Joyce furrowed his eyebrows at the dark circles under Nerys’s eyes.

“……Did you have an uncomfortable sleep, Lady Nerys?”

“I think it was more comfortable than you, Lord Joyce.”

At Nerys’s calm reply, Joyce unwittingly touched the area under his own eyes.

In fact, he knew it even before it was pointed out. He hadn’t slept a wink all night; how could his eyes possibly look bright like a young deer’s?

The previous night had been a nightmare for everyone in the household. Probably, not only the Earl and Countess of McKinnon but also other relatives had a restless sleep.

“I apologize for summoning you so early. However, there’s something I need to confirm.”

Hearing Joyce’s polite words, Nerys gave a faint smile.

Diane was oversleeping, and knowing that she was still tossing and turning in her sleep, Nerys had left her alone and had her breakfast served by Betty.

And as soon as she changed her clothes, she was summoned to Joyce’s study.
The stiffness of Joyce, who never forgets his manners at any time, was far more valuable than the kindness of Nualan, who laughed heartily while contemplating murder.

“This woman came to visit in the morning, mentioning Lady Nerys’s name. But what I heard was so shocking.”

“Heard ‘words’?”

Nerys raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. Joyce made a sound like he was gritting his teeth, then corrected himself.

“The matter I can infer from what I’ve heard is so shocking.”

Joan Morie, standing next to the door of the study, wore a somber expression. Only then did Nerys turn to look at Joan.

Joan’s appearance was not good. Having had to hide in the village to avoid Angelo’s gaze for several days, it would have been difficult for her to care about her appearance.
Efforts to look as neat as possible were evident in her hair, which looked as if it had been wet and pressed, but her clothes were all wrinkled. However, her expression was certainly brighter than before.

“Lady Nerys helped this woman?”

Joyce asked with a face that suggested disbelief.

A flicker of anxiety passed through Joan’s eyes. Her daring request for a private audience with the Earl’s son so early in the morning had been half audacity. She could only make such a request because she had heard about last night’s events at the mansion.

Joan earnestly divulged the fact that Railing’s higher-ups had been systematically manipulating the books and embezzling goods meant for the McKinnon family.

The young lord had granted her a private audience based on her message that she had important matters to discuss concerning Shiva McKinnon, but he had frowned throughout the time he listened to her story.

And at the end of the story, he sharply asked,

“So, you’re saying my uncle was aiding in this?”
Realizing she was tense, Joan only then understood that she should have started with that story.

Now aware that she had nowhere else to retreat, Joan as assertively as possible presented all the contextual evidence she knew.

After the accusation was over, Joyce silently ordered for Lady Nerys to be called. Joan held her breath and stood there until Nerys briskly walked into the study.

A twelve-year-old girl, not a project manager. Seeing Nerys, who was younger than her own younger sisters, Joan felt somehow relieved. However, she couldn’t dismiss the question of whether such relief was rational.

Courage to let go.

The words Nerys had spoken a few days ago couldn’t be considered the utterances of a child. How much could a young noble lady know about Joan’s situation?

Nevertheless, Joan had to admit to herself that she was already too worn out.
That’s precisely why she was swayed by a few words.

She decided to stop the torment that had pushed her to the point of choking herself and to reveal the entire truth.

Nerys looked at Joan’s face and grinned. Then,

“Ah, is that so?”

Poking her cheeks with the index fingers of both hands, she grinned again. It was an act that, like any other child, or rather, an act that any other child would find childish, yet it was unbearably cute when combined with Nerys’s petite appearance.

Joyce wore an incredulous expression. Joan also looked stunned. A moment later, the deep eyes behind Joyce’s glasses sparkled.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s the kind of behavior you might expect from me.”

“I’ve never expected such behavior from you.”

The disapproving expression would likely have hurt a real child. However, Nerys only laughed even more.
Indeed, Joyce was perceptive. She was someone who trusted the judgments she had made through observation and learning, not relying on vague prejudices about what people of certain ages should be like.

So, it would also be better for the McKinnon family this way.

“You trusted that Diane, being young, wouldn’t know better; that Nualan, being family, would act honestly; and that Angelo, introduced by family, would be sincere. I’m young and introduced by family as well, don’t you trust me, Lord Joyce?”

Joyce’s eyes faltered.