People say my name means a beautiful rose. They always adored this beautiful princess who was so sweet and gentle with lips as red as rubies. The warm, sliced eyes the color of ripe grass shaded by lush lashes stunned people, and the golden hair that flowed waist-length made them want to caress it. That's what they say about me. I may not be the most beautiful woman in this small town, but everyone says I am one of the beauties of Ravela. But they regret that I was born into the Favre family, even though they respect me and my family very much. They also said I was worthy of the Edgar Marveille they admired so much, but somehow they also looked envious and resentful when that young nobleman approached me.
And now, they all pity me as news of our family's sacrifice circulates around our family estate.
Yes, that innocent and weak girl who was never wanted would now be completely discarded.
The sound of a knock on the door shattered all the thoughts going through my head. Thérèse's smiling face in the doorway brought me some relief. "May I come in?"
I was so grateful that she could still pass on that smile to me. And when she did, I nodded.Thérèse walked over to me who was sitting at the dressing table. Without saying a word, she picked up a comb that was lying on the dressing table, then walked right behind me. She stroked my long golden hair with her gentle hands. "Can I comb your hair?"
"Of course. You haven't brushed my hair for a long time."
Thérèse began to run her hands through it. She landed her comb on the crown of my head, then slid it very gently down to the bottom of my hair. She repeated it once more, and continued like that.
"You're so beautiful, Rossie," she murmured softly. She moved her hand again, combing my hair from top to bottom. However, this time, when the comb had reached the tip of the hair, she stopped. Her downcast face reflected perfectly in the mirror. Not only her beautiful face, but the smooth movement of her shoulders was perfectly reflected. Thérèse was sobbing. I wasn't too sure, she hid it perfectly behind my body. Even so, I could feel the drops of Thérèse's tears falling on my hair, though I didn't really feel them. Even in the mirror, I could see her nose turning red as she slowly lifted her face.
"You shouldn't have left, Rossie. I know you'll get married someday and leave this house. But this is not the way."
My vision blurred a little as tears gradually began to well up in my eyes. I knew it was painful, but I had no choice.
It had been several minutes since Thérèse stopped brushing my hair and hugged me from behind. Her sobs became more and more audible in my eardrums, whispering a million rejections of Father's decision and mine.
"Sister...."
"You shouldn't be doing this," Thérèse whispered in my right ear.
"I'm sorry. I have to do it. For Father's sake—and our family's, and Ravela's."
"I can ask my husband to send one of the maids in our house for that beast, or I can ask an orphan girl in the guild to take your place," Thérèse said, her hands began to run over my shoulders.
"Please don't. If you do, I'll hate you for the rest of my life."
"But what if something happens to you?"
I let out a deep breath, then I touched Thérèse's hand that was clasped around my shoulder. "I don't mind if something bad happens to me. After all, my position in this house isn't that important. I'm just a burden to Father and this family."
She lifted Thérèse's left hand that was holding me up, and it landed quite hard on my cheek. I could feel her hand was cold and trembling. "You fool! To me and Raymond, you are our precious little sister. Besides, Alienor also really needs you."
Ah, I almost forgot about Alienor. How will she be after I leave here?
"Then what about Edgar Marveille? You guys are getting married soon, aren't you?"
I honestly didn't think much of Edgar Marveille, after all, he could easily find a replacement much better than me. Even so, I'm sure he'll feel sad. I didn't want her to feel sad either.
"And how...."
"That's enough, sis. Don't make it harder for me to accept this decision."