Chapter 29: Mom, Dad. I’m Sorry.

In understanding, the butler nodded his head before leaving. When the door to the sitting room closed, I turned to everyone and spoke calmly.

“There’s a favour I want to ask of you.”

They all looked at me.

“I want to be the one to talk with the two of them first.”

As soon as I finished speaking, everyone’s faces froze.

“Your Highness, you can’t do that alone.”

Selphius firmly shook his head,

“It’ll only be your ears that will be dirtied, they’re not even worth listening to.”

and Theodore spoke adamantly with the force of wanting to kill not one, but two people.

“Sasha, there’s no need to share conversation with such bastards. You can only communicate if they’re people. It might be better just to kill…”

“Seci, Ailett’es listening… But Your Highness, I agree with everyone else.”

Sercia rolled up her sleeves, Finneas was ever kind, and Ailette, worried, firmly grasped my ring finger.

“If everyone’s there, they’ll just show a pretense of reflecting on their actions. I can’t just let those two go for what they’ve done. And there’s no way the two of them will frankly confess in front of everyone.”

“A confession is something we can receive separately.”

Theodore must have been displeased, for he frowned. But I firmly shook my head.

“And if the two don’t confess? They might say that we kidnapped the child and report us.”

“Then we can just solve things our way. They know about our curse, so the conversation should wrap up quickly.”

“But…”

I gently scanned everyone.

“None of you want to kill someone with your curse.”

My words must have struck a chord with them, for everyone froze. To be honest, I wanted to hear what they’d say. I wanted to ask why they neglected such a small and lovely child. And I wanted to receive a truthful apology for Ailette. Everyone shook their heads, clearly disinclined. But an unexpected person took my side.

“Sure, if the Grand Duchess wants to do so.”

Gloria, who had not said a word from beginning to end and had only listened finally opened her mouth.

“It’s not like she’s going to die, and it’s not like she’s entering a battle. Is there a reason to block her? All of you are so extra.”

“But Miss Gloria, look at our Sasha. If she gets hit, she’ll probably collapse. What if those subhuman things hit our Sasha…”

At Sercia’s rambling, Gloria frowned. Then, she lifted her hand and covered the woman’s mouth before looking around the large sitting room. Gloria pointed her index finger at a table that was hidden in the corner.

“Set up a partition where that table is. Then the Grand Duchess can have a conversation without us.”

I nodded at Gloria’s words.

“And since you all can hear the conversation yourself and come out to help the Grand Duchess if a dangerous situation occurs, doesn’t it all work out?”

But the other people did not nod. Sercia must have had a lot to say, for her lips twitched, but overwhelmed by Gloria’s attitude, she didn’t say a word.

“What’s with this reaction?”

The tips of Gloria’s lips twisted by the reaction of her family she had never seen before.

“Is it that you all can not trust the Grand Duchess? You think she cannot receive a single confession?”

“No! I believe in Her Highness!” Selphius protested, even lifting his arms up high. At that,
Gloria scoffed.

“Then just let the Grand Duchess do as she pleases. She isn’t your toy doll, you know.”

Silence filled the air. With that, Gloria ordered the maids to set up the partition without a single moment of hesitation. When the partition was complete, Ailette grabbed onto me with a scared expression.

“…Sister.”

“I’m okay, Ailette.”

Her innocent eyes were filled with worry.

“Sasha, if anything happens, I’ll throw the partition to the side and come out. If something happens, just call for me loudly.”

Please don’t fling the partition to the side. As I laughed awkwardly, Theodore spoke up calmly.

“Will you really be okay on your own?”

“Yes. At any rate, we’re just having a conversation. And you’re going to be with me anyway, with a mere divider in between us.”

“I can’t give you a lot of time. Regardless of what they say, three minutes is the limit. When three minutes pass, I will open the partition and come out.”

Three minutes? Wait, this person!

“Three minutes is too extreme. It will take at least five minutes to get everyone to sit down!”

“Then five minutes.”

Theodore took out a pocket watch from his pocket.

“It’s five minutes from now on.”

It really seemed like he would break through everything and come out when five minutes passed. With an exasperated expression, I held out ten fingers.

“Let’s do ten minutes.”

“Five minutes.”

“Ten minutes. Five minutes will end once we come into the sitting room and greet each other.”

“Five minutes.”

“Then what’s the point of having a conversation? Ten minutes.”

Theodore let out a sigh of surrender. Then, with bloodthirst in his eyes, he spoke lowly.

“Just know that if I see anything suspicious at all, I’ll come out.”

“Yes, okay.”

I knew he was acting nicer so we would appear more like a couple in front of his family, but it almost made me think we had gotten married because we loved each other.

‘No, get a grip.’

After I shook my head firmly, I heard Gloria tutting her tongue from the side.

“Do you all believe that the Grand Duchess and you are parting ways? We should be focusing on the more important things, like not getting caught.”

Speaking coldly, Gloria got up from the sofa. Finneas and Sercia rushed to Gloria and supported her on opposite sides. As the partition was finished being set up, Gloria walked to go behind it, before glancing at me. Her red eyes were filled with excitement.

“I’m looking forward to the conversation.”

Everyone went behind the partition, and the maids came in to put away the teacups on the table and clean the carpet, which had Ailette’s blood on it. I couldn’t even hear the sound of breathing. Even though I tried to remain calm, my head felt like it was on fire with rage. After a bit of time passed, I heard the sound of knocking. Knock knock.

“Come in.”

As the doors opened, a woman wearing an expensive shawl and an elegant-looking man came in with insolent expressions. 

I quickly remarked, “Take it away. We have no need for tea,” to the maids who were waiting behind them.

Why give them tea when they haven’t done anything good? At my command, the maids replied “yes” before leaving the sitting room. Looking indifferent, the two people came in and sat on the opposing sofa without even looking around the sitting room.

“We are here to find Ailette. She’s here, right? My daughter.”

As soon as she sat down, Melin, Ailette’s birth mother, spoke haughtily and impudently. I did not respond. Melin must have been anxious at that point because she shouted again.

“My daughter’s here. If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t have even let me into the residence. Where is she, my daughter?”

Again, instead of responding, I looked the two people up and down.

“W-What? What a way to make someone feel bad.”

“Your shawl looks fairly expensive.”

“What does that have to do with you? Bring my daughter out right now.”

“Ailette’s dress was very dirty, ugly, and oh, its length didn’t fit her either. But your shawl…” 

I jutted my chin out before speaking languidly, “is clean as if it were bought recently, and it also looks expensive.”

At my words, Melin’s shoulders flinched before she adjusted her shawl.

“You’re the same. Your hat, cane, and watch. All of it is pretty expensive. I wonder where you got that money from. Of course, it’s not of the luxurious class, though.”

“I-I just came to find my daughter! Unhand my daughter immediately, you kidnapper!”

“Kidnapper?” I laughed superficially.

“You’re using such a dangerous phrase recklessly. Ailette is an official guest who has Lapileon blood. The uninvited guests are not Ailette, but…” I narrowed my eyes before staring at the two people. 

“You, who came here mindlessly and showed me disrespect.”

At my scornful words, Melin quickly butted in.

“Those words mean that Ailette is here, right? Then hurry and call her here. We are very busy people. We have no time to waste.”

“You must not be worried about the child? All you’re thinking about is taking that precious child, without a single worry.”

“Th-That…! Ahem. That’s obviously because she must be okay. Is Ailette okay?”

“No,” I responded as soon as Melin asked her question.

“She had a high fever for two days in a row and was unconscious; she just managed to wake up today. She was extremely malnourished and had terrible immunity, so it was easier for her to catch a cold. And when I washed her myself…”

I paused and looked at them, the two people trembling and frozen in place.

“She had a lot of scars on her body. And wounds that had yet to heal.”

“A-At that age, kids usually play and bump into this and that. I-It’s not like I can look after the child all day long,” Melin said with an awkward smile.

“We’re doing our best for Ailette… Your Highness. When raising a child, there comes a time when you need to discipline them… Your Highness. You shouldn’t say anything if you don’t know! …Your Highness.”

The man awkwardly added formality to the end of his sentences, as if he’d only just realized who I was. I started to lose my temper, seeing how they felt no guilt at all. I scoffed.

“I can’t give you the child.”

“…! W-What right do you have to keep my child…?!”

“Did you think that since the child loved and relied on you, you could do anything you wanted?”

“W-What? What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Melin’s face crumpled. Then, to hide her own crimes, she responded in an even louder voice.

“What did I do? I didn’t do anything!”

“You, your words are quite strange! Are you trying to frame us as bad parents?”

A man who must have been a merchant at best was yelling at me while jabbing his finger at me. In that moment, I could feel a murderous intent coming from behind the partition. It had not even been five minutes since he had awkwardly tried speaking formally to me. It was clear that he hadn’t even learned it.

“I-I don’t know what you heard, but it’s entirely that child’s lies!”

Melin’s voice got louder.

“That child lies as much as she eats! If we didn’t love her, would we come all this way personally to find her? Then, even if she had vanished, we would have been fine with it!”

To be honest, if I saw even a glimpse of reflection, even just a bit… I was going to tell them to genuinely repent and apologize to Ailette. Tell them that since their child is listening, they should admit their faults. But the two people were despicable. They didn’t exhibit any remorse or thought about their behavior. They didn’t even acknowledge their wrongdoing. It seemed that they subconsciously believed they did not commit a crime and that their actions were reasonable. Well, if they had thought their actions were wrong, they wouldn’t have done such a thing to a young child in the first place.

‘As a human to a human, how can they do such a thing?’

When I clenched my fists as if to strike someone, I heard the sound of the partition opening.

“I… don’t lie.”

The two people’s eyes shifted to the area behind me. I turned my head with a sad expression.

“M-My baby!”

At Ailette’s appearance, Melin outstretched both her arms and smiled awkwardly.

“C-Come home with Mom. Mom and Dad came to take you home. Your brother is also very worried for you at home.”

“…Yes, Ailette. Dad came all the way here just to take you home. There’s no need to stay in a place like this. Let’s go. Come here.”

Ailette’s body trembled gently. Ailette took a step forward on her own despite the fact that she needed assistance because her feet were still hurting. Ailette slowly walked, limping. Then, Selphius, behind her, hurriedly grabbed her wrist.

“…You.”

“It’s okay, Brother Selphi.”

At Ailette’s faint smile, Selphius clenched his teeth before letting go of her wrist. Ailette walked towards us, and the two people’s faces lit up.

“That’s right, my child. Come here!”

The child’s steps did not, however, arrive at their side.

“Mom, Dad, sorry.”

Ailette grabbed my clothes with a trembling hand. She gripped it so tightly that the blood had drained white from her fingers.

“I don’t want to go.”