Roselle’s POV
“Good day, Master.” Sylvester’s voice broke through my thoughts.
I didn’t need to hear his response to know exactly who he was speaking to.
For some reason, the moment I realized Silas was behind me, a strange anger began to rise inside me.
I didn’t understand where it was coming from.
I only knew I didn’t want to see him.
So I continued walking, refusing to stop or even acknowledge his presence.
“Roselle.” Silas called my name softly.
Still, I didn’t respond.
If anything, the sound of his voice only made my irritation grow.
Before I could spend any more time wondering why I was suddenly so angry with my own husband, Sylvester stopped in front of me and bowed slightly.
“I’ll be taking my leave now, Madam. I have another route to attend to.”
It was an obvious excuse.
I almost wanted to laugh.
But before I could say anything, he straightened and walked away, leaving Silas and me alone.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Our footsteps became the only sound filling the long hallway as we continued toward the dining hall.
Then Silas finally caught up with me and began walking beside me.
“Are you mad at me?”
“You think?” The answer came out sharper than I intended.
I frowned at the sound of my own voice.
There was genuine malice in it.
And somehow, that only confused me more.
Why was I this angry?
“Is it because of what you saw last night?”
The question immediately made my anger flare.
“Why does everyone keep assuming that I’m reacting this way because I saw blood?” I finally turned toward him.
“What does seeing blood have to do with anything? You ordered someone’s death. Okay? That’s not what upset me.” My words came faster than I intended.
“Please, Silas. I’m not as fragile as you seem to think I am.”
I had seen blood before.
Far more than most people could imagine.
I had killed people with my own hands.
Countless people.
The sight of blood had never frightened me.
What disturbed me was the way he had treated the body of a fallen man.
That was what I had been struggling with.
Not blood, not death, but him.
“So why does it seem like you’re angry with me?” Silas stopped directly in front of me, forcing me to stop as well.
His usual imposing aura surrounded him, but this time there was something different in his expression, he had a look of confusion.
He genuinely didn’t seem to understand.
That somehow made me even angrier.
“You clearly told me to wait for you, and I did.” I stared at him.
“For hours, Silas. You didn’t come back, and you didn’t send word that you wouldn’t be returning.” My voice grew sharper with every word.
“Then I came downstairs and saw you before I returned to the room. You looked me in the eyes and told me you would come back.” I shook my head.
“But did you?”
He remained silent.
“You broke your word twice without even bothering to explain why.” My chest tightened.
“And now you see me for the first time today, call my name, and immediately ask whether I’m angry because you want me to explain my behavior to you.” I scoffed.
“Our first night as husband and wife, and you didn’t return.”
I looked away for a moment before meeting his eyes again.
“With the way rumors spread through this estate, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next thing I hear is that I’m somehow unwanted here. Or worse, that my own husband doesn’t want me.”
The more I spoke, the more I realized how deeply his absence had affected me.
I hated that.
I hated even more that I had to explain it to him before he understood what he had done wrong.
“Rose, I assure you, I didn’t know. I thought…”
“I don’t care what you thought.” I cut him off immediately.
His imposing presence meant nothing to me at that moment.
“What you wouldn’t do, Silas, is do something like that to me, disappear without warning, give me no explanation, and then come back expecting me to welcome you with open arms.”
I took a breath, still furious.
“I’m your wife, not someone you can simply leave waiting without a word.” His expression shifted, but I didn’t give him the opportunity to respond.
“I suggest that tonight, you go back to whichever room you slept in last night and stay there.” I pointed down the hallway.
“I don’t want to suffer through seeing your face while I’m still this angry.”
With that, I turned on my heel and walked away.
I didn’t look back.
Not even once.
But with every step I took toward the dining hall, one irritating thought followed me.
Why did it matter so much to me that he had come back?
Why did his absence hurt more than I wanted to admit?
I refused to dwell too deeply on the lingering thoughts.
As I approached the dining hall, I pushed everything to the back of my mind.
I had already given Silas a piece of my mind.
There was no reason to keep replaying the situation in my head.
He was in the wrong.
That was final.
When I entered the dining hall, I immediately noticed Jasmine and Jeremy sitting together at the table.
I initially walked toward the first chair on the left side of the table, but halfway there, I stopped.
Instead, I turned around and walked straight toward the head of the table.
Then I sat down.
The reaction was immediate.
Several workers around the dining hall stared at me.
Even without being told, I knew exactly what that seat represented.
It was usually reserved for the head of the family.
But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to sit beneath him.
I had already felt disrespected by his actions twice yesterday.
I wasn’t about to give him another opportunity to make me feel insignificant, even if that opportunity existed only in my own mind.
I lifted my head and slowly looked around the room.
My eyes met those of every worker who had been staring.
I said nothing.
I simply glared at them, silently daring anyone to question my decision.
One by one, they looked away.
The surprise on their faces gradually disappeared, replaced by their usual calm expressions as they returned to whatever tasks they had been doing.
I leaned back slightly.
“Start eating,” I told the children when I noticed neither of them had touched their food.
“There is no need to wait for your father.”
“Okay.” Jeremy immediately picked up a few dishes and began serving himself.
I caught the brief look of surprise that crossed his face when he saw where I was sitting.
It lasted only a second before his expression returned to its usual calmness.
Without saying anything, he walked to the opposite end of the table and took his seat.
Directly across from me.
His eyes met mine.
For several seconds, neither of us looked away.
Then I broke eye contact.
I hadn’t expected him to actually go through with my demand as though I had given him a perfectly reasonable silent instruction.
Apparently, he had decided to take me seriously.
“Who do you think offended who?” Jasmine whispered to Jeremy.
I wondered briefly if she thought we couldn’t hear her.
I decided not to react.
Instead, I calmly began serving food onto my plate.
“It should be Papa,” Jeremy answered.
“With that cold personality of his, who wouldn’t even get angry with him?”
Silas’s hand paused.
I carefully glanced at him from the corner of my eye.
He was glaring at his son.
For some strange reason, the sight immediately eased some of the irritation still sitting in my chest.
“Mmm.” Jasmine nodded while chewing.
“I think you’re right.
Mama is quite soft-hearted.
I can’t even imagine her causing trouble.” She swallowed before adding, “It should definitely be Papa.”
At this point, Silas looked as though the entire table had decided to gang up on him.
“It doesn’t take much to figure out,” Jeremy added casually.
“To be honest, I expected them to be at odds with each other since yesterday.” He glanced at me.
“I have to give it to Mama, though. She managed to put up with him until today before finally disagreeing with him.”
I nearly choked on my food.
Jeremy was surprisingly observant.
Jasmine turned toward Silas.
“Papa, Mama isn’t unreasonable. You should try to make it up to her.” Silas remained silent.
Jasmine continued without hesitation.
“You just recently became my papa, and I really like Jeremy. I don’t want us to be separated so quickly.” She waited for a response.
When none came, she added, “Okay? Don’t be stubborn now.”
I could see several workers around the room struggling to keep their faces straight.
Some of them quickly turned away, clearly trying not to laugh.
Silas finally looked around the table.
“Aren’t you two supposed to ask questions before jumping to accusations?”
This time, Jeremy looked directly at him.
“What’s there to ask?” He paused thoughtfully.
“Actually, let’s do it this way.” He placed his spoon down.
“Papa, whose fault is it? State it clearly. Yours or Mama’s?”
The question immediately captured everyone’s attention.
Even the workers who had been pretending not to listen seemed to become very interested in the conversation.
As for me, I couldn’t help but feel the warmth spreading through my chest.
Somehow, all the grievances I had been carrying only moments ago had almost completely disappeared.
I had been angry with Silas.
But apparently, I had gained two unexpected allies at the same time.