CH 20

Jeryl squawked as she was completely cornered.

“I, I! I’ll admit that I gave a class that didn’t fit the level of the student. But, the necrosis is not due to me!”

I knew it was going to come out like this, so I called in a doctor who would give his opinion.

Calib quickly asked the doctor. “Are Ellia’s wounds certain to have been caused by the shoes?”

“Yes, I’m sure. It wouldn’t have hurt her feet that much if it weren’t for untamed shoes.” The doctor concealed his bewildered expression at the sudden situation and responded quickly.

Calib said coldly as he hugged me.

“So, you’re saying that now, as ‘the doctor of the Grand Duke’s Castle,’ Ellia’s wounds are due to the high heels she’s been wearing for a long time because of Teacher Jeryl, and that there is no problem with her examination?”

It was a question that seemed to have an answer I desperately wanted.

At that, the doctor glanced at Calib in my arms.

His mention of ‘the doctor of the Grand Duke’s Castle’ was intentional.

Although the doctor examined that the injury was caused by the high heels, he didn’t say that it would lead to necrosis.

The only prescription was to apply the ointment, so if he didn’t blame the high heels, the doctor could shift the blame. And the doctor seemed to have noticed this, then he answered quickly.

“That’s right. I’ve looked very closely, so there were no mistakes in my examination. Also, the wound is obviously due to the shoes, and that wound can be infected.” 

He added that it could also be the necrosis caused by it. In fact, he once said that it could be ephemeral.

At the doctor’s words, Jeryl opened her mouth as if she was trying to refute it immediately.

“Then I’m sure of it.”

Cedric didn’t give her a chance. He immediately ordered Edwin. “Ellia needs to rest, so take her outside.”

“Yes. I understand.”

It was when Edwin grabbed Jeryl by the shoulder.

“Let go of me! You know who I am…! Sir Cedric, necrotic, you said!”

Jeryl pushed him away and tried to cling to Cedric. However, her efforts were easily suppressed by Edwin.

As if he only held a pen, he quickly grabbed Jeryl’s shoulder and turned her back to her original position. It was just the right amount of pressure that was neither uncomfortable to look at nor was it excessive.

Edwin smiled as he strongly insisted.

“I can’t just watch the daughter of the first vassal family committing a treason by abusing the Grand Young Lord, and then commit another sin of disobeying orders.”

In the end, Jeryl couldn’t say a word, so she was dragged away by Edwin.

The doctor swallowed dry saliva in fear that he would be like that too and said. “I will bring holy water.”

“I’ll follow you.” Olivia hastily followed the doctor for the perfect crime.

On the other hand, as Jeryl said, the ‘necrosis’ was a trap, so I felt a bit uneasy.

Did they notice how I felt?

The servants stayed close to the door, and Cedric bowed his head toward me. Others seemed to be very concerned about me.

Cedric whispered softly.

“You look worried even though you’ve achieved your goal.”

As expected, as soon as he heard that my foot was necrotic, he seemed to have realized all the plans.

I leaned my upper body toward those brothers and said, completely hiding my expression and mouth shape.

“Teacher Jeryl… No, as the Lady of the Marquis said, necrosis is a trap.”

Just in case, I told Calib to never learn this kind of thing. Calib replied that he knew it already, but somehow I didn’t believe it.

His smiling face seemed to be in the dark, but… I must be mistaken.

I looked up at Cedric’s blue eyes and said anxiously.

“I’m worried that there might be a fall behind.”

His eyes were full of my face with its pink jewel eyes. Cedric looked at my face for a while, then raised the corners of his lips and said.

“Edwin is a capable aide. As long as he’s in charge, it’ll be fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And I’m actually grateful to Ellia.”

Calib and I looked at Cedric curiously at the same time. He looked at the two of us in turn and said with a shrill voice.

“If it weren’t for your wit, I would have had to keep the Lady of the Marquis as Calib’s teacher.”

Ah, that’s right.

Since she’s been fired because she was deceived, Calib will no longer be bullied by Jeryl.

If so, well…

Yeah, it was for Calib.

There’s no such thing as not grated.

Thinking about that, I let out a sigh.

However, Calib’s expression became very serious.

“Calib? What’s the matter?”

“Uh, huh? Oh, nothing…”

Calib looked impatient, as if an important plan had been shattered. I wanted to ask what was going on, but even children have their own concerns.

In this case, I should respect Calib as an individual, shouldn’t I?

Also, when I looked at Calib, was it because I was reminded of Yoonie, who lay helplessly on the hospital room’s bed?

I thought that it doesn’t matter what I do as long as it’s not dangerous.

I was thinking of Yoonie after a long time, and suddenly Cedric grabbed a handful of my hair.

He buried his nose and lips in my hair and took a deep breath.

“…Hm?” Cedric asked in an unfeeling voice when I raised a questionable voice at the unfamiliar behavior.

“Did you spray any perfume?”

“Perfume? No… I haven’t bought any of those things yet.”

Is he asking if I’ve used any of my private fund?

I answered with a timid heart.

Cedric, who hadn’t spoken for a while, smiled silently and let my hair go. Seeing this with a questionable face, Calib tilted his head.

Then, looking into my eyes, he leaned his head toward my drooping red silver hair and sniffed. The look of a puppy asking, “What does it smell like?” almost made me laugh without realizing it.

Aww, how cute.

Yoonie was like this too, exactly the same.

When I rushed to the hospital from the dojo, I used to spray fabric deodorant to avoid the smell of sweat.

Then, Yoonie sniffed my hair a little bit without me knowing.

[Your younger brother is very curious whether his older sister has a boyfriend or not.]

I wondered why at first, but I don’t even know how much I laughed when I heard the caregiver aunt.

Was it because I thought of Yoonie one after another, or was it because Cedric said he was grateful?

It felt like the veil of guilt I had with Jeryl had been peeled off.

***

Jerry couldn’t believe it.

“No way, no way…”

She got into the carriage and murmured all the way to the near march.

The fact that she was fired from the Grand Young Lord’s etiquette teacher, and the fact that everyone found out that she had abused the prince, and then.

“Are those two really lovers?”

It was hard to believe that the scene where Cedric held Ellia’s shoulder tightly was true.

Aside to that hateful Elia, who pretended to be pitiful and acted all the time, how about Calib!

Jeryl had no idea that Calib could have such a cold expression. Because he was always shy in front of her.

“No way, no way…” Jeryl murmured again.

This unbelievable series of events is true, and now she’s in a big deal.

The Marquis’ status will drop to the ground, and his father, Renold’s position will be narrowed.

Abusing the Grand Young Lord was tantamount to betrayal.

“We might be expelled from the vassal family…!”

Of course, as they are the maternal family of the former Grand Duchess, they won’t lose their position easily.

Jeryl ruffled her neatly braided hair and trembled with terror all the way to the march.

And that evening, an emergency meeting was convened at the Grand Duke’s Castle.

Calib’s seat was empty.

[I have to attend too. This is my job.]

[But Calib, you’ve already overcome the hardships well. So, this time, why don’t you just tell your brother instead?]

Ellia was concerned that Calib might be traumatized.

Cedric thought, looking tired of the vassals talking like quack pigs.

‘Ellia was right. If Calib had seen this, he would’ve had an unprecedented trauma.’

To that extent, the vassals were pointing at each other and swearing at each other, raising their voices.

The reason was none other than ‘whether the family of the Marquis of Babillon was expelled.’

However, the families that had been bought by Renold were outraged and opposed.

“The Lady of the Marquis’ sin is great, but what Marquis Babillon has done for the Grand Duke of Indigentia is even greater!”

“Please don’t make hasty judgments based on this once-in-a-lifetime situation.”

“The maternal family of the Grand Duchess will definitely be of great help to Sir Cedric, no, the Grand Young Lord too!”

Meanwhile, the vassals who were usually oppressed by the Marquis of Babillon shouted like fish in water.

“This is a case where the Grand Young Lord, not anyone else, was abused!”

“This is an outright betrayal, treason against the monarch’s family!”

“There’s no way the Marquis couldn’t have known that the Lady of the Marquis was abusing him!”

Cedric thought as he sat down with a cold, subdued expression alone in the midst of the exasperation.

‘I did not expect to uproot the Babillon family with this one time anyway.’

Their influence was too great to be rooted out at once, and the risk was great. But their influence will certainly diminish.

It was supposed to be reduced like this.

Cedric sighed and cleared the conference hall.

Then he said to the overheated vassals.

That he won’t expel the Marquis of Babillon.