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SHE awoke to the smell of baking bread before sunrise.
What a satisfying way to wake up! Rose twisted out from under the blankets, which were softer than anything she’d had the pleasure of touching, and poked her face through the opening like a bagworm. She sniffed the air, filling her nostrils with the tantalizing smell of wheat.
Rose always had them prepare bread to take with her for lunch. Tala, who was a wiz in the kitchen, was even capable of baking different kinds of breads!
Depending on the bread of the day, Tala would make sandwiches with ham or jam, but Rose was just as happy with plain bread.
I wonder what type she baked today. Rose’s lips lifted in a small smile. She was fully aware that she couldn’t go back to subsisting on just lettuce anymore.
Rose slipped out of bed after inhaling that savory aroma to her heart’s content. She opened the closet as she made a mental note of her activities for the day. Rows of clothing Harij had picked out for her hung from the pole.
None of the pieces were too extravagant in design, but the material was superb. Each item had been expertly tailored to survive her jaunts into the forest. All the skirts and dresses matched the kingdom’s style of a sheath cut with no flare.
Until now, Rose hadn’t owned more than one change of regular clothes—that didn’t mean she was in dire need of more and couldn’t afford it, though. Not only was that normal for commoners, but she also didn’t feel the necessity for more when robes were the staple of a witch’s wardrobe.
Though she thought it unnecessary, her heart still danced like a little girl’s when she laid her eyes upon the stunning dresses. Her joy only amplified with the thought that these were all presents from the man she loved. He likely thought of her as he picked out each and every one.
WHOOSH.
Air blew through the dresses—Rose had lightly punched one to hide her embarrassment. The dress swayed softly as if being exposed to a gentle breeze rather than her fist.
After pummeling the gift from her darling like a sandbag, Rose wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. It was only early spring, and she was already uncomfortably sweaty.
It was unbearably embarrassing to have Harij and the others fawn over her when she dressed up, but she could convince herself to wear something fancier if she made the excuse “This is all I have to wear anyway.” She had already turned her mother’s old dress that was full of stains and frayed at the hem into a rag.
“…You got this.” Rose gripped the hanger like a snake’s head to motivate herself to go through with it.
Struggling to put on pretty dresses was one of her newly acquired morning routines since coming to the Azm estate.
She picked a blue dress reminiscent of the spring sky with shades of gray and purple. Although the sleeves were embroidered, the dress was mostly plain with subdued colors and a simple cut, making it easier for the shy witch to pick it.
She ran a brush over her hair to the bare extent necessary, then yanked the collar over her head and shoved her arms through the sleeves. After tying the ribbon just under her chest, she looked at the mirror.
The collar is oddly loose. Is that the style? Rose tugged on it, wondering if she was wearing it wrong. The collar flopped around her neck. She was uneasy leaving it in this flimsy, undependable state. After all, a witch moves constantly throughout the day. Leaving it flapping around her neck risked her clothes coming off every time she moved.
Thinking there had to be more to it, she reached for the back of the collar, and her fingers brushed against unhooked buttons.
“…There are buttons on the back?!”
Rose was a witch. A normal witch never had anyone help them change.
Her grandmother had dressed herself, and her mother had likely done the same. Today marked the first time Rose learned of the existence of clothing with buttons on the back.
Rose stared at the mirror. She was frowning at her pathetic state. Getting changed was the most tedious of activities.
“……”
She continued to silently glare at herself in the mirror. Then she fiddled with the buttons, hooking as many as she could before pulling her robe on over it. She was unlikely to remove the robe anyway—no one would discover she had a few buttons loose.
The first day, she came without her robe on because she had to cut through the city to get there, but she usually wore it within the mansion. For witches, robes were necessary for concealing their identities and secrets. For Rose, robes were necessary for her to deal with other people.
Rose opened her bedroom door and heard a small yelp on the other side.
It was Mona, the maid who arrived the same day as Rose, who was adorably startled by the door. Five servants worked at this estate, but only the butler, Safina, and Mona lived there. Tala, who single-handedly took care of all the food, returned home early in the evening before coming back again at the crack of dawn.
The servants who had always worked at the Azm estate readily accepted Rose. Being mistaken for the new maid at first seemed to have worked in her favor. Not to mention the trust they placed in the fact that Harij had chosen her, and that she had a friendly, established relationship with Safina.
People tend to judge a person based on how the people they trust see them. So Rose was a tad baffled by their familial treatment of her, considering that people in the past had always viewed her negatively because she lacked their trust.
“Ah! Witc—milady!”
But Mona was different. She was visibly frightened every time she saw Rose. She didn’t have the same confidence in Harij that the other servants did yet. Though she never looked at Rose with contempt or harassed her, it still hurt to see the girl’s face turn paler than the sheets whenever they crossed paths.
“…Good morning. Do you need any assistance?” Mona asked Rose in a trembling voice as she fought back her fear. Asking someone this terrified to button her collar would surely be cruel.
“No.”
“Then I will tidy up your room in your absence.”
“Please do.”
Rose was used to not mingling with others. After she lightly bowed her head, Mona quickly took her leave.
“Is it always like that between you?” a voice suddenly asked behind her as she was staring at Mona’s departing back.
Startled, Rose jumped about one apple’s height off the ground within her robe, which caused her to land back on its hem and nearly fall over if not for the arm that caught her by the waist from behind.
“Hey! Don’t play around—it’s dangerous.”
I’m not playing around, thank you very much. Rose looked over her shoulder at the speaker and found Harij there, as she suspected.
The strength went right out of her knees as if she were ascending into the heavens. She left everything to gravity and Harij and let her eyelids fall shut.
Some time had passed since she began staying at the Azm estate, but this was the first time she had seen Harij dressed so casually. She didn’t think she could ever open her eyes again, but his appearance was already burned into her mind, blissfully torturing her with its brilliance even with her eyes closed.
Tousled bangs. Sleepy eyes. A freshly shaved chin. His exposed neckline—the sight was far too stimulating for Rose. To make matters worse, by closing her eyes, her other senses became more sensitive. She could smell his aftershave and acutely feel his arm around her.
Rose carefully crossed her arms over her chest, paying extra care to make sure her lips didn’t break into a smile.
“…What game are you playing now?”
“I was just reveling in the thought that ‘this must be how a devout believer feels when they finally meet their god…’”
“I see.”
That was an awfully taciturn reply coming from him—he probably didn’t understand what she meant. How could he? As long as Harij was unable to view himself objectively, he would never be capable of sharing in the bliss Rose felt around him.
Still, I wish someone would have told me sooner that Harij would be home today.
Harij’s already irregular working hours became even more irregular when he was working a case. To that end, no one could ever predict when he would be home.
If only she had known ahead of time, she would have gotten out of bed sooner and picked out the dress faster. Why, she would’ve even woken up earlier! Grrrr! Rose scrunched up her nose at this loss.
She slipped out of Harij’s hold and nestled against the wall. She wanted to cling forever to that flat, inorganic surface without irregularities to restore her peace of mind.
Ticktock, ticktock.
The magnificent grandfather clock in the hallway ticked away the time.
“…Had your fill yet?” Harij delicately asked the witch who was becoming one with the wall.
“Yes. What did you need again?”
“You really don’t care in the slightest about me, do you?”
How could I not care about you?! If only I didn’t—it would’ve been that much better. Rose eyed Harij with disbelief over his idle complaint. He appeared to be completely in the dark about her feelings for him despite the thunderous drumming of her heart.
“I was asking if she always acts like that around you.”
“You phrase it as if her behavior is wrong, but I believe she is devoted to her work simply because she didn’t flee the moment she found out I’m a witch…”
Tala and the other servants were the strange ones for openly accepting Rose as the lady of the house.
The nicer Tala and the others were to her, the more nervous and emotionally tired she became. For Rose, who had never been this deeply involved with humans for this long, it was extremely tiring to interact with others while carefully choosing her every word to make sure they never discovered she couldn’t tell a lie.
“I’ll speak to her.”
“You needn’t make such a big deal out of such a small thing.”
“Nothing is too small when it comes to you.”
Rose didn’t really grasp the issue, but she could tell he was showing a lot of love and concern for her. She tightly drew her eyebrows together and squeezed out her voice through downturned lips.
“Just…please don’t be too harsh. Go easy on her.”
“I will.”