RATBA 50

Chapter 50

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“If you want to be treated with respect, you must first possess the character worthy of it.”

This was a phrase my father, a true noble among nobles, always emphasized.

I shared these words with Nailah as well.

“People naturally receive the respect they deserve. If you lack character, you’ll be disregarded wherever you go, but if you have the dignity of a Duchess, you’ll be treated with respect without having to demand it.”

Nailah’s hands, which had been delicately placed on her lap, trembled.

Her face was bright red, as if it would burst at any moment.

It felt like I had seen her true face, the one behind the mask of pretension.

Shaking with anger, her lips quivered as she asked me.

“Do you… regret those words?”

“I don’t think I should regret saying them.”

That was when Nailah began behaving strangely.

She suddenly took off her gloves, sharpened her nails, and scratched her own arm.

“…What, what are you doing!?”

She wasn’t attacking me, but was instead scratching her own forearm.

It was a difficult behavior to understand.

As if that wasn’t enough, she slapped her own cheek and messed up her hair.

I was left confused, not knowing her true intentions.

“…What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

Nailah ignored my question and continued her self-harm.

Her strange actions stopped only when the coachman opened the carriage door.

“We’ve arrived at the palace… Ah, Miss! What happened to your arm…!?”

The coachman looked back and forth between Nailah, who was a mess, and me, sitting perfectly fine on the opposite side.

‘How should I explain this situation?’

I froze in panic, but then Nailah suddenly started sobbing.

“Sniff, sniff… Please help me…”

When a fragile girl curls up and cries, most people would feel sympathy.

Sure enough, people began to look at Nailah with pity.

The royal attendants, knights, and even the coachman who had approached to guide us all showed concern.

“I-If you would take this handkerchief… please stop crying for now.”

“Wh-What happened to you?”

“My, my, your arm is covered in cuts! Who did this to you…?”

When someone said this, all the eyes turned to me.

It was then that I realized why Nailah had injured herself.

‘She was planning to blame me for the wounds she inflicted on herself!!’

But by the time I understood, it was already too late.

A royal advisor, who had come to guide us, asked me.

“Did you do this, young lady?”

It seemed like he intended to report this to His Majesty.

I was shocked and waved my hands in denial.

“I didn’t do anything! She scratched herself on her own!”

But they seemed convinced it was my doing.

The rumors about the villainous Claudia were well known in the palace, after all.

No one would believe the story of a vicious woman who had tormented her maids.

I could feel my face burning as I shouted at Nailah.

“Nailah! You’re really doing this, trying to make me look like—”

“Miss, please, do not raise your voice in the palace. Please calm yourself.”

The royal advisor reprimanded me gently.

His expression was full of condemnation toward me.

I wanted to prove that I hadn’t done anything, but there was no evidence to back me up, and I could only feel my frustration growing.

Then, a familiar voice broke the heavy silence.

“What is all this commotion?”

It was His Majesty. It seemed he had come over after seeing the crowd gathered.

Nailah, who had been crouched down, immediately rushed to His Majesty.

Without understanding what was happening, he embraced her, only to notice the wounds on her arm.

“Nailah? What is this wound?”

“Sniff… It hurts… it hurts so much…”

The royal advisor, who had been watching the situation from the beginning, whispered something in His Majesty’s ear.

It seemed like he was reporting the events to him.

As soon as the report ended, His Majesty’s gaze toward me became cold.

“Claudia, is the story I just heard true? Did you hurt Nailah?”

“No! I didn’t do it! Before we reached the palace, Nailah suddenly started hurting herself!”

“S-Sniff… sniff…”

As soon as I tried to tell the truth, Nailah began sobbing again.

Her cries ignited a flame of fury within me.

‘Because of Nailah, I’m going to end up becoming the villain like Claudia in the original story…!!’

The burning anger threatened to turn everything inside me to ashes.

A flame suddenly erupted around me.

It wasn’t the fire of anger, but real fire.

At the same time, I heard a voice from a spirit.

<It’s so frustrating I can’t watch it.>

The fire spirit, for some reason, began complaining as soon as it appeared.

Then, to my surprise, it offered advice.

<It’s simple. Offer that woman to me.>

“…”

It felt like the whisper of a devil tempting my mind.

Of course, I did want to follow his words.

If I gave Nailah to the spirit, it would be the most satisfying thing in the world.

‘But still, killing her is…’

I kept my mouth shut.

Unlike me, everyone else began to speak in confusion.

“Fire! Fire!!”

“Lady Rubellosis is on fire!!”

“Someone! Get some water!!”

Beyond the raging flames, I could see His Majesty looking panicked.

It seemed like he thought the daughter of a loyal subject was dying in the fire.

“Your Majesty, I’m fine. It’s just a spirit’s trick.”

“…A spirit?”

As soon as His Majesty asked, the spirit revealed itself.

It appeared as a magnificent eagle made of fire.

‘It really likes attention. It’s the exact opposite of Elliot.’

I gently stroked the flaming eagle, the fire spirit.

Then, I showed it to the people.

“Look. The fire spirit just got bored and made a fire.”

Everyone looked stunned, as if they had seen a great magic.

Nailah, who had been sobbing, stopped and stared at the spirit.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Until just moments ago, I had been painted as a cruel villain.

Thanks to the spirit’s appearance, the atmosphere changed.

‘Thank goodness. Now everyone is focused on this. If the spirit keeps talking like it did in the carriage, Nailah’s wounds will be forgotten… Wait!’

A thought suddenly struck me, and I opened my eyes wide.

‘The spirit was with us in the carriage too, wasn’t it?’

I had thought there was no way to prove I hadn’t attacked her.

Since it was just Nailah and me in the carriage.

But that wasn’t the case.

There had been someone else observing us in the carriage.

“Wait! The spirit saw everything! It saw whether I really hurt Nailah or not! It was watching us the entire time in the carriage!”

Everyone looked shocked.

Especially Nailah, who looked the most surprised.

I, looking at her pale face, turned to the fire spirit.

“You saw everything in the carriage, right?”

<Yes.>

The situation had flipped. I had no witnesses before, so I had to believe Nailah’s words.

Now, the spirit had become the witness.

The crowd began murmuring.

Before I asked the spirit, I glared sharply at them.

“I’ve clearly said I’m innocent. But you all labeled me an abuser. Once the truth is revealed, I expect an apology from all of you.”

In front of the silent crowd, I asked the spirit.

“Tell me the truth. Did I really do this to Nailah?”

The spirit looked over the people.

Then it opened its beak and was about to speak the truth.

<The one who did this to her is…>

“Miss Nailah has collapsed!!”

Just as the truth was about to be revealed, the coachman shouted loudly.

His booming voice drowned out the spirit’s words.

‘She collapsed? At this timing?’

I looked at Nailah, feeling stunned.

The crowd’s attention shifted back to her.

‘She really is lying down?!’

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t react at first.

Despite everything, she looked pitiful.

Her pale face, her neatly closed eyes.

Was it because of that? Even though she collapsed at such a perfect time, no one suspected her.

“Oh my, she must have fainted from being under the sun for too long.”

“Let’s move her to the shade quickly!”

“Is there no one? Call a healer!”

Everyone was busy moving Nailah to the shade.

I snapped back to reality and spoke up.

“Wait! Let me check her condition first. We need to find out the exact cause of her collapse.”

‘Is she pretending, or did she really faint?’

If I said that, I would instantly be seen as a heartless villain.

I couldn’t show doubt in front of my collapsed sister.

I casually approached Nailah under the guise of checking her condition.

‘When someone faints, their eyes roll back, and you only see the whites, right?’

It was a little tidbit I had read on the internet before coming to this world.

I gently lifted Nailah’s eyelid.

I could immediately see her trembling eyes.

‘She’s not fainting…!!’

She hadn’t fainted.

She was just pretending to faint, trying to cover up her lie.

I almost let out a bitter laugh in front of everyone.

I leaned in close to Nailah’s face, pretending to check on her, and whispered in her ear.

“…Seems like you were in a hurry? To do such childish acting.”

Even while pretending to faint, Nailah’s body trembled slightly.

She must have thought she had fooled everyone, so she was surprised when I whispered in her ear.

 

“Do you want to get up on your own, or should I force you to get up?”