CH 16

I don't want to open my eyes, while slowly guessing who wakes me up,

“My lady, wake up! This is a call from Duke Ergen.”

Duke Ergen? Father?

My eyes widened at the story of Duke Ergen I hadn't heard in a long time.

Duke Ergen vacated his house so often, it had been a while since we had met.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a maid named Shana.

Rylane barely got out of bed and asked Shana.

“What did your father call you for?”

"I do not know. Just call all the young ladies and young ladies... … .”

Rylaine got up from the bed.

'I called everyone... … ?'

The foreboding was not good.

Lalaine hurriedly dressed and left the room. She saw a caverion walking away.

It seemed that he, too, was on his way to Duke Ergen's office.

"Brother."

When I called Kaverion, he looked back.

“Lyliane. It looks like you got a call too.”

“Yes, why is your father calling you in such a hurry?”

Kaverion's eyes were filled with worry.

“They said it was because of Aiden Bedsian, but I don’t know the details.”

Rylaine opened her eyes wide.

'Aiden... … ?'

What's going on?

When he said that the reason for calling was because of Aiden, Rylenne's pace quickened.

When I arrived at the office and opened the door, two people were already gathered.

Among them were some unexpected people.

“Haele… … ?”

“L-Ryrene-sama.”

Haele looked at Lailene with a puzzled expression.

Lailenne's gaze turned to Helis, who was beside her. The appearance of gauze attached to her nose was unusual.

My heart was pounding, my heart beating wildly.

Caverion also hurriedly approached Duke Ergen, as if he had read the subtle air currents.

“What is it, Father?”

“Come on, sit down.”

Duke Ergen pointed to the sofa across from him with a hard expression. As I sat down, I could see Helis' angry expression better.

Haele looks puzzled and Helis looks angry.

Lailene had a hunch that something bad was going on with Aiden. At that time, Kaverion asked Duke Ergen.

“Why does Helis look like this?”

Whoa. The duke sighed.

“This is what Aiden Bedsian did.”

When the anxiety became reality, Rylaine closed her eyes tightly.

A curious voice came from the side of Caverion.

“You mean Aiden Bedsian made Helis this way? He is not bound by fetters.”

When Duke Ergen frowned but didn't answer, Kaverion's head turned toward Haele.

“Haele, you speak.”

“That, that… … .”

Haele glanced at him as if looking at Helis. Helis was looking the other way with her arms crossed.

“Everything will have to be said, without leaving out a single thing.”

At Kaverion's threat, Haele closed her eyes once as if she was embarrassed, then opened her eyes slowly and spat out the words.

“… … Early in the morning, Miss Helis came to the dungeon.”

Rylane glared at Helis.

He said he had to go with him because he had the key, but he went alone.

“He said he wanted to see Aiden Bedsian, so he opened the door. By the way… … .”

Haele glanced at Helis.

“Keep talking.”

As Kaverion pressed on, Haele swallowed a gulp and continued.

“Aiden Bedsian glared at Helis-sama… … Miss Helis said she didn't like the look in Aiden Bedsian's eyes... … . Hearing that, Aiden Bedsian attacked Lady Helis.”

There were many loopholes in the story, as if something was omitted.

Aiden was never one to fall for that level of provocation. He was more likely to respond with no response.

“Is that why Aiden Bedsian attacked Helis?”

Fortunately, Kaverelon seemed to think the same way.

Instead of answering, it was the excited Helis.

“Do you think there must be any special reason for a beast to attack a person, brother!”

Caverion ignored Helis and leaned toward Haele.

“Haele.”

"yes? yes… … !”

“I’ll give you one more chance, so tell me exactly what happened.”

Kaverion's eyes were talking. I mean, it's the last chance.

It was a calm tone, but there was an irresistible sense of intimidation.

“… … yes."

Haele hesitated and continued.

“That, so… … Miss Helis went into the cell saying she wanted to see Aiden and called Aiden.”

Haele, who had to tell the truth, was almost crying.

"By the way… … When Aiden ignored it, Miss Helis approached and grabbed Aiden's hair.”

The truth that had been omitted earlier came out.

“Is that why Aiden Bedsian attacked?”

"no… … . When Aiden didn't respond, I punched him.”

“Helis?”

“… … Yes. But after Aiden dodged it, he hit Miss Helis in the face and knocked her down.”

Haele looked at the floor and spoke in a small voice.

“Because of that, Lady Helis's nose was broken... … .”

"you… … !”

As the truth spilled out, Helis gave Haele a deathly look.

'That's right.'

The exact situation finally came out of Haele. There was no way Aiden would swing his fist just because he said a few words.

"older brother. What matters now is not why I became like this.”

Helis pulled herself into Caverion and sat down.

“The important thing is that Aiden Bedsian still looks down on our family.”

Where is such a leap?

Aiden's actions were, strictly speaking, self-defense.

"That's right, Caverion."

However, Duke Ergen, who had been watching the situation, agreed with Helis.

“If you look at us funny, Aiden, who is shackled, attacks Helis.”

Caverion didn't agree with what they said, but he seemed equally unhappy.

Aside from Helis' fault, it wouldn't sound very nice to say that Aiden looked down on the family.

“Brother, I have an idea. A way to remind the spoiled Aiden Bedsian of his situation.”

Helis held her sore nose and raised her eyes.

“If you leave it to me, I will fix Aiden’s quirks.”

When Kaverion did not answer, Duke Ergen added his words.

“Yes, it is an issue that cannot be overlooked. Caverion.”

“… … .”

“Leave this task to Helis.”

Duke Ergen looked extremely determined.

“… … All right."

In the end, Kaverel also took a step back. Only then did Duke Ergen's hardened face loosen up a little.

“Okay, then. Guests will be arriving soon, so everyone should go away.”

With that, the short discussion ended.

Everyone got up and came out of Duke Ergen's office.

Caverion seemed somehow lost in thought.

I didn't even recognize that Rylaine was standing next to me, so I leisurely passed by and disappeared.

Conversely, Rylaine did not even think about going back to her room, and walked around in front of the office.

'What should I do?'

I don't know what Hellis will do to Aiden.

Rylaine's complexion was pale.

"sister."

While biting her lip as she pondered what to do, Helis placed her hand on Rylenne's shoulder.

“Would you like to talk to me for a minute?”

“… … Let's go.”

Lailene thought it was better.

He swallowed dry saliva and walked as Helis led.

As soon as they stood in a dark corner, Helis put her hand on her waist and asked.

“Why did you lie to me?”

“… … What lie are you talking about?”

“The key, the jailer had it.”

It was a lie to keep Helis from going to the dungeon alone.

Although the lie was discovered, Rylaine rather frowned and expressed her discomfort.

“I was going to go with you because I was afraid you would have an accident like this. Helis, why did you ignore me and go alone?”

“That, that… … .”

Helis stammered, perplexed.

However, Helis, who quickly found something to say, gave a wry smile.

"Anyway, that's not the point now! The important thing is that Aiden's condition was too far-sighted.”

Lailene acted as if nothing was wrong, suppressing her cold heart.

“… … What's wrong with that?”

“As well as Aiden's condition, the lights are on and the clothes and blankets have been replaced with new ones. Like… … .”

Helis's serpentine eyes scanned Rylenne.

“As if someone took care of it.”

Cold sweat broke out on Lailene's palms.

'No, at times like this, I have to react calmly.'

Calming her pounding heart, Rylaine slowly opened her mouth.

“The lighting is sweet to examine Aiden’s movements more closely, and the clothes and blankets are due to my mysophobia.”

Rylaine remembered her room without a speck of dust.

In the original work, Lailenne was a person with a terrible mysticism and aesthetic sense.

I never thought her personality like this would help now.

"Don't you know that I can't stand dirt or dirty things?"

Helis said, 'Hmm... … .' He groaned and narrowed his eyes.

“… … How would you describe Aiden Bedsian's restored bruises and physique? She has gained quite a bit of weight in her skinny body.”

“You mean I have to explain why Aiden’s resilience is good?”

Lailene seemed to be dumbfounded, and spat out a blank laugh.

Helis nodded suspiciously at the confident attitude.

“… … Okay. Since you say that, I trust you.”

Helis could no longer pursue Rylane.

Even if we haven't completely cleared our doubts, other evidence will be lacking right now.

But it was still too early to be relieved.

“Helis, you said you were going to punish Aiden earlier, right?”

“Yes, I plan to.”

Rylaine asked cautiously.

“What do you think… … ?”

A smile tugged at Helis' lips. like she's having fun

"I'm thinking of feeding Hayashin."

“Hayashin?”

It was the first word I heard.

“Hayashin is a fruit that brings great pain when eaten. There is a legend that the gods of the past were created to punish humans.”

something like that... … Are you going to feed Aiden?

Rylaine's mouth hardened.

"That's enough, even an Aiden Vedsian would beg to apologize."

After speaking, Helis opened her eyes wide and looked at Rylenne.

"ah… … ! I have a good idea.”

Helis put a hand on Rylenne's shoulder.

“Since Aiden's watcher is your sister, shouldn't Aiden take your sister lightly?”

“… … therefore?"

One corner of Helis' mouth went up in a curve.

“How about you feed Aiden Hayashin?”