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chapter 34
“Eh?”
“Ah, of course, maybe I didn’t consider outright abuse, but I don’t think the Duke didn’t have this child in mind when he sent me to this estate. He must have thought it wouldn’t be much of a threat, so he wouldn’t care what happens here. Even if one day contact with that maid, Sofien, was cut off. She’s just a maid, after all.”
Listening to her, it seemed Livanu had at least a rough idea of Reto’s whereabouts.
Well, Grace had caught on immediately, so it was natural that Livanu would too.
“…That does make sense.”
If it were the Duke, he’d probably have found it bothersome that Sofien kept demanding Reto’s upbringing allowance every month. But he likely wouldn’t have completely neglected his bloodline.
So that’s why Sofien has been sticking around here all this time.
Money keeps coming in monthly. Grace felt certain of that.
Since they spent money so lavishly in the village, there weren’t many places in this small village where it could have come from.
And it didn’t seem like Sofien had a separate job.
If Grace’s assumptions were correct, the Duke would probably find Sofien irritating.
Perhaps Reto didn’t seek out the Duke when he grew up not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.
Now she could understand why no illegitimate child had ever appeared in her past life. The Duke might have taken care of it himself.
“Then… should we kill her?”
“What?”
Grace mentioned someone’s death without a hint of hesitation.
Surprised, Livanu and Essi stared at her, and Grace just blinked as if to ask, what’s wrong with that?
“That’s the fastest and easiest way, isn’t it?”
“…I suppose, but… are you okay with that?”
“Huh?”
“Who’s going to do it?”
“…Ah.”
Livanu was still too young to kill anyone, and she didn’t seem the type to even consider it. Essi wasn’t either.
That left only Grace.
“Should I do it?”
“What? Grace! How can you even say something like that? Killing someone?!”
Essi exclaimed in shock, and Grace realized maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
“Then… I’ll cancel that…”
“Of course, I understand that you feel sorry for Master Reto, but you can’t only think about others, Grace.”
“…Huh?”
“You have to think about yourself first! If you kill someone, do you think you can live comfortably with your personality?”
“…Uh-huh?”
“Better hire an assassin to do it. I will never allow your hands to be stained with blood.”
Livanu, stepping in firmly against the idea, held Grace’s hand tightly, looking almost on the verge of tears.
“You risked your life for others before, but now you’re trying to step in personally for something like this….”
It seemed like a memory flashed in Livanu’s mind from when she had taken the poison instead of Essi.
Realizing something was off, Grace understood: Livanu wasn’t against Sofien dying; she was against her own hands being stained with blood.
“Ah… I’m sorry… really…”
“Don’t ever think that way again. My heart stops every time you do this, Grace.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Though Grace didn’t understand why they always misunderstood her, she realized that with both of them firmly opposed, handling it herself would be impossible.
Grace thought carefully.
How could she strike at Sofien?
Then a thought crossed her mind: what if she caused internal division?
Sofien had no family name when she introduced herself.
That meant her direct maids must be unhappy being under someone of the same rank as Sofien.
In the end, Sofien’s status was nothing more than that of a commoner, and without the Duke backing her, she was powerless.
“What if we try to persuade the servants?”
“Them?”
“Yes. Or do you have another idea?”
“But they’re still bystanders. Are we just going to leave them alone?”
“Of course not. But since they helped, they’ll probably ask for leniency.”
“I don’t like that.”
Even if one is the perpetrator, inaction is not right either. Grace didn’t think perpetrators and bystanders should receive the same punishment, but she wanted them to face appropriate consequences.
Then again, if the maids were involved under Sofien, they would all seem like ordinary people to Reto. Showing him any mercy would feel wrong.
“So… is there any other way besides this…?”
“I don’t want to kill her, so let’s just lock her up.”
“Excuse me? Lock her up?”
“Yes.”
Grace’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You said Sofien locked Reto up and even assigned a maid to watch him before leaving.”
“…That’s right.”
“Life’s all about empathy.”
Indeed. People often don’t understand the harm they’ve caused unless they experience the same thing themselves.
“If she experiences the same, she’ll realize how much wrong she’s done. Even if she later sincerely repents and begs Reto, I won’t let her go.”
Not that Grace intended to use violence against Sofien.
“…Is that a bit cruel?”
Livanu spoke cautiously, worried Grace might think she was strange.
“No. It seems like an appropriate punishment for a criminal.”
Actually, she was a little surprised, but for Livanu, who might become a cruel villain in the future, the idea of confinement seemed minor.
And it truly felt like an appropriate punishment.
After all, Reto, being illegitimate, wasn’t legally recognized as a noble, so Sofien couldn’t be punished by law.
Mutiny against a noble was punishable by death, so confinement was lenient by comparison.
“That’s a relief.”
Livanu breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“But how do we capture and lock her up? First, we should deal with her subordinates.”
“Yes.”
“What kind of punishment will you give to her subordinates?”
Grace asked, and Livanu, after some thought, replied:
“I’ll think about that a little more.”
“…Alright.”
Even Essi, initially startled by the idea of confinement, seemed to accept it as a reasonable method.
Above all, confinement or intimidation was Grace’s specialty.
“Hehe.”
Grace let out a cold smile.
Bad people were shameless.
They could commit evil acts because they didn’t even flinch at most things.
“Ah, and there’s one more suspicious thing.”
“Again?”
“Yes. Sofien claimed that Master Reto was mentally unstable and abused by his mother since childhood. But she’s the one who abused him.”
“Right. But so what? Isn’t that just an excuse?”
“No. I think there’s something with Reto’s mother too. And, more importantly, it might later become the Duke’s weakness.”
“The Duke’s weakness?”
Essi asked in surprise.
“How does Reto’s mother become the Duke’s weakness? Am I the only one who doesn’t get it?”
“….”
Grace instinctively looked at Livanu and fell silent.
Livanu replied casually:
“It seems like she’s illegitimate.”
“Huh?”
Essi covered her mouth in shock.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t notice…!”
And she hurriedly apologized.
“It’s fine. But Grace, what about Reto’s mother?”
Seeing Essi would continue apologizing, Livanu smoothly shifted the topic.
“I thought something might come up if I investigated, so I requested help from the information guild in the capital.”
It seemed like she gave them too much work, but it was the information guild, so it was profitable and useful. And as a newcomer, every task mattered.
“Okay.”
“By the way, when should we capture and lock her up?”
“For now…”
Before Livanu could finish, someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock knock—
“It’s Sofien. Is Master Reto here?”
A gentle and soft voice came through.
The culprit arrived at just the right timing.
The three exchanged glances naturally.
Since Reto had disappeared, she probably came to look for him.
But as soon as Reto, who had been asleep, heard Sofien’s voice, his eyes shot open.
“Huh!”
Even though he had said Sofien’s actions were justified, the moment he heard her voice, he trembled in fear, not knowing what to do.
Seeing him so pitiful, Essi quickly approached, patted his back, and held him close.
He calmed down a bit, but the knocking came again.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
Before Grace could respond, Livanu jumped up and flung the door open.
“Master! You were here! It was so quiet, I thought no one was here. Oh my, Master Reto! You really are here!”
Sofien smiled brightly, visibly relieved, and strode confidently toward Reto.
