<CHAPTER 09>
Just by hearing those raised voices, you could guess what was going on. Thisbe’s cold gaze landed in front of the duke’s room.
‘It looks like those food bugs are here.’
Elders of Callist.
They are carnivores who age according to their age, have only old-fashioned ideas in their heads, and are not interested in anything other than their family’s honor.
One might think that this was a somewhat harsh assessment, but surprisingly, this was not the assessment that Thisbe made.
These were all words from Thisbe’s grandfather, Duke Callist.
‘I was quite surprised when I first heard it.’
Unlike other families who had the head of the family’s office only on the top floor, which was the most secret and inaccessible to people, Callist’s office was also on the first floor.
This was because guests were allowed access up to the first floor, and external intrusion was restricted from the second floor to private spaces.
Because of this, Duke Callist used to carry out most of his work in his office on the first floor, and this became a story that Thisbe also heard from time to time.
For example, the harsh evaluation of the elders just a moment ago.
-The elders are noisy? Those who don’t even pay taxes are still making a fuss about tax law revision. These bastards don’t even die.
-Go, matriarch. Still, they are elders.
-What’s so special about the position of elder, where you can dominate both dogs and cows as long as you’re older? Right now, if I were to just give up my position as the head of the family, I would become an elder, but is that really a big deal?
Duke Callist, as if his anger had not subsided, hurled a lot of curses at the elders.
The office is basically well-soundproofed, and since it is his home, he doesn’t seem to have paid much attention to it.
‘If you open the window just a little, you can hear quite clearly from outside.’
Thanks to this, they didn’t seem to notice the presence of Thisbe, who was listening outside.
It was my first time hearing about the elders, who did not play a large part in the original, so I remember hearing about them through Duke Callist’s mouth was quite fascinating.
‘In the original work, the elders were quite… … ‘Because it’s a good role.’
He interceded to get Estelle enrolled in Callist, and he willingly lent his family’s power to Estelle whenever she was in trouble.
One of Estelle’s helpers was an elder.
So I vaguely thought that the relationship between Duke Callist and the elders would also be good.
“I understand how the head of the family thinks about his granddaughter, but we can’t leave it like this forever!”
“Please remember that if you do not give up your will, we will have no choice but to take a hard line!”
Hey, you have a good voice too. It’s clear that he’s older than my grandfather, but he corrects me.
Thisbe paused for a moment, smiled, and thought.
‘That’s probably the first step in getting me kicked out.’
Since the events in <Monster Flower> are told from Estelle’s point of view, the details of what happened within Callist prior to her enrolment are not revealed.
But one thing was certain.
It went without saying that Thisbe would be pushed to the background once Estelle was registered.
Step by step, her name as the Saint of Callist will be taken away, her succession will be taken away, and she will gradually be pushed out, falling into a situation where she has no one to cling to except Sor.
It was something I had been prepared to do from the moment Estelle’s abilities were revealed, but I couldn’t help but feel a strange feeling as I listened to those voices pleading for her to be kicked out.
‘Grandpa is right.’
They put the heavy burden of being a saint on a child and made him suffer from a murderous workload, various assassination attempts, and conspiracies from a young age.
Now let’s talk about honor and abandon Thisbe and take Estelle.
Is that any different from trash?
‘That being said, I’m not sure why my grandfather doesn’t readily agree to Estelle’s marriage.’
I had no intention of listening any more. Thisbe broke off the pearl bracelet she was wearing and threw the pearls on the floor.
Patter.
Pearls poured out noisily and rolled on the floor, and only then did the voices screaming beyond the half-open door of the office suddenly stop.
Instead, Duke Callist, who had been silent the whole time, opened his mouth.
“… … Looks like my granddaughter is back. You raised your voice without knowing the place or time, so even if you heard everything, you probably wouldn’t have anything to say.”
Only a harsh voice could be heard beyond the door, but Thisbe could tell.
‘Hey… … ‘
Grandpa is angry.
“If you don’t get out of my mansion right now, I’ll cut out every useless part of your body.”
I wonder if there are any useful parts in that old body.
At the added words, several old people were almost thrown out of the open door.
They frowned when they saw Thisbe standing outside the door, and left without saying hello.
Of course, unlike the head of the family, Duke Callist, Thisbe was just a princess, so it was Thisbe who had to say hello.
‘Is there really a need for that?’
At this point, it would be better if I didn’t come back at all.
As Thisbe was spinning to herself, the door to the office closed, revealing an old man who looked rather tired.
Although he is said to be an old man, he is still incredibly tall and has a stocky physique that does not look like that of someone his age, making him look more like a soldier than an old man.
He looked at the pearls rolling around on the floor for a moment, and found Thisbe a step later.
“… … Thisbe.”
“I’m back, grandpa.”
Duke Callist responded by slowly lowering and raising his eyelids, and then looked at Thisbe for a moment.
It felt like he was hesitating because he didn’t know what to say, and he also seemed worried that Thisbe might have been shocked by what he heard on the other side of the door a little while ago.
“It’s late, where are you going?”
Of course, Thisbe knew that it would be neither.
“I went to the appointment with Sor that I mentioned last time. Sor took me to his carriage, so I sent my carriage back first.”
“Oh, was that so… … .”
“As soon as I got back, my bracelet broke and I tried to pick it up, but I think I may have inadvertently interrupted the conversation with the guests.”
“No, even so, I tried to send it back slowly, so it was good. Rather,”
Duke Callist took the initiative and hesitated for a moment.
“… … “Did you hear that?”
It was a word without subject or object, but is such an explanation really necessary here?
I didn’t want to say I heard it literally, but I couldn’t lie.
Thisbe answered politely.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Grandpa.”
“No, it’s not that I care about you.”
“Oh, I went too far. sorry.”
I thought it wasn’t because my grandfather cared about me, but it seemed like the words got out like that without me even realizing it.
Thisbe felt somewhat embarrassed and hastily added,
“Of course, I think your grandfather will make a wise decision. I’m tired, so can I just go up?”
… … “Sure.”
Is it because of her mood that Duke Callist’s expression looked bewildered, as if he had somehow missed something?
It may seem like he wants to make an excuse, or he may be filled with a sense of frustration.
‘Whatever it is, it’s not a feeling worth showing to me.’
Thisbe hurriedly shook off those delicate feelings and went up the stairs.
It seemed like Duke Callist’s eyes were following him, but he didn’t have the courage to turn his back to check.
She has already experienced it countless times.
When you turn your back on others because you miss them, the reality is that only black loneliness awaits you.
There were other people there occasionally, but those were extremely rare cases.
And Duke Callist had never been in that position before.
‘Let’s not have unnecessary expectations or regrets.’
That was the promise Thisbe made the moment she learned of her fate.
Having no expectations or regrets.
It wasn’t necessarily because she was born as a villainess in the book.
To be precise, it would be correct to say that it is because she is planning to go into exile.
‘There’s no need to worry about where you’re going anyway.’
However, just like the human heart, any solid resolution is bound to crack once in a while.
For example, one day the corners of my mouth almost twitched from laughing all day. Like hiding on the balcony and accidentally hearing kind words from someone.
Or the day when your teacher gave you a sincere compliment, saying that there will never be a student like you again.
On a birthday that even I had forgotten about, I encountered a maid handing me a small handmade pincushion as a gift.
Thisbe wanted to give her heart away. No matter how they later changed about her not being a saint, I wanted to have hope for their favor.
‘It was like that back then.’
If the person who spoke kind words had not been Lunette Yeong-sik, who had a strong inferiority complex toward So-eo and tried to seduce him.
If only the teacher who admired him had not known that he just wanted the title of having a saintly disciple.
If only the pincushion the maid gave as a gift hadn’t had a poisonous sting planted in it… … .
‘Let’s not think any more.’
Slurp.
Thisbe went into the room, roughly changed her clothes, washed up, and threw herself on the bed.
After all, there is no need for people. As long as you have soft and warm bedding, you will somehow survive tomorrow.
That was what she learned while living as ‘Thisbe’.
As soon as she lay down on the bed, fatigue and fatigue began to attack Thisbe, as if they had been waiting for her.
‘Oh, I shouldn’t fall asleep yet.’
I had to hear a progress report from Malone about how things went and read the grimoire.
‘By the way, I should also write a letter to Sor saying he was successful… … .’
Hmm.
With that thought as a starting point, Thisbe fell into sleep.
