Merlin shouted in a flustered, red-faced manner. Startled, Irlet squeezed her eyes shut and ran into my arms.
"Why are you shouting and scaring the child?"
I hugged Irlet tightly and spoke coldly to Merlin. The man, looking flustered, stood up.
"Irlet."
Irlet exhaled roughly at the man's call.
"Come to Dad."
His tone was commanding. Irlet's shoulders visibly trembled. It wouldn't be easy for a child to shake off the fear that had already taken root in her body. Seeing Irlet's frightened appearance, the man seemed to think he was right and spoke more forcefully.
"Irlet, are you going to make me say it twice? I told you to come."
Irlet turned her head to look at the man. Cersia, who had been standing behind, muttered a curse and was about to charge forward with the intent to kill.
"Irlet."
But when I called Irlet, Cersia stopped in her tracks. Irlet turned to look at me. I wiped the child's face, which was drenched in cold sweat and tears, with my palm.
"Irlet."
"Sis... I..."
"No one can force you to make a choice."
Irlet's red eyes wavered like a bare branch in the wind, lost and trembling.
"That includes that man over there, me, and the people of the Laphireon family behind us."
"..."
"No one can choose for you, pretending to care about your feelings, no matter what the reason or situation."
"Sis..."
"But as I said, for any reason, in any situation. No one can."
I took a deep breath, filled with anger, and then firmly grasped Irlet's small hand.
"I will never let anyone hurt you."
Cersia, who had been standing beside me, remained rooted to the spot, staring at me like a tree. Merlin, who had been about to run to the two of them, stopped in her tracks, frozen like a statue.
"Wh-what are you doing to someone else's daughter? I'm her mother! I'm calling her!"
At my question, the man raised his voice.
"I'll, I'll report you all! You're kidnapping my child! I'll report you!"
"Are you really that clueless? Who are you daring to raise your voice to right now?"
Cersia sneered mockingly. The man, looking bewildered, trembled.
"Before you sell something, don't you need to test it to see if it works or not?"
Terdeo, who had been standing behind, stepped forward with a sinister smile and pulled out a red handkerchief from his pocket. He waved it in front of the man's eyes.
"Go on, guess. Is there my blood on this handkerchief, or not? Even if there is, it won't show because it's red, right?"
Terdeo, who had wiped the smile from his face, twisted the handkerchief and grabbed the man's cheeks forcefully.
"Open your mouth."
He forced the man's mouth open. The man, startled, tried to resist, but the strength difference was too great. In the end, Terdeo's crumpled red handkerchief was forced into the man's mouth. Terdeo released the man's face roughly only after the handkerchief was fully inside.
"W-what are you doing!"
The moment Terdeo let go, the man, tears streaming down his face, pulled the handkerchief out of his mouth. With trembling hands, he touched his mouth and ran to a corner.
"U-ugh!"
He tried to force himself to vomit by sticking his fingers deep into his throat.
"You, this is blackmail."
Seeing the man's state, Merlin's face was filled with shock and horror. Enraged, she turned to look at us, especially at me holding Irlet, and shouted like a demon.
"What do you know! You don't know anything! That child is cursed...!"
"Stop."
Just as the cornered Merlin was about to rant, a firm, wrinkled voice cut her off.
"You've been talking nonstop, Melin. I've been listening quietly."
Gloria, who had been standing behind the partition, rose with Phineas's support. The moment she saw the owner of the voice, Merlin's shoulders shrank, and her eyes, filled with fear, dropped.
"G-G-Gloria-sama."
Her face had turned pale with fear.
"It's been a while since Jen's funeral, Melin."
"T-That's...!"
"I never blamed you for Jen's death, Melin. I never once said you killed my grandson."
"I-I didn't know you were here, Gloria-sama... If I had known...!"
"If you had known, what? Would you have pretended to love Irlet? Or would you have pretended to show respect to the Duchess?"
Gloria sighed heavily and brushed her white hair.
"When Jen died."
Gloria's voice, filled with resentment, made Melin's shoulders twitch.
"Do you remember what you said to me?"
"T-That... T-That..."
"You said you would definitely raise Irlet well. And you loudly demanded that I provide you with all the money you needed every month."
Gloria straightened her body and looked down threateningly at Melin, who was crouching in front of her.
"G-G-Gloria-sama."
Melin, unable to speak properly, hunched her shoulders and spoke in a barely audible voice.
"Melin."
"..."
"You have betrayed this old woman's trust."
"G-G-Gloria-sama! T-That's...!"
"Irlet will be raised by us from now on. All the money we provided for her upbringing will be stopped as of today. The land and business rights given to you as part of Jen's inheritance will also be reclaimed."
Melin's face turned white with shock, and her mouth opened wide. Then, out of fear, she knelt down desperately, a completely different appearance from her previous confidence.
"Gloria-sama! I, I was wrong!"
Now that she was about to lose everything, she finally spoke words of repentance, even if they were lies.
"I-It was too hard to live...! I-I love Irlet so much!"
However, Gloria continued to look at the kneeling Melin with an emotionless expression. Melin began to beg, clasping her hands together.
"Y-You can take Irlet. I won't look for her again. But please, just the land and business rights...!"
That's really the end.
"The crime of severely abusing a Laphireon family child for years is not a light one, Melin."
Melin crawled on all fours across the carpet and clung to the hem of Gloria's dress.
"Gloria-sama! Please, just listen to me...!"
"How dare you touch me with those dirty hands."
Cersia, showing no mercy, stepped in coldly. Cersia's shoe pushed away Melin's hand. Cersia sneered at Melin, who was on the floor, at a loss.
"Isn't the issue of land or business rights irrelevant now?"
"W-What?"
"Have you forgotten the clause about not disclosing the Laphireon family's secrets to others?"
Melin's eyes widened.
"You know what happens to those who break that clause, don't you?"
"W-Wait... I only told that person! I never told anyone else! Really! I really didn't...!"
"I hope you enjoyed the sunlight on your way here."
Cersia, who had bent down, lightly tapped Melin's tear-streaked cheeks with her fingers.
"Because you won't see it again."
"A... Aaa... Aaaaah...!!"
Melin screamed, tearing her hair with both hands. The man was still in the corner, vomiting and drooling.
"That's a fitting conclusion. Melin, who was ignored by Gloria, walked elegantly towards me.
"Can I call you Miss Fereshati?"
"Yes."
I nodded hurriedly. From her fierce eyes to her rarely shown expressions,
'Terdeo and Cersia must have inherited a lot from their grandmother.'
"Do you find it hard to read my expressions?"
Huh, how did she know? I took a short, startled breath, and Gloria spoke calmly.
"After living a long time, you can tell what someone is thinking just by looking into their eyes."
Gloria sighed with a mix of regret and looked around. She saw Selpheus, who was still standing guard by Irlet and glaring at the two men.
"The child has grown so much. Bringing the child from the countryside to the capital was also thanks to Miss Fereshati, wasn't it?"
"A... Somehow... Yes."
Next, she saw Cersia, who was sneering at Melin.
"I received many letters from Cersia about Miss Fereshati. It was rare for Cersia, who doesn't trust people, to praise someone, so I was surprised."
"That... happened by chance."
"His Highness is our only hope, immune to the family's curse."
"That's right."
Hope? I'm not that, though. Phineas's words made Gloria nod lightly. Gloria glanced at Terdeo.
"Married life with a child who doesn't want to be close must be difficult, Miss Fereshati."
"It's fine."
Since it's a contract marriage, I don't mind if Terdeo doesn't want to be close. Gloria turned her head to look at Irlet, who was still sniffling. Her fierce eyes were filled with compassion and guilt.
"Miss Fereshati."
"Yes?"
Gloria turned her head. Her final gaze rested on me.