“Hey, Drossell, who is that?”
“Hey, Drossell, do you know him?”
“Huh?” Tina and Deet clung to Leticiel’s leg, innocently asking their questions as she studied the second prince. Talk about changing gears quickly. As she was struggling to respond, Lionel walked over to Leticiel.
“Long time no see, Miss Drossell.”
“…Same to you, Prince Lionel. I’m glad to see that you haven’t changed much.” Since he was Rocheford’s little brother, it was safe to assume that they had met before. Leticiel dipped her head slightly in a greeting and Lionel glanced down at her feet. After staring fixedly at the twins, he looked up at the night sky which could be seen through the hall’s exposed ceiling.
“Could those children be…?” Judging by the look on his face, Lionel was putting the clues together. Tina was expressionless and Deet’s smile was completely gone. The two hid behind Leticiel without saying a word, both of their gazes holding nothing but unmistakable rejection.
“It seems they’re extremely wary of me.”
“I’m terribly sorry. They both have cautious personalities.”
Lionel smiled wryly at that, but he soon returned to his solemn expression and looked straight at Leticiel while he continued to speak. “I heard about what happened with Rocheford from my father while I was studying abroad. I’m terribly sorry for all the trouble he caused you.”
“Please don’t worry about that, Your Highness. There’s no reason for you to apologize to me.” Leticiel gently shook her head. He needn’t apologize to her when he hadn’t been at school even once since she started, much less during the incident itself. She quickly changed the subject. “What business did you have here, Your Highness?”
“I came to give my greetings now that I’m back from studying abroad. Though there seems to have been a commotion…”
Lionel glanced between Scarlough and Leticiel. Seeing that her father was so agitated that he had a shifty gaze but was making no move to explain, Leticiel decided to do it herself.
“I have business with a servant named Claud. I heard that he was locked in the cellar despite not receiving treatment for his grave wounds.”
After listening to Leticiel’s brief explanation, Lionel turned his attention to Scarlough. “Is that true, Lord Scarlough?”
“N-No, it’s…,” Scarlough stammered under the weight of the prince’s gaze. He likely hadn’t imagined that Leticiel would kick up a fuss over a mere servant’s punishment, or that the second prince, who happened to be present, would hear about it. Scarlough threw an irritated glare Leticiel’s way, but he couldn’t afford to show disrespect in front of the prince and eventually started to reluctantly explain. However, his was a sugar-coated version that left out many details.
“I see,” Lionel said. “If what you said is true, the servant certainly did make a careless mistake.”
Scarlough’s explanation made it seem as if Claud had made a mistake that almost ended in Diane’s injury. Leticiel genuinely questioned his sanity.
“E-Exactly! So there’s nothing for you to worry about, Your Highness.” Scarlough was visibly relieved by Lionel’s response. He kept shooting Leticiel discouraging glares. He was obviously trying to move on from the subject, but there was no way Leticiel would let him get away with that.
“No, that isn’t what I heard.” Scarlough was stunned by Leticiel’s rebuttal. Even Lionel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Someone who was there at the time said that Claud is bleeding from cuts on his back caused by the pottery shards.” Saying this, Leticiel’s gaze moved to the young gardener crouching near the wall. Lionel followed it, catching sight of the man.
“Is that true?” he asked.
“Y-Yes… That is correct, Your Highness!” The young man froze, nervous to be questioned by the kingdom’s prince, but he answered Lionel in a high-pitched tone and timidly told the whole story.
“Th-That’s nonsense, Your Highness! That girl is trying to make us look bad!”
“Please calm down, Lord Scarlough. Listening to those who were involved is an important part of learning what truly happened.”
“Th-That’s…”
Lionel put a hand to his chin and lowered his gaze. Scarlough had attempted to verbally disparage Leticiel, but apparently he didn’t have a comeback for Lionel’s just reasoning. With no way to vent his anger at Leticiel’s refusal to move on from the subject, he glared sharply at her, but Leticiel ignored him, completely unconcerned.
Lionel, who had been deep in thought, opened his eyes and looked at Scarlough once more. “I’m well aware that I should not interfere in your household affairs, but how do you intend to punish your servant?”
“Huh? W-Well… Claud made a grave mistake. That’s why I’ve locked him in the cellar to make him repent.”
Apparently, Scarlough also thought that the breaking of the vase, Diane’s almost injury, and the ruining of her dress were serious matters. Leticiel couldn’t understand why.
“Pardon me, but is there a need to punish Claud that much?” The instant Leticiel opened her mouth, Scarlough glared at her as if to say, You again? Sparks flew between the father and daughter.
“O-Of course there is! That man ruined the most expensive flower in our household!”
“Haven’t the flowers that were planted in the broken vase already been transferred into other vases? Saying that he ‘ruined’ it is an exaggeration, don’t you think?”
“B-But his carelessness almost led to Diane getting hurt!”
Hearing this, the air around Tina and Deet—who were still hiding behind Leticiel—grew sharp once more. Patting their heads to calm them down, Leticiel said, “However, she wasn’t actually injured, was she? Because he stepped in to protect Mother. I would even go as far as to praise his loyalty. I don’t think he should be punished in this way.”
That was enough to zip Scarlough’s lips. Beside him, Diane piped up with, “B-But it’s Claud’s fault that my dress has been ruined!”
Leticiel almost let out a huge sigh at the trifling excuse, but she managed to suppress it. “Well, Lady Diane, if you liked that dress so much, why don’t you have another one made just like it? I understand wanting to treasure the things you love, but there is no substitute for the loyalty and sincerity of those who serve you. Isn’t it our duty as those who stand above the citizens to be compassionate toward them?”
Scarlough and Diane glowered hatefully at Leticiel. No matter what they said, Leticial had a fair argument for it, leaving them unable to object. Leticiel hadn’t said anything wrong, so she met their glares with a cool expression. But that only provoked the duke and duchess’s anger even more, their shoulders trembling.
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt your conversation. It may be impertinent of me, but may I say something?” Lionel’s calm voice cut into the hostile air between the three.
Before Scarlough or Diane could speak, Leticiel jumped to respond, “Yes, of course, Your Highness.”
Scarlough glared scornfully at her as if to say, I’m the master of this house, but Leticiel pretended not to see it.
“If it is indeed true that the servant risked his own body to save Lady Diane and that he accepted the punishment for his mistakes without any complaints, shouldn’t his loyalty and extenuating circumstances be taken into consideration?”
The duke and duchess had been growing frustrated, unable to snarkily respond to Leticiel’s sound arguments with the prince present. But Lionel’s authoritative voice put an end to the verbal bout and they fell completely silent.
“For starters, why don’t you treat his wounds?” the prince suggested. Scarlough had no choice but to nod in agreement. Glaring at Leticiel in frustration, he then glanced to Daniel. Sensing the meaning behind his master’s gaze, Daniel nodded and disappeared behind a door.
The group waited for a while until Daniel came back with Claud in his arms. Leticiel felt the urge to run over and immediately start treating him when she saw Claud’s pale and haggard face, but she held back.
On the other hand, Claud gaped at the broken ceiling and stairs, unable to hide his shock at the state of the hall. Not to mention, he was likely surprised to see Leticiel, who had left the manor a month ago, and the kingdom’s second prince.
Facing Claud, who was confused by the hall’s lineup, Scarlough announced, “Claud, I am revoking your punishment.” The words were so unexpected coming from the man who had been ready to severely punish him just hours earlier that Claud doubted his hearing. Just what had gone on while he was in the cellar?
“However,” Scarlough continued, “you must be held responsible for causing such an uproar. Therefore, you will be demoted from head gardener and your wages will take a cut. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
After a pause, Claud replied, “Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace.” Having no idea why things had turned out that way and scrambling to make sense of the situation, Claud looked around and caught Leticiel gazing gently at him. He gave her a grateful look in return. Guessing that she was the reason the situation had been resolved peacefully, he gave a sigh of relief and deeply bowed his head.
“Daniel, treat his wounds.” The head butler, Daniel, followed Scarlough’s orders and supported Claud as they left the hall.
Watching them leave out of the corner of her eye, Leticiel approached Lionel and curtsied before him. “I’m terribly sorry for having bothered you.”
“Not at all. I simply stuck my nose into things,” Lionel said gently, his gentlemanly smile never wavering as he placed a hand on his chest and bowed slightly.
Leticiel continued with, “No, we should have been able to settle things within our family.” Whatever the circumstances or reasoning, it was thanks to his interference that everything had ended peacefully.
“I didn’t do much, but I’ll accept your sincerity, Miss Drossell.” Once their conversation had subsided, Lionel glanced out the window. It had been twilight when Leticiel came to the manor, but now the sun had fully set and the moon was floating in the night sky. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
“Allow me to see you to the door.”
“No, please don’t worry about it. It’s late, so you should get some rest, Miss Drossell.” Politely declining her offer, Lionel strode for the exit with a few servants in tow. After one last curtsy toward his back, Leticiel ran over to Ruvik.
“Ruvik, show me to Claud’s room. I’m worried about his condition.”
“Yes, my lady. Please follow me.”
Tina and Deet, who were still clinging to her legs, stared at her during her short conversation with Ruvik.
“Drossell, you’re not going home?”
“Drossell, where are you going?”
“No, I’m not going home yet. I’m going to see Claud.”
“Then we’ll go with you,” the twins echoed.
“What? But you two need to be getting home or the others will worry about you…”
Still, the twin spirit kings followed Leticiel as she hurried out of the hall. Lionel watched them until the front door closed behind him. Looking up at the towering duke’s manor lit in the light of the moon, he slowly walked back to the carriage with a small smile playing on his lips.