Forgiving the wrongdoer and leading them on the right path, Lilia possessed the true qualities of a master they had always desired.

At the heartwarming sight, just as a tear was about to drop,

“It’s amusing.”

(This is a time separator.)

“You know you’re not making sense right now?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to the staircase at the mismatching mockery to the warm situation.

Liz was just coming down from there.

Her face was adorned with a crooked smile, and her sluggish movements were exceedingly mischievous.

Such appearance made a great contrast with the elegant and dignified Lilia.

“A servant is the master’s face, but you hit my servant, so you hit me… According to your logic, it seems like this is the case, right?”

Liz’s words and attitude made Monica feel threatened, bravely intervening.

“Miss Liz, stop it. If you don’t, the lady will…”

But Monica couldn’t finish her sentence.

Liz had grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close enough for their noses to touch.

Startled by the sudden situation and only blinking, Monica heard Liz whisper fiercely,

“If you don’t want to hear a thief’s voice, stay still.”

The servants standing behind, who saw Monica’s face turning blue, thought it strange.

Nothing was heard by them.

“I’d like to expose what you did, but… since you were kind to me when I was little, I’m holding back.”

Liz’s purple eyes glowed like sulfur flames.

Monica felt like she was suffocating in that heat.

“I won’t hold back a second time.”

Liz let go of Monica’s collar. There was no need to push her aside.

Monica, palefaced, stepped aside on her own.

Liz slowly walked up to Lilia and faced her.

The servants watched their confrontation with bated breath, their concern obviously for Lilia.

But contrary to their worries, Lilia was mostly calm, except for a slight trembling of her fingertips.

During the past halfyear, she had become quite confident with her sister.

Or perhaps she never was timid in the first place, only choosing to humble herself because it was the easiest way to live in this house.

“Sister. You’re here?”

Lilia greeted with a polite bow.

The faint smile on her lips was as stable as if pinned with a pin, at least until Liz spoke.

“I picked it up.”

“……Yes?”

“I picked up the necklace that fell on the floor and told them to put it in your room.”

“Ah…….”

Lilia’s face was momentarily puzzled. Then, tilting her head as if finding it strange, she asked.
“But why did Mirabel lie about doing it herself?”

“She must have done it to keep me out of it. She was afraid I would be suspected of stealing.”

At Liz’s audacious words, Mirabel sighed deeply and squeezed her eyes shut.

Then Lilia, quickly grasping the situation, chided her gently with a smirk.

“Thinking that far ahead. You jumped to conclusions, Mirabel.”

If it were anyone else, the words might have been insincere, but when it came to Lilia, they were genuine.

Liz wasn’t the type to take something out of greed, even if she might want to ruin it.

Well, that’s an old story now.

“It would have been better if you’d told the truth from the start. Then none of this would have happened.”

Lilia said to Mirabel, as if regretting the situation.

“I should have looked into it more. I reprimanded her just on the basis of Mirabel’s words. Sister.”

Believing only Mirabel’s words.

Lilia emphasized the point, wanting to stress that she was not at fault, whatever the reason, and that Mirabel’s lie was the priority.

But if you ask if her hand would have gone out if it hadn’t been for Mirabel, well, she didn’t really know.

Anyway, she had done what she should have done. Reprimanding a subordinate’s mistake is a natural duty as a master.

“But Lilia.”

Suddenly, Liz pierced the truth with a soft voice.

“Weren’t you the one who taught me that all humans are equal?”

“…….”

“Why then are you reprimanding a servant as if teaching a lesson? And doing so with physical punishment?”

Ripples appeared in Lilia’s quiet eyes.

As if she had discovered a contradiction she herself had forgotten.

“Th, that’s…….”

Stunned, Lilia stammered.

She didn’t know what to say.

But then the eyes of seventeen pairs gazing at her beyond Liz cleared the fog in her head.

Deciding that a flimsy excuse would only lower their trust in her, Lilia quickly bowed her head.

“I’m sorry, sister. I was out of line. How dare I, with your servant…… What right do I have…….?”

The faint moisture in her voice turned to a sob the moment it reached Mirabel.

“I’m sorry…… Mirabel. I…… sniff, I’m really sorry. You can hit me if you want.”

Lilia’s timing was perfect.

Her figure, bowing to even a mere maid and offering a tearful apology, once again touched the servants’ hearts. They quickly forgot the earlier contradiction.

But.

“Can I hit her instead?”

It didn’t work on Liz.

As Lilia turned her puzzled face, it whipped around.

Slap[Dash], the sound lingered in the ears of the onlookers for quite a while.

“This is revenge for hitting Mirabel.”

Liz spoke, putting force into each word.

“I’d like to give a grand reason, but sadly, I can only think of this.”

What can I do? I’m just this much.

“Be careful in the future. If you touch my people again, I won’t let it go.”

With that revenge and warning, Liz signaled Mirabel to follow her with a glance and turned away.

She was very dignified.

Until her eyes met with Kain’s.