Rosie's Games

Chapter 211: Tooth Necklace for Goodluck

"What?" Rosalind did not know what to say. "Well—"

"I am eighteen." Leonardo suddenly declared. "I am not a child."

Rosalind blinked. What is going on here? She wondered.

"Leonardo!"

Their conversation was interrupted when the Count suddenly ran outside. His face was red when he arrived next to his son.

"Your Grace, please quell your anger. He does not know what he is saying." Count Caldarera said while trying to catch his breath.

"Miss Rosie is not noble," Leonardo said. "And she is not—"

"Apologize!" The Count held his son's head and pushed it down. "Now!"

"But father—"

"Your Grace, I apologize. This will not happen again. Please punish me instead of my son. He knows nothing about the world. Please punish me instead."

Seeing this, Rosalind's lips twitched. While the Duke did not exactly announce that they were going to marry each other, it was already pretty obvious that they were together. After all, he was acting weirdly sweet around her. It seems that this man was not only a little cowardly; he was also very dense.

"I owe her my life," Leonardo insisted. His face immediately paled and once again tried to push the young man down. "As a custom… she already owns my life, father! She can do as she pleases!"

"Shut your trap, Leonardo! Do you really want your father to die!?"

"Enough," Duke Lucas said. "Leonardo Caldarera… get up and leave."

"Your Grace—"

"Miss Rosie is my betrothed," the Duke declared. "I wanted to introduce her in Wugari. We will have our official wedding when we arrive. Do not worry, I will make sure to send a carriage so you and your father can join the festivities."

"Your Grace, I apologize for my son's behavior."

"There is no need to worry about it, Count Caldarera. People who have been through some traumatizing event tend to cling to the one who… saved them. I will forgive him this one time."

The Count bowed just as the horse started moving forward.

"That was—"

"Unexpected?" he said.

"It was." Rosalind did not even notice the boy. She thought he was a teenager and had forgotten that she, too, was still seventeen years old. To be honest, she found it comical. After all, she was already a woman in her fifties when she died in her previous life.

"I expected it. He had been looking for you since that incident. However, you were too engrossed in tasting all the delicacies in this place. There was no way that you would have noticed."

Rosalind's lips thinned.

"You have been 'gifting' me all those meals. I had no choice but to eat them. Moreover, how could a boy like him want to marry someone like me?" josei

"For someone who has a very sharp tongue, you can be a bit dense sometimes."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"He is eighteen."

"I thought he was twelve." This was a fact. Leonardo actually looked younger than his age. He was pretty short, and he looked like a boy. Moreover, he was acting like one. When the assassins showed up, he was trembling, his eyes were closed, and he looked so pale.

It was only natural for her to think that he was young.

"The boy was born weak. Because of this, he could not do martial arts and his father focused on training him in management. Despite his looks, he is very good with numbers and such."

"You are praising someone."

"I am telling you that the people that belong to me are never useless," he reasoned.

This time, she said nothing. She stayed in his embrace as she thought of the beast tide. What could be the reason for this incident? She wondered inwardly. If it was indeed because of her return, then…

Should she do something to save all the people that will be affected by the tide?

Her gaze turned complicated.

After what felt like hours of traversing the snow, Rosalind finally spotted two people standing close to a nearby dead tree. They were wearing cloaks, so it was very hard for her to see their faces. Soon, their horse stopped and the two individuals bowed.

"Your Grace," a woman's voice came from the shorter individual. "Everything is ready." The woman gestured at the small shed not too far away from them.

"This place is not that far from the mansion," Rosalind said. Earlier, she did not see the shed.

She figured some runes must disguise it. An hour or two away from the mansion was not considered very far, considering that the horse was very slow because of the snow.

"We just built it," Lucas answered. "For the occasion." He jumped down from the horse and once again lifted her like a fragile doll. Then he carefully put her down.

"She is Magda and she will help you change your clothes," Lucas said.

"Change my clothes?"

"As I said, we will join the festivities and go to the capital of Lonyth. This time, we will be there as a married couple."

Rosalind had a lot of questions about this arrangement, but she chose not to ask anything right now. She followed the woman in a cloak and walked inside the shed.

"Excuse me, I will remove your clothes."

The woman named Magda revealed a beautiful face with a noticeable scar on her eyebrow to her cheek.

"I can do it myself."

"Good, then you will have to change into this." She handed her some clothing in brown thick material. "These are the clothes that normal people from Cirid wear."

Rosalind nodded.

"And you have to wear this." It was… a necklace with a large fang tooth pendant.

"What is that?"

"A bear's tooth. It means that you just got married and your husband killed a bear for you, to celebrate your marriage. It also means that… you two are trying for some strong offspring."

"Huh?"

"In the Northern Kingdoms, it is customary for a husband to kill a beast for the woman that they love. It is… to celebrate their union. A strong bear is not the usual choice, as not many people could kill them. So, you must wear it around your neck all the time. It signifies how proud you are of your husband's deeds." Magda said. "And it means you have a very strong husband. You know… in that area."

"What area?" she frowned.

In response, Magda shrugged. "Is there any other area?" Then she left Rosalind inside the shed with the clothes and the fang tooth necklace.