RuZen barely managed to suppress a sarcastic laughter. He already knew that Margaret was inside the academy on the day of Maryal’s accident.
However, RuZen didn’t bring up that fact. The sharp-witted man had already roughly guessed what Margaret would say before hearing the story.

“On the day of Maryal’s accident, I was at the academy. There were no ill intentions; I just wanted to see his face.”

“Weren’t you resentful of Lady Craiton?”

“The child knows nothing. Besides, Maryal followed me very well. I couldn’t hate her. Of course, saying this won’t make Livianna believe it.”

“Of course not. When people face difficult situations, they usually need a target to blame.”

“…Do His Majesty believe my words?”

Margaret shook her head coldly. The petite woman, trembling slightly, looked pitiful. If she knew nothing, she might have been deceived by her innocent face.

“Who would dare to lie in front of me.”

But RuZen decided to willingly turn a blind eye to Margaret’s intentions.

In the first place, the essential thing wasn’t the truth. If you adorned lies well enough to look like the truth, it would become the truth. Even with some clumsy aspects, the woman in front of him knew that well.

As if she knew who the man was who could turn lies into truth.

RuZen smirked internally, looking at Margaret disguised as a shy girl with a smile. Although no words were exchanged, he felt like he understood enough.

The woman had already made up her mind about what choice to make.

“Um, Milady…”

“Fainted.”

“Fainted?!”

“Many things happened while I was absent.”

Idun murmured weakly. Idun’s eyes looking at her sister were affectionate, but her hands, the only ones that didn’t touch Livianna, hovered over her sister’s face. Even if she wiped it a bit, he was still in a state no different from rags.

Cheshire, cautiously observing the Craiton siblings’ condition with a sidelong glance, gently placed the water jug on the floor.

It might not look like a horse right now, but Cheshire knew how much of an admired man Idun used to be.

If the first love of orphaned boys was usually Livianna, the first love of girls was invariably Idun. When girls spoke of Idun Craiton, they always expressed him as a prince from a fairy tale. And others felt the same way.

As far as she remembered, the promising young man with neatly combed blond hair and a white face like the spring sunshine exuded an aura of nobility. Even when trying to lower his voice and give a forced intonation to seem stronger than his peers, there was no one who found him ridiculous. With flawless pronunciation, his voice carried elegance and sophistication.

Idun Craiton always had an adoring gaze following him.

“Cheshire Cat, right?”
“Oh, yes! Yes! I’m Cheshire Cat. You may not remember, but I was at the Samoah Orphanage [dash].”

“I remember. Livianna liked you a lot.”

“L-Lady?”

“I heard so much about you during the carriage ride back that everyone was quite discontent. Father, I, and that lad.”

“….”

Cheshire nervously wrung her hands together. She seemed to know who the lad Idun mentioned was.

“Have you ever seen Calix, by any chance?”

It was an easy question.

But Cheshire remembered a few days ago. Idun had said Calix was a traitor.

Cheshire repeated her response many times in her mind before finally speaking.

“Yes, you helped me. Thanks to you, I owe my life.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, you’ve changed a lot since then.”

Cheshire took a quick breath. Normally, she would have rushed forward without reservation, but Idun was Livianna’s brother. She couldn’t bring herself to speak ill of him.

Either way, Idun had met a similarly grim fate.

He couldn’t walk alone anymore.

Cheshire stared at his azure eyes. Although Idun had the same colored eyes as Livianna, his eyes were lighter. And…

“Your body?”

“Yes?”

“Did you suffer any major injuries?”

“No, there weren’t any.”

Except for the scars left in various shapes. Cheshire didn’t mention it, even though the thought crossed her mind. She still wanted to defend Idun rather than blame him.

“Fortunately.”

Luckily, Idun was pleased to know that Calix was unharmed. The genuine relief on his face wasn’t a fabricated expression.

Cheshire’s lips twitched. Indeed, Calix was only misunderstanding.

“Yes, you’re fine. Except, maybe, a bit angry.”

“Angry?”

“Perhaps because there was no means of contact during this time. There were many misunderstandings. So…”

Cheshire paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. The effort was to pick words that wouldn’t sound unpleasant to Idun. Initially, the effort itself wasn’t a story that would shine.

“Marquis Pierren believes that he was captured by the imperial family because of his past mistakes, blaming Master Doyeon.”

“….”

“Of course, there may have been misunderstandings, but it was Master Doyeon who sent Marquis Fellow.”

Cheshire hesitated again. Someone in her mind was warning her.

It was an instinctive premonition, anticipating that the situation would unfold differently than expected.

“…Was it true?”

The question came out before she could think.

Cheshire quickly tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

“Yeah, I sent him.”

Even though he knew it was a selfish decision.

Idun muttered weakly, lowering his eyes. At the end of his gaze was the sleeping Livianna.