Rosie's Games

Chapter 245  An Apology

"You asked for pastries?" Magda asked for the second time in a row. After they talked about their plan for the tide, they asked Rosalind to leave the room, as they still needed to discuss other things. When she left, Magda was already waiting for her outside.

"Yes."

"Pastries?"

"Are you deaf?" Rosalind asked.

"Why?"

"That's what I need."

"You could have asked for gold."

"Right."

"I was serious. They saw your skill and were willing to pay you, but you actually asked for something like that? Why not gold?"

"I don't need gold."

"But— I am certain that the future Duchess of the Wugari Kingdom would not need gold."

Rosalind nodded at that. She could earn gold using other ways. The two of them then rode a carriage towards the tower so she could prepare for her dinner with the King and Queen.

"You are coming with me, right?"

"Yes," Magda said. "I was tasked with being around you all the time."

Rosalind nodded.

"Can you really do that?" Magda asked.

"Do what?" Was she going to ask about pastries again?

"Enhance a lot of people."

"Oh… yes."

"Sorcerers don't do that."

"You seemed really familiar with sorcerers," Rosalind noted.

"Sorcerers are more common in the North than in the South. It is considered normal for us to see one or two in a lifetime. Some people even live to see three of them."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Those people would suddenly appear on the walls and fight some beasts. Then they would disappear without saying a thing. All of their abilities are very… destructive. I have seen one who was able to destroy a large beast from the inside. Do you understand how messy that was? The —" Magda immediately narrated what she saw and the things that sorcerers were known to do while on the battlefield.

"Someone said that they saw a sorcerer take a beast's heart and eat it raw! They could see the blood coming from the heart. It was…" Magda shivered. "Gruesome."

"That reaction does not suit you at all," Rosalind said.

"What?"

"Shuddering in fear while talking about blood.."

"Oh." Magda shrugged. "Perhaps that was an overreaction."

"What is that?" Rosalind pointed at Magda's legs. "The beast hurt you?"

"A scratch."

"But—"

"We could dispel something like that, but it would be painful."

Rosalind pursed her lips. This is the reason why the beasts are very dangerous. One scratch could harm humans. "Does that mean that all people from the North can dispel a dark curse?"

"Not all. Just the one working directly under His Grace. However, we cannot dispel everything, only the dark curse from beasts and smaller weapons. It takes time, but we have a method to remove it from our body."

Rosalind nodded as she thought of Lucas for the first time that they met. He told her he could handle that much darkness and that she did not need to heal him.

"Do you want me to heal you?" Rosalind asked.

"Heal what?"

"That one?"

"Huh?" Magda blinked. "You— You can heal wounds too?"

Rosalind nodded and sat next to Magda. Then she put her hand on top of the wound. Again, she covered her hand with a dark mist to make it seem like she was using her darkness to heal the wound. Not long after, the wound closed.

"There's no scar," Magda said before she met Rosalind. "I have never heard of a sorcerer that could heal wounds."

Rosalind smiled. "I hope we can keep this a secret."

"Of course."

After a few minutes, they finally arrived in the tower where Fraunces was waiting with a few other people that were meant to help her prepare for the dinner.

"Do you have a minute?" Fraunces said.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Well—"

"Milith, please prepare snacks for us," Rosalind said. Actually, Rosalind wanted to do one thing right now, and that is to sleep. Talking to Fraunces was not really a priority. However, the woman had showed up without any invitation. She could easily tell her to leave and maybe announce her visit next time, but she chose not to. Honestly, she wanted to know what Fraunces wanted to tell her.

"I heard that you were unconscious when you arrived?" Fraunces started.

"May I know why Dame Fraunces came to see me?" Rosalind ignored her question.

"I came to apologize."

"If you are scheming—"

"I am betrothed to someone."

"Oh?"

"We are going to have the ceremony in spring."

"In just three months?" Rosalind asked. Her eyes landed on Fraunces's stomach.

"I am not with child."

"Alright." She was not exactly wrong to assume that, right? After all, Fraunces was a healthy young woman.

Fraunces shook her head in response. "It was wrong of me to assume that the Duke would not marry another woman. The past Duke never had a Duchess and I just— I thought he would never have one too."

"My father wanted me to marry someone and bear a child. It is my responsibility."

Rosalind said nothing.

"Did your father force you to come here to apologize?"

Fraunces shook her head in response. "It was wrong of me to assume that the Duke would not marry another woman. The past Duke never had a Duchess and I just— I thought he would never have one too."

"Your honesty is quite surprising."

Their conversation was interrupted when Milith arrived with a few snacks.

"The North is different — so different from the South. If you need anything to make you more comfortable, I may be able to help you out."

"You do know I do not trust you, right?"

"I expected that."

Rosalind quite liked this woman. She's very bold, and a little stupid and naive, but she felt open and exposed. Rosalind could easily read her like an open book.

Although, she was still not sure if Fraunces was sincere about her words.

"I did not see you as someone who would agree to marry another man," Rosalind uttered. She could not help but wonder if this had something to do with the Duke. Did Lucas threaten the poor woman?

"My father is — he is getting older," Fraunces avoided her eyes. "It is time for me to stop dreaming about something impossible and take matters about our territory seriously. I decided to start training younger people so it would be easier for them to become a soldier once they were ready."

"That is understandable," Rosalind said. "At least you are smart enough to focus your attention on something that you can achieve."

Fraunces only gave her an awkward smile in response. The two talked about the capital of Wugari and the things that have been happening in Wugari lately before Fraunces bid her goodbye.

"Magda, do you know if something is happening in Count Lytton's territory?" Rosalind asked when Fraunces left.