“Nathan.”
“Why are you here?”
Nathan, who completely stopped eating and drinking after Bella collapsed, was noticeably skinny. There was a rumor that he cried to sleep every day, and his swollen eyes looked pitiful.
“Why are you here at this hour?”
“I was walking around with a lot of thoughts. And since I saw you here, I ca over.”
“… Oh.”
“You’re having a hard ti, too, these days, Brother.”
“…”
“Lissy… was a good follower of my sister. Wasn’t she the child who wanted my sick sister to wake up from her bed more than anyone else?”
“…”
“I believe in Lissy. Any misunderstanding will be revealed soon. So hang in there, Brother.”
“Of course.” Lark smiled weakly and stood facing Nathan in front of him.
“If it’s a misunderstanding as you said, the truth will co out one day.”
Lark, holding Nathan’s skinny shoulder, quietly lowered his head. His lips moved against Nathan’s ear, “Nathan.”
“…”
“One should only build up karma as much as one can handle. I haven’t lived that long, but it’s one of the few truths I’ve gained in my short life.” Lark raised his head, looked down at Nathan indifferently, and passed by.
Nathan tilted his head at the strange words and stared at Lark for a long ti.
When Lark’s back, which had beco small like a dot, disappeared and beca invisible.
“Khuhu.” Nathan smiled and swept his shoulder that had been touched by Lark’s hand.
“… What the fuck are you talking about?” His expression had changed so much that one couldn’t even imagine that he was a weak brother from a while ago. The voice filled with malice resounded through the dry air, “Your sister, whom you cherish so much, will be confined for the rest of her life to rot. Is your face going to be worth seeing at the trial? Ahaha.”
Nathan, who soon hardened his giggling expression, said as if chewing and spitting out, “Unlucky bastard.”
***
Two days after that.
A day before the trial of Princess Lisbeth, a eting of nobility was held.
At this eting, which had already been held eight tis, 31 out of 32 high-ranking aristocrats of the capital belonging to the parliant attended without exception.
One absence might be suspicious, but no one questioned it because it was as it should be.
That’s right. It was the seat that belonged to Diollus VIII, Duke Leonard Diollus.
“Father, this is the last eting before the final eting where the sentence to be given to the 5th Princess Lisbeth will be decided.” Viego ca to Leonard’s room early in the morning to persuade him. “Her dethronent is a fact, leaving only the debate on whether to impose confinent on Vaden Island.”
“…”
Confinent on Vaden Island.
This was the second largest punishnt given to the guilty imperial family mbers after the death penalty. A life-long punishnt on Vaden, a remote island in the Southwest of the Decarn Sea, the territorial waters of the Empire.
The imperial family mber sent here spent their entire lives on an island where exchanges with the outside world were completely cut off.
There was only one way for them to co back. For their funeral with their dead body.
“Please attend today’s eting and cast at least one vote against the confinent.”
“If I go against it, can I prevent the confinent?”
“Father, you know that one vote from you isn’t just one vote. If you attend, the nobles who supported the confinent will be shaken.”
“Oh.”
Leonard just flipped the page of the book he was reading, listening with indifferent eyes.
Viego bit his lip. “Princess Lisbeth is only thirteen. She didn’t an to do anything and harm the 1st Princess.”
“…”
“There must be soone who used Princess Lisbeth to threaten the life of her 1st Princess. The intention is clear.”
“Yeah, of course. To abolish the crown prince.”
“Yes, everyone thinks that’s the case.”
“But so what?” Leonard raised his eyes and added, “The struggle for succession is as fierce as the battlefield in the Descarde Imperial family. Dozens of imperial family mbers are aiming for the throne.”
“…”
“This kind of conspiracy is not new. Perhaps the crown prince will think that this is also his destiny.”
“Father!” Viego raised his voice and said as he closed his eyes and held his breath, “The nobles in favor of confinent are all guessing Princess Lisbeth’s innocence, but they claim that even though it was unintended, it was still a direct harm to the 1st Princess, and so cannot be easily overlooked.”
“They’re not wrong. Whether it was a mistake or not, one should be held responsible. You will have to pay the price if you act stupidly on a stage like a battlefield without a sword.”
“Princess Lisbeth is young. She is the sa age as Rubette or the twins.”
“Young age is not an indulgence.”
“Father!” Viego, who couldn’t stand it, scread. “Father, why are you so inhumane?”
“What?”
“Rubette, Lillia, Ricky! Imagine if any of them is confined for the rest of their lives!”
“Viego Diollus.”
“Yes!”
Tak. With the book closed, Leonard crossed his arms and looked straight at the agitated Viego.
“Take care of your little sister.”
“… What?”
“If you have ti to step up because you feel sorry for other people’s children, pay attention to Rubette.”
Viego paused.
Leonard sighed sharply at his son’s expression, which seed to be bothered.
Soon he looked up and said, “I know you think it’s disgraceful to see my face. I know you think you don’t deserve to be blad for not taking care of Rubette.”
“…”
Viego lowered his head.
“… No. My shortcomings are great.”
“…”
The father and son were silent.
The ti when each other had a lot of thoughts passed for quite a long ti, and soon Viego rose up. “I understand what Father thinks. I’ll leave first.”
“…”
At that ti.
Knock, knock.
Soone knocked on the door.
“Dad, it’s .”
“Co in.” Leonard imdiately responded to Rubette’s voice.
Rubette, who peeped open the door, paused when she found Viego, who was about to leave.
There was an exchange of awkward gazes in the air for a few seconds.
Viego, who had avoided his eye first, tried to leave the room, but Rubette caught him. “Brother, where are you going?”
“Huh?” Viego, bewildered by Rubette, who spoke to him first, replied in a hurry, “I’m going to prepare for an aristocratic conference in the imperial court in the afternoon. It’s a eting to discuss the punishnt of the 5th Princess Lisbeth.”
“Oh, I see. I ca here to tell Father sothing, but please listen as well.”
“…?” Viego looked at Leonard, puzzled.
Leonard raised his eyebrows, asking with his expression, and Rubette, who made eye contact, cleared her throat.
“Dad.”
“What is it?”
Rubette said with an awkward smile, “I made an accident.”
***
The imperial conference hall.
Five minutes before the eting started at 2 o’clock, nobles filled in the empty seats.
The crown prince, Lark, sat on the supre seat, fiddling with the projector stone in his hand until it was worn out. It was the stone containing Rubette’s perjury scene.
“Please release my video at the ninth eting the day after tomorrow.”
Lark neither nodded nor shook his head at her request.
Even today, the day of the ninth eting, he was hesitating.
‘I’m surprised and embarrassed that you’re thinking about this.’
Lark smiled self-deprecatingly. He’d already received a lot of help from Rubette. How could he survive his shalessness if he burdened her again?
‘Lissy…’
Over Rubette’s face, the face of his sister, who knew nothing, also appeared.
If there was anything Lisbeth was guilty of, it was because she was his sister. She was frad only because of that reason.
“…”
After long agony, Lark put the projector stone in his hand deep in his jacket’s inner pocket.
At that mont.
Creak—.
Bang.
Clank-tang, clank-tang.
Marquis Rossel, one of the nobility of the Parliant, ca in through the conference hall door.
Everyone in the crowd frowned at the frivolous and frivolous appearance that was not aristocratic.
“M-Marquis Rossel? What rudeness is this?” Duke Reiger glanced at Lark as he rebuked Marquis Rossel.
“D-Duke Reiger, t-the one on his way r-right now-”
“Excuse , Marquis!” Duke Reiger put his index finger over his lips and whispered, “Why are you stuttering so much? Please calm down and lower your voice. His Highness the Crown Prince is here…”
“This is not the ti to calm down!”
“No, what-”
Thud, thud.
Lark slamd the table and drew attention, and everyone held their breath.
2 o’clock on the hour.
It was the signal to start the eting.
Lark murmured, looking at the two empty seats just to the left of the upper seat.
“Is Young Duke Diollus absent today?”
“No, Your Highness,” said Marquis Rossel.
“He’s coming. I saw him.”
“Really?”
“But he’s not alone-”
Bang!
Then, the conference hall door, which had been closed, opened slightly harshly. Lark’s eyes widened at the face he saw from the top.
“Gasp!”
“Oh, my…”
At the sa ti, the conference hall turned noisy, and the nobles doubted their eyes. The one who appeared in the eting room with a beast-like gaze…
… was none other than Duke Diollus.
Yes, it was his first appearance in ten years.
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