Chapter 42

"Ah… what?!"

The second Lyssel finished talking, Iberin shrieked.

Lyssel, looking like he knew exactly what he'd done, hung his head.

"What's kidnapped mean?"

Ether alone wasn't following a thing.

---

There was no eating after that.

Iberin was on her feet right away, ready to go and see for herself.

"Don't tell me you've kept her locked up this whole time?"

"…Just since you came home."

"Only while I'm here?"

"…Yes."

Lyssel was reading her face.

"Rotte, you were in on this?"

"I'm sorry."

Rotte too.

The fact that they hadn't locked the girl up the whole time but had been living with her instead suggested everyone else had known.

Ether seems to not have realized she was a "kidnapped person."

Iberin reached the end room radiating sheer disbelief and gave a small nod.

A staff member who'd gone for the key came back, click, and the door opened. Inside was a young girl, hands and feet bound, a gag stuffed in her mouth.

"What…"

The moment the girl saw them, her eyes went wide and furious and she started twisting against the ropes.

"What have you done?!"

Iberin couldn't hold it in.

The next moment, the ropes binding the girl and the gag were taken off.

"You sons of bitches!!"

The instant she was freed, the girl let loose a string of obscenities.

Iberin had braced herself for a traumatized child, and stood blinking at the spectacle of one launching straight into cursing instead.

"You think you can tie me up and just leave me here?! You think this is going to cost a few coppers?!! Ten gold! That's what you owe me!"

"…Ten gold?"

"Cough it up!"

The child shouted, indignant.

Demanding money.

To top it off, Lyssel calmly rummaged in his pocket and pressed ten gold into her hand.

The girl gave a satisfied little smile and announced,

"I'll let it slide this time."

"…"

"And who's this person?"

The girl's eyes swung to Iberin.

Iberin was so thrown she couldn't get a word out.

This is not how I pictured this going down.

He said kidnapped.

She was kidnapped.

Why was she shaking him down for cash?

---

Iberin seemed to be the only one floundering.

Pulling herself together, she turned to the girl and asked,

"…I hear you were kidnapped."

"And?"

"This was in the capital?"

"Yes. So who are you, really?"

"…I'm this man's wife."

Iberin gestured at Lyssel, and the girl's face lit up with a small aha of recognition.

"The sick one!"

"Hm?"

"He said you were really sick."

"That's right."

"Are you all right now?"

"…More or less."

At least she wasn't coughing up blood or running a fever anymore, so — yes.

"This mister told me to save you, lady."

"What?"

Iberin's eyes flew open.

Come to think of it, she still didn't know why he'd kidnapped her.

She'd been so stunned by the kidnapping itself that she'd come tearing in here without ever getting that far.

Iberin turned to look at Lyssel.

He flinched and let his eyes roll around evasively.

"You can save me?"

"That's what he said. But the truth is, I can't, lady."

"What?"

"It was a lie!"

"What was a lie?"

"You really don't know anything, do you? See, he kidnapped me because I have a lot of holy power, right?"

Holy power?

Wait — to give the child's holy power to her?

But if you weren't a priest, didn't that kill you?

Just as Iberin's brow knitted hard with worry, the girl said,

"It doesn't matter — the temple threw me away as useless too."

"…What?"

"My holy power isn't anything. It's just there. I can't actually do anything with it the way other priests can."

"Wait — are you sure you should be telling me that? Didn't you say you lied?"

"Do you know how cute I've been for the past two months? You're not actually going to throw me out, are you? I'll curse you. You'll be punished."

Floored well past disbelief by this kid suddenly slinging curses, Iberin blinked dumbly.

"And anyway, you look soft-hearted, lady. You'd really throw me out? Really? When I'm this cute?"

Hands clasped together like Puss in Boots, blinking up at her — yes, the girl was cute, no question.

---

She hadn't dreamed in a million years that Lyssel was capable of kidnapping someone, and the state of the kidnapped child was even more of a shock.

She didn't think anything else could possibly surprise her this much.

Still, the girl seemed so unfazed for someone who'd been abducted that Iberin had no idea what to even say.

She'd wondered briefly if it was an act, but no — it really wasn't.

"Hey. Ether."

"Hm?"

"Have you eaten? Did you have something good?"

"No, I haven't eaten yet."

"Why not?"

"I didn't know you were in there. But Mommy, you said you wanted to see her. Oh — hey, what's kidnap mean?"

"Aha."

She seemed to be getting along with Ether unreasonably well.

Granted, Ether was so sweet and easygoing that getting along with him wouldn't have been hard.

And Lyssel had apparently lost his grip and kidnapped a child, but at his core he was a gentle man.

The other staff went without saying.

Even now, just looking at Rotte, you could see her tiptoeing around the girl.

She seemed to be carrying a certain amount of guilt over it, mind you.

"I'm hungry too. Lady, can I eat too?"

"…Yes."

"Hee."

So in the end, she came down to the dining room with the girl in tow.

The girl made her way to her seat as if she did this every day.

This clearly wasn't her first or second meal with them.

Seeing her gagged earlier had been a horrible shock, but everyone seemed to have treated her well, which was at least some comfort.

"Oh, that reminds me — where are the other children?"

"Ah, the ones you sent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"We told them all to feel free to say what they wanted to do, but they couldn't decide. For now we've decided to look after them. They're probably eating with the other staff right now."

"Kal too?"

"Yes. Kal's especially quick on the uptake and good at work, so everyone likes him."

It was a relief to hear they were doing well too.

"Would you like to come say hello later?"

"Yes. I'd love to see them."

Rotte nodded with a faint smile.

But somewhere along the way, the girl had started staring hard at Iberin.

Iberin caught herself running a hand over her cheek to check for something on her face, then gave the girl an awkward smile.

"Why are you… looking at me like that…?"

"Those kids were sent by you, lady?"

"Hm?"

"The ones who are all hurt."

"Ah, yes."

"Why? Aren't they baggage? I can stay here because I'm pretty and good, but those kids didn't look like they were useful for anything?"

"What?"

She'd already thought the girl had nerve, but now it was starting to look like her whole worldview was misshapen.

"What?"

"You really say nasty things. Does it feel good to talk like that?"

"What does?"

"You don't seem the least bit good to me. I'll grant you the pretty part, but being pretty isn't what gets you a place here."

"…Sorry?"

"I never said you could live here."

She'd gotten too worked up at a child.

Without meaning to, she'd snapped petty things at a kid with nowhere else to go who just wanted to stay.

The girl stammered for a moment, looking thrown. She seemed to flounder for what to say, then her face fell.

"…Isn't being pretty a good thing?"

"No."

"Why not? Everybody liked me because I was pretty. Except the temple."

"Add Lecashe to the list."

"…Hmph."

"How old are you, anyway?"

"Curious? Will you let me live here if I tell you?"

"No."

"Tch."

The girl thrust her lower lip out a mile, then suddenly shouted,

"But the one who kidnapped me was that mister, so what if I report him?!"

"Go ahead."

She had a feeling the girl wouldn't actually do it, so she stood her ground. The girl muttered,

"…Ah, that one's not landing."

"Hah."

How on earth had Lyssel managed to kidnap a child like this?

Looking at that temper, she couldn't imagine the girl had gone quietly while it was happening.

"Should I send you back to the capital?"

Iberin asked.

Kidnapping was kidnapping, and the girl had to have parents somewhere.

The way she clearly didn't want to go back suggested it wasn't a warm relationship — but still.

She was going to send her back.

"No!"

The girl shouted it like she was having a fit.

The sheer ferocity of it startled Iberin.

"I'm sorry I said all that mean stuff about those kids. So please don't send me away."

"…Why don't you want to go back?"

"I don't have parents. I told you I came from the temple. The temple threw me away, and that's when that mister kidnapped me."

"…He tied you up and everything. You don't mind?"

"That was only a little while… and honestly, everyone here's been nice to me."

The girl who'd been brash and bright the whole time wore an uncomfortable look whenever the temple came up.

It really was the same story everywhere — the temple was the problem.

What on earth had they done to a child to put that expression on her face?

"Phew."

Iberin shook her head slowly and let out a sigh.

"You really want to stay?"

"Yes!"

"…I don't know. I really don't."

"I'll be good!"

The girl's eyes sparkled.

The face she'd put on so quickly was kind of lovable.

Iberin shot a glance at Lyssel, who'd been sitting in silent watchfulness this whole time.

The instant their eyes met, he startled.

He apparently knew he was in the wrong.

"Your Highness."

"Yes."

"This is your mess, Your Highness — you sort it out."

"I will. Should I send her to the capital?"

"Hey, I said no!"

The girl let out a screech.

Watching her snap at Lyssel without an ounce of fear was quite the show.

"I'll do whatever Iberin says. I'm sorry for what I did, but I'll provide proper restitution."

"Ten billion gold! Can you swing that?"

Ten billion gold — like that was somebody's pocket change.

Lyssel paused for a moment, but he answered anyway.

"If that'll settle it, I'll give it to you."

"Hey! Don't just go giving it out!"

For all her apparent love of money, the second he offered, the girl got angry.

Lecashe really seemed to have grown on her.

Realizing that was a lot like her own situation, Iberin let out a small laugh.

"Lady. Can I live here? That mister said he'd do whatever you want."

"And stop calling Iberin lady. She is the Grand Duchess."

"…You don't say anything about me calling you mister, but I'm not allowed to say lady?"

"Then you can call me Grand Duke, too."

The girl stamped her foot in frustration.

Then, apparently deciding she just had to win Iberin over and she'd be set, she suddenly launched into a self-introduction.

"So. I'm nine years old, and the thing I'm best at is being pretty — but since the Grand Duchess told me not to say that, the next thing I'm best at is housework. I lived in an orphanage before I went to the temple, so I've got nowhere to go. So if I stay here, I can wait on the Grand Duchess and I can clean really well too! And — Ether! I've made friends with Ether, we have fun together, and Ether likes me too, right?"

The girl glared at Ether, all wide-eyed intensity.

Ether just smiled and nodded.

He'd never had a friend his own age, so it seemed she'd become a good one for him.

"…I got worked up before."

"Why? Because I said those kids were useless?"

"Yes. There aren't any useless people. Everyone was born because they have a place on this earth."

"…So me too?"

"You too, of course."

"Hehe. I've never been told that before."

The girl flushed and laughed.

From the way she talked, it sounded like she'd had a rough time, but you'd never have guessed from the outside.

She didn't seem like a bad kid either.

If the girl wanted to stay this badly, having her around might not be the worst thing.

"So what's your name?"

"Me? It's Rozelia!"

"…Hm?"

"What? You can call me Rozel!"

"…Rozelia?"

"Yes!"

Rozelia, she said?