Rosie's Games

"Marie! What is going on!?" Dorothy's face paled when she saw Rosalind kneeling. The people behind her were just as surprised. Dorothy immediately helped Rosalind up.

"Miss Dorothy— she— she just started kneeling and I— "

"Sister, what are you doing? We should kneel. She is the one who just received the Blessing." Rosalind smiled at Dorothy. Obviously, the mention of the Blessing was Dorothy's sore spot.

"What?"

"I— Miss Dorothy it's not like that. She just said that I— "

"Sister, she asked me if I know her and it seemed that the way I spoke offended her. When I said no, her face turned red, and I realized she must be someone important. Not knowing who she is probably a sin. And that's when I realized she must be the one who received the Blessing. Rosalind said. "So, I paid my respects."

Rosalind made her voice as loud as possible, making sure that the people behind her sister could hear her.

"Rose, that is not true," Dorothy said calmly. Although she was smiling, her eyes weren't able to hide the discomfort that she felt from Rosalind's words.

"She isn't someone special. She also didn't receive the Blessing, so stop kneeling. Do you understand? You do not have to kneel when you see them again," Dorothy continued.

"Oh?" Rosalind blinked as if she just realized something. "I apologize for making the mistake, older sister. It's just that… " Rosalind lowered her head. "I was so excited to meet the Blessed one and since she spoke as if she was someone I should know, I assumed that— "

"Shut your trap!" Marie hissed, her voice intentionally low. "I didn't say that! I just asked you a question! Why must you blame me for jumping to conclusions?"

"I apologize…." Rosalind said. "I didn't mean to think that you were someone important."

Someone from behind Dorothy cough. On the outside, Rosalind sounded so innocent, but the meaning behind her words was pretty obvious. At first, she thought Marie was important, so she knelled.

Now Marie was scolding her for jumping to conclusions. It was as if Marie was saying that it was Rosalind's fault for kneeling into someone who isn't actually important.

Realizing the meaning behind her words, Marie's face turned ugly. She wanted to say more but the girl behind her slowly tugged her dress.

There was simply no winning this fight.

She glared at Rosalind before turning towards Dorothy.

"I apologize, Young Lady. I didn't mean to cause chaos."

Right now, Dorothy's position was extremely awkward. She had trained to become the next successor, but she didn't receive the Blessing. Now, there were rumors that she is about to be married to a barbarian Duke.

Although everyone was talking about her behind her back, no one would dare cross the eldest daughter of Martin Lux — the Blessed patriarch.

"It's alright." Dorothy sighed. "Ladies and gentlemen, let us go to the garden. Come here Rosalind—" Dorothy uttered.

In response, Rosalind nodded and followed her sister. Despite the fact that she could feel everyone's gaze on her back, she chose to ignore them as she lowered her head and obediently followed behind Dorothy.

Marie, the woman the woman from earlier, also followed them with the other two girls.

Now that Rosalind thought about it, it looks like they were actually going to some tea party instead of a private tea with Dorothy and Jeames.

Dorothy's maid didn't inform them about this, it was clearly a scheme to catch her up.

If Rosalind complained about this, Dorothy would easily say that she informed her maid about it. She would then blame the maid for failing to tell the truth. How could a caring sister like Dorothy fail to inform her younger sister about something like this?

Obviously, no one would take Rosalind's side, and everyone would assume she was only lying to gain attention.

After a while, they finally arrived at a clearing with a large oval-shaped table adored with flowers and various types of pastries.

"As you all know," Dorothy smiled. "Father just received some gifts from the north and he gave me permission to share them with everyone. Take your seats… and enjoy." Dorothy sat at the head of the table.

She insisted to make Rosalind sit next to her. Complying, Rosalindsaid nothing else.

"Rosalind, I am sure that you still remember him," Dorothy said as she looked at the person sitting next to Rosalind. "Jeames… Jeames Sencler."

Dorothy smiled.

Seeing this, Rosalind couldn't help but curse herself inwardly. In the past, Dorothy was always nice and sweet toward Jeames and Rosalind thought nothing of this. But seeing the way Dorothy looked at Jeames now made her realize something.

Dorothy liked Jeames.

She turned towards Jeames who gave her a curt nod before smiling at Dorothy.

It seems that the feeling is rather mutual.

"Yes," Rosalind smiled. "I remember the good old Jeames."

"Stop calling him old," Dorothy said.

"It's alright, little Rose liked to call me old just because I am two years older than her. I remember she used to call me the same nickname when we were still little."

"But that was five years ago," Dorothy said. "Rosalind… you may call him by his name."

"Ah? But— " Rosalind lowered her head. "I apologize for calling you old, Jeames," she muttered in a tiny voice.

"Hah… it's not a problem. "

"Alright, we should start with introductions. I am sure allof us already know Rosalind, my dear younger sister. Five years ago, the family send her up north to make her feel better. Five years later, she is finally healthy and ready to come back to the capital."

Dorothy continued, "This time, many of you were asked to visit the capital along with my sister, and I assumed it would be nice to have a small get-together to familiarize ourselves with each other. Of course, we are going to do this with the tea that the Duke of the North gave my father."

"The Duke of the North?" Rosalind looked up, her face blushing at the mention of the Duke. This was the second time that Dorothy mentioned the North reference. She knew that the tea of the north was not actually liked in the capital because of its bitter taste.

As someone who learned etiquette, Dorothy should have known that talking about something that many people dislike isn't exactly proper, but she did it anyway.

Clearly, she had her own motives.

Sadly for her, Rosalind had her own motives too.

"Yes, sister. The Duke of the North just gifted father a few things," Dorothy said. "Is something the matter?"

....

I forgot to inform everyone that I am joining a contest and I really hope you will vote for this novel. Thank you very much!

Happy Reading!