“Karla.”

“Yes.”

“Keep a close watch and make sure no one enters the room. There’s been a theft of documents in my room. If anyone tries to go in under the pretense of cleaning or tidying… that person is the culprit, so make sure you watch carefully.”

“Yes.”

The ones who had been waiting for me to leave until just a moment ago quickly made themselves scarce at those words. If you’re going to be that obvious about it, where’s the fun in that.

‘So that’s why Pertra hasn’t come yet.’

It had seemed strange that Pertra, who had acted as though she would catch the culprit at any moment, hadn’t shown up. I had wondered why, but this was probably the reason.

‘Pertra may have told them all to return the documents if they didn’t want to get caught.’

But I had no intention of letting things play out that way.

“Mary.”

“Yes.”

“Could you go and bring Pertra? Tell her to wait after stopping by Illia’s room so I can see her right after. I have something to say to her. And of course, don’t let her into the room.”

“Understood.”

Only after watching Mary leave did I follow the butler toward Illia’s room. The butler’s steps were extremely slow, like someone burdened with worry.

“Butler.”

“Yes.”

“Is something the matter? Your pace seems to be getting slower and slower.”

“No, nothing is the matter. I was just… thinking you might find this difficult, young madam… that’s all.”

“You don’t need to worry about me. The thought of properly punishing the one who made me lose my child gives me energy. So stop getting any ideas and lead the way.”

Only then did the butler quicken his previously sluggish pace. This is why you can’t afford to be too lenient with people. Thanks to that, I arrived in front of a certain room in under five minutes of leaving.

Knights and servants of the marquisate stood lined up in front of it. That alone told me Illia was inside.

“You’ve arrived.”

“How is Illia?”

The servant, who had been watching the butler for cues, quickly opened his mouth.

“At first she was shouting and demanding to have the door opened, but she’s been quiet now. She skipped her meals on the first day, but she’s been eating properly since. She did get angry, saying ‘Call Dertosse for me. You all know who I am! Do you think you can handle the consequences?!’”

“…I see. Open it.”

“Will you be all right, young madam?”

“The butler is coming in with me, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Only then did the servant give a nod toward the knights standing guard at the door. The door, which had seemed like it would never open, slowly swung open.

“Dertosse!! Is that you?”

The moment the door opened, the sound of Illia rushing out came from inside. Brimming with anticipation. I stood behind the butler and stepped inside without a word.

“My brother. Listen to me, so…”

Only after the door closed did I step out from behind the butler and show myself.

“Unfortunately, it’s not your brother.”

“W-why are you here!”

“Why are you here… is that really all you have to say at a time like this.”

“What? What do you mean, a time like this. I have nothing to say to you. Call my brother.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s possible. Dertosse has entrusted everything to me. Your disposition as well. And the matter of the lady of the house.”

“That’s absurd! My brother would never say that.”

Her spirit was unbroken, as expected. Illia didn’t even seem to feel the slightest remorse toward me. If anything, she was shouting at the top of her lungs.

“Let me out of here right now! I have things to say to my brother! Butler, open this door right now! Hm? Do that and I’ll forgive everyone who’s been rude to me.”

But the butler only watched Illia swaying back and forth in front of him, saying nothing.

“Let me out right now! Do you know who I am? I’m Illia! And you’re locking me up? Hm! Aren’t you afraid of what comes later? That one over there… that one is going to get thrown out eventually. So listen to me!”

“I apologize, my lady. I have no such authority.”

“Butler! If you don’t have the authority, then who does!”

“I do.”

“Don’t make me laugh. Who do you think you are!”

“The marchioness.”

I shot back without yielding a single word and stepped toward her, and Illia backed away with a face drained of color.

“Why are you backing away like that?”

“You… you’re clearly planning to do something terrible to me!”

“Surely not.”

“Then why are you coming at me like this! Hm? You, you’re holding a grudge over that incident and you’re here to take it out on me!”

“I’m nothing like you. Why would I take it out on you?”

Just then, Illia’s body bumped into the side table next to the sofa. She turned to look behind her in surprise, then fixed her eyes on me with a look of revulsion.

“Ha, you’re saying you won’t take it out on me?”

“Yes. Though of course, thoughts can change at any time.”

“…You’re still as arrogant as ever?”

“This is exactly the time to be arrogant. Setting aside the fact that it was my child, you caused the death of a noble’s child. And then you have the audacity to stand there shouting… honestly, I think it would be perfectly justified to bring this before the Noble council.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“The, the Noble council! You’re calling a Noble council over something like this? And besides, how do you even know that child was Dertosse’s!”

“How remarkably foolish. If you truly wanted to determine whether the child was Dertosse’s, as you say, you should have waited until it was born. That would have made it perfectly clear. You threw away that chance with your own hands. Now there’s truly no way to tell whether the child was Dertosse’s.”

“Ha, ha… th-that’s!”

“In the end, you destroyed the very opportunity to prove it yourself. So convening the Noble council is entirely warranted. You pulled me down the stairs, and there was more than enough intent to kill not just the child but me as well.”

Illia, who had been holding my gaze in silence, twisted her lips and straightened herself.

“You know what. You seem to think you’re incredibly clever. And you’ve gone and lost all your memories like a fool.”

“Yes. I’d say I’m cleverer than you, Illia.”

“Don’t make me laugh. Do you think the Noble council is some easy thing to navigate? And do you think they’ll take your side? Someone like you, whose origins no one even knows?”

“Of course, if it were just me, they wouldn’t listen. The Noble council mostly sides with whichever noble holds more power. But here’s the thing. Right now, I am the Marchioness of Chenples, and you are the Baroness of Nolrn. Do you understand the difference between us?”

I shook my head slowly, as though I felt sorry for her. But Illia was not the type to be easily swayed by words like these.

“You, you think that counts as a threat?”

“If you don’t think it does, you’re welcome to test it yourself. That would be interesting.”

“…Hey! Don’t you dare do something like that. Don’t you dare drag our family’s name through the mud!”

“I don’t want to. But if I leave things as they are, you might go on pulling one thing after another in your desperate effort to drive me out of this family. I can’t afford to take that risk. So what would you suggest I do?”

“That’s why I said I want to speak with Dertosse!”

“What would change if you spoke with him?”

“Everything would change, of course. I have no interest in talking with someone as ignorant as you.”

I looked at her and tapped my finger.

“That won’t happen. If it did, the chances of something like this happening again would only grow. You still haven’t apologized to me, and you show no remorse.”

“I don’t even feel the need to apologize to someone like you!”

“Is that so? I see. Then there’s nothing to be done. I had thought you might at least feel sorry and offer an apology…”

I trailed off and looked at her, but Illia showed not a trace of remorse. She only glared at me with a vicious look, as though she wanted to devour me whole.

“Ah, so that’s it. You wanted an apology from me. That’s why you asked Dertosse to keep me here and came to see me? But what a shame. I feel absolutely no remorse. If anything, good riddance. I’ve been losing sleep at night worrying that the seed of our family might grow in your filthy womb.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t come here for an apology. I only came to see whether you still had any conscience left as a human being. And you are still every bit as wretched as ever.”

“Wh-what…?”

Her face flushed so red it looked ready to burst at any moment. And I looked at her and smiled so brightly my eyes nearly disappeared.

“It seems I’m not the only one who thinks you’re wretched. You keep refusing to believe it, but if your brother truly cared about you, would he have just left you locked up here? He would have sent you home first. He wouldn’t have bolted the door and kept you from leaving. And the reason he hasn’t come to check on you even once… doesn’t that feel a little too transparent?”

“You must have fed him lies.”

“Right. Think what you like. But, Illia. Do you know this? Your mother, Rose Chenples, has decided to expel you from the family. She’s already drawn up the documents, and all that’s left is to submit them.”

At those words, her eyes wavered.

“Ha, ha. Ha. So you’ve run out of lies to tell? Saying something so absurd. Do you really think she’d throw me out of the family?”