As expected, it’s life imprisonment. I felt a slight sense of relief as things unfolded just as I had imagined.
There might have been unforeseen complications if luck had not been on my side.
As I secretly heaved a sigh of relief, Ruth, who had been glancing at me from the corner of his eye, soon added in a low voice, “By the way, I’ll also be present at the apprehension of the Count Dright. Is there anything you’d like to ask of me? Like hitting Count Dright or recording a video of him confessing, something like that.”
“Hmm.”
I remained silent for a moment at his question. Honestly, I didn’t have a hobby of watching others suffer. Nor did I have the stomach to turn such a thing into a mere subject of laughter.
But it was ‘him,’ Count Dright. He secretly ran a casino and heartlessly sold children to slave traders, all the while pretending to be incorruptibly upright on the outside.
Therefore, I couldn’t immediately answer. The anger towards Count Dright was so strong that it overflowed even my conscience, which was seething.
As I pondered longer, the balance in my heart tipped towards not leaving Count Dright alone.
Given what he had done, it didn’t make sense to let him off easily. Finally, after ending my contemplation, I looked straight at Ruth, who had been patiently waiting for me.
My hands, which had been trembling, were now calmly placed on my knees.
I locked eyes with him for a few seconds, swallowed dryly, then slowly opened my mouth.
“Please.”
“Say it again, young lady. I didn’t catch that.”
“Please make Duke Dright realize every single mistake he’s made. Every single one, without missing anything.”
As I raised my voice a little and repeated my words, Ruth lightly touched his lips in surprise. His eyes, mysteriously shining, seemed to ask if that was really all.
However, I decided not to change my decision.
I thought it would even be a luxury to cause Duke Dright physical pain; I wanted him to suffer psychologically. I wished he would gradually fall apart while pondering over his sins, so he could understand, even if only one ten-thousandth, the feelings of the children who were sold like cattle by nobles.
And that was it. The extent of the anger that I, a third party and not the victim, could express towards him.
After observing my resolute gaze for a while, Ruth chuckled softly.
“Alright. I understand. I will make sure to inform Duke Dright of his sins, without missing any, just as you wish.”
“Thank you for listening to my request, Your Majesty. And… I would appreciate it if you could inform me about how Duke Dright reacts upon hearing Your Majesty’s words when you return…”
“You will see it for yourself. I will record everything from start to finish with a video orb and bring it to you.”
“Ah.”
I realized there was such a way.
A sigh of late realization naturally escaped.
Ruth, seeing me with a dumbfounded expression, lightly tousled his hair and said in a joking tone,
“Besides, it’s still too early to mess with Duke Hazel, so we decided to just leave him be for now.”
“True. That makes sense. Especially since His Majesty needs the support of the four great dukedoms, it seems fine to leave Duke Hazel alone until he becomes completely unnecessary.”
Of course, it’s not necessary to gain the support of all four great dukedoms, but it would look better to have it from all of them. As I added that, he shrugged as if agreeing,
“I was thinking the same. I already have one of Duke Hazel’s secrets in my hand, so with this, I was thinking of blackmailing…….”
Ruth naturally stopped mid-sentence and glanced at me, then sighed and changed his tone,
“……not really, but at least, I’m thinking of speaking with the minimum courtesy. Someone like Duke Hazel should understand without much explanation.”
“Right, someone like Duke Hazel…….”
As I nodded in agreement to his implicit opinion, out of nowhere, I remembered an incident that occurred at a banquet hosted by the Ducal family of Dright.
Due to this, my speech, soaked in reverie, trailed off and became indistinct.
“But it seems a bit off to say that the princess was in a state of mental and physical weakness at that time.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”
“Because, from what I remember, the princess didn’t collapse due to weakness, but it seemed like she wanted to hide her wrist.”
“……”
For some reason, the pain in my fully healed right wrist seemed to return. Unconsciously grabbing my wrist, I noticed Ruth’s gaze turn towards it.
So, I hastily composed my expression and hid my wrist behind me before he could realize what had happened to me. Then, I casually changed the topic.
“All that’s left now is Abyss.”
“Why? Even if they arrest the junior duke of Dright, there’s no guarantee that the Dright family would support me. If anything, they might dislike it.”
“Ah. I realize now that I hadn’t mentioned it before.”
Hearing his words, I realized that I had been using organizing my thoughts as an excuse to continuously postpone my meetings with Ruth.
Then, facing the suspicious Ruth, I took the opportunity to explain.
“For now, Sir Cedric has decided to step down from the position of commander of the paladins and join forces with us.”
“Hmm?”
“So, you’re saying that Sir Cedrics will get involved in the upcoming succession fight of the Dright family. If we assist him well, Sir Cedrics could become the next Duke Dright.”
Hearing my additional explanation, his eyebrows twitched up and down.
His face, which had been slightly puzzled, now spread with satisfaction. Judging by the clear change in his expression, it seemed like he had already finished calculating in his head.
“That’s good. But what’s the use of winning the support of the Duke Dright if he can’t win the support of the Grand Duke Dright?”
“Don’t worry about that. You’ll be able to gain the support of the Grand Duke Dright soon enough.”
“It looks like you’ve done something again, my lady.”
Unlike before, Ruth now roughly understood what I meant and snickered. It was as if he could hardly contain something swelling up inside him, just like that.
Seeing him like that, my mood, which had been low until now, strangely improved, and I rounded my eyes in affirmation.
“Yes. I found that sword.”
“That sword?”
“The blood oath made between the Dright family and the royal family.”
“Ah.”
After I briefly explained it to him, Ruth quickly showed an understanding. Then, his violet pupils sparkling with curiosity, he enfolded me in his gaze and asked back.
“You found it? How?”
“I had Ian’s help.”
“Ian… That’s the name of your younger brother, the Duke of Obelton, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Isn’t his name so cute? It’s round and easy to pronounce.”
Talking about Ian after so long made me feel warm inside. It was almost like I could understand how parents feel when they brag about their children, with a mix of excitement and my heart fluttering.
I’m the one who raised that child, who is like a baby kitten. Do you know how gentle he is around me, unlike his prickly self around others? He speaks so sweetly and is so smart…
I wondered what to tell Ruth first. Even if Ruth hadn’t suddenly turned pale with an unexpected question, I would have continued to enjoy this pleasant dilemma.
“I heard that the current Duke of Obelton is not the biological child but an adopted one. Isn’t it awkward or uncomfortable in some way? Technically, he’s no different from a stranger.”
“A stranger? No matter what anyone says, Ian is my brother. There’s nothing awkward or uncomfortable about it.”
“If the lady says so, but well, I wonder if the others feel the same…”
Suddenly, his focus blurred, then after a moment, it returned to normal. His eyes, clearer than before, held an indescribable shock.
If I saw correctly, that wasn’t horror directed at someone else but at oneself.
Frozen in that state for a while, Ruth eventually started to rub his palms on his knees like a sinner confessing his sins.
“…What did I just say?”
“You also said ‘on the other side’ as well.”
“I must be going crazy.”
Why suddenly this?
I tilted my head in confusion, watching Ruth bite back curses. I couldn’t understand why he was blaming himself.
Unable to suppress my curiosity, Ruth mumbled while washing his face with his dry hands upon seeing my scrunched-up nose.
“Forget what I said, Miss. It was just a monologue.”
“Huh? Ah… Yes, I will.”
Although the reason was unknown, I decided it was best to comply with his wishes. Thus, I forcibly turned away from the lingering doubt in my mind. If it cannot be suppressed, it’s better not to see it.
As I struggled with the urge to ask what I was about to say, he steered the conversation back to the main topic. Despite the intentional action, there was an astonishing lack of awkwardness.
“Anyway, this makes the story a bit easier. It seems we can go ahead with the plan using the nobility council.”
“The nobility council?”
“Right. Are you aware that there will be a nobles’ meeting a week before the hunting contest?”
“Yes. I heard that it always takes place before a major event like the hunting contest.”
Ruth chuckled quietly as he answered his questions as best as he knew, as if he was being tested.
“You know quite a bit. Then, do you also know what they do at the nobles’ meeting?”
“I don’t really know beyond that….”
I trailed off and shrank back because I really didn’t know more than that.
After all, there was no way I could know much about the nobles’ meeting. This was because only the heads of the families attend the meeting, and the security is so tight that there’s practically zero chance of any information leaking out.
Of course, that’s assuming there are no deliberate leaks.
While I was muttering under my breath, Ruth, with the smile gone from his lips, spat out one word cynically.
“Drama.”
