Roselle’s POV
I woke up the next morning to find the left side of the bed completely empty.
For a moment, I simply stared at the untouched sheets.
The sight made one thing painfully obvious.
Silas hadn’t returned to the room last night.
I remained lying there, staring at the empty space beside me as a thought slowly crept into my mind.
Would I have wanted to wake up beside him after what I had witnessed?
I thought about it.
Then I thought about it some more.
Yet, no matter how hard I searched for an answer, nothing came to mind.
I didn’t know whether I would have felt relieved to see him beside me or uncomfortable knowing that the same man who had held me so gently had calmly watched someone being butchered.
But there was one thing I did know.
Somehow, him not returning to the room felt worse.
It felt almost as though I was being punished for something I didn’t even understand.
“Madam, may I come in?” Butler Sylvester’s voice came from outside the door.
I quickly sat upright and glanced down at myself, making sure I wasn’t dressed too inappropriately before answering.
“Come in.” I pushed my thoughts aside and focused on the present.
The door opened, and Sylvester stepped inside.
He stopped at the foot of the bed before giving me a polite bow.
“I apologize if my presence disturbed your sleep, Madam, but there is an urgent matter that requires your attention and could not be postponed.”
“It’s alright. You may rise. I was already awake before you knocked.” I paused for a moment.
“What is the urgent matter?” I couldn’t imagine what could possibly be so important that he had come to speak with me so early in the morning.
“It concerns the education of the young mistress.”
My brows lifted slightly.
“The school’s academic session is scheduled to begin in two days. Seeing as the young master already attends a school, I was wondering if it would be appropriate to register the young mistress at the same school, especially since they are in the same grade.” He paused before continuing.
“I initially went directly to the Master in his study, but he explicitly instructed me that all matters concerning the children and the estate are to be handled by you.”
His expression remained respectful.
“Since the school the young master attends will fully resume its new academic session in two days, I considered this matter a priority and came directly to you.”
I nodded slowly.
“What is the name of the school the young master attends?”
“It is called The Elite.”
I fell silent.
The name certainly sounded prestigious, but I knew nothing about the school.
Perhaps sensing my uncertainty, Sylvester continued.
“I assure you, Madam, that the school is well suited to the prestige of the Belladonna family. Just as its name suggests, it is reserved for the highest levels of society. Only billionaires, mafia Dons, politicians, and other influential members of society are permitted to attend.”
He paused briefly.
“The school also provides an opportunity for the young master to build relationships and establish connections with other influential families. It would be beneficial for the young mistress to build those same connections.”
I considered his words before looking at him.
“Then I will have to trouble you with handling Jasmine’s admission into the school. From the way you speak about it, I assume it isn’t easy to get into?”
“To speak bluntly, Madam, yes and no.” He folded his hands behind his back.
“Given the influence and standing of the Belladonna family, admission for the young mistress would ordinarily be straightforward, much like it was for the young master.” He paused. Read this novel at NovelPing for the best experience.
“However, because the school holds such a high level of prestige, they are rather strict with their rules.”
His expression became slightly more serious.
“If Madam does not handle the young mistress’s admission today, there will be little hope of securing a place for her.”
My eyes widened slightly.
“Please do not misunderstand. This is not because we lack the authority to make arrangements for her. Her admission this late has already required us to pull a few strings.” He continued calmly.
“However, you will need to visit the school personally and speak briefly with the school authorities. It is nothing particularly serious. They simply want to assess the young mistress’s current level of knowledge so they can determine which class would be most suitable for her.”
He finished speaking, and I nodded.
I was relieved that he had explained everything so clearly.
At least now I understood exactly what needed to be done.
“Alright. Tell the driver that I will be ready in an hour.” I paused.
“Also, could you kindly pass a message to the children’s nanny and tell her to get them ready…” Before I could finish my sentence, the bedroom door suddenly flew open.
Fast footsteps rushed toward the room.
I immediately turned toward the entrance, wondering who could possibly be running through the room this early in the morning.
For a brief moment, my first thought was Silas.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
“Mama!” The moment Jasmine entered the room, she ran straight toward me with a huge smile on her face.
Right behind her was Jeremy.
Unlike Jasmine, he didn’t look particularly excited, but he wasn’t sad or angry either.
His expression was neutral, almost cautious.
Eva followed behind them.
“I’ll take my leave now and see to it that the car is ready within the hour,” Sylvester said.
“Alright. Thank you,” I replied.
He bowed before taking his leave.
“I missed you so much!” Jasmine immediately climbed onto the bed and settled herself on my lap.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her.
My eyes then moved to Jeremy.
He had stopped beside the bed, not daring to come any closer.
“I missed you both so much. Come here and give me a hug, you two.” I motioned for him to come closer.
I didn’t want to force him.
But knowing his personality, if I didn’t take the initiative, he would only become more distant from me.
After a moment of hesitation, Jeremy walked over and stepped into my embrace.
I bent down and kissed both of them on the tops of their heads.
I felt Jeremy stiffen slightly beneath my touch, but I pretended not to notice.
“How was your night?” I asked, deliberately acting as though I hadn’t noticed his reaction.
“It was okay,” Jasmine replied.
“Although I saw my room, and it was huge and beautiful, I still slept in Jeremy’s room instead.” She lowered her voice as though she were about to reveal a great secret.
“You see, Jeremy here is scared of sleeping alone. If I don’t accompany him, how will he sleep?” She placed a hand against her chest dramatically.
“As a very honorable person, how could I possibly allow my baby brother to be scared witless by nightmares?”
She said it with such seriousness that I almost believed her.
Almost.
“Scared of nightmares?” Jeremy immediately cut in.
“I knew I shouldn’t have let you into my room last night when you came begging because you couldn’t fall asleep alone.” His face was full of annoyance, but he seemed to have completely forgotten that he was still standing within my embrace.
“And who is younger than you? You’re only two months older than me, Jass. Two months!” He emphasized the last two words, clearly irritated.
I couldn’t help but smile.
I wondered how he could constantly complain about the way Jasmine treated him while still responding to her so warmly.
“Shhh. Hush, little boy. Adults are speaking here.” Jasmine waved him off as though he were an annoying child.
Their bickering continued, but something had clearly changed between them.
Their bond had grown stronger in just one night.
Seeing Jasmine’s bold approach at slowly drawing Jeremy out, I reached over and ruffled both their hair.
“Okay, enough.” I said softly.
They both quieted down.
“Jasmine, you need to get ready. We have to go to your new school for your admission process, and I need to get prepared too.” I paused before looking at Jeremy.
“Do you want to come along?”
“Yeah, I will.” Jeremy nodded.
“If I don’t, I already know she’ll cause more trouble while she’s there. Someone needs to keep her in check.” I blinked.
In just a few hours of spending time with Jasmine, he had already picked up her shameless way of speaking.
“Who would look after who?” Jasmine retorted.
“Alright, both of you need to hurry back to your rooms and get ready. We’re leaving in forty-five minutes.” I quickly lifted Jasmine off my lap and placed her on the floor.
“Go. Quickly. We don’t have much time.” The moment I said that, they both hurried toward the door.
I watched them disappear before turning my attention to Eva.
She hadn’t moved.
And judging from the expression on her face, she clearly had something to tell me.
I waited until I heard the final click of the door closing and the children’s footsteps fade down the hallway before speaking.
“Go on. Clearly, you have news for me.” I studied her carefully.
I had only just arrived at the estate.
Whatever she had discovered couldn’t have happened long ago.
Yet the seriousness on her face told me it was important.
“Madam.” Eva bowed before straightening.
“There is a rumor going around the estate this morning.” She hesitated, her eyes filled with slight concern.
“They are saying that the new Madam is afraid of a little blood.” My expression immediately hardened.
“And because of that, they believe that you are unfit to rule beside the Master of the Belladonna family.”
She paused.
“At first, I wondered how the workers of a Don could decide who is fit or unfit to rule beside him.” Her expression became more serious.
“But after looking into it further, I discovered something troubling.”
I remained silent.
“It is apparently within the Belladonna family’s authority to remove the wife of a Don if they deem her unfit.” My heart sank slightly.
“I don’t know enough about the process yet,” Eva continued.
“There seems to be a procedure they must follow before something like that can happen.”
She looked directly at me.
“But it is possible.” She took a small breath.
“And according to what I found, it has happened before.”