Chapter 18

“What is it? It’s too late for regrets. Though, if you get on your knees and beg, I might just let this slide.”

“What are you talking about? I called you here because I forgot to mention something important.”

“W-What did you say?”

“We’ll be sending a document. It will demand compensation for all the jewelry and gems you’ve stolen up to now.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The Duke told me to take everything I could get my hands on. Apparently, I’m going to need a lot of money.”

“W-What…”

“I hear bankrupt nobles aren’t even treated as well as commoners these days. I don’t know how much it’ll cost to maintain that pathetic title of Baroness. Good luck.”

“…”

“Oh, right. If you have time, could you tell Vivian? The same documents will be sent to her, too.”

Mrs. Herot’s breath hitched.

Staggering as if dizzy, she clung to my legs.

“Wait, just a moment, Princess! What do you mean I stole from you?”

“Oh, you don’t know? If you’re innocent, you have nothing to worry about. In that case, feel free to sue for damages due to false accusation.”

“N-No! It’s a misunderstanding! Would a noble like me ever do such a thing? It wasn’t me, it was them! I swear I’ve never once laid a hand on your belongings, Princess! Please, believe me!”

“Ah, you’re so annoying. You taught me it’s wrong to be a nuisance, yet here you are. No wonder everyone dislikes you.”

“…”

I repeated the same lecture Mrs. Herot had given Astell, then gave my leg a light shake.

I’d only shaken it gently, but Mrs. Herot tumbled backward.

I pointed at Mrs. Herot and ordered Zenia.

“From now on, this woman is banned from the estate—”

“Aaaargh!”

I hadn’t even finished my sentence. Mrs. Herot shrieked and shot to her feet.

“N-No! I can’t die like this! After everything I did to get here! After how I raised you all this time!”

Mrs. Herot charged forward, her steps heavy. She was tightly clutching a slender self-defense knife.

She must have truly lost her mind from the drugs, as she couldn’t even distinguish her target. The tip of the knife was aimed not at me, but at Zenia.

“One thing after another.”

I pulled Zenia behind me and snatched at the blade.

I tried to wrench the knife away, but Mrs. Herot’s resistance was surprisingly strong.

“Gaaah! I’ll kill you!”

With her desperate struggle, the smooth blade sliced across my palm as it slipped free.

“Ugh!”

*Drip, drip!* Blood trickled down onto the luxurious carpet.

Zenia, who had fallen to the floor, saw my hand and screamed.

“Aah! Princess!”

At the sound, the drawing room door burst open and Frank rushed in with the servants.

“M-Mrs. Herot? W-What is the meaning of this!”

“Are you all just going to stand there and watch? Seize her, now!”

Even with three people on her, they couldn’t subdue Mrs. Herot.

Though she was a woman, she was large and thrashing about like a mad bull, foaming at the mouth. They were no match for her.

“Let go of me! Let go right now! How dare you lay your hands on me! I am a Baroness! A Baroness, I tell you!”

“Ma’am! You mustn’t do this!”

A few more employees joined in.

Shouts, screams, and the sound of overturning furniture. The quiet estate erupted into chaos.

The commotion even brought Duke Ruthius upstairs.

“What is all this commotion!”

His thunderous voice brought everyone to a halt.

The Duke’s green eyes paused on the knife in Mrs. Herot’s hand before shifting to my own.

“…”

An unnerving chill emanated from Duke Ruthius.

The aura was so frightening that even the deranged Mrs. Herot flinched.

Taking advantage of her momentary calm, the employees seized Mrs. Herot.

“Ma’am, please, come quietly.”

“Agh! Let go! How dare you commoners lay your hands on a noble?”

“Wait.”

At Duke Ruthius’s firm command, the employees froze.

Duke Ruthius approached Mrs. Herot, whose arms were held fast.

At that, Mrs. Herot’s eyes welled with tears as she began to plead her case.

“Your Grace, this is truly unfair. To frame me and cast me out overnight after I’ve dedicated my entire life to serving you.”

“Astell, what happened?”

Duke Ruthius asked me for an explanation.

*I thought for sure he’d ask Mrs. Herot…*

While I hesitated at the unexpected turn of events, Mrs. Herot jumped in.

“Th-The Princess suddenly harmed herself! To frame me! I was only trying to take the weapon away!”

*Oh, that’s a novel excuse.*

It was a plausible excuse. After all, they all thought Astell was mad.

Her social anxiety and panic attacks wouldn’t have seemed normal in their eyes.

So, I could understand if they were swayed by Mrs. Herot’s nonsense.

But what came out of Duke Ruthius’s mouth was unexpected.

“Astell’s skills are not so poor that someone could snatch a weapon from her.”

“…!”

*Did he see through it because he’s a swordmaster?*

Honestly, I was surprised. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was also a little touched.

Duke Ruthius asked another question. It was one no one had anticipated.

“Astell, did you say this woman stole your jewelry?”

“Yes.”

“And did she ever use violence against you?”

*Did he grasp the entire situation, present and past, in a single instant?*

*Pretty sharp. I’ll give him that, for a swordmaster.*

*But why hadn’t he done it before?*

If he had shown even a little interest, Astell would never have ended up in such a state.

I shrugged.

“It’d be faster to count the days she didn’t.”

Verbal abuse is still abuse, after all. Perhaps even worse than the physical kind.

“N-No! Those are all lies! The Princess isn’t in her right mind, she’s spouting nonsense!”

It was at that moment.

Duke Ruthius snatched the knife from Mrs. Herot’s hand and pressed it to her throat. The sharp tip was moments from digging into her neck.

A single drop of blood trickled down her skin.

“Y-Your Grace…”

“What did I tell you? Did I not ask you to take good care of my daughter? Did I not promise to grant any request, if only you looked after Astell properly?”

“…S-Spare me… spare me…”

“And yet, not only did you dare to steal my daughter’s jewels and use violence against her, you even raised a blade to her? Do you have a death wish?”

“I-I am a noble…”

“Noble status means nothing to me. It’s laughable to think the title of a mere Baroness would have any effect.”

“…”

“Frank, drag this woman out immediately and cut off all financial support to the Herot family. And recall any funds that were loaned.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

The employees dragged Mrs. Herot out.

It was a miserable end for a woman who had been permitted to do as she pleased, all for the fact that she was personally raising the Mad Princess.

I felt neither happy nor sad.

I was just upset that Astell had suffered because of someone like that.

It was then.

*Thud.* A dull sound echoed.

It was the sound of the knife falling from the Duke’s hand.

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to his hand, which had begun to tremble.

“Huu…”

Duke Ruthius clenched his fist so tightly the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

After Marcella’s death, he couldn’t hold any weapon, let alone a sword.

It was the price he paid for leaving his beloved wife alone while he was off killing people on the battlefield.

Duke Ruthius stared at my bleeding hand for a moment, then left the drawing room.

The chaotic drawing room fell silent, as if after a storm.

Frank, who had been holding his breath, finally let out a long sigh and wrapped a bandage around my hand.

“I will call for a healer. Please do not remove the bandage until then.”

“I’ll have the paladin heal it.”

“Paladins are not priests; they do not possess healing abilities.”

“I know.”

“Pardon?”

I gave a silent shrug and pulled Zenia by the arm.

Zenia, who had been sitting on the floor, too shocked to stand, was pulled to her feet like a doll.

“How long are you going to stay dazed? Get up.”

Zenia stared at me with a blank expression.

“You always help me up yourself, don’t you, Princess?”

“…When have I ever?”

“You did it last time, too. During the carriage accident.”

“You must have been in the way, just like now.”

“But I wasn’t even blocking your path.”

“…”

Just then, thankfully, a maid announced the paladin’s arrival.

I turned away quickly. I could feel Zenia’s gaze on my back, but I didn’t look back.