We left the office and headed straight for the room. The mansion’s employees were sweeping and mopping the hallways. As soon as they made eye contact with me, they turned their heads and either did their job or left quickly. It looked like they didn’t know how to treat us. Our position in the mansion suddenly rose from a maid to a guest, so it was awkward.
For the past two weeks we’ve been staying in the guest room rather than going out. Except for the maid who brought books and meals, I had hardly met anyone.
The maids who came to the room changed from time to time, but the only ones who treated us normally, the people we were close with like Marina, Amy, and Aunt Emily. I remember Aunt Emily clapping and rejoicing when she said that Yuria and I were framed.
Amy, who was just sweeping the floor in the hallway, smiled at me, and I raised the corners of my lips in response.
Eventually we arrived at our destination. I sat on the chair and took a deep breath.
Just seeing the Duke was strangely tiring, mind, and body. I clenched my chin and looked to the side. Then I noticed the gift boxes in the corner of the room. All of these items were given little by little as an apology from Osses, for not helping when we were in prison. He sometimes had his employees give us gifts.
I said it was a burden and tried to return it, but there was no sign of receiving it. So those boxes were placed on one side of the room without ever being opened.
Then there was a rustling sound from somewhere. Turning my head towards the sound, Yuria was looking through the door of the closet.
Why are you searching over there? Inside the closet were prepackaged items. If there was a purpose, it could be seen that it was in the bag. As expected, Yuria unpacked her share of luggage and took out a pocket containing money. It was the salary she received while working as a maid. Gently clasping her pockets with her hands, she turned her head to where I was.
“Lala.”
“Yes?”
“Us… Why don’t we go see Count Nigor?”
“What? You want to go see him?”
Yuria slowly nodded her head.
“… I wonder how he’s doing. What would he say when he looked at us today? Will he apologize, or did he still think he is innocent?”
I covered my mouth with one hand and looked at her.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Yuria, who has changed, behaves unexpectedly. She recalled her nightmarish memories to get out of prison, and went to see Count Nigor, something she could never have imagined.
Isn’t it scary? He’s the one who did that to you? Do you want to see him? Is it okay to go outside? During this time, I couldn’t even take a single step out of the gate because I was afraid I might run into him. Are you okay now? I know you have changed. But still…
Those words came up to my throat, but I couldn’t spit them out. Because she was telling me everything was fine. There was a little fear in her eyes, but that was all. Her strong will was evident on her face, and her body did not tremble as before. She would have already made all her arrangements to meet the man who had treated her as a toy. How can I turn down an offer from a child who once again has the courage to do it?
I did the same, rummaged through my bag, pulled out my pocket, and walked towards the door.
“… Let’s go.”
At my words, Yuria sighed in relief and kept a smile on her face.
We asked the knight guarding the gate of the mansion to open the entrance. As soon as the knight heard the word, he ran to the Duke. Apparently, the Duke was begging us to talk to her when we were about to go out. She graciously allowed us to go out and wrote a letter with her seal so that we could easily enter the Selfless Jail.
Even that was not enough, she showed generosity by lending a carriage. So we were lucky enough to get to the prison without having to spend the money to get a carriage or the time to go to the downtown area.
Yuria sat in the seat opposite me and looked out the window. Outside the window, a blue sky with floating clouds stretched out like a painting. The modest wild flowers were blooming around the well-maintained road, making it pleasing to the eye.
“The weather is nice.”
Yuria, who looked at the scenery outside the window, smiled softly.
“If I had known this would happen, I would have come out sooner. We… Couldn’t come out because we were so scared, right?”
“It’s okay. From now on, you can come out a lot.”
“Lala, you are right.”
The carriage ran down the road at a speed that was neither slow nor fast. Passing through the downtown area, we crossed the gates of the Duchy and headed to the capital. The scenery in the dense forest passes in an instant. The distance between the Duchy and the capital was not far away. We’ll be there in just an hour or two more. I sat dazedly on the chair, enjoying the sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the curtains. Yuria was still fixing her gaze on the window, not getting tired of looking at the scenery.
As time passed, her head slowly turned downward. Yuria was sleeping with her head nodding. She awoke and she fell asleep again and again, until she fell into a deep sleep. It would be uncomfortable to sleep like that.
I moved to the seat next to Yuria and laid her head on my lap.
Yuria accepted it, but there were many concerns.
Will Count Nigor really reflect? Maybe he will say something harsh when we meet? Will his words hurt Yuria?
With that in mind, I thought maybe I should have stopped her.
That’s what prevents me from going…
Wouldn’t that be the same thing as ignoring Yuria’s opinion?
As I was thinking about it, we quickly arrived in front of the Selfless prison.
“I didn’t know I was asleep…”
Yuria was startled and quickly got up. It was cute to see her with her hair curled up. She straightened her hair and got out of the carriage, and a tall building looming over the tenth floor appeared in front of us.
The prison made of dull gray bricks had a somber atmosphere. There was a knight guarding the prison in front of us, and he stopped us at first, but when he saw a letter from the Duke, he let us in.
From then on, the jailer appeared. He secretly asked for money, saying he can’t remember where Count Nigor is, and he’ll remember it when his hands get heavy. We took a few coins from the pocket and put them in his hands, and he moved his feet with satisfaction.
“The 1st to 5th floors are for ordinary prisoners, and the 6th to 10th floors are mainly for the nobles’ status. The person you are looking for will be imprisoned on the 9th floor.”
It was easy…. Perhaps because we brought the Duke’s letter, the guard seemed to think we were nobles. Like a prison where nobles were confined, the 9th floor was divided into one large room. It was a structure where you had to enter the room to see the iron bars that were locked in.
“He is a violent guy. You have to be careful.”
The guard brought us into the farmost room and waited outside. Upon entering, I saw a man with blond hair as stiff as a broomstick.
James Nigor was leaning against the wall, groaning like a sick man. His body, which was heavy, lost weight and became thin, and his eyes were lifeless.
There were bandages on his limbs, and the clothes he was wearing were bulky like a rag. Looking at his present form, no one would know that man was a nobleman. Mumbling to himself like a madman, as soon as the door opened, he bit the bowl he had with his mouth and threw it into the cage.
Bang!
The iron bars shook like crazy, and food was splashed into the air.
I hurriedly tried to protect Yuria, but instead she hugged me tightly.
“You bastards like dogs! You bastards! Do you think you’ll be safe by locking me up in this place?! I have him! If it were him, he would get me out of here!”
The Count, who was screaming, looked at us and shut his mouth. His eyes fluttered like raging waves.
“What, what… Why are you, Yuria here?…?”
He leaned against the wall and got up.
“Obviously, the aide said that you fled far away abroad…? The ship you were traveling on also ran aground, so I don’t know if you’re alive or dead…. Yes, he said he was the Duke of Emers’ subordinate. So everything he said back then was a lie?”
With a look of disbelief, he grabbed the iron fence and looked at Yuria’s face. Everything from his surprised face to his slightly leaned forward body, from his appearance to his actions, was disgusting and terrifying. Seeing the Count, the anger that had been suppressed for a long time rose. His hands were trembling and it looked like he was about to burst out of swearing at any moment.
Yuria hugged me tighter. Looking up at her hardened face, I realized that she was also angry. Yuria took a rough breath and she opened her mouth to the Count.
“… I didn’t run away. We’ve been in this Empire forever, hiding from you in the Duchy of Emers.”
“What….”
As I was hugging her, I could feel her body trembling as I was. Yuria is afraid of him. She had no reason to be afraid. It was that person who did the bad and the harm. I gently took her hand. Then the trembling stopped, and the heavy breathing returned to its own pace.
“Aren’t you wondering why you’re stuck there? Do you ever wonder why a business you thought you had completely hidden was revealed and everything you had achieved collapsed in an instant?”
Yuria swallowed her saliva and continued.
“It’s me. I told the Duke of Emers everything. What your business is, where it is going and how it is going, I said it all.”
Count Nigor stuttered. He had a blank expression on his face as if he couldn’t understand the current situation.
“How do you know that? I never told you about my business…!”
“Don’t you remember? You told me all about your business on that drunken night. In that way… You’ll be ruined by your own mistakes.”
Bang bang bang bang!
“How…”
As soon as Yuria finished speaking, the sound of the Count slamming his head madly at the iron fence was heard.
“How could you do this to me! Damn, slut! I made you so pretty! I gave you plenty of gifts and money! I made you live an affluent life in a nice room in the mansion! But dare… you hit me from the back of my head?! Did you deceive others with that innocent face you have? Even in the Duchy of Emers-!”
“Don’t listen to that, Yuria.”
I didn’t want Yuria to listen to it.
I should have stopped her from going to see Count Nigor.
I quickly covered her ears. How could you say something like that to Yuria? He doesn’t even think about what he’s done, and he just screams at her as if it’s unfair. Is he really a human? The Count did not stop and continued to engage in violent acts such as slapping his iron bars and spitting, shouting and screaming. Half of what he said was swearing, and the other half was insulting to Yuria.
“Dirty bitch! People like you must die!”
“Noisy! Don’t be silly!”
Hearing his words, I felt angry and about to go crazy. If possible, I want to make that mouth never open again.
“Lala….”
Why is Yuria dirty? not dirty she wasn’t dirty. Absolutely not, If I asked you to pick a dirty person among us, of course it was me. I killed people and knew the future, but I couldn’t save Yuria from misery. I couldn’t save our parents, and made Yuria enter the mansion on her own feet. It made me more painful than when they were captured by young masters Emers. I don’t even have the right to hold Yuria and her hand like this.
But the really dirty thing is…
“You are the dirty one…!”
It was that guy I remember how he harassed many of the inhabitants of Nigor’s estate. That was not enough, so they made people slaves and sold them. They violated ethics and ignored humanity. And done something he shouldn’t have done as a human being. So he’s not a person. He’s a beast. He’s dirty garbage that cannot be recycled. He was such a terrifying man that it was hard to even call him trash.
“Are you referring to the ‘He’ you mentioned earlier, perhaps referring to the Duke of Nikerman?”
Judging by the look on his face, he seems to be right.
“You… you really stupid, aren’t you? Who saves whom? The Duke has already imprisoned him. You are dead now. No one saves a human like you. You’ll be sentenced to death if you keep being imprisoned here like that. Don’t you think? Can you see the look on your face? This is the truth, The Duke of Emers told me directly. Those people who broke the law and disobeyed His Majesty’s will having a death penalty. haha… I am already looking forward to the day your neck will fall from the guillotine!”
“Shut up!”
Count Nigor spit on me.
It was useless. It didn’t reach me, and it didn’t threaten me. It was the only thing he could do after being injured. Then a warm wrapped around my hand. Yuria grabbed my hand.
“… Yuria?”
The moment I questioned her behavior, my hand fell from Yuria’s ear.
“Lala, I’m fine.”
“Lie.”
“Really.”
Yuria was looking down at me with a soft smile. Count Nigor’s words did not seem to have taken any damage.
“You told me that day. No matter what I think or say, it will save me…. gave me a hand I was saved by those selfish words. Hearing your words, I came to think that even in the country polluted by Count Nigor, it would be okay to be with you. Lala saves me like this. I don’t care if I’m this dirty. So I, I… I was able to accept myself as such a dirty and terrible person. So even if you get angry with that person, don’t get hurt. It’s okay.”
Yuria’s words pierced my heart like a dagger. dirty? Why are you calling yourself dirty? Did you keep thinking like that?
Why?
… Why?
Tears seemed to burst out of my eyes all of a sudden.
“Why… Are you saying that? You are not dirty…”
Yuria doesn’t answer. I just covered my cheeks and lightly pressed my forehead to it. Her blue eyes shone like jewels.
“Wait a minute… Can’t you just leave me and that person alone for a moment?”
“… That… ”
“Please, Lala.”
With such a desperate face, I have no choice but to follow her words. Obviously, Yuria knows that I am weak against her.
