since Ilya had been out, looked at the butler when he didn't leave.

“I—That is—Lady Rose.”

“Yes?”

The butler hesitated and opened his mouth.

“The person Lord Stanley Gardner is looking for is the Lady Rose, not Lady Titonsser.”

“…Me?”

Rose's expression hardened. 

She had an ominous feeling for an instant.

I don't know exactly what it was, but it must have been very unpleasant.

I don't want to go to him!

She wanted to express her refusal; her heart felt stuffed with smoke, but the guest had come to her. 

She couldn't throw away a man she met when Ilya had a crush on him, and Rose came to the conclusion that she would go down soon.

Rose went straight to the first floor, where Stanley was.

Stanley, who was standing in the middle of the first floor, held a bouquet full of red flowers in his hand.

…Why did you come to me?

Rose cautiously approached Stanley slowly.
In Rose's presence, Stanley gawked at her.

“Hello, Lady Rose.”

Though Stanley greeted her politely, Rose greeted him suspiciously.

“Welcome, Lord Stanley.
You have come to find me…?”

“Yes.
I have something to tell the Young Lady, so I came here without contacting you.”

“To me? What do you mean?”

“That is— I don't think that's what I should talk about here.”

[TL/N: He means he doesn't want to tell her out in the open while standing in the entrance of the Manor.]

Stanley, who had been looking around, glanced at Rose again.

“If you don't mind, can we go to the garden?”

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Rose didn't give permission easily, but soon, after much contemplation, she nodded.

“Is that so? If you like the garden…

“Thank you.”

“Let's go this way.”

Rose took the lead and guided Stanley, who walked a step behind her, to the garden.

It was winter, but the weather was warm that day, and the air was pleasant.

All the while leading the way to the garden, Rose began to guess what Stanley was going to say to her.

What do you have to say to me? Does it have anything to do with the visit when Ilya wasn't here?

Arriving in the middle of the garden, Rose turned to Stanley.

The distance between the two was about five steps.

“Will this do?”

At her question, Stanley nodded with a slightly stiff expression.

“Yes.
It should be here.”

“Lord Standley, what do you have to say to me?”

Stanley was speechless. 

Judging from the fact that he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly without speaking, he was probably organizing his words.

Rose waited without urging him.
After a while, Stanley took a short, deep breath and opened his mouth.

“Tomorrow, the hunting festival will be held.
After that, it will be too late.
So, I came here today.”

Stanley looked different from when he was with Ilya.

A sense of tension appeared in his hand gestures; his hands were fiddling with the wrapping paper of the bouquet in his arms.

Only then did Rose get a closer look at the flowers in the bouquet.

When I saw it in the mansion, I thought it was a red winter flower, but now I see it is a rose.
Even without magic preservation, each flower is intact.

The moment she recognized the red rose that looked exactly like her pupil, Rose felt a chill run down her spine.

…That bouquet might have been prepared for Ilya.
Don't panic, Rose. 

Rose thought that any other assumption was conceited.

But seeing Stanley slowly bend one knee, Rose couldn't hide her astonishment, as her thoughts were correct.

Stanley held a bouquet of roses in front of Rose.

“I have liked you for a very long time, Lady Rose.
I know very well that you're the fiancé of Duke Proud.
I just want you to know how much I love you.”

Stanley's hands and shoulders were trembling slightly. 

The blushing of his cheeks was probably not because of the winter weather.

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The man who confessed his heart looked very innocent, but to Rose, she only felt contempt.

Rose opened her mouth and ignored the roses. 

“I thought you and Ilya were doing well.”

Stanley tilted his head.

“It's true that I'm close with Lady Ilya, but that's all.
I only have Lady Rose in my heart.”

“But…
After the year-end banquet, did you two not often go out to the plaza together?”

“It was just a meeting between friends.
She is a very nice person as a friend.”

The image of Ilya making a handkerchief for Stanley to give him during tomorrow's hunting festival flashed before Rose's eyes.

Rose hesitated and stepped back.

“Ilya was also making a handkerchief for you tomorrow.
She has needle pricks on her fingers.”

As Rose widened the gap, Stanley stood himself up with a small smile.
Rose's shoulders trembled at the sight.

His expression was friendly, but Rose felt a twist in her stomach.

The expression on his face was a look toward his lover.

Stanley muttered with a smile on his face.

“This…
was the problem.”

“Yes…?”

“Somehow, Rose seems to be misunderstanding the relationship between Lady Ilya and me.”

“Yes, the two of you got along well after her debut.
It wasn't just me.
Everyone who knew the two of you would think so.”

“Hahah.
Again, I'm just friends with Lady Ilya.
Is there a law that says that a relationship between a man and a woman must be a lover?”

“But Ilya…!”

Stanley took a step closer.
The gap between them grew shorter in an instant.

Startled, she let out a short scream and tried to step back, only to be grabbed by Stanley's hand.

The strong scent of roses stung her nose.

A man's shadow covered her.
The floral fragrance strengthened.

The day of the debutante ball, when Elliot came to the mansion with a bouquet of flowers, Rose refused them. 

Thud.

The bouquet in Stanley's hand fell to the floor with a heavy sound.

Caught in his hands, Rose struggled to escape, but her delicate body couldn't shake off the man in front of her.

Elliott's face overlapped Stanley's.

Rose's complexion turned white as she recalled Elliott's rough kiss, which seemed like she was about to be eaten.

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