It came as a sudden shock to Roseanne when she found out that Jimin would leave for the palace. She had settled down her mind and decided to go on a picnic with Jimin, but now she felt as if everything was falling apart.
"Jimin, are you really going to leave for the palace?"
Jimin replied immediately, despite the quiver in Roseanne's voice.
"Yes."
Her clear, green eyes trembled even more at his answer.
"Why? Why would you go to the palace so suddenly?"
"It pays well..."
"Then I'll pay you better than the Imperial Palace does."
"..."
Jimin stared at Roseanne's determined face before a thin sigh escaped from his mouth. He had failed to capture the rat hiding in Blaise mansion, and now that Lalisa was married, the rat would naturally follow her to the palace. Jimin had to do the same. He had to complete his original mission, but now an unexpected obstacle lay before him.
'What do I do here?'
Jimin felt the stare of some maids as they walked past. Though the maids were some distance away, his sensitive ears managed to pick up on their conversation.
"Look, the Young Lady is with that servant again."
"I know. I think it's true that she's in love with him."
Roseanne's intense affection had put Jimin in the center of attention in Blaise mansion. He couldn't help but sigh again.
"...Haaa."
Roseanne looked at him questioningly.
"Jimin? Oh!"
Roseanne was about to open her mouth to speak when Jimin grabbed her shoulders and quickly pushed her where no one else could see them. She was quickly driven into a dark storehouse, with a hard wall at her back and Jimin's face right in front of her. It was an awkward position. Roseanne's eyes widened even further in embarrassment.
"Th-this—"
"Shhh. Or other people will see."
Jimin's low voice caused her cheeks to color, but she managed to steady herself.
"What does it matter if others see us?"
"They'll gossip about a close relationship between master and servant."
"The servants in my family don't do that—"
"Everyone's the same. Take my advice so you don't get involved in a scandal."
Roseanne's face scrunched up as she reflected on his words, but Jimin only stared down at her with a smooth expression.
"....I'll be more careful in the future."
"Please keep it in mind. In any case, I'll be leaving for the palace."
"Why? Did I do something wrong?"
Roseanne pouted at him like an abandoned puppy. Jimin furrowed his brow at the sight and swallowed the words he couldn't say.
'You're the problem.'
The lady of the house could do no wrong to a servant, and she couldn't be criticized for any mistakes she made. Such was noble society, and such was the gulf between their positions.
"This relationship with you is somewhat uncomfortable, Young Lady."
In truth, Jimin needed to return to the Imperial Palace to complete his mission for Jungkook. Roseanne's behavior towards him had nothing to do with him leaving, but it was a convenient excuse, even if it hurt her. After all, the relationship between the two was only a fantasy from the beginning.
Roseanne's face paled.
"My actions made you uncomfortable?"
"Yes. I don't want people to stare and gossip about me, and I don't feel comfortable with someone who knows my past. I'd like to make a fresh start in the palace, where no one knows me at all."
That was the perfect, plausible reason. Jimin thought it would be enough, but Roseanne turned out to be surprisingly stubborn.
"...I don't like it."
"...?"
"Even if you're uncomfortable...stay."
Jimin looked surprised as if someone knocked him over the head.
"I'll be more careful now that I know what the issue is. You still have some time left on your employment contract, and...and I'll give you a raise, as I said. Oh! I can also make other tasks easier if you want."
Roseanne started to ramble, but it was a hopeless distraction from Jimin's point of view.
"...Young Lady."
Roseanne's face stiffened as she knew what his soft tone meant.
"You won't be able to go anywhere unless I allow you. You are contracted with Blaise mansion for a year."
Jimin was speechless. She wasn't wrong, however. He had signed exactly that on his contract.
"...So I will not send you. Don't go."
Roseanne clutched at Jimin's collar in a childish gesture, a stark contrast to the sternness of her words just before. She gave orders like a noble and completely disregarded his thoughts, but she was gripped with desperation. Jimin looked alternately between her thin hands and trembling green eyes.
He didn't know what to do with this little bird-like girl.
*
*
*
Woobin was busy packing his things as he was selected to go to the Imperial Palace. Instead of volunteering and arousing suspicion, he had planned to arrange an "accident" for a servant so he could take their place. Fortunately, a vacancy opened up without him needing to do anything, and Woobin was able to save himself the effort.
"Hmm, hmm~"
Woobin was humming a happy little tune to himself when the door opened and Jimin entered into their shared room. The dark-haired man looked rather gloomy today, but Woobin greeted him with his usual bright look.
"Hey~ Are you there?"
"..."
Jimin sat down on his bed without a reply. He often ignored Woobin's attempt to talk to him, and so Woobin was used to it.
'I strangely like that he's cautious with his words.'
Woobin could charm anyone, and was easily able to infiltrate as a jewelry store clerk. It quite suited his aptitude. Artificial smile, artificial actions, artificial conversations. He displayed considerable skill in it, but he was strangely attracted to this man of few words. It almost felt as if he had been searching for someone of his own kind. Woobin smiled at the thought.
'If he infiltrated into Blaise's mansion like me...it's too obvious.'
In many ways, Jimin who received Roseanne's love in abundance was not someone worth suspecting. Excellent assassins would conceal themselves, so acting while laying everything bare like this was impossible.
Woobin continued to speak Jimin even though the other man didn't bother looking his way.
"I'll be leaving for the palace tomorrow. It's a little sad since we've gotten along so brilliantly, right? "
Jimin's expressionless gray eyes blinked at the word "palace."
"You're the one going to the palace instead of me?"
"Was it your position that I replaced? The butler said there was a vacancy in the palace and he asked me if I had any thoughts. I agreed because of the higher salary."
Woobin once again deemed that Jiminwas not dangerous to him. If it was for his personal purposes, there was no way he would've missed an opportunity to infiltrate the palace.
'It's a useless thought. Him as the same kind is ridiculous...'
There was a murderous glint flashed in Woobin's eyes, but Jimin did not notice. Woobin smiled back and continued in a cheery voice.
"Take care of yourself when we part and—"
Jimin ignored his farewell commiseration. In truth, Jimin didn't suspect Woobin as a dangerous person either. He believed that if he had left for the palace as planned, Woobin would not have taken his place and would have remained at Blaise mansion. The rat that Jimin was looking for wouldn't rely on chance, and instead would have used an accident to disguise his entry.
...But Roseanne's sudden interruption had put a spanner in the works.
'Do I have to ask for help from the General?'
If he couldn't leave Blaise mansion on his own volition, the last resort was to seek assistance from Jungkook. He couldn't remain stuck here forever. Jimin may be able to make a direct request to Lalisa, but he couldn't tell her that he was tracking an intruder and had made a false promise to protect Roseanne. The reason for Roseanne's obsession mystified him, but it was clear that she wouldn't let go.
Jimin pressed his fingers against his throbbing head.
'...My heart was weakened.'
He should be going to palace, even if it meant speaking more hurtful words to Roseanne. But he couldn't bring himself to. He scolded himself internally for failing to make a sober judgment because of a momentary feeling.
Wobin's words interrupted him from his thoughts.
"Oh, and I left my shampoo in the bathroom. You can use it if you need it—"
Jimin fell back on his bed with a thump. Woobin kept talking as he watched the other man prepare to sleep.
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Jimin silently turned his head away and buried himself under a blanket. Ever since he came here, it had only been trouble.
*
*
*
The work in the Imperial Palace was making steady progress as Lalisa planned. Taehee exceeded her expectations as head lady-in-waiting, and had organized the servants in a heartbeat.
Lalisa kept secret watch on Sana, whom she suspected was in the employ of the Empress. The flower's aroma was potentially harmful, and so she had the plant placed in a drafty area and took extra care not to be expose herself to it.
'Do I wait?'
If Asabe was revealed to be Empress's spy, or if the plant was identified, Lalisa could make her move as soon as possible. Anything could be used to attack the empress.
As Lalisa briefly considered her plans, she suddenly looked up at Jungkook eating his meal across from her. He was was overwhelmingly handsome. He had an air of intimidation about him, but when his deep blue eyes turned at her, she couldn't help but swallow hard. His straight nose, sharp jawline, and muscled neck all looked as if they were laboriously sculpted by a craftsman. Even when she first met him, she knew he was incomparable to anyone else.
'Is that why—?'
Her heart was beating at the sight of a handsome man. Jungkook had affected her from the start, and she tentatively concluded that he was familiar around women. He had been quite good to her, but...
'I can't have been the only one.'
Although she had never seen Jungkook with another woman, he had quickly gotten along with Roseanne. And if Jungkook treated another woman like he did Lalisa, it would be inevitable that she would fall for him. He had even managed to turn the head of someone whose eyes were fixed only on revenge.
'At a time when I should be thinking about my family...instead I'm feeling excited about my contract husband...'
On the one hand, she couldn't help but feel a sense of shame. She didn't think she had any room left in her mind for frivolity, but Jungkook had stolen her attention...
Lalisa was in turmoil over these confusing and new feelings.
"If you stare with such a passionate look, even I might get nervous."
"...!"
Lalisa's red eyes widened. She had been staring at Jungkook's face without even realizing it.
"I—"
Lalisa tried to formulate an excuse, but Jungkook simply smiled and looked at her as if she was the only beautiful thing in the scenery.
"That doesn't mean you should stop looking."
Jungkook interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on them.
"I don't care how you look at me because I'm yours, but I'd like you to eat as well."
They she looked at him wasn't near the same intensity as Jungkook's gaze now. As she stared into his penetrating blue eyes, Lalisa felt her heart beat faster again.
To have this feeling...
It was enormous.