Eustia didn't answer, perhaps because he was angry.
I didn't want an answer anyway, so I put a bunch of freshly pulled hair in his pocket.
Called the walking magic stone, Eustia's hair was precious.
Eustia's gaze, looking at his hair that had fallen halfway to the floor, became bitter.
'I should apologize, right?'
Contrary to what I thought, I couldn't even open my mouth because of the bloody atmosphere.
I decided to determine for now whether I had committed a crime to be buried in a coffin or a lighter sin to hang in a tower for a week.
To do so, the Duke's cooperation was necessary.
"I have a question. Will your hair grow back if you burn it with fire?"
If it doesn't, let's call it a serious crime, and if it does then just consider it a light crime.
I asked with that intention, but one eyebrow of the Duke, who thought I was teasing, went up.
Instead of answering my question obediently, he asked me instead.
"Do you know, Ciel?"
"I don't kno...ow"
After being silent for a moment, the Duke said in a strange tone.
"You are the first person to touch my body so far."
Even though I wasn't told if I had to pay the price, I felt like I had already heard it from the Duke.
At this point, it looks like my punishment is 'flight torture' type.
What is that? It was a Northern punishment, where you're tied to the 6th floor of tower and screaming from dawn to night for a week.
Isn't that the perfect way to practice singing?
I was scared to do that, so I quickly turned my head and came up with an excuse to escape the situation.
Oh, there was a way.
A good excuse came to mind that there is no law for people to die.
I decided to keep up with the Duke who had dealt with the monsters one step ahead of Ferze.
As the creepy chill engulfed my body, I quickly opened my mouth.
"Ahh... the duke has a gray hair on his head."
I hugged the Duke's neck tightly with my hands, making an excuse for a gray hair that didn't exist.
I hung on like a long-armed monkey cub for fear of dropping, but fortunately, Eustia didn't drop me.
The silence was brief.
"I'll let you go this time."
Eustia slowly reached out and supported my body with his strong arms.
I guess he was afraid I'd fall.
I wasn't the only one who was surprised by the current situation.
Unsurprisingly, Sharkis had a stupid face.
I can't believe I can see Sharkis' stupid face, which was always relaxed and drowsy.
I appreciated it as I was held in Eustia's arms.
What is Ferze doing?
He was staring at me with a slight displeasure.
Oh, isn't it? It looked like he was aiming at the Duke.
That's understandable. He killed a monster with an arrow filled with mana, he almost sent Ferze too.
I buried my head in the Duke's broad shoulders.
As expected, the excuse that he had gray hair seemed unbelievable.
"I'm serious."
"That's what happens to the old man's head."
Sharkis father doesn't have gray hair. I have acquired a useless knowledge of magazines.
If Sharkis had narcissism because of his face, which melts women's hearts, Eustia seemed to be secretly proud of his youthful appearance.
'Apart from wanting to break the curse of immortality.'
It was also like the Visenna family, which is a tower of pride and arrogance.
Duke Eustia was in power to drop the punishment, so I decided not to be stubborn anymore.
At this point, there was one more thing I was curious about.
I asked the three people who ruined my exam.
"Did I fail?"
I really appreciate your help.
I would have survived if only one of the three stepped out, but in the end, thanks to the three villains, they saved my life.
But it was kind of awkward to thank here.
Because I got help from someone else, I could say that I was failed.
Ferze and Sharkis might be on my side, but Eustia was more likely to say I was failed even if he intervened.
When I turned my head, Duke Eustia looked lost in thought.
It was as if he was contemplating whether to let me pass or not, when a bald old man suddenly stepped in.
"Miss, unfortunately, you're failed because you got help."
I looked at the man who was exclaiming 'you're failed' with a wary eye.
Just by looking at it, it's a face that looks intelligent.
He seems to be a true talent who doesn't fit in with the Visenna family, which only has strange and selfish people.
Even at a glance, it was obvious that he was in charge of the last test.
'Maybe it's the administrator.'
I'd rather look good for Eustia than a test administrator.
Did I fail?
I looked up at Eustia with puppy eyes.
After a while, Duke Eustia called the administrator with a face that seemed to have something to say, with a light blink without raising a finger.
Before the Duke could even open his mouth, the quick-witted knights rushed in.
Even though no order was given, they made the administrator kneel in front of Eustia.
"Hang this damn administrator from the 6th floor tower."
"Yes, my Lord!"
At the Duke's order, the knights moved in a rush.
They did not ask "Why?" or dissuade him by saying "That's too much."
The knights, who swallowed the words "That's too much, Lord," lifted the administrator and dragged him.
I quietly closed my eyes and prayed for the well-being of that uncle.
He must have been one of the assassins in Visenna castle, so hanging from the 6th floor tower would be easy, isn't it?
Let's get over it.
Somehow, I felt like the administrator was getting the punishment I was supposed to get.
Still, rather than a six-year-old child, it would be better to see an unknown old-man hanging from a tower, who once made a name for himself.
There was a reason why I didn't step up for the administrator.
It was because of what Sharkis told me in the carriage.
- Keep that in mind. In Visenna, we should not offer cheap kindness.
That's our survival rule. Ciel Visenna...... That's what he said.
Instead of persuading him not to do that, I looked up at Eustia, who had given the order, with admiration.
I don't know how he interpreted my decorative/embellished eyes, but he seemed in a pretty good mood.
Seeing that his mouth, which had always been straight with no expression, slightly went up.
After doing the test that day, I fell asleep as soon as I arrived in my room.
Thanks to the time given to rest for the day, I was able to enjoy a honey-like break.
The problem started the next day.
Even though I hadn't gone through the formal adoption process yet - by Imperial law, I had to go to the secretariat in the Capital - I had already been given a troublesome class.
There were many studies that I learned.
In other words, I have to take classes six times a week, but they were difficult subjects for children to digest.
'Should I say that I'm glad that only my body got younger?'
I erased the physician words from my head that there would be side effects.
It certainly felt like my personality changed a bit when I became a child.
I think I've become more arrogant?
Is it because I had a near death experience?
I glanced at the books piled up on the table.
Etiquette, ancient language, the theory of alchemy, the history of the empire, etc.
It was the kind of thing that I could usually listen to while eating cookies in the room.
I did not receive any training in swordsmanship because I thought my physical development was insufficient.
Oh, yesterday an apprentice who makes weapons came and did a survey.
Choose your favorite among swords, spears, and bows in advance.
I chose a bow instead of a sword.
I had a premonition that the lifespan of an archer would be longer than a swordsman.
'Even when I played games, I chose a marksman rather than a swordsman.'
But I wasn't good at games at all.
I used to express my condolences to the swordsman who died because of the wrong supporter, and run away to leave the chasing monster behind and make my feet on fire.
People leave their names when they die, and tigers left a leather. And my colleague left an item.
I was told that the dropped items were sold to nearby merchants around the island....
Choices and actions are usually driven by inclinations.
Going forward didn't suit me, who lived as if it didn't exist.
What would it be like to actually learn a bow?
I was curious, so I stretched out my hand.
'Very short and chunky.'
I have small hands and short arms. As a child, it is natural.
I wiggled my hands. No matter how you look at it, it was a better hand to pick up and eat cookies than a bow.
'I should read a book now.'
I leaned on the leather sofa and read a book. Then, when the teacher or maid came in, I straightened my back.
I usually took theory classes, but the difficulty increased every day.
I read the book again and again because I was afraid that if I couldn't keep up, I would be kicked out of my adoptive daughter's seat.
'If I'm kicked out of the duchy, they might find me in the temple and kill me.'
Is it because of the survival instinct?
I was adjusting to the Visenna family, working hard even in my younger years.