Rosie's Games

Chapter 188: Call me Isabel

The Duke let out a sigh of relief.

"The Prince has the curse," Rosalind said. "And Federico is doing something to hide it from everyone else. Another concubine is involved, but I have no information about her identity." Rosalind recalled that obscene thing that she overheard in the temples. Then she suddenly thought of Lucas's hard body.

What did this have to do with Federico and that concubine? Irritated, she pushed the thought out of her head. She is here for business! Not to think about someone else's anatomy.

"You should hurry, Your Grace," she added. "The continent is changing faster than you can even think."

"So, I was right," he sighed. "They are indeed hiding something like that. Are they going to make him the crown prince, then?"

"Yes, that is their plan." In her past life, Lawrence became the crown prince. At first, she thought that the man had become the crown prince and later on, the emperor, because of his skills, but it turned out, she was wrong.

It was because of Federico.

That man wanted someone stupid and easy to manipulate, and Lawrence was definitely the best candidate for his plans. Manipulating him by using Dorothy was even easier.

"Thank you for letting me know."

"It was an exchange, Your Grace," she smiled. She knew that the Duke would find a way to confirm the information that she had given him. From there, the Duke would surely take proper measures. "But you must be careful of the Lux Family, they are not your ally."

The Lux Family, especially Federico Lux, wanted power and authority. His closeness to Miss Ena Thun was also very suspicious. Because of this, Rosalind chose to warn the Duke.

"Thank you. I will keep that in mind."

Rosalind nodded.

"If If the Emperor of Aster would change, do you think it would be possible for you to" he hesitated for a few seconds. "To work with the Empire?"

"No," Rosalind answered without batting an eyelid. She will not work with any Empires in the south.

"I already expected your answer," he nodded in understanding. "Still, I want to thank you for helping us out."

"Your Grace, this is not me helping you out," Rosalind said. "It's an exchange." After treating the two, Rosalind would become a very rich woman. As long as she hid it well and learned how to properly use her wealth, she could survive on this continent even when people learned about her marriage with Lucas!

"Thank you. How about the treatment?"

"I will do it right after I treat the princess."

"You are going to do it now?" He seemed surprised. Did he expect her to do it after another week or two? Rosalind decided to do it now simply because she is going to be busy in the coming days. Her arrival in the North would mean a lot of unwanted things from other people.

And once they revealed her ability then things might become even more complicated. She did not want to miss any treatment because of other people.

"Yes."

"But the pain"

"No need to worry, I have made preparations. Besides, there have been a lot of problems in the empire lately, we need a new ruler."

The Duke gave her a tight-lipped smile. Then he called Mr. Pratt and Isabel so she could start absorbing the curse. This time, Mathies arrived as well to observe the situation. With Rosalind's newfound strength, she was able to absorb the darkness from Isabel in no time.

Soon, she started healing the Duke's legs.

"In another month, I will perform another treatment. For now" Rosalind poked the Duke's leg. "Try moving your toes. You should be able to do it now."

The Duke immediately tried moving his toes and succeeded. Seeing their surprise, Rosalind immediately excused herself so the Duke could talk to Mr. Pratt.

"Pardon me may I come with you?"

Rosalind looked at Princess Isabel. It seemed that the woman followed her out of the room.

"Is something the matter, Your Highness?"

Isabel smiled. "No nothing like that. I just want to thank you."

"Oh" the two of them found a place to sit and a maid immediately began serving them some tea.

"The curse the pain from that thing is something that I will never forget," Princess Isabel said. "But everything was my fault."

Rosalind nodded and waited for Isabel to elaborate, but it seemed that she was not planning to talk about that incident in the forest. If the Princess knew that Miss Lin and Rosalind were the same person, would she still have the kind of gentle smile that she was wearing now? Rosalind could only wonder.

"I hope the Princess will feel better soon," Rosalind said.

"I told my father that I will be traveling after everything," Princess Isabel said. "Surprisingly, he agreed."

Rosalind said nothing. She knew that the only reason why the Duke agreed was that he did not want to drag his own daughter into whatever it is that will happen after the Duke recovers.

"I know he had his reasons " Princess Isabel started, "Still, I cannot help but think that he is hiding something from me."

"All parents hide something from their children, Your Highness."

"You spoke as if you were an old woman when in fact, you only look my age," Princess Isabel said. "Father told me you are wearing a mask. Is it a skin mask?"

"That is not something that you can just say to someone who is deliberately trying to hide their appearance."

"I apologize. I did not mean to offend you."

"None was taken," Rosalind said. Honestly, the fact that Princess Isabel was so quick to apologize bothered her. It felt like she was talking to a different person. She quite liked the annoying Princess and she was not prepared for these changes. However, the Princess experienced something that changed her life forever.

Princess Isabel, just like most people who were infected with the curse, must have thought about ending their own life because of the pain. To them, death was the only escape. Surely, pain that would want you to die instead of continuing to endure for another moment could change even the toughest person in the world.

"Please call me Isabel," Princess Isabel encouraged.

"Pardon?"

"In the Empire, people both hate and fear me. They call me many names, but none of them dared to call me by my given name. I want you to be the first one to do it."

Rosalind was speechless.

...

I made some changes to this chapter about the treatment. Thanks.