“Let me interpret this.”
Delight began to speak as he gazed steadily at my drawing.
“You didn’t even realize that your children had neglected the princess and she had disappeared.”
This was the interpretation of the first drawing.
Flip-
The paper turned to the second drawing.
“You went to look for her too late and picked a fight with the prince who was with the princess.”
Delight held the third drawing as well.
“You tried to forcibly take the princess, injuring her in the process.”
As Delight continued to speak, the faces of the nobles and their children turned pale.
The drawing had now reached the fourth and final one.
“Then, to avoid any repercussions, you decided to blame Prince Serdin and left the princess behind.”
It was a straightforward illustration that needed no further explanation.
The emperor’s interpretation was also very astute.
“Is that correct?”
Delight’s cold voice echoed continuously.
“Among all of you, the person I trust the most is, of course, the princess. She has no reason to lie. Her testimony is clear as shown here.”
His calm gaze turned to the nobles.
In my experience, such a calm gaze was often more dangerous.
“Do you have anything more to say?”
Their plan to frame Serdin had utterly failed.
“Th-that is…”
The children’s faces turned blue. Derek seemed on the verge of collapse.
Hehe.
There’s no way out now, is there? What else can they do but admit it?
I was inwardly laughing in satisfaction when Delight’s gaze suddenly turned to me.
He seemed to be deep in thought, then slowly began to speak.
“Every choice has led to my daughter getting hurt.”
“………..…”
“Just look at my poor daughter, who can’t even walk properly because of the pain…”
His voice was quite sorrowful.
He was the very picture of a heartbroken father.
“You all have children, so you must understand my feelings. Imagine how upset and angry I am right now.”
His gaze, sharp as a well-honed blade, turned to the nobles.
“Hrk. F-forgive us.”
Duke Syaf felt as if he were suffocating under that gaze and bowed his head. The others stood frozen, unable to even blink.
“What should I do about this? I need to give a warning so that this never happens again.”
Warning? It was curious what Delight was thinking.
‘This feels unsettling.’
“Normally, I would make you pay with two legs for the loss of one.”
As Delight uttered these harsh words, he sighed lightly and shook his head as if there was no other choice, continuing.
“But I can’t do that to children. Although it’s infuriating, since it’s the children who committed the wrongdoing, I must show mercy.”
“Are you serious…!”
Just as Duke Syaf, who had been at a loss about how to handle this situation, began to feel hopeful, Delight smiled at him and spoke.
“But the parents must take responsibility for their children.”
“Of course. All the blame lies with us.”
“Indeed. So how do you plan to take responsibility for this?”
“Well, that is…”
A proper answer was necessary. As Duke Syaf and Viscount Ander hesitated, Delight spoke first.
“First, you must acknowledge your wrongdoing and seek forgiveness.”
“…Of course! We will sincerely make the children reflect and apologize. As parents, we too will humbly seek the princess’s forgiveness.”
Nodding urgently, they hurried the children along.
“Hurry and apologize to the princess.”
The children stood in front of me, hesitantly and apologetically.
“We hurt the princess and lied about it. But it wasn’t intentional.”
“We were too scared.”
Miller was the first to step forward and apologize.
Next was Derek, who was trembling with fear as he reflected.
“…We were wrong. We will never do it again.”
Finally, Zaynan forced out an apology.
“Isn’t there someone else?”
Delight, who had been watching with a bored expression, raised an eyebrow.
“What? Did we not apologize enough? Then we will…”
As Duke Syaf cautiously spoke, hoping to resolve the situation with an apology, Delight interrupted.
“You must also seek forgiveness from Prince Serdin.”
“…Pardon?”
“If you truly reflect on your actions, you must apologize to everyone you wronged.”
Delight spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Were you planning to only apologize to Ollia and move on without proper reflection?”
…He was absolutely right.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by Delight’s judgment.
It was an obvious matter but one that could easily be overlooked.
‘Honestly, it felt uncomfortable watching them only apologize to me.’
What a thoughtful father!
It was clear that they hadn’t considered Prince Serdin, as they showed visible signs of panic.
“N-no. Of course, we intended to apologize to Prince Serdin as well.”
Under the watchful eyes of the adults, the children were reluctantly dragged in front of Serdin.
The children, unlike when they apologized to me, were hesitant and silent.
In front of Delight, an uncomfortable tension filled the air.
No one stepped forward.
It was entirely different from when they apologized to me.
Seeing this, Delight crossed his arms and watched the situation. He had no intention of letting it slide.
Of course, things couldn’t just be brushed off like this!
“We did make a mistake, but Prince Serdin wasn’t completely innocent either.”
Zaynan couldn’t hold back and expressed his frustration.
“We did lie, but it’s true that Prince Serdin approached the princess. Moreover, we were injured because of Prince Serdin.”
“That was a stone thrown at me.”
This time, Serdin immediately corrected the fact.
“But look at Prince Serdin. He’s completely fine while we were hit by the stones and got hurt.”
“Why did you get hurt if the stones were thrown at Prince Serdin?”
When Delight asked, the children exchanged glances.
They didn’t know the exact details either. This time, Derek spoke up.
“I-I don’t know. The stones suddenly flew at us as if they were targeting us… we couldn’t avoid them at all. It was so painful and scary…”
Derek, recalling the memory, started to tear up as if the pain returned.
“We don’t know how, but Prince Serdin must have done something.”
Zaynan claimed with certainty. After all, only Prince Serdin could have attacked them.
From the outside, it did look like the children were more injured than Serdin, which could lend credibility to their claims.
Should I step in again?
If too clever, it could raise suspicion. But there was no choice.
As I wriggled in Delight’s embrace, he spoke.
“No matter what happened, it seems you got hit by the stones you threw.”
Delight’s eyes turned even colder.
“So, does that mean you can’t apologize?”
“…Ugh.”
The parents each prodded their children’s sides.
At that moment, Serdin, the one involved, stepped forward and spoke.
“It’s alright. It’s enough that the princess clarified things on my behalf.”
He seemed slightly disappointed but accepted the reality.
Then, he turned to me and added.
“It’s enough that someone recognizes what I did, so I have no regrets.”
He finished with a faint smile, as if to show everyone.
Delight noticed this and chuckled.
The children, still naive, felt relieved hearing Serdin’s words, thinking they could get away with it.
However, the parents’ faces fell.
It was a declaration that the princess was on his side.
The princess is the emperor’s most cherished daughter.
They couldn’t afford to antagonize the princess and incur the emperor’s wrath over their children’s immature actions.
Duke Syaf reacted instinctively.
“Prince, I apologize on behalf of my child. He made a grave mistake.”
“F-Father!”
Zaynan, feeling humiliated, grabbed the duke’s arm with a flushed face.
But…
“Quiet! Since you refuse to reflect properly, I must do it for you! It seems I’ve spoiled you too much!”
“………….”
“To slander the prince who saved the princess. Why are you not apologizing immediately?”
The duke pushed Zaynan forward, pressuring him.
“I-I was wrong…! We got too carried away.”
Zaynan shut his eyes tight and bowed his head in apology.
“I’m sorry too. And… I’m glad you weren’t hurt by the stones.”
Miller also apologized immediately, realizing that hesitating further would only worsen their situation.
“I-I was wrong too. If you’re still angry… you can even hit me if it will make you feel better…!”
Derek, terrified of being struck, closed his eyes and trembled as he shouted.
The only one who could respond to their apologies was Serdin.
Everyone turned to look at Serdin.
Upright.
Serdin, who had stood up at some point, walked towards Derek with a meaningful expression.
