Chapter 11
* * *
“Lady Rierusha, why has your hair come undone? And why are your eyes so red?”
“Ttona.”
The moment she returned to her room, Rierusha threw herself into Sona’s arms.
Sona, who wrapped Rierusha up and patted her back, seemed to guess what had happened.
With her complexion hardened, Sona bent her knees and sat, cradling Rierusha’s cheeks.
“Lady, please excuse me for a moment.”
Sona examined every part of Rierusha’s body and, fortunately confirming there were no injuries, relaxed her expression.
However, her voice was still stiff.
“How dare those collateral-line wretches say anything to you, young lady?”
“Mm, no. They didn’t.”
When Rierusha sullenly shook her head, Sona’s gaze grew even more certain.
It was plain to see that she was suffering inwardly, worried something might happen because of her.
“Lady Rierusha, you must tell me the truth. This is an important matter that cannot simply be brushed aside.”
“…….”
“Are you afraid you’ll be scolded if the duke finds out?”
“…….”
“Lady Rierusha.”
“……I don’t have a guardian.”
At Rierusha’s depressed mutter, Sona was left speechless.
“No guardian—what do you mean by…….”
“Uuuh…….”
At last, the head she had been bowing deeply lifted, and Rierusha’s face appeared, her eyes brimming with tears.
Just thinking about what would happen if the disciplinary committee convened frightened her.
“I made Evil mad, I did.”
“If it’s Evil…… are you referring to the heir of House Crender?”
“Hadabuji won’t take my side.”
The one who led the family had to remain neutral.
No matter how much she was his granddaughter, he couldn’t take her side unilaterally.
Especially at a time when rumors were spreading that Rierusha was receiving favoritism, it would be all the more so.
Knowing that, Rierusha had no choice but to bear this situation alone.
But it was far too heavy to bear alone.
“Why would you say that? You have the duke, and you have the young duke as well, young lady.”
Sona gently spoke as she arranged Rierusha’s disheveled hair.
But those words brought Rierusha no comfort at all.
Because in truth, no one had stayed by her side.
Even her other siblings had never once come to see Rierusha.
And because she couldn’t freely enter the area permitted only to heirs, Rierusha couldn’t go to meet them either.
Though she had moved from the outer quarters into a separate wing of the main fortress to live, she didn’t feel welcome at all.
“If the disciplinary committee opens, what happens……?”
“That will never happen, Lady Rierusha. You didn’t do anything wrong, so why would such a thing occur?”
“……Will it really be like that?”
“Of course.”
Sona nodded, assuring her.
Then she pointed to the snack she had prepared to match the time Rierusha would return.
“Let’s eat something delicious and shake it off, Lady Rierusha. Everything will surely turn out well.”
“Mm.”
The thought of eating sweet cake made her gloomy mood ease a little.
She was still anxious all the same, but it was at least some comfort.
So she didn’t notice, focusing on the cake.
That Sona’s eyes were rippling coldly and flashing.
And a few days later.
A request for Rierusha to attend the disciplinary committee arrived.
* * *
“We will now begin the disciplinary committee. Evil Crender and Rierusha Arakrene, please move to your designated seats.”
Rierusha flinched as she rose from her seat in an interior that looked similar to an actual courtroom.
Evil, smug, stuck out his tongue at Rierusha.
Next to Evil was Marquis Crender, attending as his guardian.
In contrast, there was no one beside Rierusha.
Because Sona held the status of a knight, she did not have the qualifications to enter this place.
“Thank you all for attending despite your busy schedules.”
Marquis Crender looked down at Rierusha, then let out a snort of laughter and began to speak.
Seeing that there wasn’t an empty seat among the jurors, it seemed he had deliberately called the nobles to gather.
Rierusha realized that this was not simply a place to judge children’s wrongdoing.
Nobles, busy every moment, would never come just to watch the outcome of a mere children’s quarrel.
Marquis Crender looked around, then cleared his throat.
“Ahem, ahem. In truth, adults need not interfere in children’s fights, but there are times when adults must become involved in order to leave a precedent.”
“That is quite true.”
Someone agreed.
The corners of Marquis Crender’s mouth lifted with satisfaction.
“Yes. Especially, should an unjust matter occur simply because one has become entangled with a child of higher rank?”
“Indeed.”
“And as parents, those of you who have entrusted your children’s education to the main fortress surely cannot rest easy either.”
From the start, Marquis Crender had shaped the situation to his advantage, and he smiled openly.
Beside him, Evil puffed out his chest proudly.
Meanwhile, Rierusha could only look down at the floor uneasily.
Marquis Crender deliberately paused for a beat, then spoke clearly.
“For that reason, His Grace the Duke has personally attended this gathering. I offer my thanks for joining us.”
Marquis Crender, emphasizing repeatedly that this meeting was necessary, bowed exaggeratedly yet politely toward Ackmund.
At the words that Grandfather was attending, Rierusha quickly turned her head.
Far away, she could see Ackmund looking down.
Ackmund was watching the situation from the highest seat.
He glanced at Rierusha and narrowed his brow.
“Proceed.”
At the duke’s gesture, Marquis Crender pinched his brows as if regretful and lifted Evil’s palm.
“Everyone, please look at this. This is the injury my son Evil received when Lady Rierusha pushed him a few days ago.”
Evil spread his hand ostentatiously.
She could hear the collateral-line nobles attending the committee clicking their tongues.
“An injury upon a noble’s body—what could be more dishonorable? And moreover, this is an injury caused by Lady Rierusha pushing him. Evil had no choice but to suffer it defenselessly. Yet I hear that the young lady left without so much as a single apology.”
The murmuring around them began to grow louder and louder.
Rierusha clenched her fist tight.
“Evil tripped me first! And he pulled my hair too—!”
“This is a place where the duke is present. You must not lie. The other children have already testified that the young lady pushed Evil first.”
Marquis Crender shook his head side to side. In his eyes, a strange sense of exhilaration boiled.
He pointed at Rierusha’s fist, still tightly clenched.
“Look at how she is clenching her fist. Even in this moment, the young lady shows not the slightest reflection.”
“No! And I’m telling you, Evil pulled my hair first!”
“Do you still refuse to admit your wrongdoing? Look, Your Grace. The younger one is, the more one must correct one’s faults. If one admits a mistake, one can grow into a good child.”
Rierusha looked around.
All the nobles attending this gathering were on Marquis Crender’s side.
So no matter how much Rierusha told the truth, no one would listen.
Realizing the situation, Rierusha closed her mouth.
Evil’s mouth stretched up to his ears.
“Now then, Lady Rierusha. Please offer Evil a sincere apology.”
“……No.”
“Is not the duke watching as well?”
Rierusha bit her lip and looked to Ackmund.
But Ackmund did not spare her even a glance.
“If you apologize, we will let this pass quietly, Lady Rierusha.”
Marquis Crender softened his voice as if granting a favor.
But Rierusha only continued to glare at Evil, and did not open her mouth.
