RHRTD 09

Chapter 09

Leo was only ten years old.

He was the youngest of the odd-job workers who were permitted to enter the inner castle.

Odd-job workers were generally looked down upon by the formally employed servants.

So when ‘that person’ approached him, Leo couldn’t help but shrink back.

“〈Listen carefully. You need money, don’t you? When you go into the castle later, secretly bring something out for me. I’ll pay you for the errand.〉”

The words were spoken gently, but Leo immediately understood.

‘This is a threat.’

That person knew Leo’s family situation well.

A sick mother.

Young siblings.

Leo was the only one in the family capable of earning money.

‘And if things go wrong, they might even hurt my family.’

Leo had actually been beaten by that person once while working inside the castle.

“〈It belongs to me anyway. So it’s not stealing. Understand?〉”

From the way the person blurted out those words defensively, Leo realized that it was practically a confession.

But he had no choice except to nod.

And the result was……

“This wicked little brat stole something!”

Damn it.

It was all over now.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut.

“He’s always had sticky fingers. We should teach him a proper lesson this time!”

Unfortunately, three servants from the inner castle had witnessed Leo hiding the item.

‘No! I’ve never stolen anything before!’

But there was no way anyone would believe that after catching him in the act.

“What’s going on over there?”

To make matters worse, a group of men was approaching from a distance.

Leo’s face went pale.

‘Are those…… the knights who returned yesterday?’

He had already heard the news.

The Duke and his knights had returned the previous day and dismissed all the servants.

‘That’s why that person made me do this in the first place.’

The closer the knights came, the more Leo’s face drained of color.

Even servants who had devoted their entire lives to the Duke’s household had been dismissed in an instant.

There was no telling what would happen to a little odd-job worker who had been caught stealing.

‘They might cut off my hand.’

Leo desperately turned his gaze toward the three servants who had discovered him first.

‘Help me! Please!’

In fact, one of the three was Leo’s accomplice.

The plan had been for Leo to take items from the annex, while his accomplice hid them and then smuggled them outside.

But for some reason, the accomplice was standing together with the others, and Leo had been caught stealing.

‘He must have made a mistake somehow. He’ll help me now!’

But the child’s expectations were cruelly betrayed.

His accomplice simply turned his head away, avoiding Leo’s gaze.

Despair filled Leo’s face.

“Hey, boy. Is all of this true?”

The imposing knights, who towered over him with their enormous frames, questioned him.

‘What should I do?’

Part of him wanted to tell them everything.

That he had only done it because he had been threatened.

‘But…… what if they don’t believe me?’

The knights had left for the battlefield five years ago.

Not all of them, but most of them were already familiar with the servants.

Leo, on the other hand, was only ten years old.

Adults rarely took a child’s words seriously.

“Tell us the truth. Did you steal it?”

If he didn’t speak, he might die.

But if he did speak, they might retaliate against him.

Faced with an impossible choice, Leo squeezed his eyes shut.

“So I……!”

Just then—

“Sir Ash.”

A clear voice suddenly interrupted.

Leo flinched.

‘W-what?’

The atmosphere instantly changed.

Leo slowly opened his eyes.

‘It’s the woman from the annex!’

Although he had never spoken to her, Leo knew about the woman.

He had heard that she was the Duchess.

Apparently, the First Lady hated her and had driven her out to the annex.

She was so beautiful that he could hardly look away, yet she always seemed sad, which made Leo feel sorry for her.

That was why he sometimes secretly picked flowers and left them on the windowsill of the annex.

‘But why is she here?’

The woman slowly turned her gaze toward him.

Her blue eyes seemed to say, It’s all right now.

Leo suddenly felt a lump rise in his throat.

Even though he barely knew her.

Even though it was foolish.

“May I ask what’s going on?”

Meanwhile, Ines calmly assessed the situation.

‘It looks like that child was caught stealing.’

She recognized the boy.

She had seen him wandering around when she lived in the annex.

He was also the one who occasionally left a single flower behind.

“This isn’t something you need to concern yourself with. I’m sorry for causing a disturbance.”

Ash Ranford answered Ines respectfully.

‘He means for me to leave.’

Ash was the man who had stopped Ines when she had gone to Zekard’s room the previous day.

Ines had received a brief introduction to him from Zekard before their meal earlier.

He was Zekard’s loyal aide and……

‘As I thought, he really dislikes me.’

Ines calmly looked at the others as well.

Five knights and three servants.

Every one of them was looking at Ines with obvious hostility.

‘It’s understandable.’

No matter how well Zekard treated Ines, there was no way the people beneath him could simply accept it.

Her reputation had already been terrible, and because of her, their acquaintances, colleagues, and family members had lost their jobs.

Of course, Zekard had never directly said that he had replaced the servants because of Ines.

But anyone perceptive enough would have realized it.

After Zekard’s return, wasn’t Ines the only person in the castle whose circumstances had improved?

“I was in my room, but I kept hearing voices. I’d like to hear what happened.”

When Ines showed no sign of backing down, Ash eventually sighed and began explaining.

“……That’s what happened.”

After thinking deeply for a moment, Ines quietly looked at the child.

“He doesn’t look like the kind of child who would do something like that.”

Ash unconsciously frowned.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. I’d like to hear the child’s side of the story.”

“We already questioned him. He’s the one who refused to answer.”

The suddenly singled-out child flinched violently.

“These three are witnesses. They say they personally saw the child hide the item in his pocket.”

At those words, Ines glanced at the servants.

After thinking for a long moment, Ines suddenly walked toward the boy.

She crouched down in front of him, met his eyes, and asked,

“Is that really true?”

The child flinched.

“Did you really do it?”

“What are you doing?”

Ines raised a hand, stopping Ash.

“You couldn’t say anything, could you? Because no one would listen to you. And you were worried about what would happen afterward. But if you keep silent, you really will end up taking all the blame.”

The boy’s face gradually turned pale at Ines’s words.

“It’s all right now. I’ll listen to you. So tell me.”

Her gentle voice rang clearly.

“Did you really do this because you wanted to?”

Perhaps overwhelmed by his grievances, the child began to sob.

Then he pointed at someone and shouted.

“It was him! He teamed up with the head maid and threatened me!”

“What?”

The servant who had been pointed at frantically waved his hands.

“W-what……? That’s ridiculous! That kid is……!”

The servants all began murmuring among themselves.

“How dare that brat frame Hans?”

“We helped him get a job here, and this is how he repays us?”

“H-h-head maid? What are you talking about?!”

The knights were confused, but their sympathies gradually began leaning toward the familiar servants.

Watching the chaos, Ash sighed.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll take care of things from here.”

Ines could tell from his attitude that he didn’t believe the child at all.

“How are you planning to take care of it?”

“I will punish the child according to the law.”

“The child says he was threatened.”

“Children that age lie all the time.”

At that moment, the boy screamed.

“N-no! It’s true! I really didn’t do it!”

The child pointed at the same servant again.

“Search Hans’s belongings! Th-there are already other things he stole in there! If you just look, you’ll see……!”

“You little rat! Who do you think you’re accusing?!”

The servant became furious and grabbed the child by the collar.

“You want to die? If you’re so desperate to die, then die alone! Why are you dragging me down with you?”

Ash shook his head and said,

“Anyway, please return to your room. I’m afraid we won’t be able to see you off properly given the circumstances.”

But Ines stopped Ash.

“Please search that man’s belongings, just as the child said.”

The air instantly turned cold.

“What did you just say?”

Ash’s face hardened as he spoke stiffly.

“A testimony has been given. Shouldn’t we make sure?”

“How much credibility do you think the testimony of a thief deserves?”

Ines realized that Ash wasn’t simply being difficult.

‘He’s saying that he cannot bow to me here.’

In other words, this was a battle of wills.

The child’s guilt was no longer the important issue.

Ash and the others were openly standing against Ines.

“Are you prepared to take responsibility for this order?”

Ines was the Duchess.

She shouldn’t casually use the word ‘responsibility’ when it concerned a child who wasn’t even a member of her family and whom she barely knew.

But it didn’t matter.

This was a bet she could only win.

Because……

“All right. If that’s what you want, I’ll take responsibility in my own name. So begin the search immediately.”

Ines possessed the ability to see through other people’s lies.