In the original novel, Diana was an assassin of the highest class.
Light on her feet, fast with her hands, and had very sharp wits. She was that kind of assassin.
This was the result of failing to overcome the soaring prices of her younger sister's medicine, and she eventually had to go down a darker path.
It didn't seem like she had killed anyone yet at this time, but…
'At this rate, she's going to start killing people in the near future.'
In any case, as an assassin, she later became entirely loyal to Leo and served him as his hands and feet. The reason for that was simple.
It's because Leo cured Ria of her illness.
Amongst House Carter's items on which they had conducted magical research, it just so happened that there was one such item that could cure the rare disease Ria was suffering from.
Leo offered it to Diana, and the medicine had an exceptional effect on the child.
Truthfully, it was a stroke of luck.
As it was still being studied, the potion was incomplete and could still have had side effects.
When Leo gave that medicine to Diana, it was only intended to be a 'clinical test' in the first place.
Diana, in the end, did not know the truth behind this.
Blind to the truth, for her, Leo was entirely just the 'savior of my little sister'.
And Diana was someone who would do anything for her benefactor.
"It's not a leap. You will be deeply, exceptionally loyal. Because you love and care about your sister very much."
As Rosetta was thinking about the original novel for a while, she smiled and replied like this.
On the other hand, Diana couldn't smile at all.
In fact, she also knew about her own sharp senses.
When she had to survive from the bottom of the pack, she had no choice but to have these senses.
And, with that sharp wit, she realized that Rosetta's words clearly had an underlying meaning.
That being said…
"Just now, what you're saying… Are you saying that you're taking my sister hostage?"
She asked the question, yet no answer returned right away as she stifled her breaths.
The silence was suffocating.
She was so nervous because the silence could be interpreted as both a yes and a no.
Diana's fingers curled onto the floor.
And her fingernails scratched through the rough, arid surface.
"Before I came here, I found out a few things about you…"
"Pardon?"
"I heard that you're working for one of those shady guilds? And that you borrowed money there for your sister's medication."
At Rosetta's hushed question, Diana blinked.
'You found out something like that in such a short amount of time?'
Perhaps it was only natural for her influence over information to be that powerful because she was a ducal princess.
Whenever she confirmed once more the monster-like aspects of the princess, Diana's heart just tightened up even more because of anxiety.
She was already going crazy from worry for Ria, who was still counting alone outside the door.
Soon, however, these emotions shattered and dispersed into the air.
"That medicine. It's fake, you know."
Despite how offhandedly she delivered this fact, Rosetta's words were absolutely shocking to Diana.
"…What… are you…"
If words had a tangible form to them, Diana would have collapsed from them by now.
It felt as if she'd been hit on the back of her head with a massive blunt weapon.
"From what I gathered, it has effects like a painkiller, and your sister said she felt like she's getting better, right? That's only because she can't feel the pain. Besides the temporary anesthetic effect, there is a side effect that would make your sister's body gradually deteriorate. Perhaps even, she could lose her life any time soon."
"Lies…"
"Isn't the bottom of her eyes becoming yellowish brown little by little? Her hands are shaking, and her tongue is becoming a strange color, too, I believe… It's been a while since she drank the medicine, yes?"
Every time Rosetta recited the symptoms one by one, Diana could see her little sister's face flashing though her head.
The deepening shadows of the yellow-brown hue under her eyes, her hands that trembled frequently. Even her pronunciation sometimes turned unintelligible.
'Now that I think about it, these symptoms didn't appear until she was drinking the medicine…'
As Diana thought about this, she jumped up from the ground.
Blood was oozing from both of her knees when she had hit the floor with a loud thud earlier.
However, she felt no pain at all.
She wouldn't feel any pain in her body. She was seething with blind rage.
"What do you plan to do?"
At Rosetta's question, which she asked with the same calm demeanor, Diana replied in a voice that slightly betrayed her restlessness.
"I'll have to pay them a visit. I have to know if it's true. If it is, then I'll kill them all."
At the frank remark that held not a trace of falsehood, Rosetta nodded back. Then, she asked again.
"How?"
"That…"
Hesitating at that point, Diana trailed off.
She also knew that she wouldn't be able to do it.
"You cherish your life though. Don't you have to protect your sister? If you go to a place like that alone, then you know fully well which side will perish."
She couldn't refute any of it. Because she knew that what Rosetta said was correct.
At that moment, what swept through her entire being was a sense of helplessness, resentment, fury.
That anger boiled within her and became lodged at her throat.
That hot, acrid sensation prickled at her throat and around her eyes.
"If you join my side, then I'll help you. Whether it's revenge or looking the other way. Whatever it is that you wish."
"..."
"And, I'll help you find the real medicine for that child."
Hearing Rosetta's offer, Diana shook her head in disbelief.
Even now, she still couldn't understand.
Why.
"Why… Why would Your Ladyship go that far for me? I am no one."
In response to her genuine confusion, Rosetta raised her eyebrows.
The people that she was trying to help thus far were only the kind of woeful people who wouldn't take goodwill as goodwill at its face value.
People who wouldn't easily trust others and who wouldn't easily trust this world that really could not be depended on—the kind of people who lived their lives only by surviving.
Well, it's not bad to be suspicious of others.
After all, wasn't it that Rosetta was trying to win over both Cassion and Diana for her own agenda?
Rosetta looked to the side slightly.
There in her periphery, she saw Cassion's fingertips.
Then, looking back towards the front again, in that tense silence, Rosetta slowly rose from her seat.
The two people's gazes met.
"I want you. I am someone who invests that much in the people I want."
As Rosetta said this, she began to walk forward.
Ta-dak. Ta-dak. Ta-dak.
The sound of her footsteps echoed in the small shanty.
The sound of stifled sobs. The sound of footsteps.
In the midst of that unbecoming harmony, Rosetta's aloof voice rang through.
"I will be the roof over your head. I will be the foundation to your shelter. The floor, the walls, the bed, the food. Whatever else it is, I will be that for you."
Strangely, this indifferent tone was more comforting.
There were times when a tone like this would echo more greatly inside one's heart.
"Either during the day and even during the night, I'll let you live amidst brightness. Both you and your sister."
Without a single exaggeration. Just, she would give what she had mentioned.
"At the world's behest, if you're supposed to roll over like a dog anyway, wouldn't you rather roll over under the care of someone who can be your shelter?"
She was not a warm person, but this at least, she could give. She was someone who would keep her word.
"For being my hostage, your sister will receive support and protection from me. As long as you do not betray me, that is."
Because it was a small house, no matter how slow she walked or how narrow her steps were, Diana and Rosetta soon faced each other in close proximity.
There, as close as they were when they had confronted each other in the alley.
"That is all I require of you—that you do not betray me."
With Diana's eyes brimming with tears, Rosetta patted her on the arm twice.
As if telling her, you've gone through so much, you've worked hard until now.
At the emotions she was feeling for the first time, her tears eventually fell down from Diana's eyes.
Rosetta walked past the sobbing woman and towards the door.
Ta-dak.
Rosetta's steps stopped as she faced the door.
"Ninety… Ninety-one… Ninety-two…"
With a small voice, the child could still be heard counting.
Perhaps five times had already passed.
Even so, the child did not come back into the house.
Just as the child's small voice could be heard from the inside, she would have also definitely heard what was being said from the outside.
Even if she couldn't hear the details of that conversation, even a child could tell that it was not a very pleasant situation.
"One hundred."
Finally, the last of the countdown came from beyond the door. However, it was uncertain which round this was.
At the same time, Rosetta pushed the door. As it loudly squeaked open, Rosetta saw the child squatting on one side, sobbing as well.
Ria glanced up as she felt the door open, then looked at Rosetta who appeared before her.
"One hundred… I… counted it all…"
Hearing the child speak through her tears, Rosetta smiled warmly.
"Mm-hmm. You're very good at counting, aren't you."
A gentle palm stroked Ria's head.
A gesture that said there's nothing to be afraid of.
Soon afterwards, Rosetta crouched down and held the little girl in her embrace.
The scrawny child was as light as cotton candy.
Rosetta patted the child on her emaciated back, then she turned to nod at Diana.
"I'm taking this little one as my hostage now. Because no matter how much I think it over, I really do want you. Now then, what will you do? Will you follow me?"
At the question that held not a hint of a jest, Diana dropped her head.
She had lost both her parents at such a young age, and ever since then, she had been protecting her younger sister all by herself.
Without her, she knew that Ria would not be safe. So, all this time, she had obsessively been protecting her.
But strangely enough…
Ria looked so safe in that woman's arms, despite how slender Rosetta was.
Even Diana herself wanted to hold onto that slender hand and beg for her protection.
If she were to be honest with herself, this life she was living was so tiresome— daunting.
She, too, wanted to have someone who would protect her.
She was tired of this old house, tired of being hungry, tired of being looked down on, tired of being so poor.
Diana slowly bent down.
And bowed her head.
Towards the woman who would be her shelter—the woman who would take her younger sister hostage.
"I will gladly go with you, Princess. Please accept me."