Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 32. Only know in the moment.

I dragged myself towards my room, but I had to check on Rosanne before going to bed. She had listened to my advice, and was fast asleep while holding Violett and Eve. Strangely, she didn't wake up even when I entered the room. I think she had spent the day playing with her daughter, so perhaps she was as tired as I was.

The next morning I woke up feeling fine, only to realize I had gone to bed still wearing my uniform. Thankfully I had a spare ready. I sent the invitations, and the day went by without any further incidents, though I took things a bit more calm. The last thing I wanted was to be unavailable when the birthday arrived.

Letters started to return from the invitees confirming their assistance. To my surprise, even the Queen had stated she was going to come, taking a break from her business out of the country. I had to polish our preparations to be fit for her majesty, though I was pretty sure she would have been fine with anything. If I'm being honest, I had become a bit too focused on making Rosanne's first birthday party in years memorable for her and for her friends.

The day finally arrived, all the preparations were ready, and even the sky had cleared a bit. Maxwell and Victor were the first to arrive, followed by the adventurer family. Finally, the royal yacht arrived at our dock. His Majesty was absent, only the Queen and the princess had come.

—Erzi, good mor —Rosanne tried to say, before her Majesty hugged her. She held the embrace far longer than I would expect, and even when she let go of her, she still held her shoulders.

—Augustus has been telling me everything. Are you alright?

—Y-yes, yes, I am fine, I have just been busy trying to find... you know.

The Queen held his hands.

—Don't worry, I'll be helping you from now on.

—But what about your job?

—The situation with the vassals states is still a bit tense, but this is much more important.

I was shocked when I heard those words. The northern territories had been going through famines for almost a decade now, mostly due to an extreme descence in the temperature. That region has always been cold, since it is located in the mountains, but this was something extreme. Some people even said that they had been cursed. The only reason why they had survived was because we have been sending help, but it was never enough, and tensions have been rising. Many had turned to crime in order to survive, raiding the travelers and the settlements that had managed to survive, but this only made the situation worse.

That's what took Arthur's life...

And now, people were afraid those bandits might descend on our nation. Some nobles even started demanding that the royal family stop sending help to them, calling everyone in the northern territories savages and barbaric. If whatever Rosanne had been working on was even more dire than that situation, I just couldn't imagine what it might be.

My head started to hurt, and I bit my thumb to stop that train of thoughts. There would be other days to worry about that, that one was to celebrate Rosanne's birthday. I ushered the royal family towards the garden, and the celebration officially started. The radio was playing music, the kids were playing, while the adults shared stories. I noticed Alyssa sat next to Victor, even having to push Maxwell to the side. Gabby was preparing ribs and chicken skewers on an improvised grill. I tried to keep the other attendants to act as such, but Rosanne insisted on all of us to sit down and enjoy with the rest of them.

—You are all my family! —she said, and the rest of the guests didn't seem to mind.

I was a bit too tired to argue, so I agreed. It was quite a lively celebration. Finally, around dusk, everyone started to get ready to leave. The botanist had to leave early, to the chagrin of Alyssa, followed by Neil, Anna, and their grandfather. The Queen and her sons were next, but I overheard something curious between her and Rosanne when she accompanied her majesty to our pier.

—There is a castle in the west that not many people know about. It is quite isolated and secure, so I'm planning to send Julius and Gaius there if... the situation requires it. You can take Violett and go with them, I would actually feel better if you and your bodyguard were with them, and of course, knowing that you two will be far from the danger.

—T-thanks for the offer. I... I'll think about it.

The royal family departed shortly after that, and only the doctor remained. Rosanne and Maxwell were drinking wine, Violett and Eve were sleeping next to them, while we started to clean up.

—Carmila —Rosanne spoke—, thank you so much for today. I really needed to get a breather.

—I am glad to have helped —I said —, now if you excuse me, I'll retire for the day.

—Yes, have a good night.

I nodded and tried to walk away, but my legs felt suddenly numb. The next thing I knew was that I was facing the grass, but I didn't even feel the impact. Someone rolled me over, the doctor was examining me, while Rosanne was calling for me. Or at least, I think that's what she was doing. I could barely hear them, their voices sounded so muffled and distant. I felt like I was falling and falling into darkness. After who knows how long, I hit something that felt like threads. I couldn't move my body, not even to look around when I started to feel that the threads were moving. Not that it would have helped, it was pitch black there. But I knew something was approaching me, something that wanted to harm me. I could feel it breathing right in front of me, but I just couldn't move. Then I heard someone call my name, loud as a thunder, and for an instant I saw... something, even bigger than the creature that was about to devour me.

I jolted awake, gasping for air.

—That's it, breathe slowly —the all so familiar voice of the doctor said.

I could only see his silhouette standing next to me. Someone else was holding my hand.

—W-what? —I tried to say, but I just babbled.

—Relax, we managed to stabilize you, for now you are out of danger, but we need to monitor your state very closely —he made a pause. I felt the person who was holding my hand, tightened their grip, —you were infected by a disease that we were... researching, known as Calliope's curse. This treatment should help your body fight it more efficiently, but currently... there is no cure.