Chapter 19
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Bree ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
“W-Why are you here…?”
“Of course, I came because I was worried, Teacher.”
Daphne smiled kindly, but the more she did, the more terrified Mentis’s face became.
It couldn’t be true.
‘What’s her purpose?’
Why would she sneak in and see me…?
Mentis’s bloodshot eyes suddenly turned towards the glass in his hand.
“W-What…?”
He stammered, trembling.
“Oh, did you catch on already?”
Daphne made a surprised expression as if she had just realized.
“Just thought I’d experiment with my medicine. Since you’re going to die anyway, I thought it wouldn’t matter.”
“Wha-!”
“It’s the least you can do as a teacher.”
Right?
She smiled at Mentis like an angel.
Mentis grabbed his throat. He tried to somehow bring back what he had swallowed, but his parched throat, dried from prolonged thirst, didn’t allow it easily.
He staggered back. But Daphne was quicker. She reached through the bars and grabbed Mentis’s chin.
“Since you’ve given the children scars that can’t be erased, this much pain should be nothing.”
“I-I…!”
“I thought you might feel that way, so I made it even harsher. Experience it once. Feel what you’ve done.”
Daphne murmured coldly. The reflection of the torch in her eyes flickered harshly.
It was a Peregrine’s gaze, what he so desperately wanted to resemble.
Gasping for breath, Mentis staggered.
“Bre-breath… Save me…”
Muttering like a soliloquy, he weakly collapsed to the ground.
***
“Pitiful.”
I murmured as I looked at the fallen Mentis.
A person who held a sword, calling himself a knight, not even knowing what he drank and fainting.
I tilted the glass I was holding. The droplets of water left on the surface fell to the ground.
This was the water I had prepared beforehand before entering the underground cell.
So, it was just water, without any other impurities.
I wanted to pour poison in it, but it would be letting him off easy.
‘So, I just scared him. To make him feel the same fear.’
In reality, I didn’t pose any threat to him. I was just holding a glass of water.
However, he was alone in the cell, and people who were mentally cornered tended to exaggerate their situations.
‘In simple terms, Mentis probably thought I poisoned this plain water.’
In the end, he couldn’t overcome his fear and ended up fainting.
‘Seems like the plan to instill fear worked to some extent.’
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t shake off the anger.
“And he said that we are… useless kids… that we shouldn’t have been born…”
The face of Ermano, who said he shouldn’t have been born, kept coming to mind.
I kicked the bars with my foot in a fit of rage.
After stopping when my toes started to hurt, I sighed.
‘Right, let’s calm down for now. There’s nothing I can do currently.’
The rest will be taken care of by Lyas.
‘He’ll handle Mentis in the cruelest and most ruthless way possible.’
Having made the decision, I turned around and left the cell.
I had to return to the mansion before someone noticed and misunderstood.
‘All this trouble because of that pathetic human!’
Originally, it was something I could have ignored, but the anger flared up, and I couldn’t stay still.
After the revelation of Mentis’s atrocities, Lyas immediately investigated the chain of events.
In the process of searching Mentis’s mansion, they found a record that seemed to be used as a diary, but it was really about family affairs.
The fact that Mentis had an inferiority complex towards Lyas since he was very young.
So, the reason for tormenting the twins so relentlessly was some kind of outlet.
An ugly outlet of someone who remained mentally immature even though his body had grown into that of an adult.
Thinking about it again made me angry. I grabbed the latch leading to the surface.
“Scum like them should just…”
Then I opened the door with a bang, and as if exhaling a pent-up breath, I yelled.
“Their lower half should just be cut off–!”
“…”
“…well, that’s what I think…”
However, the bold declaration faded into a timid murmur.
Because standing right in front of me was a familiar face, my uncle Lyas Peregrine.
I remained stiff and jerkily turned my head.
How much did he hear?
Since the door leading to the underground was an iron door, it was highly likely that he didn’t hear the word ‘lower half.’
Surely, my image wouldn’t change from the person who makes poison to the one who cuts parts off…?
My imagination began to run wild on its own.
It was an imagined scenario where Daphne’s name appeared on the front page of newspapers distributed throughout the empire, accompanied by the nickname “The Merciless Cutter”…
‘That can’t be!’
I hurriedly spoke, intending to say that I didn’t kill him, just threatened him.
However…
“Huh?”
I widened my eyes.
Lyas passed by me as if nothing happened.
Confused, I looked around.
In my hand, I held the glass that I had just used to give water to Mentis. It was a situation that anyone would easily misunderstand.
But he didn’t ask anything. Puzzled, I found myself opening my mouth without realizing it.
“You’re not going to check?”
At my words, Lyas abruptly stopped walking.
Then he slowly turned toward me. As usual, with a stern face, he said.
“What?”
“I, I just came out of the prison. There was a person inside.”
“…”
“Of course, he was a damn bastard who deserved to die, and I might have done something strange.”
Even though I used harsh words like ‘damn bastard,’ he didn’t criticize my language.
He just looked at me with a stern face and repeatedly closed and opened his mouth.
Then…
“…Let me see you for a moment.”
He said and turned back.
The place he was heading to was Peregrine’s main residence.
‘Did he hear it after all?’
Or maybe he would impose another punishment?
Whatever it was, it didn’t seem good.
I followed him like a person being dragged to the execution ground.
When I entered the office, I immediately headed to a corner. I thought if I crouched in the corner, it might look like I was reflecting.
Then Lyas, with a frowning forehead, asked me.
“Why are you standing there?”
“I thought it might be better to hear from here…”
“Sit down. It won’t take long.”
With him saying that, I couldn’t insist on standing. I sat quietly on the sofa.
However, he couldn’t easily bring up the matter.
Rather than thinking about what to say, he seemed hesitant. It was an unusual sight.
‘Come to think of it…’
His neatly combed hair, which was always tidy, was somewhat messy. The cravat that was usually tightly tied was loose, and there were dark shadows under his eyes.
He had always been perfect in handling the numerous incidents caused by Daphne.
But now, he looked so disheveled.
In a daze, I stared at him with a surprised mind, and he slowly began to speak.
“I always thought I was on the right path. Looking around muddies my thoughts, and I learned that it gives enemies a chance to infiltrate.”
“…”
“I thought the kids would follow me, too.”
“…”
“…But.”
Suddenly, he stopped talking as if his words were blocked. His Adam’s apple swelled noticeably, and after a while, he opened his mouth again.
“I was wrong. I didn’t look around, so I didn’t know what kind of pain my children were going through.”
“…”
“I never thought I’d hear such words…”
His face contorted with pain. There was a lot of despair and self-blame in his eyes as his beliefs collapsed in an instant.
Enduring it, he closed his eyes and then looked at me again.
“I’m sorry. Sorry for doubting you and not immediately answering your question about whether I would believe you.”
“…”
“And thank you. Not as your Uncle. Really, thank you.”
He expressed sincere gratitude to me.
It was an action that Lyas in Daphne’s memory would not have taken. However, his words were not a lie.
I stared at him quietly and then slowly opened my mouth.
“Well, then, can you compensate me as an apology?”
“If it’s compensation…”
He hesitated for a moment and then closed his mouth. It seemed like he was gauging what I wanted from him.
“Sure, I’ll grant you anything.”
Having made up his mind, he nodded. I spoke.
“Have a meal with the children at least three times a week.”
“If you want to proceed with the engagement with Roderick Evans again…”
“…What?”
“…What?”
We both blurted out our words at the same time, looking at each other with surprised expressions.
Wait, why did that bastard’s name come up here?
KKKKKKKKK que doido, a primeira coisa que ele pensou foi isso