Knock knock.

Suddenly, there was a sound of someone knocking on the door.

“It’s Duke Anstis and Miss Maynard.”

With the announcement, the door opened and Duke Anstis and Miss Veronica entered. It seemed the long confrontation with Duke Franz had ended.

“You’re here? Is everything finished?”

“Yes, for now. Have you been waiting here the whole time?”

Miss Veronica asked me in surprise.

“No. We looked around the market a bit while waiting.”

“I see.”

Miss Veronica’s gaze, which had been relieved, fixed on my hair. Then she smiled as if she understood.

“I’m glad. I was worried that you might have been hurt because of what I said carelessly.”

“Oh, it’s fine. It was my mistake for not guessing. I’ve forgotten all about it, so don’t worry.”

Despite my bright smile as I spoke, Miss Veronica couldn’t erase her apologetic look.

“So what happens now?”

“Now that the confrontation is over, there will be a trial soon.”

It was Duke Anstis who answered instead of Miss Veronica.

“At the request of myself and Duke Berzel, we’ve moved up the date as much as possible, so you won’t have to wait too long.”

“I see.”

From what I heard, the evidence Alex had prepared was already sufficient, so there seemed to be no benefit in dragging out the time.

Who knows what kind of tricks Duke Franz’s side might try to pull.

“So we’re going back now, right?”

“We should. It took longer than expected.”

Alex answered while checking the time. It was already past four o’clock.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes.”

As Alex suggested, everyone started to move.

After returning to the Berzel mansion, Alex immediately went up to the reception room, perhaps having something to discuss separately with Duke Anstis.

“Claire.”

“Yes?”

Just as I was about to suggest that we should go in too, Miss Veronica pulled my hand.

Without knowing why, I ended up following her up the stairs and into the room.

Anyway, the destination was the same, so it didn’t matter, but I couldn’t understand why Miss Veronica had deliberately led me by the hand, so I looked at her with wide eyes.

After closing the door and coming inside, Miss Veronica looked around as if to make sure, then took my hand and led me to the sofa.

“Sit down.”

“Huh? Okay.”

For now, I sat on the sofa as she said. She soon sat down next to me.

“Where did you go with the Duke while we were having the confrontation?”

Miss Veronica’s voice was full of amusement.

Understanding what Miss Veronica meant by her question, my face unnecessarily heated up.

“How did you know?”

“There’s a hairpin I haven’t seen before in your hair. But the workmanship is clumsy, so it didn’t seem like you did it yourself.”

“That’s right. There’s a pin.”

Belatedly remembering the pin in my hair, I raised my hand to touch my hair.

“What happened?”

“Earlier, when we came out of the security office, I looked around the market a bit with Alex. Then we saw this being sold at a stall, so we bought it. That’s all.”

Even though that was really all that happened, for some reason I spoke as if I was making excuses.

Feeling nervous that Miss Veronica might misunderstand, I carefully watched her expression.

However, fortunately, Miss Veronica smiled softly.

“I’m really glad you seem to be okay. That hairpin suits you well too. But we should pin it again.”

Hearing Miss Veronica’s small laugh, I laughed too.

Then she reached out and removed the pin that Alex had put in for me.

Her gentle touch continued as she pinned it back in.

There was definitely a difference in skill between Miss Veronica and Alex.

Even though she probably didn’t have occasions to pin her own hair either, she pinned it much more securely than Alex had done.

“Is it better now?”

“Yes. It’s pretty.”

“Thank you, Miss.”

“It’s nothing. By the way, the aura around you and Duke Berzel seemed quite good.”

At her seemingly probing words, I momentarily moved my lips. I didn’t want to hide anything from Miss Veronica.

“Actually, I had a conversation with Alex. He asked how I felt about him, so I gave him my honest answer.”

“You told him you liked him.”

Miss Veronica let out a small exclamation.

I nodded shyly with a smile.

“Yes. And I also told him that you knew about my feelings. You said you would talk to Alex later, right? I thought he should know that too.”

“I see… It’s better that he knows. It’ll be easier to talk that way too. You did well.”

Miss Veronica whispered kindly.

“What happened with Duke Franz?”

“He’s not admitting it. But what can he do? The evidence we presented is too clear. Plus, there are clear witnesses and evidence. Above all, there’s Sir Kruger.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Although it was something I already knew, hearing it again through her words made me feel more reassured.

That’s when it happened.

Knock knock, there was a sound of someone knocking on the door. Wondering who it could be, I turned my head to look at the door when I heard Avina’s voice.

“Miss, Miss Christine is here to see you.”

“Tell her to come in.”

As I gave permission, the door opened and Christine entered with an anxious expression.

“Um… C-Claire.”

Christine, who had just come in, stuttered as she called my name.

“Come over here and sit down.”

I approached Christine directly and guided her to the sofa.

Christine obediently followed me and sat on the sofa.

“What brings you here?”

Since returning to the Berzel mansion, Christine had never come to see me first.

I hadn’t gone to see her either, as I had many other things to worry about.

We did meet once in the greenhouse, but Sir Kruger came to find her soon after and we parted quickly.

I was curious about why she had come to see me.

Christine clenched her small fist tightly with her head bowed low. She seemed to be trying hard to hold back her emotions.

“Christine?”

When I called her name again, drops of water fell on her hand. I couldn’t mistake what that meant.

“Christine, are you okay?”

I was taken aback by her sudden burst of tears. But thinking that I should comfort her first, I sat next to her and took out a handkerchief to give her.

“Why are you crying?”

“…I did wrong.”

“What?”

After a silence, the words Christine uttered were an apology.

“What do you mean?”

“I did wrong. It’s because of me. My brother hurt Duke Berzel and Claire.”

Christine’s voice was choked with tears. Even though I knew her words were wrong, I couldn’t speak for a while.

“I’ll apologize. Can’t you forgive my brother?”

Seeing her body trembling finely, I let out a small sigh. Then I raised my hand and gently patted Christine’s back.

I couldn’t grasp what words I should say.

That’s when Miss Veronica spoke up.

“Lady Christine. There’s a misunderstanding. Sir Kruger’s wrongdoing isn’t something that can be erased by Christine’s apology.”

“……”

At Miss Veronica’s firm voice, Christine tightly closed her mouth.

“Sir Kruger, no– Jade Robelin is trying to receive punishment to clear his conscience. It must have taken a lot of consideration for him to make that decision.”

Although I felt sorry for Christine, Miss Veronica’s words weren’t wrong.

The best course of action for Sir Kruger was to confess.

It was the best way to correct what he had done and also protect Christine.

“And there are clearly people who have been harmed by this incident. Covering up the incident by making the victims feel guilty is disrespectful both to the victims and to Jade Robelin who is trying to receive just punishment.”

“…I’m sorry. I… I’m just scared of my brother leaving again…”

Christine mumbled in a small voice, trying her best to swallow her tears.

For a while, only the sound of Christine’s crying filled the room.

Being between Miss Veronica and Christine, I felt the need to calm Christine down first.

“There’s something Sir Kruger asked Alex, Duke Berzel, when he confessed.”

Belatedly, Christine raised her head to look at me. Her face, a mess with tears, looked even more pitiful today.

I gently smiled while tidying her disheveled bangs with my hand.

“He asked him to help you reclaim the title of Count Robelin and manage its assets well. And Duke Berzel accepted this request.”

“My brother asked for that?”

Christine blinked her swollen eyes as if hearing this for the first time.

“Yes. It was a difficult decision for Duke Berzel too.”

When I spoke with certainty, Christine hesitated, moving her lips before eventually closing them tightly.

“Don’t you think it’s your role to diligently create a place for Sir Kruger to return to until he safely serves his sentence and comes back?”

At my words, Christine seemed to have received a great shock. Then she bit her lower lip hard. It seemed she was trying to swallow her emotions.

“…I’m sorry. I’ll apologize again for the bad things my brother did. I’m really sorry, Claire.”

Christine, who had been silent for a long time, spoke with difficulty.

“I understand.”

I gently patted Christine’s back and waited for her to stop crying.