Chapter 12: An Unexpected confession.
Chapter 12: An Unexpected confession.
A dull ache spread throughout Osborne’s entire body the moment consciousness slowly returned to him, while the unfamiliar scent of medicine lingering within the air caused him to frown as he forced his heavy eyelids open, revealing a simple yet surprisingly spacious room illuminated only by the soft glow of a solitary oil lamp resting upon a nearby wooden table.
"...Ugh..."
A groan escaped his lips as he instinctively tried to sit upright, only for pain to flare across his body with such intensity that his face twisted into a grimace before he quickly abandoned the attempt and collapsed back onto the bed.
"...Where am I?" he muttered beneath his breath while slowly looking around the unfamiliar room, his thoughts still clouded by exhaustion.
The silence surrounding him allowed his memories to gradually resurface, and as one scene after another replayed inside his mind, his expression slowly darkened until his teeth clenched tightly together.
"...That little brat..."
The image of Rachael’s innocent face immediately appeared in his mind, followed by everything that had happened afterwards, causing him to release a long, frustrated sigh.
Then his eyes suddenly widened when he realised there was someone he needed to see right now.
"...Anny."
He immediately looked around the room despite knowing he could barely move.
"...Don’t tell me they..."
Before he could finish speaking, the wooden door suddenly opened.
The moment Anny stepped inside carrying a small wooden bowl, her exhausted face instantly brightened upon seeing his open eyes, before she hurried toward the bedside with obvious relief written across her expression.
"Young Master, you’re finally awake!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
Seeing her standing there unharmed caused Osborne to smile despite the pain still coursing through his body.
"...I’m glad..." he said quietly while forcing himself to relax. "...I’m glad you’re still in one piece."
The smile on Anny’s face immediately collapsed into one filled with guilt.
"I’m sorry... I’m so sorry..."
Osborne slowly shook his head before letting out another pained breath.
"I can’t remember much after I lost consciousness," he admitted while adjusting himself as comfortably as his injuries would allow. "Would you mind telling me what happened afterwards?"
Anny’s shoulders visibly trembled.
The events of that day had clearly left a deep impression upon her, and merely recalling them seemed enough to bring tears back to her eyes.
Seeing this, Osborne slowly reached forward despite the discomfort before gently resting his hand upon her head.
"There now," he said with a gentle smile while softly stroking her hair. "I’m still alive, aren’t I, so there’s no reason to keep blaming yourself anymore."
Anny lowered her head.
"...Young Master..."
After remaining silent for several moments, she finally gathered herself before quietly speaking.
"After... after you lost consciousness, it started raining, and even then they still refused to stop what they were doing, so I thought..." Her voice quivered. "...I thought it was never going to end."
She paused before taking a slow breath.
"But Lady Guinevere came back."
Osborne quietly listened.
’ She did?’ Osborne was a bit taken aback since he had already lost hope in her back then.
"She wasn’t alone this time," Anny continued. "She returned with another lady, and the moment that woman arrived, everything changed because she only said a few words before the knights immediately released you and carried you away for treatment."
Osborne blinked.
’ There’s someone that powerful within the estate? I thought Roseline was the highest ranking member of the Roosevelt family besides those two.’ his thinking wasn’t strange since, the truth was that Roseline had lost her parents to the demons at the border, after her father had died on the battlefield, her mother died at home shortly after due to grief.
’ How come there’s someone else?’ he wondered.
"...Who was she?" He asked.
Anny slowly shook her head.
"I don’t know," she admitted apologetically. "Everything happened so quickly that I couldn’t ask, but... I do remember one thing."
"What was it?"
"...She had silver hair."
The instant those words reached his ears, Osborne’s entire body stiffened.
His expression gradually darkened.
’Silver hair...’
’Could it have been...’
’Roseline...?’ he thought, but he immediately dismissed the idea right after.
’No.’
According to the original novel, Roseline spent nearly all of her time commanding troops upon the frontier, rarely returning to the Roosevelt Estate unless absolutely necessary, so the chances of it being her were incredibly slim.
’Then... who exactly was it?’
The question refused to leave his mind.
After remaining silent for a while, he looked back toward Anny.
"Do you think..." he asked slowly, "...it would be possible for me to meet this person you speak of."
Hearing his words, Anny looked worried.
"Young Master, you only just woke up, and you’re still badly injured."
"I know," Osborne replied with a reassuring smile, "but I’d still like to thank her personally."
Seeing the determination within his eyes, Anny eventually sighed in defeat.
"...Alright."
" To be honest..."
"They told me to inform them the moment you woke up anyway."
’ Did they now?’ now Osborne was even more interested to meet this so called benefactor.
Anny carefully stood up, before walking toward the door, although she unexpectedly stopped after reaching it.
Turning back at him as if pondering something.
Osborne smiled helplessly upon seeing this.
"I’ll be fine."
"I’m not planning on running away in my current condition, so I’ll just wait here until you return."
Only after hearing those words did Anny finally nod.
"...Please don’t move around." She pleaded.
"I’ll try." He replied, Then she quietly left the room.
*******
Several minutes passed.
Eventually, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the corridor before the door slowly opened once again.
Anny entered first.
Behind her stood Guinevere.
Standing beside Guinevere was an unfamiliar young woman whose silver hair flowed gracefully past her shoulders, while her refined appearance and calm blue eyes immediately distinguished her from the other members of House Roosevelt Osborne had already encountered.
The woman looked visibly relieved after seeing him awake.
"I’m glad to see you’ve regained consciousness, Young lord Bismarck." she said warmly before lowering her head ever so slightly. "Allow me to apologise on behalf of my younger sisters."
" I sincerely hope you won’t hold their actions against them." She added, her words seemingly genuine.
Osborne maintained a polite smile.
’If only that were possible...’ he thought inwardly.
Outwardly, however, he simply inclined his head.
"No," he replied calmly. "If anything, I should be thanking the person who saved me, because had you not arrived when you did, I honestly don’t know what might have happened."
The woman smiled gently.
"It was nothing, Brother-in-law."
"If anything, I’m the one who should apologise for allowing matters to escalate that far before I arrived."
Osborne blinked.
"...Brother-in-law?"
The woman looked surprised before letting out a quiet laugh.
"My apologies," she said with an embarrassed smile. "I completely forgot to introduce myself. Although I expected you to already tell from my appearance."
She placed one hand over her chest before bowing politely.
"You may call me Ruby Roosevelt, or simply Ruby if you prefer, because either is perfectly acceptable to me."
She straightened herself before continuing.
"I’m Roseline’s immediate younger sister, as well as the second daughter of House Roosevelt."
Osborne simply stared at her. A look of surprise on his face.
His bewilderment had nothing to do with her appearance or status.
Rather...
It was because he genuinely couldn’t remember such a character ever appearing within the original webnovel itself. Which left him at a loss for words.