"My Lady, are you alright? Are you feeling sick again?!"
Rosalie opened her eyes upon hearing the worried voice of her personal maid. Aurora was finally back and was now kneeling right in front of her bed, her cold, rough hand touching the soft skin of the girl's smooth forehead.
The maid's cold touch felt nice on Lady Ashter's forehead, unfortunately, that alone could not erase the unpleasant feeling that had been burning inside her head ever since her father told her that Raphael was coming back tonight.
"You knew that, right? That is why you went to the Fragrance Boutique in the morning."
Rosalie's cold voice and darkened face made Aurora drop he head on her chest and clasp both hands into a prayer position.
"Please forgive me, My Lady! I was ordered to go by the Head Maid, I had no choice, I am so sorry!"
The girl did not really feel angry with the maid, after all, disobeying the order of the Head Maid meant immediate dismissal, and Rosalie definitely did not want to lose the only maid she could trust. Thus, she only offered Aurora a fake, reprimanding gaze, and assumed a half-sitting position on her large bed, rubbing her throbbing forehead with both palms.
Aurora got up from her knees and sat right beside her mistress, her face still distorted with both pity and worry. She might be merely a lowly servant, but she knew that even her position was far more fortunate than that of the young Lady of the Ashter Household. And that was breaking her heart.
"So... What did you buy, then? I have checked the bathroom, there is still plenty of oils and powders."
"Jasmine oils, My Lady..."
"Ah."
Raphael loved the smell of Jasmine flowers on Rosalie's body, while Rosalie found that scent sickening and revolting, and that was the reason why every time her brother left the girl's bedroom, Aurora had to spend the next day cleaning and washing every single thing inside her lady's room, making sure that there was not even an inkling of Jasmine scent left there to make the girl shiver in disgust.
"My Lady, while I was out running errands, I bought some red Manoria tea, the maid I met at the Tea Shop had sworn its efficacy with fatigues and headaches. Would you like me to brew some for you right now?"
Rosalie curled her plump lips into a faint smile and nodded, but that brisk moment of contentment was quickly replaced by a rather dark shade of worry covering her entire face.
"Wait, Manoria tea? But how?! Did not the Head Maid allocate you a specific amount of money? And that tea is expensive!"
Aurora let out a light scoff and gently stroke her lady's cheek – while she was only a few years older than Rosalie, having taken care of her mistress for so many years, she could not help but feel somewhat overwhelming parental affection toward the girl, especially since there was no other person in the whole world who wanted to share their warmth with her.
"Well, I spent my entire salary on just two servings of that tea, but I figured you might feel better if you had it today..."
Rosalie felt heavy tears swelling up her eyes as she looked at the maid's smiling face and, not willing to let her lady feel embarrassed, Aurora swiftly jumped onto her feet and darted out of the bedroom, promising to return with a nice hot pot of the healing Manoria tea.
The girl pressed her warm palms on top of her trembling eyelids and sighed.
"I have to do what the original Rosalie could not. I will save both the villainess and her unbelievably kind-hearted maid."
***
There were several villains in "Acme Fever", each with their own background story and motivation, standing in the protagonists' way of finding their own happiness and salvation. However, the author really had their readers raging right at the beginning of the novel when Rosalie Ashter entered the scene. And Wang Meiling was no exception.
'The writer really did a number on this poor girl. Their cruelty is fascinating.'
According to the original plot, the Ashter family used to be happy once. Emilia Vilmore the only daughter of dying Viscount Vilmore, was married off to young Marquess Ian Ashter in order to secure her future along with the noble status. And although she did not love Ian at first, he was head over heels in love with her, and his undying devotion seemed to finally win the young woman's heart over.
Raphael was the product of their love – a healthy son, wanted by both of his parents. However, his birth took a toll on Emilia's health which she was not able to fully recover even after spending three years resting in the South.
Nevertheless, Emilia was able to get pregnant again, and nine months later gave birth to the most beautiful baby she had ever seen – a lovely daughter, whose cheeks and lips were as pink as the blooming flowers on the wild rose bush.
"Rosalie"
Said Emilia while planting a tiny kiss on her daughter's forehead.
"Your name will be Rosalie. And you will be the most precious flower in the whole Empire of Rische."
"Was she, though?"
Rosalie shook her head as if trying to get rid of the memories of the novel's plot with that motion, and opened her right palm, exposing a still-fresh, pinkish scar left by the sharp letter opener a little earlier than a week ago.
At first, it seemed like Rosalie was a desired baby as well – even the Marquess, who was only comfortable showing affection around his wife, could not resist Rosalie's adorable features, while Raphael, her older brother, would sometimes even refuse to go play with other kids so that he could stay with his mother and sister a little bit longer.
The family idyll was shuttered only three months after Rosalie was born. The Marchioness's body finally gave up and Emilia Ashter took her last breath, still holding her baby tightly in her arms.
And that was the beginning of Rosalie's tragic life – devastated and heartbroken, Ian could no longer feel the same about his daughter, the girl who took his wife's precious life; he grew colder and colder toward the girl with each passing year, focusing all his attention on his son, while Raphael, who used to adore his little sister, perhaps affected by his father's cold behavior and negligence, began to torment and bully Rosalie, treating her as a discarded doll which only he could own and posses, eventually growing weirdly attached to her in every disgusting way possible.
Rosalie was Raphael's property, and only he could love her. And only he could break her, too.