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Episode 15: Wagering Spirits
“How can I trust what a stray cat says?”
Julius asked Sislin with a cold face.
‘Um, Teacher. Our Sisl mustered up courage for the first time, please be quiet.’
I looked up at Madam Mimosa and Julius while holding Sislin’s hand tightly and said;
“It would be very unfair to suspect Sislin without accurate evidence.”
Julius frowned and retorted.
“Is there anything more convincing than finding the stolen item in Sislin’s locker? Annette.”
I answered while facing Madam Mimosa.
“You know, Madam Mimosa. It could have been someone else.”
Madam Mimosa’s golden eyes looked at me coldly.
I was reminding her that there was a child here who was intentionally bothering Sislin.
To make sure her thoughts reached the idea that this commotion might not be the fault of Sislin.
“

”
Soon, Madam Mimosa’s eyes narrowed.
‘Will my words work?’
Here, Sislin was framed as a thief, and things were getting bigger, as the little devil wanted.
I do not want it to be like that.
At that time, as I was nervously swallowing saliva, Madam Mimosa opened her mouth.
“It would be good to end this case here.”
“

!”
Julius’s expression became distorted. On the contrary, I smiled broadly.
‘Oh, that’s good!’
It would have been really unfair to suffer like this with no way to find out the identity of the little devil right now.
After all, she seemed to trust me a little bit after the last ‘water trauma’ incident. So, was the build-up well done?
Madam Mimosa continued speaking calmly with her characteristic strict face.
“Anyway, we got the item back, and Reina replied that he didn’t even suspect Sislin. ‘
“
Nonsense! Madam Mimosa.”
Julius immediately vehemently refuted. His blue eyes darkened terribly.
“You can never do that. This is absolutely a case of theft, and the guy who stole something once is bound to do it again.”
Julius’ cold gaze pierced Sislin like a needle.
I bit my lip inwardly.
‘Ah, sir
 Please get out of here!’
“Once a bad person commits a robbery, he will never be able to stop. Isn’t kleptomania an incurable disease? You have to cut off the sprout beforehand—”
“Stop.”
Madam Mimosa’s strict and cold voice cut Julius’ words off.
Her expression was as hard as ice.
Her distinctive golden eyes looked like a lion that would bite the nape of the opponent’s neck, so even I was taken aback.
Julius, who had received that gaze directly, was firmly hardened like a prey.
“Does Julius doubt my judgment?”
“
I, I just.”
“Don’t forget that it is this Mimosa that decides everything about the Forest, Julius.”
Julius bit his lip. He bowed his head as if he had resigned immediately.
“Yes, I understand, madam
”
This cleared up the situation.
“Let’s go and rest.”
As soon as Madam Mimosa said that to the children, she immediately left the classroom.
Then the mood of the children brightened.
Julien was relieved too, putting his small fist to his lips and laughing.
“I like it because we found the bear.”
“That’s right, the treasure hunt was fun!”
“The treasure came out quickly and it was even more fun! Awesome!”
The children uttered some words each, shook their heads a little, then went back to their seats and sat down.
However, only Julius did not leave his seat and stayed until the end.
He murmured in a low tone as he looked at Sislin with his deep blue eyes.
“Sislin, don’t forget that your teacher is always watching you.”
“

”
Julius did not forget to give a cool, stinging warning.
‘He thinks Sislin is the thief, 100%.’
Even though it was all sorted out, he remained until the end and said that. He was really too much.
“A child who remains a disgrace to the Forest because he can’t fix his kleptomania is useless. Sislin.”
“What if it’s not him?”
“What
?”
When I suddenly interrupted and asked a question, Julius bent his eyebrows.
I asked, calmly and without agitation.
“If it wasn’t Sislin, how would you apologize and compensate for accusing him as a thief?”
The corners of his lips twisted.
“
You’re so bright, Annette. It’s cute and living. What do you mean, saying that to a teacher? There is a limit to being considered as a model student.”
As he said that, he looked like he wanted to give me a slap.
But, as a teacher, he should be a little more considerate about these issues. It should not be about ‘stigmatizing’ the child.
There were a lot of really good teachers in the Forest, but at least, Julius didn’t seem to be one.
He looked down at me with a ridiculous expression.
Anyway, these little kids would think that they couldn’t help themselves. Because he is a teacher and they are children.
I didn’t like his attitude of judging and making decisions easily.
‘Is there anything in the original about Julius?’
I searched my brain quickly.
In the first place, there wasn’t much content about the Forest in the original novel, <Hounds of the Mansion>.
The focus of the original was on the relationship between Heinrich and Sislin and ‘revenge’, so the amount about Madam Mimosa was naturally small, and Julius was not particularly

It just mentioned that he was one of the strongest wizards on the continent (why such a wizard was teaching children in the Forest was not mentioned in the original story), and that he hated troublemakers like an ‘etiquette’ subject teacher.
And

‘Aha?’
Some useful information came to mind at this point.
“Problem children don’t usually cause just one problem, Annette. Besides, kleptomania is like a disease, so he has no choice but to live as a thief for the rest of his life.”
“Are you sure that Sisl is a thief?”
“Unfortunately, he is.”
He smiled, but his face didn’t look sad at all.
“Then put that ‘ring’ on Teacher’s words.”
“

!!!”
I smiled, like a child who knew nothing, and pointed to the ring he was wearing.
‘It must be a Pluto ring.’
Julius was actually from the ‘Pluto clan’, who possessed a strong talent for magic. That ring contained their spirit, and it could be summoned from anywhere by rubbing the ring’s head.
(TL/N: I searched about the anatomy of rings and apparently ‘ring’s head’ refers to the part of the ring where there’ll usually be a jewel.)
The Pluto clan serves the person who has that ring as its master.
So, in order not to lose his position, he had to hold on to that ring for the rest of his life.
Otherwise, he would be helplessly turned into a slave.
“
You know what kind of ring this is! This is my everything!”
When I saw his reaction, I was 100% certain that it was the ring.
Lowering my eyebrows, I said;
“Hmm, Teacher? So, you’re not even sure, but you framed Sislin?”
“
What, what?”
“You can’t bet that ring because you’re not sure. If not, why can’t you bet?”
“T-That!”
A look of embarrassment appeared on Julius’ face.
“I’m not sure, but you shouldn’t frame Trees recklessly. Right, guys?”
I purposely said it out loudly to the children around me like a 12-year-old who had no sense.
All of a sudden, the children’s twinkling eyes turned to this direction.
“Ahem, hm.” He frowned and grunted in a loud voice. If he stepped back here, he would become a frivolous and disrespectful teacher.
And that was the thing that Julius couldn’t stand the most.
“Okay! I’m confident in my opinion, but if there’s a real culprit, I’ll give you this ring, Annette.”
‘Oh, oh.’
I narrowed my eyes.
Julius raised the corners of his mouth and exclaimed proudly.
“But you won’t find the real culprit, will you? As I said, problem children are bound to cause various problems. If Sislin isn’t a real thief, I’ll apologize to him and become his ‘brother’. That’s how confident I am!”
“

”
I laughed wickedly.
To the point where Julius was startled by my expression.
‘Then try to be an 11-year-old younger brother at the age of twenty-five, Teacher.’
Then I quickly replied with a wide smile.
“Yes! It’s definitely a promise!”
“

”
Julius’ expression looked like he just realized he was a little too caught up in the moment.
But it was already too late.
‘Hmm, that’s a huge advantage. A powerful wizard that can be summoned anywhere.’
‘Besides, it’s one that has no choice but to obey my words.’
Later, when I leave the children and live a ‘retired’ life during the original, he would be a very valuable person.
I rubbed my nose happily.
‘Aren’t I really looking forward to the moment of catching the real culprit?’