Chapter 17.1

I had discovered during my observations that in addition to the main entrance door, there was a door leading to the backyard at the rear of the kitchen, so I decided to go down to the backyard first, which was within the castle grounds and therefore not dangerous.

I found an unkempt, overgrown garden with what was left of a flower bed and an archway with sharp thorny roses growing in all directions. It must have once been a rose garden.

Only a small fountain was running with beautiful water. When I looked up at the sky, it was still dim even though it was daytime.

There was a round light in the sky which I couldn’t identify if it was sunlight or moonlight. The reason why I can’t see it clearly is that gray clouds are covering the sky.

It was not as if it was about to rain.

It was a cloudy, gloomy sky that stretched out endlessly.

I walk into the forest, stepping quickly on the grass. There are bricks hidden among the grass. It may have been a beautiful place in the distant past.

The gardens of the royal castle where I once spent time with Rafael-sama were well maintained and filled with bright sunlight.

I am not one to hold on to the past, but when I am alone in such a quiet place, I can’t help but be reminded of it.

The first time I was there, I was sixteen years old and had no idea that I would ever come to a place like this.

I wonder if Rafael-sama has already met Cynthia. A feeling akin to nostalgia wells up in me.

When I first entered the Royal Academy, I don’t think I was aware of Cynthia.

The man who directly condemned me, Orcis Amber, is the eldest son of the Amber family, the longtime prime minister of the kingdom, the same age as Rafael-sama and two years older than me.

The Amber family supports the country’s politics from both the front and the back, and it is well known that the family has a distinctive rule that before entering the royal academy, the students must study politics without leaving their homes.

So, although I knew only the name Orcis, it was the first time I met him when I met him at the school.

Orchis was a dark young man with golden eyes and hair as long and dark as the night sky, tied in a knot at the back of his neck.

I didn’t get involved with him much. It was not that I was particularly disliked, but rather that Orcis seemed to be a man who did not like to associate with people very much.

As a member of Rafael-sama’s entourage, he probably could not ignore me, and we only greeted each other when we saw each other.

Cynthia-san is not as pretty as I am, but she has lovely eyes and she is beautiful in her own way. She has soft, shoulder-length chestnut hair and clear blue eyes.

When I first entered the school, she was one of many students, so I paid no attention to her. She had a somewhat unusual origin, but that didn’t make her any less special.

When was it that I started to see her next to Rafael-sama?

I think it was around the time we finished our long summer vacation that she already had a place next to Raphael-sama.

Cynthia was always in some kind of trouble, and it was true that she probably had a lot of trouble when she had to come to the Royal Academy from an ordinary family, but there were many male students who helped her out.

The first of them was Rafael-sama, but there were many more, such as Orcis, Alec, a candidate for the next Knight Commander, and Mikhail, a professor of herbology. There were many more, but I’ve forgotten.

There must have been people who didn’t like it.

According to Orchis, who had been cheerfully telling me my crimes, I had tried to have Cynthia abducted by men who didn’t care about her, tried to have her sold  to another country, tried to throw her off a cliff in the forest while she was picking herbs for a pharmacy class, threw her personal belongings into an incinerator, etc., And did whatever I wanted to do.

The pure, righteous, and beautiful Lydith Annemaria was accused of terrible crimes.

I was appalled at the cruelty of it all while I was listening to Orchis’ story, but I had to keep quiet because I was restrained at the time and had to bite down on a cloth so that I wouldn’t be able to talk.

The verdict was quick.

I looked at Cynthia, who looked frightened behind Orchis, and she was crying as usual. If she thinks that I am responsible for all the crimes that have been committed against her so far, that must be scary for me.

Perhaps they thought that a duchess is a very cruel person.

After a brief statement of the charges, I was immediately placed in the carriage.

“Lydith, I have always hated you. You can live in a whorehouse, regretting your sins.”

I think Orchis said something like that.

It was not long after that that the carriage accident occurred.

I let out a deep sigh.

It’s in the past, it’s over. There was no point in thinking about it.

Now I am a reborn Lydith, the head chef.

I am Gilbert’s good companion, the one who revitalizes food, clothing, and surroundings in the castle and arranges his life.

I am busy and have no time to dwell on the past. I should do what I can do first.

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