“Erina! Let’s talk!”

At Romdrik’s words to talk, Erina felt as if all the blood in her body had turned cold.

She couldn’t understand how the person she didn’t even want to call uncle had the audacity to speak to her.

“Isn’t this going too far, huh? So let’s talk, Erina!”

Unable to hold back at Romdrik’s words, Erina said.

“Who’s the one who’s gone too far?”

Erina’s anger had reached its peak, but she tried to maintain her reason.

Still, because they were her father’s blood, because they were family to her father and Terik even if they were like enemies to her, she had agonized a lot.

She thought about causing a carriage accident like her father did, but ended up taking away all their property thinking of her father.

She thought about taking everything away and kicking them out with nothing like they did to her, but held back because they were family who had lived together with Terik.

To say she was going too far to someone like her.

“Tell me, uncle.”

As Erina took a step towards them, Baroon tactfully stepped aside.

Romdrik tried to shout at Erina boldly as she approached, but was startled by her cold, sharp gaze.

The surprise was momentary, and remembering his empty pockets, Romdrik raised his voice instead to hide that he had been startled.

“How could you do this, Erina! How could you take everything away without leaving anything?”

“What about you, uncle?”

“What did I do!”

“How could you kill my parents, uncle?”

At Erina’s quiet words, the air where they stood sank coldly.

“Th-that…”

Romdrik’s eyes began to shake violently.

Camille, who was standing behind, tried to add strength to Romdrik’s words but swallowed a gasp in surprise at Erina’s words.

“Tell me, uncle. How could you do that to me? Huh?”

“N-no. Erina, that’s, that’s not it.”

Erina pressured Romdrik, showing a cold smile.

As Camille couldn’t add a word to that, Viana, who knew nothing, shouted loudly.

“Erina! No matter how upset you are, why are you doubting my parents with nonsense!”

As Viana approached beside Romdrik and shouted at Erina, it was Romdrik and Camille who were shocked to the point of fainting.

“Viana!”

“Doubt?”

“Yes, doubt! No matter how much you hate us, how can you say such nonsense?”

Erina looked at Romdrik and Camille, who were at a loss at Viana’s words.

It seemed that those who killed her father wanted to remain unblemished parents at least to their daughter.

Ridiculously, Viana really seemed to not know what they had done.

“Wouldn’t I be angry that you made nonsense into sense, Viana?”

“What on earth are you talking about!”

“What on earth am I talking about, tell me, uncle. Or will aunt speak for you?”

Under Erina’s pressure, Romdrik couldn’t open his mouth and just gaped, while Camille bit her lips hard.

It was Camille who broke the momentary silence.

“W-well, Erina. How can you have such a bad suspicion.”

What Camille finally chose was avoidance.

It had already been 18 years, and no evidence was left.

Camille had stepped up to destroy all evidence, worried that the careless Romdrik might leave some.

No matter how much Erina argued, there was no one who could prove that it was the truth.

Camille, who had thought that far, got angry at Erina instead.

“No matter how much you hate us, how can you say such things!”

But it seemed only Camille didn’t know that her voice was trembling too much.

Even Viana found it strange with the trembling voice.

“Is that so? Then there shouldn’t be a big problem if I beseech His Majesty to reveal the truth and make this public, right?”

At Erina’s words, Romdrik and Camille jumped in surprise.

“Erina!”

“Why, if you feel wronged, you should clear your name.”

Romdrik and Camille might have continued to feign ignorance if magic stones hadn’t been released to the market.

But now that artifacts could be used, the imperial family could fully reveal the truth.

There were several publicly known artifacts kept by the imperial family since the magical era that could reveal the truth or reflect the past.

However, they weren’t used because they required a considerable amount of magic stones, but Erina standing before them was the owner of a magic stone mine.

She was someone who could request it anytime and had the ability to do so.

Romdrik seemed to come to his senses suddenly and approached Erina, kneeling on the dirt ground.

“Erina! I’m sorry, I’m really sorry!”

“Dad!”

Viana screamed in surprise at Romdrik’s sudden action.

But Romdrik was busy begging Erina as if he couldn’t hear Viana’s voice.

“I was blinded for a moment, really just a moment. I didn’t know my brother would die! I just thought he would be slightly injured and unable to work, so I could take over as the head of the family…”

Erina couldn’t help but laugh at Romdrik’s incoherent words.

It was to such a person that she had to lose her parents, and had to helplessly lose what her parents had left her.

Her anger, which had reached its peak to the point of dizziness, was becoming deflated.

Viana, throwing a tantrum trying not to believe even in this situation, Camille, dazed and unable to come to her senses from the shock of being found out.

Terik, who ran from behind and held his breath in shock after hearing Romdrik’s words.

Erina’s day, which had been full of expectations, was shattered by these people.

She hated these people who wore the mask of family.

She hated them so much that she detested the fact that they were of the same blood, to the point where she wanted to drain all their blood mixed with hers if she could.

“Did you really not know?”

Erina asked what would be her last question to Romdrik.

“Y-yes! I-I really truly didn’t know! I just thought your father would rely on me if he was slightly injured…!”

“Lies.”

In the end, uncle squandered even his last chance and stepped into the mire himself.

Erina felt the last thread of conscience she had been holding towards them snap cleanly.

“You always whispered to me, aunt.”

‘If only you had been in the carriage too, it would have been the perfect picture. Tsk. You should have gone together, why make yourself suffer unnecessarily.’

Camille, pale at Erina’s face, cold and expressionless like a wax doll, stumbled backward.

“You whispered dozens of times, asking why I didn’t go together and instead made myself suffer like this.”

When she didn’t know they were the culprits who killed her parents, she thought it was just because they found her bothersome.

She thought it was their grumbling because of the difficulty of having a niece as an extra mouth to feed.

But they didn’t want to leave any loose ends while they held the title.

In case something like this happened.

“Uncle, aunt, I’m truly glad.”

“…What?”

“I’m truly glad that you cut my last thread yourselves.”

It was truly fortunate that she no longer needed to care about whatever happened to them or what painful future awaited them.

“Baron Semul.”

“…Yes, C-Countess.”

Terik, truly shocked to confirm that they had killed Erina’s parents, barely managed to answer with a pale face.

“Please escort the uninvited guests out for me.”

“Yes, I apologize, Countess.”

Despite there being not a single point of fault on Terik’s part for their wrongdoings, Terik apologized.

He was sorry for his selfishness in hoping that she would forgive these people who had killed her parents, even as they stood before her.

Erina turned her back on them without hesitation.

Romdrik and Camille, truly feeling that this was the last from her retreating figure, leaped up as if having a fit and tried to rush at Erina.

“Erina! Child! I’m sorry!”

“Erina! We’re sorry! We were wrong!”

Baroon and Terik blocked the two people trying to rush at Erina.

Realizing they were truly being driven out without a single thing in hand, Romdrik and Camille clung to them with all their might.

“Erina! No! Please, please give back what’s left!”

“W-we need to eat and live too, don’t we! Erina!”

As Erina entered the mansion, Heila followed her inside.

Baroon stepped back after blocking them with Terik, as Romdrik and Camille, having lost their will, slumped down in their place.

He watched them quietly, in case they might try to rush into the mansion again.

Terik, pale as a sheet, looked down at the dazed Romdrik who had slumped down and said quietly.

“Father, live as quietly as a dead mouse. That’s how you can survive.”

At Terik’s words, Romdrik slowly looked up at him.

Finally realizing Terik’s presence, Romdrik grabbed Terik’s trouser leg and pleaded.

“My boy, help us a little, alright? Try to persuade Erina…!”

Terik handed him a small pouch and said.

“Return to the Baron’s estate.”

“Terik! How can you do this too! How are we supposed to live from now on!”

Camille joined in pressuring Terik.

“I’m telling you because you want to live!”

When Terik burst out shouting, Romdrik and Camille looked at him with round eyes in surprise.

“Beg the Countess for forgiveness while you live.”

“But…!”

“Do you want to drag Viana into your mire too?”

Romdrik and Camille hung their heads at Terik’s words.

Terik felt relieved at their reaction, but was hurt once again.

Until the very end, Terik was not in their consideration.

Terik placed the pouch in front of them and stood up.

Romdrik and Camille picked up the pouch with trembling hands and disappeared, taking the shocked and dazed Viana with them.

Terik stood there for a long time, covering his stinging eyes with one hand as he watched their retreating figures.