The central plaza was a place with a constant flow of people year-round.
Therefore, it was also a place where soldiers frequently patrolled.
Knowing that, Rosa went to the square so that they could easily find her.
But, when she saw all the people walking by, she was worried whether it was a good idea to remove her cloak here.
“……It can’t be helped."
The more people there were, the more likely she was to be found.
She pulled back the hood of her robe, clearing her mind as if brainwashing herself.
At the same time, she felt the purple veil tickling the back of her head.
She slightly adjusted the veil so that it didn't lean too far back.
Then she stared ahead.
"Wait? Is that...….”
"The woman in purple?"
"Oh my, she’s really wearing a purple veil. I wonder what her face looks like...….”
Some passing people stopped and whispered as they looked at her.
Then, after hearing the whispering, others began to look at Rosa with interest.
It was embarrassing.
She hadn’t expected so many people to be gathered and there was no way to turn back now.
‘Has the "Woman in Purple" become this famous?’
She couldn’t let this situation continue as-is.
"Excuse me, may I...….”
Now a person was approaching her as if he was trying to speak with her.
This might be only the beginning.
This attention wasn’t part of her plan, and she decided to get out of there first.
It had only been a few seconds, but she came up with a plan as quickly as she could.
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
But one loud order put her plans on hold for the moment.
"Move out of the way! Hurry up!"
"Keep on your way!"
Men dressed as guards chased away the nearby people.
People began to leave one by one while also looking back, as though lamenting their missed chance.
The surroundings became quiet in an instant.
Then the guard came towards her and, in a very polite manner, asked,
"Are you the one known as the Woman in Purple?"
Before responding, Rosa quietly calmed her emotions. It was to calm down her nervousness as much as possible.
But she couldn't just stand there in silence, so she slowly opened her mouth.
She quietly answered them.
"If you’re referring to the title used in the Nota newspaper...… that is me."
"There is someone looking for you, so you must come with us."
She didn’t let on that she had been waiting by immediately agreeing to go. Instead, she deliberately looked around and nervously asked as if she was nervous.
“……Who is it?"
"His Majesty, Theodore Royal Helios, the Emperor of the Magnificent Empire, is looking for you."
***
From the moment she entered the palace, she tried to maintain her composure as much as possible.
It was a place she’d been in and out of so often that it was inevitable that she’d encounter a lot of familiar faces.
She tried to not bat an eye while pretending she didn’t know anyone.
But crises can come at any time.
Just like right now.
"I can't believe you're suddenly kicking out a guest."
It was from the corridor to the drawing room.
At the end of it, Rosa heard the voice of a familiar person walking in her direction.
"Who the hell is coming and forcing me to leave? Do you know who's coming?"
"No. I'm only a maid, so I have no idea."
The more Rosa listened, the surer she was of her guess. It was definitely Vivian's voice.
Rosa’s body tensed up slightly.
The voice grew closer and closer, and she finally came across Vivian.
"Hmm. If even Betty, who assists His Majesty so closely, doesn’t know, then they must be important...…. Oh my.”
Vivian looked at Rosa and stopped. Then she covered her mouth and watched her quietly.
‘Did she notice something?’
Even though Rosa knew that couldn't be, her hands kept sweating.
Thinking that it might seem strange to keep standing at a distance, Rosa greeted Vivian first.
"Nice to meet you."
"You're the Woman in Purple that’s become famous in the capital these days, right? It's nice to meet you, too."
We bent our knees slightly, holding the ends of our dresses.
Rosa wanted to get away from Vivian as soon as possible now that she’d finished greeting her.
"By any chance!"
If only Vivian hadn't called out to her in a hurry.
"Do you know me?"
"What?"
The sudden question caused Rosa to look back.
Vivian's bright red eyes popped up right in front of her, as if she had been waiting for Rosa to look back.
"Hmm...….”
In particular, a deep furrow appeared between Vivian's brows while staring at Rosa’s eyes.
It created a serious atmosphere to the point that it was difficult to avoid eye contact.
Rosa managed to ask a question.
"What...… makes you ask?"
"Oh, excuse me."
Finally, Vivian straightened her upper body slightly, although she was still staring at her.
That reprieve only lasted a moment.
Soon, she tilted her head and poured out random questions at Rosa.
"Do you have any brothers?"
"I'm an only child."
"Then, are you from a collateral branch of the Estella family?"
"No, I'm not."
Vivian's sharp doubts were not dispelled even by that firm answer.
Eventually, Rosa asked,
"Is there a problem?"
"I ask because you look like an acquaintance of mine."
"I see. It's a rare eye color, so maybe. But maybe they are so similar that they just look the same."
It was a pretty good excuse.
Rosa thought Vivian would admit that she saw it wrong.
However, that wasn’t at all the case.
Vivian shook her head as if that could never be.
"It’s the eye color of someone special…there’s no way one could ever confuse it with something like a common purple."
She was very offended by Rosa’s explanation.
***
Vivian turned to leave immediately.
Without giving Rosa time to speak or catch up.
If she was Rosenta Estella, she would follow Vivian.
But she was now Rosa.
She moved on, leaving Vivian behind, recalling the purpose of her visit.
"Please wait a moment."
The maid politely asked for her understanding and left the drawing room.
Being left alone did not bother her. Rather, she straightened her back and waited for Theodore.
"It's time for him to come in...….”
He’d probably show up soon.
She was calm on the outside, but inside she had all kinds of thoughts.
‘Theodore might say something about my eyes when he sees their color as well.’
‘I was sure the color was slightly different when I checked, so I thought they wouldn't recognize me at all...….’
"What does she mean they look similar?"
Rosa glanced sideways.
Her image was reflected in the small glass mirror hanging on the wall.
Amethyst sparkled beyond the veil. It was a brighter and more splendid color than her original eyes.
‘No matter how I look at it, the color is different.’
"But I'm glad she didn't seem to have realized that it was me...….”
knock, knock.
She heard a knock. She closed her mouth and straightened up.
The closed door slowly opened.
Gradually, a blonde that glistened like the sun appeared.
"Nice to meet you...….”
Theodore's voice stopped.
Rosa was supposed to be meeting the emperor for the first time, so she quickly stood up from her seat.
She bent her knees quickly toward Theodore and bowed her head.
"It is a great honor to meet the sun of the empire."
Usually, at this point, Theodore was supposed to tell her to raise her head or sit down.
Theodore, however, did not speak a word.
Only silence filled the drawing room.
She had no choice but to keep her head lowered because he wasn’t telling her to raise it.
That made Rosa wonder, ‘What the hell are you doing…….’
"Your Majesty?"
At that moment, Rosa’s head was lifted.
Theodore looked was holding her chin and looking at her.
His golden eyes were shaking wildly as if there had been an earthquake.
“……You look alike."
"Your Majesty?"
She called Theodore once again.
Then, Theodore's blank expression disappeared.
He still seemed confused, but he offered her an apology with a, now, composed expression.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, but you look like an acquaintance...….”
Rosa knew what 'acquaintance' Theodore was referring to.
‘Maybe you're talking about Rosenta.’
But it didn't seem necessary to respond.
Theodore strictly drew the line before she could say anything.
"Of course, it's just my mistake. Looking closely, they don't look alike at all. Even if they’re purple, they're not the same."
Theodore murmured something and nodded to himself.
Perhaps he had cleared up his confusion, so Theodore finally sat down.
Then he beckoned Rosa and said,
"Let's sit down now."
She sat down slowly, staring straight into Theodore's eyes.
The golden eyes were no longer shaky.
"Before I tell you why I called you, may I ask which family you come from?"
"That's...….”
This was none other than the emperor himself.
The polite thing to do was to identify herself while meeting with Theodore. But she couldn't simply answer.
After much thought, she twisted the truth slightly.
"Contrary to rumors, I am just a commoner who was born to a single mother and had a difficult upbringing."
"Then what is the source of those assets that you were pouring out to others?"
"I’m quite good at business. If I may tell your Majesty, the delivery business is one of my endeavors."
She answered quickly without any hesitation. Maybe that's why it sounded fairly plausible.
Fortunately, there was no further objection.
Theodore fell into thought for a moment and began to nod his head.
"Do you help others so much because of your memories of your difficult upbringing?"
He even came up with things she didn't say.
She didn't bother to point this out. She just relaxed her body and slumped her shoulders.
She was just thankful for the misunderstanding.
"I see...….”
In fact, seeing her actions, Theodore looked at her with pity.
"But I must take advantage of you, for the Helios empire, to be exact."
She had no intention of saying no.
But she felt like she had to give the feeling of agonizing or indecision.
It would be weird to immediately say yes.
"Can I say no?"
Her question wasn't even fully out yet, but she immediately heard the answer.
"I won't allow you to refuse."
***
She was listening to Theodore's one-sided story or, rather, orders.
Rosenta had watched him for a long time.
‘But this is my first time coming face to face with the ‘emperor’ Theodore.’
It was different.
He had no affection at all, and he used a coercive tone.
"I will send someone to you as soon as I am ready. When I do, take that carriage and join me."
Theodore didn't ask her.
It was just a semi-forced order. He was giving her notice as if it were a forgone conclusion.
Whenever he was with Vivian and Rosenta, he would ask for their opinions every time.
Perhaps that's why this opportunity allowed Rosa to see how special Theodore treated them.
"Do you understand, woman in pur-...…. Come to think of it, I couldn't ask for your name."
A breeze blew in from a nearby window that was open.
It was so sudden that she didn't even think about grabbing the fluttering veil.
Finally, the veil fell back into place.
"What is your name...….”
Theodore, who was asking a question, stopped talking and closed his mouth.
His eyes fixed on her face. She could see Theodore's golden eyes becoming cloudy.
He froze.
She felt the color drain from her face. But there was no time to panic.
She quickly straightened the veil.
Then, pretending to know nothing, she spit out the answer to his question.
"Rosa."
She couldn’t reveal the last name Veronica.
[t/n: Veronica is her mother’s last name.]
She added the last name that was as common here as ‘Kim’ was in Korea.
"My name is Rosa Smith. Please call me Rosa."
To relieve this rigid atmosphere, she responded brightly to Theodore.
Perhaps because of those efforts, Theodore's tense expression seemed to be gradually relaxing.
Theodore began to open his mouth little by little and asked one question.
"Surely they’re not your half-brother...….”
"I don't have one."
This pattern was similar to her encounter with Vivian.
At times like this, one had to be firm without showing any signs of panic.
"My father died when I was a child, so my mother raised me alone."
“……I see."
His suspicious gaze was withdrawn.
But Theodore still looked at her with confusion.
To be exact, he was staring intently to see her face beyond the veil.