The Villainess's Secret Bedroom Service
Chapter 39: Positive Response

Chapter 39: Positive Response

Rosalie was stuck in bed for almost an entire week after she collapsed. At first, she indeed felt quite weak, and being bedridden did not seem so daunting, but once she was able to regain her strength, she had to practically fight with both Aurora and Logan for a chance to stride around the room at least.

"My Lady, His Grace ordered us not to let you strain yourself; we cannot disobey him!"

Aurora wrapped her lady into the blanket like a caterpillar while Logan kept holding her down, limiting her frantic movements.

"We understand that you might feel frustrated being cooped up in the room for so long, but please, have some compassion for us as well, My Lady! His Grace will definitely kill us both if he sees you leave this room before Revered Altair gives his permission."

Sir Logan cast a rather apologetic look at Lady Ashter, to which she only responded with a dramatic eyeroll and a long, weary sigh. Their loyalty toward Damien was admirable, but it was still no less annoying, and although she understood it was not their fault, their overprotectiveness was going overboard.

Nevertheless, she had to comply with it. Especially if she did not want her "sentence" to be prolonged.

***

At last, when Rosalie’s confinement came to an end, the first person she wanted to see was, without a doubt, Damien Dio. Having not seen him even once after their last encounter, she was worried about his condition, thus, as soon as she got ready, she set off right for the duke’s study.

’Logan said that Damien was busy all this time, so I guess he recovered too. I will just say a quick hello, check up on his condition, and leave him be.’

The girl knocked lightly on the tall wooden door and was invited inside right away by the faint sound of Felix’s voice. As she confidently stepped inside, ready to exchange a few lively words with the men, she was greeted by the sight of Damien’s pale, exhausted face and his aide’s equally white complexion.

"Lady Rosalie! Are you feeling better now? Do you need me to call Revered Altair to check your condition?"

Upon seeing Rosalie, Damien jumped to his feet, his wide eyes frantically running up and down, assessing the girl’s appearance in search of anything that could betray her true condition. To Lady Ashter, however, it was the duke who needed to be assessed instead.

She walked up to the man and raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise – while she had already witnessed his disgruntled appearance during his seizures, his current disheveled look was far more pitiful.

With messy, unwashed hair, a pale, almost sickly complexion, and dark circles under his tired eyes, Damien’s crumpled clothes and overall shrunken state were evidence of many restless days and possibly sleepless nights.

"Forgive me, Your Grace, but I think it is you who needs to see Altair, not me! What happened to you? Has work been that hard for you lately?"

Damien was clearly taken aback by the girl’s comment. He cast a flustered glance at Felix, who only shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, denying him the chance to express his own opinion on his appearance. With a disappointed sigh, Damien looked back at Rosalie and replied in a rather embarrassed voice, frantically trying to fix his hair on the go,

"Well, yes. There was... a lot of work."

As Damien continued his attempts to tidy up his hair and clothes, Felix approached Lady Ashter under the pretext of helping her find a seat amidst the dozens of piles of documents, and whispered in her ear,

"Work has nothing to do with it. He was so worried about you that he could barely rest. He buried himself in work just to divert his mind somewhere else. I don’t think it helped, though..."

Rosalie glanced at Damien, who was now back behind his desk, resting his chin on his left hand and covering his face with a stack of papers, perhaps still upset by the girl’s comment on his disheveled appearance. Seeing him like that, she couldn’t help but feel sad as well.

’Ugh, I made him worried again. So much that he looks like a walking corpse now. Yet somehow, it still feels nice to know that someone worries about me to such an extent. I’m such a hypocrite.’

She tried to shake that unpleasant feeling off and walked up to Damien’s desk, taking Felix’s seat right next to him, and leaning closer.

"Do you need any help, Your Grace? I can learn to do anything as long as I can be of help to you!"

The duke widened his eyes again; and although Rosalie’s enthusiasm was irresistibly cute, he had to make an effort and be firm in his rejection.

"No, Lady Rosalie. You have just recovered, and there is no way I will let you work!"

Lady Ashter pouted her lips, feigning a disappointed expression, her eyes noticing a document with a familiar set of words written in red ink.

’Another escaped convict report? Must be the imprisoned members of the Demonic Cult again. I guess there is still no progress in that case.’

Rosalie wanted to ask Damien about it to show interest in his work but decided to not be nosy and left it alone. She could have been of help if the author of "Acme Fever" actually had that issue resolved, but it was supposed to be left as either a mystery or a simple plot hole.

She began to move her bored gaze around the duke’s table in an attempt to find something she could offer her assistance with but froze on the spot as her eyes reached a small white envelope with an Imperial seal and the name "Angelica" written on it.

"Uhm, Your Grace? Is that a letter from Her Highness Princess Angelica?"

Damien stopped writing and looked at the white envelope in the corner of his desk, which he had forgotten was even there.

"Ah, the Princess invited the two of us for tea yesterday, but I rejected it because you were still weak. The invitation still stands, Lady Rosalie, so if you’d like to go, I can send the response right away."

The idea of reviving her friendship with Angelica Rische seemed quite tempting, especially since her return to high social circles would start a silent war among the noble ladies for the right to become her "close friends." Considering the previous rather intimate relationships between Rosalie and the princess, Lady Ashter had quite an advantage over the rest of the girls.

’In the novel, the princess rarely attended social gatherings because of her poor health, however, she still did attempt to reconnect with Rosalie on numerous occasions. I can only hope that this Angelica also has at least some warm feelings left toward her estranged friend.’

Although still lacking confidence in both her heart and voice, the girl looked Damien in the eyes and said,

"Let’s accept the invitation, Your Grace. After all, just like me, Her Highness is now a loner, despite her prominent standing. Perhaps getting me as her first friend would do us both some good."

The man raised his eyebrows, impressed by Rosalie’s nonchalant prudence – that was a rather unexpected side of her, and he couldn’t help but scoff as it only made her look more admirable in his eyes.

"Alright, Lady Rosalie. I will send a positive response to Her Highness’s invitation."