Chapter – 27
‘What’s going to happen to me now?’
Margaret tightly shut her eyes.
She would undoubtedly face severe punishment…
Hoo. Elias let out a long sigh.
“…The young lady has accepted your punishment rights. She said she wants to keep you by her side.”
“Eh…? What?”
Margaret had expected her throat to be cut immediately.
“The young lady wishes for no loss of power on His Highness’s part.”
“…!”
“So, you should go and properly express your gratitude for being spared.”
Elias shuddered inwardly at the thought of his lord.
If Lirian hadn’t requested the punishment rights?
‘Margaret wouldn’t have left a trace.’
Controllers often held strange illusions about their lord.
Perhaps it was because they stayed at the rear.
They assumed Evren was kind because he smiled.
They thought the First Empress must have been deeply wounded by her tragic death.
‘The problem is… there was none of that.’
Utility and uselessness.
Evren judged humans purely by this standard.
He didn’t care whether a person’s outward appearance matched their heart.
If he needed to, he could just use his ability.
And yet here was someone, constantly probing and trying to understand another being.
Margaret, who had tried to confront it without understanding, was just pitiful.
Late at night.
Margaret’s steps toward Lirian’s chamber were unbearably heavy.
“What brings you here?”
“Lady Lirian… thank you for sparing me.”
“…….”
“And… I’m truly sorry.”
Margaret held her breath, waiting.
Lirian, standing with her back turned, half-turned.
Her voice was soft, like the calm night air.
“I understand why you might feel that way, Margaret.”
“Eh?”
“When you’re loyal to someone, there are times when I feel I have to step in. Even if it means taking on the role of the villain.”
Margaret clenched her fists.
It might sound like an excuse, but these words were also her genuine feelings.
She had served this household since childhood.
She had worked hard to be the best controller for her superiors and the knights.
She had thought that trusting a woman from a hostile family easily would be foolish…
“So you can understand, right?”
“Ah…!”
Tears welled in Margaret’s eyes.
‘Even if it means taking on the role of the villain.’
The words resonated deeply.
‘How can someone be so… kind and considerate?’
She had always looked down on Tillard as incompetent.
But in truth, perhaps… they had sacrificed themselves for the sake of the household.
“But is saying sorry all you’ve got?”
“Eh?”
“Huh? If you just accept my apology and move on, then you’re bound to live a future where your mother-in-law-to-be torments you, and you’ll just have to bear it.”
“Eh…?”
“Margaret, Margaret, my Margaret.”
Lirian stepped closer.
Her unnervingly beautiful face broke into a bright smile.
“If you’re truly sorry, why don’t you start by prostrating yourself?”
“……!?”
Sitting like that, looking at the night sky was beautiful.
It moved slightly up and down but remained firm and steady.
‘As expected of the chief controller.’
Her basic stamina was solid.
Doing push-ups like this while carrying Lirian on her back was truly impressive.
“I’ve been thinking, Margaret.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
A voice came from beneath Lirian, as if she were dying, but Margaret ignored it.
“I became His Highness the Crown Prince’s controller, right? I can’t just go around controlling him all day, so I wanted to contribute in some way.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But why do you keep twisting my intentions… actually, I was hurt, you know? Despite how I look, I’m actually quite delicate.”
“I’m sorry, sorry, sorry!”
“And I also thought.”
“You think… so much…?”
“I always think, Margaret. Therefore, I exist.”
Do you know how hard she worked to survive?
Right here, there’s no one else who uses their brain as much as Lirian.
“Margaret, your back is lowering.”
“Ugh…!”
“That’s enough. You’ve enjoyed the view long enough.”
Lirian generously got up.
Margaret, thinking of her dignity, fell flat on the tiled floor.
“How will you treat me from now on?”
“Ah… from now on, I will serve you with… utmost devotion…!”
“Ah, see. Saying it like that makes it seem like I treated you terribly. Isn’t it? But you want to serve me, right?”
“Yes, yes. Truly…”
“Good.”
Lirian smiled kindly.
“Do you believe the children under you in the future will help me with the same devotion as you?”
“Of… of course.”
It’s better to do so if you don’t want to die.
‘There’s no particular reason I’m forgiving her.’
If the Crown Prince contest requires it, using force was natural.
And in the worst-case scenario, conflict would arise.
‘Then it’s better to have as many heads thinking as possible.’
Humans have value while alive.
As long as they’re not the type who just discard others.
After a storm had passed,
Lirian finally began to enjoy a pleasant environment, free from gossip.
It helped that she had excellent attendants by her side.
“Margaret. My sketch.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Margaret, the angle you’re giving me the pencil at is all wrong.”
“Apologies, I’ll correct it immediately.”
“Let’s do it right in one go. One shot.”
“Yes!”
Margaret responded like a knight’s squire rather than a maid, disciplined and precise.
With her emerging like this, even those who had always been hostile to Lirian became obedient.
They even quietly approached while watching Lirian’s reaction.
“Ma’am, you haven’t been to the field much, right?”
“That’s true.”
“But last time, how did you create the butterfly afterimage with your control?”
“That’s part of the Tillard family training.”
“…!”
“I might have organized it myself to understand it.”
Ramio had left all the family training records to Lirian.
‘Ramio, Kuern oppa was asking for this quickly… if you write it carelessly, later…’
‘Ah! You’re whining about nothing. You should’ve done it in that time!’
Thanks to that, even though she was a ‘useless’ person, she had learned some countermeasures in her head.
‘I wondered when I’d ever use such meaningless things.’
Nothing in life is useless. Even dog droppings eventually help medicine, right? You look for it, that’s life.
But when she answered, the expressions of the controllers subtly changed.
It was like biting into a sour lemon.
“…You did that too, ma’am?”
“Huh? Yes, I did.”
“But… that’s something your subordinates should do…”
“I just did it myself.”
“……”
No one said another word.
In any case, they were now following Lirian voluntarily.
‘Now that I’ve earned the right to speak, I can push through as much nonsense as I want.’
Having become the villain’s dedicated attendant, she knew she could get away with absurd things.
But if a contest for the Crown Prince’s position took place…
‘There will be injuries along the way.’
If she proceeded without any results, people might leave midway.
So giving and receiving just the right amount of trust would be sufficient.
A few hours later, Jeanne came running to deliver news from the priest.
“Ma’am, the relic to check compatibility is ready for operation!”
