarily stunned but still managed to ask.
The child was vividly hesitant briefly, then nodded her head as if to confirm her words.
Rosé couldn’t help herself but sigh.

Not only does Haven treats her indifferently, but even her nanny does the same.
What on earth is the Nanny saying to a child of five years old??

She pained the child’s self-esteem.

Thereby, Flitta must not have had any choice but to always be weary of everyone’s eyes, unlike an ordinary child.

Rosé pressed both of her lips.

Her wish was very simple.
It was to see her husband, and the child they had from afar.

That simple wish had already come true.
No, she even came to the extent of being close to them, so her desire has been accomplished beyond.

But at this moment, Rosé had another wish.
It was another goal that has to be achieved no matter what.

She promises to bring Haven and Flitta closer until she leaves.

To teach Flitta to love her father and at the same way, teach Haven how to love his only child.

Rosé opened her mouth again with a firm resolution.

“Absolutely not.
Why would His Highness hate the princess?”

“Dad only finds fault with me.
Because my mother… is of origin.”

Flitta wept as the word ‘Mother’ came out of her mouth.
Rosé held the child in her arms and patted her back.

“There is no parent in the world who hates their child, princess.”

“Daddy is always scary? He deson’t even smile every time he sees me.”

“His Highness the Grand Duke… It must have been just awkward for him.”

Rosé smiled intently while facing the child’s light green eyes.
The child tilted her head.

“Is it awkward?”

“He loves the princess, but he doesn’t know how.”

“… Really?”

“Even adults don’t know everything, Princess.”

Flitta’s face brightened at Rosé’s words.
Seeing the child instant change of mood, her heart softened again.

* * *

“… ?”

The butler’s steps toward the Grand Duke’s office slowed down.
He stood in the middle of the hallway and narrowed his eyes.
It was because of seeing the maid hanging around right in front of the office.

“Isn’t she the maid serving the princess?”

The butler muttered to himself and put on a puzzled expression.
This was because there was no way the maid of the Princess would hang around the Grand Duke’s office.

“Hmm…”

The old butler’s brow furrowed slightly.
But he soon corrected his expression, cleared his throat, and moved on again.
Then, Rosé turned her head to that presence, looked at the butler, and hurriedly greeted her.

“Butler.”

“What did you come here for? If something happens to the princess….”

After receiving Rosé’s greeting, the butler asked a question in a quick tone.
Rosé hurriedly shook her head even before he finished his words.

“No.
Not like that.”

“Then why did you come? This is in front of the Grand Duke’s office.
It is not a place where anyone can come and go.”

The butler spoke disapprovingly at her answer as if giving advice.
It’s only been a week now, so he thought that she had made a mistake because she wasn’t used to life at the Grand Duke’s residence.

However, contrary to the butler’s guess, Rosé brought out her business with a trembling voice.

“I came here to tell something important.”

“What?”

A wrinkle formed between the butler’s brows.
He furrowed his brow, wondering if he had heard it correctly, but soon smiled as if he was stifled.
Then he opened his mouth with an expressionless face.

“Please go back.”

“But…”

“His Highness isn’t here right now.
Although, even if he were, he wouldn’t be able to see you, contrary what you wanted.”

The butler’s voice became harsher than before.
The moment Rosé was about to speak again, she heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the hallway.
At the same time, the butler and Rosé turned their heads in the direction where the sound came from.

“His Highness the Grand Duke!”

There was no need to ascertain who the owner of the footsteps was.
Other than the owner of this mansion, who would dare to show off his presence so proudly near his office?

Rosé saw Haven approaching and hurriedly stepped aside and bowed her waist.
Haven strode forward and paused in front of her.

His gaze landed on Rosé’s head.
Something shimmered in the depths of his blue eyes.
It was an unidentified feeling that he himself did not realize.

He looked at the bowed woman in front of her and the butler explained as he did so.
The butler’s brows twitched.

“You’ve been to gymnasium, Your Highness?”

To the butler’s question, Haven looked away from Rosé and gave a short answer with a nod.

His wet hair clung to his forehead.
He was soaked in sweat, but it could be said that he was wet because of the rain.
The rain seemed to pour even until now.

“I will prepare a bath.”

“Please.”

Haven made a brief reply to the butler, then turned to enter the office.
The butler sent a glance at Rosé as if telling her to stop what she wanted to do.
Rosé hesitated, then opened her mouth despite the butler’s glare.
But even before she could do anything, Haven’s voice was heard.

“Come in.”

“… !”

Rosé’s green eyes widened.
The butler also looked at him with his eyes wide open, probably surprised.
Only Haven looked at her with his usual calm and dead expression.

“Looks like you have something to tell me.”

“…”

She was taken aback that she blinked and was speechless.
Haven narrowed his brows and asked,

“Was I mistaken?”

“Oh, no!”

Rosé answered his question with a raised voice.
She heard the butler muttering that she had dared to raise her voice in front of His Highness, but it was not the time to pay attention to that.

Haven raised one of his eyebrows and he asked her again.

“Didn’t you have something to say to me?”

“N, no.
No, I mean…”

Rosé shook her head at his words and tried to say something again.
However, perhaps because she was in a hurry, the words were twisted and did not come out properly.

It was then.

She heard a sigh and a chuckle from the man in front of her.

“… ?”

At this moment, it was a laugh that couldn’t be heard.
But it was also a very familiar memory for her.
Even if he was quite bigger than before, he even laughed pleasantly.

So, it must have been.
When she unknowingly raised her head and looked at him.

‘… Ah.’

Rosé’s mouth twisted as if she would burst into tears at any moment.
As soon as she met his blue eyes, which were looking at her indifferently, she immediately lowered her head to avoid his gaze.

A tingling from her heart was found as if a deep sense of loss had cut through the middle of her chest.

In fact, it didn’t make sense to feel this way after all.
It’s a sense of loss.
What does she have to lose now? She already lost him a long time ago.

He too.
And her child too.

The man in front of her got her to realize all over again that he wasn’t the man she knew.
The man who smiled cheerfully at her no longer exists.
Even knowing that, foolishly, it was she who decided to hope till the end of her life.

‘What more do you want? Think of Flitta.’

Rosé was trying to force her heart out when Haven’s voice came over her head.

“Come in if you have something to say, if you don’t, go.”

“…!”

Her heart, which had been quiet for a moment, was stirred again.
Rosé hurriedly raised her head.
When Haven came into his office after giving her permission, Rosé turned to look at the butler.

The butler spoke to her with a disapproving look on his face but couldn’t help it at all.

“What are you doing? His Highness allowed you to go on.”

“Ah yes! Yes, thank you!”

Rosé quickly followed Haven into the office.
A cool scent resembling the owner of this mansion was smelled inside the office

.

* * *

As soon as Haven entered the office, he inadvertently rubbed the area around his mouth and chin with the palm of his hand.
Then he swallowed a laugh and shook his head a couple of times.

‘I can’t have gone crazy…’

He looked back at his actions a moment ago and frowned.
Even thinking about it, he couldn’t understand himself at all.

If anyone else had seen him, they would have doubted their own eyes.
Seeing the Grand duke smile, they’d say that there was something wrong in their eyes.

Haven rubbed his chin with his hand once more.
His firm mouth was no different than usual though.
He took it for granted.

‘But why…’

The moment he tilted his head, not understanding his actions, he felt a small presence of a woman behind him.
It was a sign that his child’s maid came in after him

Rosé.
It was her name.