Chapter : 04
Bang!
It was breakfast time.
The Duke of Herarila, who had arrived a little later than usual, slammed his fist down on the table the moment he sat.
His flushed face and the bulging vein on his forehead clearly showed his state of mind.
“Father, is something wrong?”
Morgan Herarila, the eldest son of the Herarila ducal house, asked with wide eyes.
Sensing that something was different about the duke, the second son, Barber Herarila, and the third, Millum Herarila, also looked at him with worried expressions.
Of course, I too stared at the duke with round eyes, as if I had no idea what was going on.
“Which lunatic bastard—!!”
Bang!
He slammed his fist on the table again.
Though he struck it with force, the duke’s thin arm failed to make much of an impact.
“Hoo… forget it. Let’s just eat.”
Just when it seemed like Duke Herarila was about to spill everything, he suddenly shut his mouth and picked up his cutlery.
Caught off guard by his sudden silence, his three sons could only blink and stare at him.
All of them looked extremely curious about what had upset their father.
I, too, wondered why the duke had suddenly stopped talking.
He wasn’t planning to simply ignore that letter, was he?
I had prepared for that possibility, but still.
I had expected him to cause a scene, so seeing the duke stay quiet left me a little disappointed.
Of course, watching him fume silently, his face red as if about to explode, was amusing in its own way.
To make sure the duke couldn’t ignore the letter, I needed to bring him some misfortune.
Even if it was nothing more than coincidence, it would be enough to make him uneasy.
If I could make him anxious, then I had already succeeded.
After that, even if someone told him not to write letters anymore, he’d end up doing it on his own.
Something strange enough to be unsettling, but not dangerous enough to cause injury.
I wasn’t sure whether I’d gone mad from boredom or whether this was driven by my desire for revenge against the duke, but I couldn’t stop myself.
I decided to go to the stables and release the duke’s prized white horse.
At first, I thought that would be enough.
My steps felt lighter than usual, and I even found myself humming. But only for a moment.
Thud!
At the sound, I shut my mouth.
“You stupid bastard! Do you think you’re something special?”
“That pretty face—how about I ruin it for you?”
The stables were located in the back yard of the estate.
The Herarila estate wasn’t particularly large, and the back yard held only the stables and a storage shed.
Only servants should have been using that area.
Yet I could hear the sound of kicking and low, vicious curses coming from there.
If I get caught lurking around the back yard, I’ll be suspected when the white horse escapes.
I decided to come back later after hearing voices and turned to leave—but once again, along with the sound of kicking, humiliating words rang out.
“Seeing how you can’t even do something this simple, I can tell why your parents abandoned you.”
“Trash.”
“I’m sorry. I—I’ll do better next time.”
A tearful voice pleaded for mercy.
But despite the pitiful voice, the kicking didn’t stop.
“……”
If the servants saw me hanging around the back yard, I’d be an obvious suspect once the horse ran off.
Releasing the white horse didn’t seem possible anymore.
It was disappointing, but thinking I’d need to change the ‘gift’ for the duke, I stepped forward.
“Hey. Stop that.”
I walked in boldly, lifting my chin high.
Yes, I might be looked down on—but I was still a noble lady of the Herarila family!
Memories flashed by of the days I’d bowed my head shamelessly before Duke Herarila and the young Duke Gerhardt.
Was I finally going to show the dignity of a noblewoman in this class-based society?
Just as I was about to scold them in a dignified voice—
“When did this place become a street brawl—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence when I saw the person lying on the ground.
“You crazy bastards.”
I had intended to show elegance and authority as a noblewoman, but crude words slipped out instead.
Far from the refined image I’d intended.
Still, anyone would have reacted the same way upon seeing that sight.
A small boy, who couldn’t have been more than ten years old, lay collapsed on the ground.
The men who had beaten him looked about twenty years old—and there were two of them.
“Hey, sweetheart, are you okay?”
The child, covered head to toe in dirt, had blood streaming from his nose.
“Uh… my lady. It’s not what it looks like!”
The thugs, who had beaten a child much smaller than themselves into a bloody mess, tried to make excuses, their faces full of panic.
“Shut up.”
Their expressions showed not a shred of guilt. I wanted to finish them off right then and there, but checking the child’s condition came first, so I carefully picked him up.
“You. Stay here.”
After saying that, I hurried away.
“…I’m really okay.”
The boy murmured that he was fine and asked to be put down, but he was so light that I was afraid to let go. Holding him carefully, I quickened my pace toward my room.
“My lady?”
“Open the door.”
The maid standing in front of the room looked shocked as she stared at me and the child in my arms.
Judging by her horrified expression, she seemed to think I’d beaten the child myself.
It was a reaction that made it easy to imagine what kind of life Patricia had lived.
“Open the door.”
At my nod, the maid finally opened it.
“Bring the physician.”
I said as I laid the child down on the bed.
“My lady, I’m really fine—”
“Just sit still for now.”
When I gently pressed a hand to his forehead as he tried to get up, he relaxed and stopped resisting.
“Bring a wet towel too. Quickly.”
“Ah—yes! Yes! I’ll be right back!”
I urged the maid, who was still standing there in a daze, and she hurried out of the room.
Once the maid was gone and only the child and I remained, he quietly spoke.
“…I’ll get the bed dirty.”
“It’s already dirty, so just stay.”
Unable to get up, the child lay there uncomfortably, rolling his eyes around.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“No, I’m fine—”
He couldn’t finish his sentence and just shook his head.
He said he wasn’t in pain, but with his eyes swollen shut and blood still running from his nose, how could anyone believe that?
“The doctor will be here soon.”
“…”
“Here, pinch your nose.”
The child’s small, dirty hand accepted a tissue from me.
Fidgeting, he pinched his nose shut.
My hands weren’t large to begin with, yet his were far smaller than mine.
Beating up a child this small…
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t help but feel angry.
“Who were those guys?”
“They… they were—”
Bang.
Before the child could finish, the door flew open and the physician entered.
“My lady, are you unharmed?”
He looked slightly out of breath, as if the maid had urged him to hurry.
“I’m fine.”
“Then…”
Only then did the physician’s gaze move to the child sitting on my bed.
His expression twisted slightly when he saw the filthy child covered in dirt.
“Hurry and examine him.”
I was dumbfounded by the way the physician looked at the child with contempt rather than concern.
I’d been slightly impressed that he’d rushed over, but that feeling vanished in an instant, and my voice came out colder than intended.
“…Yes, understood.”
Though he still looked reluctant, the physician carefully examined the child.
When the boy’s shirt was removed, his pale body was so thin that his bones were clearly visible, and patches of purple and yellow bruises covered him.
“You crazy bastards.”
Thinking of the two men I’d seen earlier made my anger surge.
It seemed they’d beaten the child whenever they had the chance.
No matter where you went in the world, people like that always existed.
People like that only came to their senses when the same thing happened to them.
After all, I was Patricia the villainess.
Which meant my reputation couldn’t get any worse.
In other words, they’d picked the wrong person.
“Um, my lady.”
The physician finally looked away from the child, having finished the examination.
“There are no broken bones.”
“That’s a relief.”
Even as I said that, my expression didn’t ease, thinking of how much pain the child must have endured.
The child himself, however, seemed more frightened of the situation than of his injuries.
He hunched his shoulders and nervously watched both the physician and me.
Seeing how he acted as if his wounds didn’t matter made my chest feel tight.
“He also appears to be malnourished, but if he’s given proper meals from now on, he should recover quickly.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Given how emaciated he was, it would’ve been stranger if he wasn’t malnourished.
“Then, since the examination is over, I’ll be going.”
“Wait. Don’t you have medicine for bruises?”
“Hmm… I do, but…”
The physician glanced at the child before continuing.
“I’ll give it to you.”
Even as he took out the medicine, his displeased expression made it clear he wasn’t happy about it.
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s a precious medicine…”
He trailed off, but his meaning was obvious.
It was too good to be used on a mere servant.
“That’s for me to decide. Just give me the medicine.”
“Ah… yes.”
I dismissed him with a nod.
Tch. Anyone would think it was coming out of his own pocket.
Thud.
The physician’s lack of professionalism irritated me, but I forced the corners of my mouth up and looked at the child with the gentlest expression I could manage, worried that showing anger would only scare him more.
“Have you eaten?”
“N-no.”
When our eyes met, the child quickly lowered his head in surprise.
Seeing his timid posture and drooping little head made my heart ache.
I pulled the bell cord and called for the maid.
