Chapter – 15
“Lirian! How can you do this to us!? You’re betraying us!”
Lirian lightly ignored Lamio’s roaring.
There was no need to pay attention to the noise humans make.
Instead, she turned back to Elias and asked again.
“My recording stone is a bit old, so I’m worried. How is it?”
“…It recorded well. There’s no need to worry.”
Elias nodded at her question.
In his hand was the peridot medal that Lirian had lent him.
‘Good thing I brought it in case we end up in the Tenebrin Kingdom.’
Meanwhile, the prince’s party wasn’t on a mission to interrogate anyone.
So they probably didn’t have equipment like this.
Lirian pressed the magical marking on Lamio’s wrist to make him confess.
‘Since I’m making him confess anyway, why not check in real-time who else knows about this?’
She let him use the communication stone with his own hand.
Thanks to that, the conversation was neatly saved in the recording stone.
‘Catching Brother Quern was pretty impressive.’
It wasn’t just Lamio, the palace knight, who was implicated.
The minor duke of Tillard had also participated in illegal activities.
Even among relatives, there’s a difference between direct lineage, collateral lines, branch heads, and ordinary knights.
“If we do it like this, it won’t matter even if Their Highness or you say it was through torture.”
The minor duke wasn’t forced to confess at the tip of a sword.
“And now that there’s a problem with my control stone business, I guess they’re just letting it slide…”
This will come in handy too…
Lirian walked over to Evren.
Since she was making him confess, she also aimed for some additional effects—and it had worked well enough.
“Is that enough for what you asked?”
“Then… by the way.”
Evren fixed his murky eyes on Lamio.
Lamio flinched slightly.
The First Prince smiled brightly like a carefree noble, but somehow, just seeing that smile sent a chill down one’s spine.
“Truly astonishing. I didn’t expect the supposedly perfect Tillard triplets to be this… pathetic.”
Even the ‘shadows’ started sneering among themselves.
“Wow, I thought he just bought his palace knight title…”
“And didn’t he get hurt by the catalyst that girl used?”
“The knight should’ve been the one to handle it. He has no ability to stop her, so why even wear the uniform?”
“Is he the only one? What about what Iris Tillard said earlier?”
“She just passed her responsibilities onto others…”
Lamio’s face grew paler and paler.
Lirian looked down at him with a calm smile.
“Congratulations. Thanks to you, your grandfather will soon have a very… pleasant conversation with His Majesty.”
“…! No, this can’t be!”
Lamio grabbed Lirian’s wrist with his free arm.
“W-Where are you going? Are you going to sell me to those guys?”
“Let go of me.”
“You… you’re my sister! You’re family!”
“….”
A boy who had mercilessly shaken off his cousin once he realized she was useless.
Outside, he’d pretend to worry about the “screaming incompetent sister,” and back at the mansion, he’d verbally abuse her relentlessly.
He didn’t even utter a word of apology at a moment like this.
‘No, actually… I’m grateful.’
She was thankful that the ‘original’ future that abandoned her hadn’t changed.
That way, she could feel for sure that her decision to leave hadn’t been driven insane.
“…Do you know why I hated being sent to the annex?”
“Huh?”
“Because of the monster cries.”
The annex was in a harsh area where monsters and wild animals wandered together.
At night, it was often difficult to tell if the howls were from wolves or monsters.
Each time, Lirian would huddle under the blanket, shivering.
Afraid that one of them would come and devour her in the middle of the night.
‘Please… please let me go back soon…’
There had been cold nights when she earnestly prayed to a God who never answered.
But if she had known in advance, she wouldn’t have prayed at all.
Had she known that the knights and her own kin were mocking her in that state…
“That must have been just funny to you.”
Like a child pouring water on ants crawling on the ground.
When Lirian lowered her eyelashes, a dark shadow fell.
“So, I’ll leave your laughable self behind.”
She turned her body without hesitation.
There was nothing more for Lamio to extract, so the prince’s party could watch him themselves.
But Lamio, panting as Lirian moved away, screamed.
“You! It’s because of you that Minor Duke Pavil keeps looking at other women! You don’t even know you’re digging your own grave…!”
Thunk.
A crisp sound of a knife hitting a melon came from the back of Lamio’s head.
Elias had struck him without drawing his sword.
Lirian asked calmly,
“Did you kill him?”
“…No.”
“Too bad… No, thank you.”
“….”
Elias bowed awkwardly to Lirian.
Lamio’s words were too noisy and shallow to be worth hearing.
Still, what mattered most was the look in his master’s eyes.
Cold sweat ran down her neck.
This was no joke.
He had been watching her the entire time without blinking once.
Sometimes she forgot, seeing Evren smile so casually, that to her master, there was little difference between humans and objects.
The only standard by which he judged people was usefulness.
Warmth and trivial qualities probably never existed in him since birth.
Elias coughed awkwardly.
“Your Highness. Then, shall I handle these two before sending them to the capital?”
“I’ll do it too.”
“Huh?”
“What’s there to be surprised about.”
Evren gestured to the shadows and Lirian.
It meant, take Lirian inside.
Lirian didn’t question anything and immediately turned back.
‘Interesting.’
Ordinary humans would argue and beg for mercy in a situation like this.
‘They’re not bothering me here.’
Was it fear? Ruthlessness? Or just wisdom?
That woman only aroused curiosity.
Evren had the other shadows step back, leaving only Elias.
“Elias.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to be engaged to Lirian Tillard.”
“…! Gah.”
Elias choked in shock.
Engaged?
Even if the rampage had been quelled, with a Tillard?
No, that wasn’t the issue.
Could their master really do such a… “human” thing?
“Oh, and I’ve imprinted her.”
“C-cough, cough, gah.”
“And only me.”
“Cough…!”
Elias seemed like he wanted to die.
Imprinted? And only my master? What a sudden disaster…
“But, you know, Elias.”
“Yes, cough.”
“Seeing you strike Lamio Tillard’s head just now…”
Evren gave his cousin a teasing smile.
“When did you get so attached to Miss Tillard?”
“…!”
