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Chapter 55

"I… why did I…."

Cardela muttered, glancing around.

Perhaps sensing that this was the end, she seemed to recall some quick thinking and pushed my shoulder with her fan.

"How dare you act so rudely here! Lady Arreti, you mustn't let such rudeness slide. A child who disrespects a great noble like this…!"

Cardela couldn't finish her sentence.

"Lady Ganetsha!?"

"Wait! Put that down!"

"Kyaa!"

In the sudden commotion, Lady Ganetsha, who had appeared, rushed in brandishing a knife.

"What did I do…! Why are you all coming at me like this! This is all your fault! You're the one who started the rumors!"

I quickly scanned the area and found Vinet.

Fortunately, Lady Boreita and Thalia were holding Vinet back as she struggled to come this way.

Marr Elr stepped forward, moving other nobles back in case of an emergency.

She was reciting a prayer, ready to begin healing at any moment.

Relieved by the reliable saintess and the surrounding situation, I took a step away from Cardela.

Though I wanted to slap her just as she had slapped me, Cardela and I were too close, and I risked getting entangled.

"Lady Ganetsha! Put that down! What is this rudeness!"

Cardela, who had yet to come to her senses, provoked the trembling Lady Ganetsha.

Even amidst this, Cardela instinctively grabbed my sleeve out of fear.

'Is this woman crazy!'

I couldn't shout at her to let go, so I twisted her hand that was clutching my sleeve.

Unless it was direct contact, the brooch would keep me safe, but I didn't want to be entangled with Cardela—especially with my cheek still stinging.

"Rudeness? You said rudeness? You're the one who was rude! Why should I get blamed for you? Why! Aaaargh!"

Lady Ganetsha screamed as if possessed.

Her rolling eyes eventually curved into crescents.

"It's because of you."

She muttered and lunged.

"Kyaaaagh!"

The surrounding chaos felt like slow motion.

The moment Cardela's hand released my sleeve, she reached out with the other and grabbed my arm.

Then, with a strong push, she shoved me away.

As I stumbled, I tried to pull Cardela along, but her freed hand grabbed my sleeve again.

'Ah.'

I was done for.

The brooch on my chest was ripped away by Cardela's hand, and the strong recoil sent me falling backward.

Thud—

A chilling sound struck my ears.

"Lexi!!!!"

I heard Vinet's desperate cry.

---

As Lexi fell backward, the knife, caught in the momentum, mercilessly pierced her back.

Lexi, stunned by the gushing blood, eventually collapsed weakly.

The moment Lady Boreita and Thalia's grips loosened, Vinet screamed and ran to Lexi.

"Lexi! Lexi!"

"It's… fi……."

Her voice slowly faded, like air escaping a balloon, and then stopped.

The waiting knights subdued the limp Lady Ganetsha.

Marr Elr quickly infused her divine power, healing Lexi's wounds.

"Thank goodness the Saintess is here."

A noblewoman sighed in relief as Lexi's wounds gradually healed.

'Thank goodness? What's good about it?'

Thanks to the Saintess's power, Lexi would live. So what?

She was already hurt.

'How scared must she have been.'

Vinet's hand, tightly gripping Lexi's blood-soaked hand, trembled uncontrollably.

Just like Lexi's, Vinet's hand had gone pale, but strangely, no tears came.

Cold, cold emotions began to boil from the depths.

"Take Lady Ganetsha to the dungeon."

Flustered by this unprecedented situation, Arreti followed Lady Boreita's advice.

"The price for this unfortunate incident will be paid. So…."

Arreti cautiously spoke, trying to comfort Vinet, who was staring blankly with her head bowed.

"And that woman Cardela?"

Vinet slowly lifted her head and tilted it as if she didn't understand.

"Pardon? Lady Cardela?"

At the question, asked without the usual honorifics, Arreti was slow to react.

"Yes, that woman. Lexi got hurt because of her. What happened to Lady Ganetsha is also Cardela's fault. Shouldn't she be sent to the dungeon too?"

Cardela, who had been sitting dazed, twisted her face at Vinet's words.

"Princess Vinet, I'm the victim here!"

What would the old Vinet have done? She would have trembled and stayed silent like a mouse.

But the Vinet now was different.

To the point where even she felt a disconnect, she was both rational and emotional.

Carefully setting down Lexi's hand, Vinet stood and slowly approached Cardela.

"Victim? Who's the victim? You've ruined everything, and you call yourself a victim? Have you forgotten what you did with your own hand?"

With a calm voice, she pressed her boot down hard on Cardela's hand.

"Kyaa! It hurts…! Princess! What are you doing…! Aaah! It hurts!"

Cardela screamed.

From her loosened hand, the brooch Rahan had given me rolled to the ground.

Neither Thalia nor Lady Boreita stopped Vinet, but others approached Vinet, thinking they should still intervene.

Vinet quickly reached out to stop them.

Her relentless foot finally lifted.

She picked up the fallen brooch and clutched it.

If only this had been properly attached, Lexi wouldn't have been hurt.

"Lexi is a servant of the Rohambriga family. Any rudeness shown to her is the same as rudeness shown to me."

Smack—

Cardela's head snapped to the side.

"You have just acted rudely toward me. And instead of apologizing, you're raising your voice as if you've done nothing wrong?"

With a pure question of incomprehension, she furrowed her delicate brow.

Smack—

She struck Cardela's other cheek, leaving her dumbfounded.

Even if Vinet smiled foolishly, she was still the princess of the only ducal family in the empire.

With no princess in the imperial family, she was the highest-ranking woman among her peers.

Any rudeness shown to her could be punished as she saw fit.

"And you, you've done more than just this, haven't you? If I were you, I'd be begging for mercy, but you seem to lack that kind of awareness. Well, that's exactly why you came up with such an absurd scheme."

She let out a hollow laugh, as if pitiful.

Suddenly, a conversation with Lexi came to mind.

When Vinet had lost confidence in herself, constantly repeating small mistakes despite her efforts, Lexi had said:

"Bibi, listen carefully. Mistakes? Make them! Do they laugh? Cut their throats."

"How can I do something so cruel?"

It was just like the behavior of the nobles she hated most—Vinet shook her head as if it was impossible.

"Who said to actually do it? It means you have the right to be angry if they're rude to you!"

"But you said you hate those kinds of nobles."

"What I hate is nobles who act that way for no reason. This has a reason, so it's fine."

Like boiling broth, Lexi's standards stretched and shrank like rubber bands, but her shamelessness never changed.

Blinking, Vinet saw Cardela, who wanted to be angry at the humiliation brought on by the insults, but couldn't say a word as she recalled her own scheming, biting her lip.

"Looks like you're finally coming to your senses? I'd like to repay you in kind, but that would be hard on Marr Elr. I'll postpone it for later."

Her cold, curved eyes seemed to constrict Cardela's breath.

"Lady Arreti. Take this woman to the dungeon. We intend to formally press charges against Cardela, so make sure she doesn't escape."

That was not a request, but an order.

Arreti nodded vigorously.

Was this the same gentle princess from before?

Everyone was lost in confusion.

---

"These are the families we've investigated based on Rikael's handcrafted potion transaction records. They've all kept a tight lid on things."

Receiving Rahan's report, Heald shook his head and clicked his tongue at Marquis Selfios's meticulousness.

"Thorough to the point of being vicious. It must have been hard to do alone."

"He must have created a secret organization no one knows about. Or allied with one that already existed."

"If we find them, things will get easier, but…."

"It won't be easy. Still, we've made some gains."

What Rahan pointed to was the discrepancy between the operating funds of the restaurant run by Viscount Gabaton and the actual goods being traded.

Some level of profit was quietly taken, but in Gabaton's case, it was excessive.

Moreover, since he was connected to Marquis Selfios, it was worth investigating further.

"Just a little more effort."

Heald scratched the back of his head apologetically, but he was just as busy on all fronts.

"…I'll consider it thanks for that time."

Remembering Heald, who had pushed him forward, Rahan tucked part of the documents back into his pocket as if to say not to worry.

"Ah, that happened. Right. Come to think of it, the Seitron and Engcloman families have been eagerly waiting for you."

Heald smirked slyly, as if testing Rahan.

"Well, I wouldn't know—I haven't heard anything."

Seeing his friend playing dumb, Heald shrugged.

"Well, they're the ones who missed their chance."

The Seitron and Engcloman families had a history of being rude to Lexi.

Though it was their subordinates' actions, neither family showed any reaction after hearing the news.

They just treated it as a matter of course and approached Rahan to propose investments.

A wealthy man who could casually spend 3,000 gold was right before them.

They were focused solely on that fact, desperate to secure a contract before the other.

'He didn't particularly enjoy this kind of revenge, it seems.'

Thanks to Lexi, he was trying all sorts of things.

Even Rahan, who was usually gentle, wasn't so kind as to leave those who harmed his family alone.

Boundless kindness often led to poisonous results, so Rahan always guarded against it.

He usually issued direct warnings or secretly dismantled them, but this time was a little different.

There had been a conflict, but no major harm had been done—and Lexi had escaped quickly. The problem was Rahan himself.

If the knights had been bolder, Lexi could have been in danger.

So he indirectly expressed his will by subtly refusing meetings.

The Seitron and Engcloman families would search for the reason, and when they did, he would quietly mention that they had nearly insulted his family. They would then pay the price accordingly.

Also, he wouldn't give too much meaning to Lexi by focusing solely on her.

'It's a headache that I can't just openly favor her.'

Lexi was a commoner.

People might question her relationship with Rahan and approach her with threats or bribes.

Unless he planned to keep her safely confined at home, he had to avoid restricting her freedom.

'Unless….'

If they had a relationship with a real reason, there would be justification—but for now, it was just unrequited love.

Heald watched his friend's expression change constantly, frowning and sighing.

He never imagined he'd see Rahan, in his lifetime, agonizing so helplessly over love.

It was fascinating.

"Excuse me."

With urgent news, Haulo approached Rahan with a grave expression.

"What is it?"

"An unfortunate incident occurred at the Forte residence."

Forte. The faces of his sister and Lexi, who had attended Arreti's tea party, came to mind.

"An unfortunate incident?"

Heald muttered.

"…Lady Lexi was seriously injured. The assailant was Lady Ganetsha. During the gathering, she suddenly…."

Bang—

"Rahan! Rahan!?"

Rahan threw open the door and ran out.

He should do this, he should do that. Without any constraints, purely.

He was only thinking of Lexi's safety.

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