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Rosetti Teresia was Alice, the Lord of Bota City,’s childhood friend and personal maid. She was also the only mage in the entire barony.

As one of the city’s only two fighters, her presence was essential to the safety of the whole city.

Certain things had earned her a poor reputation among the people, but her strength was unquestioned, and Alice had made her orders crystal clear. Compared with the past… things were already much better now…

More importantly, the children were now there to support her emotionally. No matter what anyone else said about her, as long as the children were there—and as long as Alice was there—she could keep going…

Alice was also gradually reclaiming control over the territory. Once the time was right and they got rid of parasites like Carnegie, everything would start moving in a better direction.

Rosetti believed this with all her heart.

Until that man appeared and burned all those hopes to ashes…

“I’m going to get rid of that bastard, no matter what!”

After Lin Ge slipped away, Rosetti was, naturally, fuming inside the orphanage.

She was an expert at using ice, and her constitution was ice-cold. Yet now she was more like a furnace, radiating heat.

That showed just how furious Rosetti was—and how much she resented Lin Ge.

If it weren’t for the dowry he’d brought, which could at least keep Bota City developing steadily for a while, she wouldn’t care about the emperor’s decree or the fact that he was a count’s son sent here as a bride.

Even if it meant Alice hated her, she would’ve gotten rid of Lin Ge long ago for Alice’s safety and the territory’s stable, sustainable development. Why else would she let him take advantage of her at every turn like this?

She was so angry she could barely breathe.

……

“Big sis, dinner’s ready.”

“Got it. I’m coming.”

Hearing Meimei call for her, Rosetti had no choice but to suppress her anger and keep it hidden. She couldn’t let the children worry.

Besides, since she had no idea why the children were so attached to Lin Ge, she especially couldn’t bring up anything related to him in front of them.

“Is there anything else you need me to do?”

When she got to the kitchen, she saw that all the stir-fried dishes had already been served and neatly set out. Rosetti felt relieved, but couldn’t help feeling a little guilty, too.

As the children’s big sister and the head of the orphanage, she’d left all the work to them. She really wasn’t much of a head of the household.

“No need. I’ve got this, Big Sis. You just wait.”

Meimei waved her off, hands on her hips, acting like a little grown-up as she politely refused Rosetti.

“Come on, let me do it. I’ve left all the work to you, so at least let me carry the food.”

Rosetti rolled up her sleeves with the kind of smile she only ever showed the children, and reached to carry the dishes.

“No, no! You should sit down, Big Sis. I’ll do it.”

Meimei hurried over, snatched the dish away with a look of alarm, and clutched it protectively behind her.

No matter what Rosetti said, Meimei wouldn’t let her do it.

Rosetti felt touched again. The children cared so much about her—she had to work even harder as their big sister.

“All right, I’ll take care of the rest. Go call the others first.”

Smiling fondly, Rosetti leaned over to pick something up.

“No, I’ll do it. You’re busy every day, Big Sis. You should get more rest.”

Meimei gave an awkward, forced laugh and refused again, this time with even more resistance than before.

This was… even for such a thoughtful kid, wasn’t this a bit much?

Rosetti frowned slightly. Since Meimei had brought Lin Ge here, it wasn’t hard to wonder if he’d said something he shouldn’t have.

“Did that man say something to you?”

Rosetti asked, her voice edged with irritation.

“That man?” Meimei tilted her head in confusion. “Which man?”

“The one I—” Rosetti stopped herself. “Ahem. The guy who was just here.”

“You mean Pretty-Boy Brother?”

“Yeah.”

“He didn’t really say anything…”

Meimei thought it over before answering. It was true that she’d brought Lin Ge here, but they hadn’t actually said much to each other. If anything, he’d spent the whole time ‘flirting’ with Rosetti. Meimei had even gotten a little jealous watching them.

After all, Lin Ge really was handsome, and he was smart, too. If he hadn’t been there, she and her younger siblings might’ve been in trouble.

If he weren’t her big sister’s man, she might’ve tried competing for him herself… Though one man with three women did seem a little questionable, morally speaking.

“Are you sure he didn’t say anything?”

Rosetti didn’t believe her and asked again to make sure.

“He really didn’t…” Meimei nodded, sounding sure despite her confusion. “What’s wrong, Big Sis? Why do you keep asking? Are you still mad at Pretty-Boy Brother?”

“Ah, no… It’s nothing.”

Seeing Meimei grow worried again, Rosetti didn’t dare press her any further.

She could only change the subject to dinner.

But…

“Just sit down, Big Sis. I’ll take care of it.”

Meimei still wouldn’t let Rosetti touch the food…

Why? Why was this happening? If it wasn’t because of Lin Ge, then what was the reason?

Rosetti was baffled, while Meimei kept breaking into a cold sweat.

Even if she loved and respected her big sister, she didn’t dare let a clueless kitchen disaster anywhere near the precious fish.

Dinner mattered far more than respect.

Rosetti eventually gave up, taking it as the children’s way of caring for her, and sat down to eat first. Meimei finally let out a sigh of relief and brought the cooked fish to the table.

“Whoa, it’s fish! We’ve got fish today!”

The children were thrilled to have meat for a change, but Rosetti furrowed her brow.

“Meimei, did you go to the lake again?”

“Ah, well… I’m sorry, Big Sis. I just thought everyone’s still growing, and having wild vegetables every day is a little… I’m sorry.”

She lowered her head with a soft, apologetic murmur. She’d expected this, but she still knew she was going to get scolded.

“Honestly, you…”

Rosetti sighed helplessly. If she just worked harder, the children wouldn’t have to do this much. She’d thought about it before…

“Don’t do it again. From now on, you’re not allowed to go alone. Understand?”

“Mm.”

As they happily ate fish for the first time in a while, Rosetti picked the bones out for the younger children and marveled:

“But I can’t believe you actually caught one. I remember the fish in that pond are really wild.”

…And the water was deep, too. That was exactly why Rosetti had strictly forbidden the children from going near the pond on their own.

“It wasn’t me. I’m not that good. Pretty-Boy Brother caught the fish.”

“He did?!”

Rosetti froze with a piece of fish on her fork, staring at it in shock.

That fish had been given to them by that guy? Was this some kind of joke?

Rosetti couldn’t believe it. Just then, the children heard them talking about Lin Ge and jumped up one after another, excitedly saying:

“Oh, right! After Pretty-Boy Brother chased away those mean guys, he gave us some wild fruit, too!”

“I’ve got some, too! Pretty-Boy Brother gave me some!”

The children proudly held up their chubby little hands, each clutching some fruit.

Seeing the wild fruit in their hands and thinking back over what had happened, Rosetti found it hard to believe, but she finally understood why the children were so fond of Lin Ge.

But before that…

“Chased away some bad guys? What happened?”

“Pretty-Boy Brother didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

Rosetti looked confused.

Meimei was confused, too.

Just as Meimei was about to explain, the children all started talking at once, excitedly recounting how Lin Ge had shamelessly—no, how heroically he’d outsmarted the bad guys.

After hearing their story, Rosetti’s expression remained unusually calm for the rest of the meal.