RETURN OF THE FEMALE KNIGHT

111. Please.. Don't Go

After Jimin's meeting with Taehyung at the palace, he made to clear up his life at Blaise mansion as quickly as possible. There was no time to delay with the possibility of Jungkook losing his sanity once again.

Jimin had been ordered to stay on vacation until Roseanne returned to the south, and he could not disobey Jungkook's orders without preparing a replacement. Jimin had promised to protect Roseanne for Lalisa as well. While keeping that promise wasn't part of his mission, he did not want to create an uncomfortable situation.

'Is this enough?'

Jimin planted his replacement in Blaise mansion so Roseanne wouldn't be left unprotected. It was true that Jungkook's ambush caused Jimin to hasten his departure from Blaise Mansion, but Roseanne's extended stay at the capital made it difficult for him to remain as well. He could not truly complete his mission, but it was a situation that Jungkook and Lalisa had to understand.

'But why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?'

Although Jimin completed his arrangements to leave Blaise mansion, he had the uneasy feeling that there was something he overlooked. No matter how hard he puzzled over it, however, he couldn't recall anything else to take care of.

He set aside the idea from his head and prepared for the last remaining task. He had to tell Roseanne that he was leaving the mansion.

'...I don't know how it will go this time.'

Before, Roseanne had stubbornly refused when Jimin expressed his intention to re-enter the Imperial Palace as a family servant. But the circumstances were different now. This time his decision would remain unchanged, and it would not reflect her opinion at all.

And...it was the best farewell Jimin could have.

*

It was early evening and the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. The mansion hallway was illuminated by a red glow, but Jimin walked towards Roseanne's room without even turning his eyes towards the window. He arrived in front of the door and knocked.

A voice answered from inside the room.

"Who is it?"

Jimin answered in his usual monotone.

"...It's Jimin."

There was crashing sound from inside the room. Jimin was puzzled by the sudden noise, and Roseanne's voice replied from beyond the door.

"P-please wait a moment."

Jimin could dimly make out Roseanne's footsteps pattering around the room with his heightened sense of hearing. He waited there until he was granted permission to enter. In general, male servants did not often enter their master's room, and unless he was required to carry heavy objects for her, he refrained from being here as much as possible.

He realized that he had never knocked on Roseanne's door to ask for permission to go inside before. Today was his first time. The fact that this would also be a goodbye did not suit the situation much—just like Roseanne and him.

He gave a wry smile as he watched the dying sunlight touch the door, lightly at first, before turning into a rich red hue. In a way, it was like seeing a flower bloom. Roseanne's face entered his mind.

'She'll grow up soon.'

Although she looked young now, in time she would mature into a splendid woman. Jimin wouldn't be able to see her growth, but there was one thing he was sure of.

'...She will be dazzling.'

When he had escorted Roseanne to the Imperial Palace to visit Lalisa, he had watched Her from behind, sometimes catching glimpse of her warm, bright smile that was unique only to her. While Lalisa was beautiful, her sister Roseanne would also grow up to be breathtaking.