The bruise on Diane’s leg was located in an uncommon area, one that didn’t easily suggest it was caused by violence. Betty stopped mid-sentence and grimaced.

Diane, fully covered in a thick goose-feather quilt, directed.

“Betty, I want to sleep soon. Turn off the lights.”

“Yes, Miss. We have enough firewood. It’ll be warm until morning. Do you need chocolate or cake?”

“Just turn off the lights.”

Despite the usual temptation of snacks that were rarely allowed, Diane just spoke weakly like that.

Betty sighed deeply, put out all the candles, and left. Neris also took off her robe, donned her white nightgown, and crawled next to Diane.

Diane’s room was luxurious and smelled good. However, looking up at the golden-threaded ceiling of the bed, Diane’s face was far from comfortable, filled with worries.

After several cycles of their quiet breathing, it was clear that if Neris wouldn’t start talking, Diane broke the silence.

“How did you know?”

“About Nualan’s plan? Like I said, I roughly guessed.”

Of course, if Diane had not continuously doubted why they attended the same school in her previous life, she would have missed the clues.

And if Neris wasn’t interested to some extent in the language used by foreign minorities, she couldn’t have been certain.

But there was no need to explain that far.

“You’re really smart!”

Diane felt a moment of pure admiration, and thanks to that emotion, she realized that the sadness and fear that filled her little chest had lightened a bit.

Neris lay on her side and looked at Diane’s face. Even without candles, the light from the fireplace made it easy to see the young girl’s expression.

“Diane, listen to me carefully. Your parents would do anything for you, and they’d be so sad to lose you.”

“Yeah, they would.”
The words “you’ll be missed” seeped into her young heart, and Diane felt a prickle in her nose. However, Neris continued monotonously, unmoved by her own words.

“Nuallan, of course, along with Angelo Railing and Sibna McKinnon, were all targeting you. Maybe they didn’t intend to kill you originally, but once I showed up, they probably thought they had a convenient scapegoat.”

People tended to distort situations to their own benefit, even when they knew the whole truth.

In other words, if the McKinnon couple, who generally trusted the people around them, continued to do so, then a weak, insignificant little girl could easily be made the culprit in any vaguely suspicious circumstances.

Diane’s face turned pale with shock. Neris knew her feelings well.

She had always endured for her family, always acted for them. And yet, what had they ultimately wanted from her?

It seemed there were too many people in the world who demanded more the better one treated them. Even after being treated and respected like family, they found it lacking and demanded her life.

Thinking so, Neris let out a bitter laugh.

“So, what would killing you accomplish? You’re just a primary target. If you get hurt, your parents won’t be able to focus on anything for a while. The same goes for your brother. Wouldn’t someone else have to take his place then? The most benefited person would be the culprit.”

The conjecture could only be made after confirming the existence of a crime, and Diane vaguely sensed this fact. However, she hadn’t yet developed the vocabulary or logic to clearly articulate such suspicions.

So, Diane decided to resolve another burning question.

“How did you manage to move the holy water just in time earlier? How did you know it would be today? Huh?”

Usually, no one changes the location of festive decorations, especially something as important as holy water, during a party. It was clear that it was Neris’s instruction.

“If you were going to act quickly, today seemed the most plausible. The only time to slip out during the gathering was then.”

The date was essentially suggested by Nuallan himself.

His creepy glances, full of talk about holding Diane up to show her the balcony below, were revolting.

If he was considering throwing Diane from the second floor, the timing was clear.

A day when the dinner was the most formal and interesting, and thus, when children would be most curious about it.

Between the dinner and the after-dinner gathering, the slackest time when no servants would walk through the hall.

During dinner, of course, a dozen or so servants would carry food, so there would be interference. To leave his seat, Nuallan would have had to make a lame excuse.

During the after-dinner gathering, it was too late, so it would be difficult to avoid suspicion that the children had not come out of their bedrooms on their own.

Neris closed her eyes.

“In fact, I told the servants to move the holy water, claiming it was your mother’s orders. Explain it well tomorrow.”

“Of course!”

Diane’s eyes widened as she nodded, then noticed Neris had her eyes closed and waved her hand in front of them.

Neris, sensing the movement, slightly furrowed her brows and opened her eyes again.

“Are you going to sleep now? Why?”

“How can I sleep when nothing is resolved! What am I supposed to do, Liz? How am I supposed to face Nuallan and Uncle Sibna tomorrow? I feel like they would want to throw stones at me on sight!”

“You don’t need to see them tomorrow. Your parents will make sure they don’t come near you.”

“Even so! Why didn’t you tell me everything earlier?”

Diane couldn’t understand.
Neris couldn’t blame herself. After all, she had been too afraid to say anything for fear that her family relationships would break, and had only cried.

Yet, hadn’t Neris lied right there? As if she had some sort of plan.

Neris sighed.

“Diane, some words are more effective when not spoken directly.”

“If not spoken directly?”

“Let them guess. People tend to doubt what they hear from others, but seldom doubt conclusions they come to themselves.”

Especially if the matter is shocking.

Neris knew she had a lot to do the next day. And none of those tasks involved Diane’s help.

Conserving her energy, she firmly shut her eyes.

Seeing this, Diane rolled her eyes. Then, after pondering deeply, she slowly moved beside Neris.

Despite inevitably feeling the arms embracing her and the legs carelessly thrown over her body, Neris remained still. Diane closed her eyes and fell asleep with a faint smile.