‘As expected, he will not answer me.’Â Rosaria bit her lip.Â
‘Why has the Romano family come to this? I can’t even remember my Older Brother’s voice… let alone his face.’Â
She had heard that her brother had shut himself away in this room since she was a toddler of one and a half years old.
There was no way she could have remembered his face, or even known he existed.Â
She probably only became aware of his existence when she was around seven.
She was told that the room, which was never opened, was her Mother’s chamber, but something about that didn’t feel right.
From a young age, her instincts had been sharper than most, just like her physical abilities.
Her Father Count often said it was because a highly capable body made the senses more acute.
His own intuition was quite sharp as well.Â
Curious about the forbidden room, she searched everywhere for the key, but when her Father found out, he was angrier than she had ever seen him.
This only deepened her suspicions, so she asked the house steward and the Knights, but none of them would answer.Â
She was convinced something was being hidden.
One day, while in the library, she found her late Mother’s diary.
She eagerly began reading it, and that was when she learned about her Older Brother, Luca.Â
When she confronted her Father with the diary, he finally confessed.
She had an Older Brother five years her senior.
He had shut himself away in his room when Rosaria was one and a half.Â
It was said to be from the shock of losing their Mother.
Since then, the room had been falsely claimed to be the late Countess’s chamber.Â
Secretly, at midnight, meals were placed in front of her Brother’s door.
One midnight, hiding in the shadows of the hallway, she watched as a cook placed a tray of food by the door.
After a while, the door cracked open slightly, and the tray was slid inside.
The door shut for a moment but soon reopened to push the empty tray back out before closing again.Â
There was definitely someone inside.
No matter how desperately Rosaria begged the staff to tell her about Luca, they refused to speak of him.
So she found the woman who was said to be Luca’s nursemaid and went to meet her.
The nursemaid was deeply worried that Luca was still shut away.
She said the cause was probably the loss of their Mother, just as the Count had said.Â
However, she also suggested another cause might be Rosaria’s existence.
Luca seemed to feel inferior because his strength was weaker than hers.Â
It was a shock.
The brother who was supposed to inherit the Count’s title was being treated as if he were invisible, all because of her.
Locked in a narrow room, never seeing anyone, having no joy.Â
She was the cause of imprisoning her own brother.
That thought weighed heavily on her heart.Â
Although she wanted to do something, she was powerless, and time passed.
Before she knew it, she was finally allowed to inherit the title herself.
There was no turning back now.
‘If this continues, my very existence will imprison my Older Brother forever.’Â
As a daughter of the Romano family and as a Knight, she had pride in her role.
She wanted to be a Knight of the kingdom with an unclouded, righteous heart.Â
Because the Romano family had been granted the title ‘Order of the Knights of Light’ by the kingdom’s founding King.
They were Knights under the Light, purging the darkness that defied the kingdom.Â
The name ‘Knights of Light’ had been bestowed upon the Romano family due to a hidden duty placed upon them.
Rosaria had been taught about the role of the Knights of Light alongside the existence of her Brother Luca.
That duty was as shocking as learning about her Brother.
As a Knight of Light, if she were to support her Brother and draw her sword alongside him, there would be no problem.
But she could not hold her head high as a Knight of Light, knowing she had pushed her Brother into darkness.Â
Wiping her eyes, Rosaria lifted her gaze and started walking.
“I will find a way… somehow.”
She voiced her determination.
The method, however, was unknown.Â
“Rosaria.” Hearing footsteps, the door to her Father Count’s study opened, and Piccolo Romano appeared.
He looked as if he had been dozing, his eyes slightly swollen, but his expression was stern.Â
“What were you doing?”
“Nothing at all.”
She answered calmly, but her Father’s gaze drifted toward the room where Luca was shut away.
His gesture silently told her not to concern herself with Luca.
Yet Rosaria maintained her impassive face.Â
“Very well. More importantly, Achille has returned from the Royal Capital today and brought word. Soon, there will be a ball where you must attend alongside me as the heir to the title. Prepare yourself.”
“A ball…?”
Her blood ran cold.
Although it was decided she would inherit the title and become the head of the Knights someday, Rosaria was still a Count’s daughter.
From a young age, she had been taught manners, etiquette, and dancing for such occasions.Â
But when it came to dancing, her instructors had given up.
In fact, every teacher had fled one after another.Â
Understandably so.
When teaching a delicate girl to dance, one could accidentally be stepped on and suffer a crushed instep, or dislocate fingers from clasped hands, or be sent flying into the wall during a mistimed turn.Â
“F-Father… you want me to dance…?” Her voice trembled.
Piccolo’s face grew serious.
He understood his daughter well.Â
“No, you don’t have to dance. You absolutely must not. But attendance at the ball is mandatory. You simply need to dress up and smile politely.”
“Does attending the ball mean going to the Royal Capital?”
No ball had ever been held within Karana Province.
None of the minor lords there had enough leisure or wealth for such an event.Â
“Not the Royal Capital. The ball will be held at Parsa Castle.”
Rosaria’s expression turned suspicious.
Parsa Castle was the seat of the Karana Province Duke.
But the Duke was not supposed to reside there.Â
“Parsa Castle is an empty castle, isn’t it?”
“It will no longer be empty.” Her Father Count announced this grimly.