CHAPTER 5

Rosalba tried to swim to the surface but her body was as heavy as a rock. Rosalba didn't know how to swim. She moved desperately under the water and only could make splashes. The Miss has disappeared since she fell to the lake and Rosalba knew that she would not say anything. So no one could notice her, maybe until she drowned. All occur so fast that Rosalba didn't even think to use magic and when she thought to use it she was already losing consciousness.

At that moment a figure quickly as a demon entered the water and grabbed her waistline swimming to the surface. The fresh air got to the lungs of Rosalba and made her cough fiercely. Meanwhile, the person moved to the shore of the lake and took her out of the water. Rosalba had to take her time to normalize her breath and open her eyes saying to the person.

—Thank ....—Rosalba choked with her last words when she saw the face of the man who saved her. He was the person who met in the Allen's Mansion.

—Are you okay? —Nicholas asked, apparently indifferent but in his heartbeat of worry.

—Oh...yes...thank you...—Rosalba never imagined seeing this person here again and even being saved by him.

—What happened? Why were you here? —Rosalba blink remembered that her Miss escaped and left Rosalba to her death. Maybe she should curse her that thought passed by Rosalba's mind before being suppressed. She didn't need to think about it, for now.

—It was an accident...—Rosalba avoided the question and Nicholas closed halfway, his eyes irritated.

—I see —He didn't ask more because he knew that she wouldn't say anything to him. So he said.

—Do you need help? If you want, I can help you —Nicholas saw the suspicious look of Rosalba and quickly said —You can take it as payment for the attention in the mansion.

Rosalba wanted to deny it but suddenly she thought that she didn't want to return to Allen's mansion. Of course, she had to go by Maira, however, she could go after a while, and because Rosalba knew that the Miss thought that she was dead so she would have to give her money and compensation to Maira, her only friend.

Rosalba had a little money here and she could use magic but when she entered the city she realized that the security was more strict than 10 years ago. If she used magic carelessly, she could be discovered. So the best way to leave this place easily could be with the help of this man. Rosalba considered it and decided to go with him.

—Okay —Nicholas almost smiled when he heard her answer but could contain himself.

—Umm...So follow me...—Rosalba was trembling from the cold. Even so, she didn't complain and followed Nicholas in silence. Nicholas wanted to hold her in her arms to protect her from the cold but he could only clench his fists.

Nicholas walked for a shortcut and arrived at his carriage fastly. When Rosalba entered it felt that her body heats up a little. The route was short but Rosalba couldn't bear more and fainted. Nicholas's reflexes were quick and caught her before she hit her head against the carriage wall. He could grab her in his arms as he wanted and made it possible to heat her.

***

Rosalba woke up in a strange room. She felt her body a little heavy. When she moved the wet towel in her forehead fell to the bed. Rosalba blinked confused for a moment but then remembered that she felt tired in the carriage and her eyesight dimmed. Rosalba looked around the room and saw that it was simple but luxurious. Maybe it is the guests' room Rosalba thought.

Rosalba was a little astonished that the man left her to stay in this kind of room. At that moment the door was opened and Nicholas appeared at the entrance.

—You are awake...—The relief in her voice couldn't be noticed by Rosalba who only nodded.

—How do you feel? Do you still have a fever? —Nicholas wanted to touch her forehead but Rosalba touched it by herself so Nicholas could only stay motionless.

—I feel well now —Rosalba thought that it was thanks to the maid that this man sent to take care of her. Of course, she ignored the feeling that she had when she fainted. She felt that she was being grabbed by someone but the only person that was with her in the carriage was that man Rosalba took it as a hallucination by the fever.

—Mmm...It's good, so if you need something, you can ring the bell —Nicholas, although he didn't want to, stood up and walked to the door while he said that.

—Okay, thank you very much —Rosalba curtsey to Nicholas, and when Rosalba couldn't see Nicholas knit his brows with pain. He didn't want to see that view so he left the room quickly

Rosalba sighed and lay down in the bed again. She wasn't hungry so she decided to sleep more. When she woke up, it was almost noon. Rosalba rang the bell and a maid brought her something light to eat. Rosalba saw the woman looking at her with curiosity. Rosalba made her appearance intentionally more weak and scruffy. The maid saw a woman young but with an ugly face with scars in her face and left the food on the table without saying a word. When she went out to the door the other maids asked her for the mysterious woman.

Ginna told them the appearance of the girl and everyone thought: "She wasn't the lover of the lord". None couldn't blame them for thinking that. Because they were very surprised when the lord suddenly came to the mansion with a woman in her arms in the middle of the night. But in the end, it was almost impossible that the lord paid attention to that kind of woman. The matter was forgotten by them and they continued talking about other things until Ginna thought that it was enough time and came to Rosalba's room to pick up the plates.

Rosalba noticed the change of the maid and smiled in her heart. She knew that she could have problems if a misunderstanding spread among the servants. So she made sure that the maid saw her appearance and that she dismissed any useless thought.

Since then Rosalba didn't see curious eyes towards her. She recovered quickly so after four days Rosalba went out to the mansion in secret. Rosalba was careful and after an hour she arrived at the inn where her previous boss was. She monitored the guards and the Miss for an afternoon and discovered that the Miss is going to return to her mansion tomorrow.

It seemed that the 'death' of 'Rosa' affected her more than Rosalba expected. When the Miss returned to the inn that night. She couldn't avoid feeling scared so she told the guards to pay attention to the princess Mansion. After a few days, there wasn't news about someone dead in the lake so the Miss thought that maybe the body of the maid was frozen and the people of the mansion couldn't find it. She felt relief but she didn't want to stay here anymore so she bought a ticket to return to Allen's mansion as soon as possible.

Rosalba didn't have a lot of reaction and returned to Nicholas's mansion in silence. When Rosalba was in the room started thinking about what to do now. She wasn't worried about Maira's reaction because Rosalba already sent her a message. But Rosalba became something like a dead person again so without a recommendation letter it would be difficult to find a job. Unless she asks for a job here. Although she met the lord of this mansion only a few times. He wasn't a bad person and he even saved her life. So maybe it wasn't a bad idea to stay here. It was the decision of Rosalba before she fell asleep.