Chapter 9
“M-Miss!”
The maids cried out in shock. I looked over them—all of them, without exception, were visibly surprised. As if that was something worth being surprised about. I let out a deep sigh and looked at them.
“Where are the adults? When are they coming?”
“P-Pardon?”
No, forget it. There wasn’t any time to waste. An interrogation as a suspect… and in a noble household with its own private soldiers, no less… That usually meant coercion, threats, and violence—essentially torture. Even though Hebe was clearly the victim.
“Oh, damn it…”
In the end, I had no choice but to go myself. I narrowed my eyes at Periot’s head. If she kept struggling, it would be a problem… I’d have to knock her out.
“W-Wait! Let’s talk! Put that down and let’s talk—!”
Periot must have sensed something; she shook her head and opened her mouth desperately as if trying to appeal to me. But I was quicker—I raised a hand.
Striking the back of the neck to knock someone out is harder than it sounds. It’s a vital area—hit too hard, and you could kill someone instantly. But me?
Of course I could do it.
The moment my hand struck her neck, Periot’s head slumped forward. I caught her falling body around the waist and hoisted her onto my shoulder. She was clearly bigger than me, so her feet dragged on the ground—but that wasn’t my concern. Did I have time to worry about the feet of a criminal?
“Move!”
“E-Eh?!”
“I said move! Where’s the basement? I’m going myself!”
“M-Miss! You can’t go there…!”
“You don’t have permission!”
“This woman is the real culprit! I’m going to the basement now, move!”
“Y-You can’t, Miss!”
“If you try to stop me, I’ll assume you’re with the culprit!”
When I shouted forcefully, the maids, who had been trying to block me, froze in place. Then they stepped aside, forming a line on either side. They must have really not wanted to be mistaken for suspects. But still, one maid—standing closest to the door—spoke up again, as if reluctant to let me go.
“M-Miss. We won’t stop you, but just wait a bit! Just a little! The Madam is on her way! She only just came to her senses a short while ago!”
“No time! There’s no time for explanations! Madam…”
Wait. “Madam”—that would mean the lady of House Saillcar. Which also meant she was the mother of this body I was in. Mother… My mother. I hesitated for a moment, then shook it off.
“No, there’s no time to explain to Mother! If she’s looking for me, tell her I’ve gone to the basement—she can come find me there!”
With that, I shouted and hurried out of the room, Periot slung over my shoulder. Behind me, someone called out desperately, “Miss!”, but I didn’t have the luxury to respond.
But then I hit a problem sooner than expected.
“Damn it, how do I get to the basement?”
I should’ve asked where the basement was! I left in a rush, but I had no idea where to go. The Saillcar estate was enormous—massive, even—befitting its fearsome reputation. I thought any staircase going down would lead to the basement, but the one I’d briefly gone down earlier just led to a storage room.
With Periot still on my shoulder, I had a few things I’d taken from her doctor’s bag—incense and a brooch—in my pocket. I was breathing heavily from exhaustion. If this were my original body, carrying one woman would’ve been nothing. But I was in the body of a young child now, and this was tough. I had to move her before I ran out of strength.
Wasn’t I supposed to be getting stronger? Shouldn’t that mean more strength?
—Apologies. T-that… you have to build up your stamina yourself.
That was Comet, answering in my head.
—I can help with your fists… or maybe… burn… Should I burn her?
What the hell… I let out a long sigh.
I wanted to get to the basement quickly and save Hebe, but I had no idea where I was going. Just then, someone’s shadow fell over me from above.
“Huh?”
“My dear little goat. Do you know how desperately everyone’s been looking for our sweet little goat?”
Startled, I turned around. A smiling blond boy was looking down at me. The moment I saw his muddy-colored eyes, my eyes widened.
It was Saldir.
The guy who started babbling nonsense as soon as I opened my eyes—the one who’d called himself my second brother.
“You’ve got plenty of strength, don’t you, little sister? But showing off your strength by carrying a person around is a bit much…”
“Ugh, I’m dying here!”
I snapped, then set Periot back on the ground. Saldir looked me up and down as if I were some strange creature. Sure, I probably looked ridiculous, but I wasn’t about to back down.
“You think this is me showing off?”
“Then what is it?”
“I’m tired, and I want to sleep. Where’s the basement? I need to save my nanny.”
I was in a hurry and shouted, but Saldir tilted his head coolly.
“Nanny? Why would you save her? Your new nanny will be personally chosen by Mother and Father.”
“Stop messing around! I’m not talking about some nanny job listing—I mean Hebe, my nanny! She was framed! This woman is the real culprit!”
At that, Saldir’s face darkened.
“It can’t be. That woman was trying to kidnap you. She snuck in disguised as a nanny, collaborated with the coachman, and helped take you down to Otern on purpose.”
“No! The real criminal is this woman—the physician!”
“…What?”
“She burned incense that suppressed my powers so they wouldn’t manifest, and when no one was looking, she’d push or hit me. When I cried, she’d blame me, call me a crybaby and a brat. She abused me.”
“…What did you say?”
Saldir’s expression turned grim. But I could tell—he looked confused too. He kept glancing between me and the unconscious Periot, frowning deeply.
“But there’s already testimony from inside…”
He sounded more doubtful now. I couldn’t believe I had to convince this damn second brother after carrying the actual culprit here myself.
“Second Brother.”
I looked him straight in the eye. Saldir’s eyes widened slightly, and he closed his mouth tightly. I only called him that to shut him up, but his expression… Why did he look like that?
Still, now wasn’t the time.
“If you don’t trust me, if you’re going to deny everything I say just because I’m young, then step aside. You’re not even going to tell me where the basement is. Talking to you is just wasting my energy.”
“…”
Unbelievable.
I sighed heavily, then hoisted Periot onto my left shoulder this time. I was so tired I wasn’t sure how long I could keep going. I needed to reach the basement before I collapsed—otherwise, I might pass out on the stairs.
“Tell me where the basement is.”
“…”
Saldir didn’t answer. He just looked at me.
So weird, this guy.
I shook my head and sighed again. Just as I was about to walk past him, a leg blocked my path. Saldir. He was taller than me, so one step was all it took to stand in my way again.
“Damn it. Move. Are you moving or not?”
“…Our sweet little goat. Did you just call me ‘brother’?”
“…What?”
He suddenly spoke. His voice trembled—oddly emotional. He looked at me, eyes brimming with tears, then casually took Periot off my shoulder as if she weighed nothing. Even though she was a woman, he didn’t seem to care. He just slung her over his shoulder like luggage. I blinked at the sudden lightness on mine.
