The Emperor Is My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 81

Eventually, Wells left for the port.

Meanwhile, Rose took private lessons towards becoming Tristan's Gloria.

There was nothing she could do about the lessons, so she tried her best to clear her mind as much as possible.

To be able to become the incarnation of a goddess without bad habits was a goal she lived up to.

Time passed when,? one day, as Rose meditated as usual, she abruptly lost focus to the sound of someone approaching her.

Anne, in an entirely new outfit, appeared to be going out.

"Are you going out?"

"Yes, I'll be back soon, Lady Rose. Do you need anything?"

"I'm good. I don't require anything. Have a safe trip, Anne."

"Yes, my lady, I'll be back soon."

Anne bid her goodbyes to her mistress and left the room.

Rose closed her eyes and tried to re-enter her meditative state, only to then open them again.

Once your mind is distracted, it is difficult to concentrate again. Haa...

Rose got up and walked out onto the terrace.

The weather was now perfectly in the midst of spring, and within the garden of Honeywell Manor, flowers had already bloomed into existence here and there.

Rose, with her arm hanging over the railing of the terrace, watched as Anne left the Manor.

Feeling her gaze, Anne, having taken a few steps, turned around and looked back.

As Rose and Anne's eyes met, they waved at each other.

Watching her personal maid's back as she walked toward the large, barred entrance of Honeywell Manor, Rose donned a light coat and left the room.

She headed directly for the garden.

A slight, fragrant floral scent welcomed Rose.

There were many flowers in the garden that had already bloomed, but there were also a few that were still in their buds. Rose admired all of them.

"It's not surprising, but I never thought I would be looking at flowers so peacefully."

Rose, who was strolling through the garden with colorful flowers gracing her eyes, cast her gaze into the distance.

Her focus was locked onto the high wall of the manor's perimeter.

I'm not particularly fond of going out, but...

Rather, Rose preferred to be at the manor.

However, regardless of her preferences, for safety reasons, she was almost always confined to the manor ever since the incident with Ilya, so now she was curious about the other side of the wall.

Being confined differs from personal preferences.

There must have been as many flowers in the capital as there are here, right? The bare branches would have grown thick with leaves.

And... I miss you.

Once she recalled the one her heart yearned for, the desire to go to them grew stronger.

Rose turned her head in the direction of the manor's iron gate.

Next to the iron gate was a low door through which people could come and go without having to use the massive main gate, but Rose could not use it even if she wanted to.

Mostly because there was a high probability of being discovered by the knights standing guard on the way from the garden to the iron gate.

"There is no way to sneak out..."

Rose pouted, feeling a sense of regret. Without another thought of disappointment, she left the garden and headed for the manor.

The reason I feel so restless may be because of the flowers. Yes, that's why.

"I should ask my brother to go flower viewing with me when he returns."

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As Rose was about to enter, she was distracted by another servant exiting out of the kitchen, dressed in street clothes.

When their eyes met by chance, Rose approached the servant.

"Barry, Anne already left earlier."

"Yes, my lady. I wrote down the things I needed her to buy on a note, but now that I think about it, I left out one item. Anne had left before I remembered. So I have to leave too."

"I see."

Barry bowed to Rose, her mistress, and after saying goodbye, Rose turned to head upstairs.

Walking away, she stopped abruptly before spinning on her heel.

"Wati! Excuse me!"

"Yes, my lady?"

"Can I come with you?"

Barry was startled.

"Oh no! Lady Rose, what would you do if something dangerous like before happened then!?"

"Are you taking the escort knight as well?"

"Yes, but even with a knight, if something happens, the master will go into a fit of rage. Lady Rose, I don't have the confidence to endure the master's wrath."

Barry was pretty adamant, but Rose didn't want to back down.

I don't know the exact reason why I want to go outside right now, but I feel like I can't hold myself back any longer.

There was something urging her on---something deep within her that needed to leave. Something, for some reason, wanted her to see the flowers outside the manor.

The feeling that she must go to the plaza today urged her to try harder.

Rose grabbed Barry's sleeve and shook it gently.

"I'm really going to stick right next to you. I'll get permission from the butler myself. Now, may I come with you?"

Barry couldn't hide her embarrassment at Rose's childishness.

She had been working at Honeywell Manor for about seven years. During that not-so-short period of time, she had never seen Rose use such a tactic to get her way.

No, it was the first time except for the hunger strike for her engagement to Duke Elliot Proud.

Before she knew it, Rose's red eyes were opened wide and glimmering as if she would shed tears at any moment.

Barry turned her head away, avoiding Rose's eyes.

"Well, then... Lady Rose, please ask the butler for permission before you come."

"Yes!!! Wait for me!"

Rose smiled brightly, nodded, and went straight to the butler.

Even without shouting out loud, the fact that Rose was looking for a butler quickly reached the butler's ears through the attendants.

"Lady Rose, do you require my assistance?"

He carried an undisturbed appearance that was always more put together than even Wells' usual attire.

Seeing that, Rose swallowed her saliva.

Will I be able to convince the butler?

Rose approached the butler with a nervous expression.

"Yes, I have something to ask the butler."

"Please speak, my lady."

"That is... I want to go out to the square..."

"I am deeply sorry, my lady, but it's not possible."

The disapproval came before Rose could even plead her case.

I expected it to some extent, but my heart hurts a little at the unhesitant, knife-like answer.

Rose felt her heart cry.

"I will be back soon. I'll even take the knights with me."

"It doesn't matter, my lady. Now that the master is not around, if something happens to Lady Rose, we will all get punished by. I'm glad if my soul makes it out safely after the master has finished with us. And your life may be in danger if you leave."

"But I'll leave in secret! Only the two of us will know---"

"Please forgive me Lady Rose."

The butler was adamant.

As a butler who cared deeply for Rose, she thought he would pretend he couldn't win but finally give in if I begged him earnestly, but he didn't.

"...Alright, I will bear with it until my brother returns."

Although she understood the butler's reaction in her head, Rose couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness.

The young lady bit her lip and tried to hold it in, but eventually the tears that were barely hanging from her eyes fell.

"...Lady Ro---Lady Rose?"

The butler rarely got flustered, but for once, he was unable to handle the situation expertly.

That would be the case, too, because the Rose the butler knew wasn't the kind of person who would shed tears when she wasn't allowed to go out.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I am alright. I just suddenly burst into tears. I apologize. Anyway, my brother will be back soon. Then, I will go out with my older brother instead."

Though she tried to sound like she accepted the outcome, her tears flowed endlessly as she nasally muttered.

In the end, Rose's legs gave out and she continued to weep.

It wasn't the loud bawl of a childish tantrum, but a muted, suppressed cry of soft hiccups and shaking shoulders.

The butler, unable to think of a suitable action to salvage the situation, eventually sat down on one knee with a long sigh.

"All right, Lady Rose."

"Hic, what?"

"I will call the knights to escort Lady Rose."

"Hic, really...? Will you let me go out?"

"Yes, my lady, but please make me a promise that you won't get hurt. If so, I will not report it to my master."

"Yes! I will walk carefully and keep an eye out for danger."

The butler let out a deep sigh as he smiled wide at the hopeful, red-hot eyes.

The butler, who wiped Rose's eyes with a handkerchief, said he would call in an escort knight.

"I will be at the front door. There is a kid who was supposed to go out there."

"Did you already have someone to accompany you?"

"The more people there are, the safer I will be, so I'll go with whoever you decide to instruct. Thank you, butler!"

Rose jumped up and headed for the front door with an unusually excited step.

Watching Rose walk away, the butler tilted his head.

"Really... It's the first time I've seen Lady Rose like that. Ahh... I need to quickly ask a skilled knight to guard her well."

The butler walked quickly towards the knight's quarters.

---

It wasn't long after Rose waited with Barry on the porch of the manor that a butler and two knights approached them.

"Lady Rose, I have prepared a carriage for you, so please come and ride in it. Sirs, please take good care of our mistress and make sure she is never in harm's way."

"Yes!"

The knights answered as they saluted.

Rose realized that they were not the knights that escorted her the day Stanley Gardner kidnapped her.

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While examining the faces of the knights, the butler left the front door and opened the carriage door to assist Rose.

She climbed into the carriage as Barry sat by the driver's seat and the knights rode on the horses.

The carriage started moving gently, and through the window, Rose watched the road leading to the iron gates of Honeywell Manor.

It's easy to get there by carriage, but it's a long and tiring distance to go on foot.

"I should have given Anne a carriage. When I return, I will ask her to ride in the carriage with me."

Rose muttered softly and glanced at the knight on horseback.

The knight who escorted her on the day of the abduction was, fortunately, not dismissed.

However, not being able to protect Rose angered Wells so immensely that the knight would never escort her again.

"If something happens to me again, it won't be their fault. It'll be mine for not being cautious enough."

Rose thought she would really stick with Barry or the Knights this time.

Lost in thought, it took her a while to notice a change in the atmosphere outside the window.

Peeking out and looking outside, she watched as her carriage entered the square.

The shops and buildings along the plaza were decorated with flowers, announcing the arrival of spring.

The flowers, still buds, looked like they would bloom any minute.

The carriage stopped a short distance from the center of the plaza, where many people came and went about their day.

The knight trailing behind them jumped off his horse and opened the carriage door. Rose took his hand and got down gracefully.

"Lady Rose, is there any place you would like to go to?"

As Rose stepped on the ground, Barry, who had been waiting for her, asked.

Rose could not easily answer that question.

...I don't know, but I don't think you'll understand if I tell you that I've felt the need to go outside for some reason, but had no particular destination in mind.

In fact, even after going out to the plaza, she still didn't understand.

It was just that some desire or instinct deep inside her urged Rose to go outside.

Barry stared at the young lady, and Rose smiled awkwardly.

"That is... Rather, let's go to the place you want to go to."

Rose's shoulders slumped a bit as she tried to quickly change the topic.

As her eyes looked around in guilt and looked for an excuse, she heard a familiar voice from a place not far from them.

"Young Lady Rose?"

It's Anne's voice.

Rose turned her head in the direction the voice came from as her face lit up.

"Anne!"

Anne was standing a short distance away with a bag full of things in her arms.

She stared blankly at Rose, unable to believe her eyes, then hurriedly approached her.

"You are the real Lady Rose, yes? It looked like it was the Honeywell family's carriage from afar, so when I came to see it, it was real. Lady Rose, the Master isn't home, so how were you able to leave?"

Anne, too, expressed the concern of the butler and everyone else around her. Rose explained what happened to her stressed-out maid.

"So you came out with the knights."

Rose pointed to the knights standing there as if to protect them. Although they had strong physiques and carried swords around their waists, Anne's worries did not disappear easily.

"I'm still worried, my lady. What if you're put in danger again?"

"Anne, leave your luggage in the carriage, and let's go to the plaza together. Barry, where did you say we had to go to buy supplies?"

Rose sensed that there would be no end in sight when she and Anne talked about what could go wrong.

So Rose chose to distract Anne and instead call out to Barry, who waited patiently for her command.

Barry told them where to buy her things, Anne thought as she reluctantly loaded her belongings into the carriage.

...it's going to be alright. There are two knights here to protect the young mistress. How could something like before happen again? The chances are slim to none, yes?