Taste of Poison

02

Chapter 2:

Her first move.

-

Roseanne originally wanted to visit the Duke as soon as she could.

She didn’t want to waste time.

But of course, life doesn’t always work the way she wants it to.

It did take her some time to remember her life as a Grand Duchess. Since everything about her would reflect her husband’s status, it was natural that there are rows of people that are making sure that she is properly well dressed. Knights would always be on standby, ready for her orders. Soon enough, she does understand that she was clothed in her night attire. Not only would that indicate that she was planning something intimate, but it would be improper if another man were to be present in her husband’s office.

Knowing the Grand Duke, it was not impossible.

“Can you let my hair loose, Marianne?” She had broken her silence with a request; her eyes focused on her beautiful cotton candy pink hair that seemed luscious and well-taken care of.

The look of astonishment was apparent in everyone’s eyes. All would check each other as if they were all hallucinating. Roseanne had always instructed her servants to tie her hair in a bun—all because her family thought her hair would attract much attention. It was distracting, they say.

Now, she does not live to please them anymore.

More than anything else, she had always missed how her hair flows ever so beautifully.

After escaping from this mansion, she had done her best to hide from everyone’s eyes. That is really quite impossible for someone who had such hair, so she was always forced to cut them shorter than a lady should. That being said, Roseanne wanted to see the beauty of her hair again.

It was the one thing she had missed in her appearance.

“I did not know what had happened over that small course of hours that you had slept, Your Grace,” Marianne started, carefully letting her hair loose in the volume she had wanted it. “But I am thrilled that it did occur. Your hair had always been gorgeous, and it was unfortunate that you always wanted to hide it.”

A small course of time? It was a long fourteen and horrifying years.

She felt a small prickling in her heart as she realized what she would be doing, and while she knew that he had always been kind to her, she worries if he would be livid. There was never a time in her past that she had done anything remotely like this, so she was unsure what would occur from the second she walked into that office.

“Do you think the Duke would be angry if I visit him?” She asked everyone, genuinely worried.

Roseanne was surprised when everyone offered a small smile, followed by the shaking of their head. It almost seemed like they were aware that he would be fine with this, but it almost seemed impossible as the Duke always wanted space from everyone else.

“I am sure that he would be surprised, nothing more,” Marianne replied.

She nodded, feeling her heart grow lighter at those words. Like always, she had missed how her lady in waiting did her absolute best regarding her needs. Marianne always had the skill to calm her down when she was panicking over trivial things.

“Of course, Your Grace,” Marianne replied with a smile.

It was close to hitting ten in the evening, and she knew how busy her husband would get, but this was something she needed to do. This midnight would be the assassination of her child, and she was known to always sleepwalk during her stressful days. Her sister made sure that her schedule was full by tonight.

“There you are, Your Grace.” says her lady, letting her look into the mirror.

Everyone was always in awe of their Duchess’s beauty, but they were more surprised at how she looked now that her full features were being exposed. Her cotton candy pink hair paired with those ocean blue eyes made her shine. Despite wearing nothing but simple clothes to shield her for the night, their Duchess seemed beautiful. If anyone were to see her, they would realize why she has been deemed a treasure that the Cheztimir Household wanted to protect.

Before she could even walk out of her door, Roseanne had looked at her servants. “Make sure that if anyone had knocked on my door, tell them that I am resting and I should not be disturbed. Let not a single know where I am headed this night.”

“Of course, Your Grace.” All had replied with a bow.

Everyone cheered in silence as she walked to the path of the office. In her own words, she had asked the Duke to have a room opposed to his pathway. It was something that her family wanted, one that she had blindly followed like a puppy.

Then again, it would be wrong to ask for him to change rooms.

“Duchess?” A voice so familiar had called her.

Roseanne flinched at the knight before her, as it was the very knight that had grabbed her in that dark alleyway. The one who had offered her back to Alistair. It was Roman Avel, the future knight who will march up to the position of a master knight. The man seemed younger, and with his uniform, it seemed like he was still a knight. He was extremely loyal to the family, so it would perfectly explain why he would serve them with such passion.

To this current lifetime, Roman had not inflected her harm or spoken ill to her.

And yet, Roseanne could not unsee the hatred in his eyes from the past. The feeling seems so real that she could not help herself but shake in her place. Marianne seemed confused, knowing that her lady was in constant conversation with Roman. Even the knight seemed bewildered, disturbed if he had troubled the Duchess in any form.

He wanted to move toward her, but she reacted severely.

“Please don’t touch me!” She screamed, having some trouble breathing with the memories streaming along with her mind. Roseanne knew that she needed to calm down, but remembering what she had gone through made it hard.

The door parted open from the second that her voice resonated clearly in the hallway. Severin—The Grand Duke—frowned upon spotting his wife outside his office. Roman, his trusted knight who seemed clearly worried about the Grand Duchess’s reaction, had looked over to the Duke. Roman had served him for a long time, so he knew that he would never do anything to his wife. Circling back to his wife, he could see the terror in her eyes.

From the second he heard that scream, he knew that it had belonged to her.

But what is she doing here?

“Roseanne.” He called, gathering her attention.

Severin was surprised when she faced him. It was nothing of the ordinary. He had always noticed that his wife had always been obedient when it comes to him. What had caught him off guard was her appearance. He was used to seeing her prim and proper, with her hair always tucked so tightly. What served him this night seemed different, one that had taken his breath away. Severin had seen her shine during their wedding, but he had never thought that his wife is even more beautiful in plain clothing. The long locks of her hair were loose, and her eyes were shining in the dark hallway.

As always, his wife looked like a small lamb.

Did something happen?

But she would have never come to him if something did.

“Is there anything that I can help you with?” He had finally asked.

To his surprise, his wife nodded. Her shaking eyes were looking at him carefully, gone were the shaking lamb who seemed terrified about his Knight. “Would it be possible if I stay with you?”

All were puzzled at her words; even Severin had blinked a couple of times to make sure that he heard her words right. His wife, the very person who had done everything physically possible to navigate her path away from him, was now standing before his office—asking if she could stay with him.

And on the very f*****g night that he was bombarded with work?

Is the world mocking him?

“Please?” She asked, moving close to him before clasping her hands to plead with him. Her face shined with innocence and purity. Obviously, she was too careless for her own sake. “I had a terrible nightmare, and I do not think that I could sleep again after that.”

Still confused, he answered without thinking through it. “I am working.”

It was not what he wanted to say at all, but it was late before he caught it.

“I can stay on your couch.” Roseanne bargained, even raising her hand as if that would help her case.

She was basically beaming with hopefulness, and he was worried about her reaction if he had declined. After years of marriage, this was the first time she had willingly walked to his office or asked to stay in a room with him. For the first time, it seemed like she was finally stepping out of the line that she had drawn between them.

Unable to say no, Severin widely opened the door for her to enter. All the knights and servers present were momentarily frazzled, confused about what had occurred before them. Every single person in the household knew that their interaction is basically non-existent.

Everyone in the household knew why the Duchess married their Duke. This is why no one is surprised that the married couple only met during meals, and never in those occurrences did the two look at each other. None could even remember if they had shared a talk or two.

“Have I done something wrong?” Roman questioned, messing his hair as he looked at Marianne. The woman seemed confused, but he only continued to voice his concerns. “Did you remember anything I would have done to displease Her Grace?”

Marianne offered a small frown. “I do not think so, Sir Roman.”

As the servers and knights all have mixed reactions, the atmosphere inside the office seemed different too. Roseanne looked around the room, knowing that it was the first time that she had seen his office. As just she had expected, it was larger than normal. That thought is not really surprising, as she never remembered her husband ever staying in his room. It would seem like he only knew nothing but work.

He seemed to have everything that suits his taste.

Well, all but one.

Her actions were haste as she blinked at the pink tassel that was carefully hung on the bookshelf. It took her some time, to question why something so out of place seemed to gather more space than most.

“Do you need anything?” The Duke asked, taking his seat.

Roseanne looked at him, clearly forgetting about the tassel, as she had offered a small smile to the man. While the reaction seemed normal for her, it was a surprise for him. She had never offered him a smile before. “I am fine here, thank you. Please continue your work. I would not impose as much as I already have.”

He did not mind entertaining her, but his work was related to the palace and something that he needed to do. At least, that is what he was telling himself. Fully aware that Roseanne does not particularly like the attention, he did his best to focus solely on his documents and not spare her a glance. It was surprising, knowing that for the first time, she needed him.

When did that ever happen?

Never, as he had remembered.

Severin kept his eyes on his workload, but his consciousness wanted to look at Roseanne. He could not remember how long it had passed before a sigh escaped his lips. For the first time, he was deafened by the silence. Looking at the location where his wife was, he was stunned. Roseanne was already lying down on the couch, her eyes closed, and she seemed to be already deep in her sleep.

Glancing at the clock, Severin was worried.

“She must have been really bothered if she had troubled to prepare herself just to sleep in my office.” He says, standing up to his seat as he pulled his coat off him. Ever so carefully, he had covered her with it. Roseanne groaned, pulling his coat closer to her to combat the cold that she was feeling.

Yet he felt warm, as his wife had sought his comfort when she was troubled by her dreams.

He smiled, locking her loose hair on the back of her ears. “You had always been trouble.”