Chapter 55
“What, what is this nonsense?”
Leraie, her face flushed with anger, grabbed Benny.
“Who dared to say such things to you! How dare they!”
“……”
“Answer me, Benny!”
Benny, either too scared or unable to give a proper answer, just started to sob.
Before long, the room was filled with the sound of sorrowful crying.
“I… I want to go home….”
Benny whimpered.
“I hate this place….”
“From now on, this place is your home!”
Leraie shouted back.
“No, this place was originally your home! This is where you should’ve been! Not in some insignificant villa!”
“Sob……”
“So don’t ever say such things in front of me again, Benny!”
Leraie’s grip on Benny’s arm tightened. Benny hesitated for a moment before bursting into louder sobs.
“……”
Frustrated, Leraie roughly let go of Benny’s hand and clenched her fists.
…This was not at all what Leraie had expected.
Calian Helcar, who had everything – wealth, fame, and a life where he didn’t have to care about anyone else’s opinions.
Benny, who had been living hidden away in the villa, would grow up to be a respectable persom, a precious offspring of nobility. That way, nobody would dare to disrespect her.
A life completely opposite to the forsaken, insignificant existence of Seriniel Verdellet.
Leraie thought only that kind of life was waiting for her.
But the situation had changed.
The modest life Seriniel was supposed to live had become Leraie’s.
“Damn it….!”
Leraie’s lips, tightly pressed together, let out a coarse curse. Meanwhile, Benny continued to cry, and Leraie grimaced with a distorted face.
“What on earth are you doing, Leraie?”
And suddenly, Callian appeared, looking at Leraie with a disdainful expression.
“The child is crying. Instead of comforting him, you…!”
“……Ha.”
Leraie stared at Callian incredulously.
And no wonder…..
“But this time, you have to listen to me completely. If you don’t, I’ll kill you before Lexion Rosenvester gets a chance to do anything.”
The day Belles came to deliver that message.
From the next day on, Callian became incredibly busy. He even left the house. I couldn’t figure out what he was up to.
Leaving the house empty like this, without even trying to comfort me?
“Come on, calm him down. He’s being loud.”
Whatever Leraie was thinking, Callian said it with an irritated expression.
“I’ve been out dealing with exhausting matters for days, and now I have to come home and deal with a child? Leraie.”
“…What?”
“Please do your part, like I do.”
That was it. Callian looked at Benny crying pitifully, then sighed and left the room.
Left with Benny, Leraie glared fiercely at the closed door before hurrying out.
“What on earth are you doing!”
Callian, heading to the bedroom, stopped and stood still. Then, with a tired expression, he turned to Leraie.
“Do you even know what I and Benny have been doing in this house while you’ve been gallivanting around like that?!”
“…”
“The servants are being annoying, and we can’t even go outside! Everyone is whispering!”
…No matter who Leraie was, receiving hateful looks from everyone in the Carteia Empire was not comfortable at all. Therefore, Leraie had no choice but to remain trapped in Helcar’s estate, unable to do anything.
It was even worse than when she was staying at the villa with Benny.
“…Ha.”
Callian swept his messy hair with one hand and muttered to himself quietly.
“I’ve never been so reluctant to come into this house when I was with Seriniel….”
“…What?”
Leraie’s face hardened.
“Do you think I was just idling away my time outside, Leraie? I did my own share of things. Damn it, just following Belles’ orders!”
“Then talk about it. That’s what you should do! What’s the point of throwing us into the mansion and saying such things? Shameless!”
Leraie’s harsh words made Callian involuntarily adopt a cold expression. A face that seemed to lack affection.
…Seriniel never said such things even when I used the pretext of inspecting mines to go outside.
Callian thought to himself.
“Callian Helcar!”
Leraie shouted again defiantly, and Callian slightly adjusted his demeanor.
There was only one way to break free from this tedious impasse: to simply tell Leraie everything that had happened.
With a sigh, Callian recounted the events of the past few days to Leraie. Also, what Belles had instructed him to do…
“…Is that enough explanation now, Leraie?”
“… …”
“I’m going in now. I’m too tired. So please, try to calm the child down so he doesn’t cry.”
That was the end of it. Without looking back, Callian left Leraie alone in the dim corridor, heading towards the bedroom.
“… …”
Left alone in the darkness, Leraie stood still for a while, lost in thought, before finally twisting her lips into a smile.
…Even during this moment, Benny’s crying filled the mansion, but there was no one paying attention to it.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Seriniel stayed in the study with Lexion until late at night.
There was nothing particularly special about it. They just had a long conversation.
The topics ranged from Vain to Kina, and also included stories from Seriniel’s past.
But since Lexion usually didn’t talk about himself, Seriniel gathered her courage and asked.
Lexion hesitated for a moment at her question, then replied.
“…If you could sit in that chair and listen.”
Were these stories too difficult for me to share? Maybe he didn’t even know himself. Although she didn’t know the details, Seriniel knew a little about his birth.
She had no desire to ridicule Lexion. So Seriniel understood. Instead, she asked him to talk about the Marquis’s stories in detail.
Lexion chuckled at her request.
But there was one strange thing during their conversation…
“What is that?”
“What?”
“I thought I saw something sparkling on the table… that jewelry box.”
At that, Lexion visibly hesitated.
“…It’s nothing. You must have seen it wrong.”
Despite Lexion saying that, there was something unsettling about it. But he quickly changed the subject, so Seriniel couldn’t ask further about it.
And Seriniel returned to her bedroom in the late hours of the night.
However, she couldn’t sleep properly for a long time.
“I’ve seen you before. It’s been a long time, and you’ve probably completely forgotten, but… I remember clearly.”
It was because of what Lexion said.
“I don’t want to tell you directly. Because if you know… you might start to pity me.”
Since he clearly drew the line at not wanting to talk about it himself, there was nothing more Seriniel could do. So, even though she tried to recall her memories for a long time, nothing came to mind.
But the idea of starting to pity him…
That wasn’t a pleasant thought.
That was the only conclusion she could draw.
Eventually, after tossing and turning for a long time, she fell asleep with difficulty…
And when she woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
…But what greeted the awakened Seriniel wasn’t just the dazzling sunlight.
