PFLWPL 15

CHAPTER 15……………………………………………….

Yubara felt a cold sweat run down her spine.

“Are you saying you tried to kidnap Lin just now?”

Theodor’s voice, low and growling, stabbed at her like a spear.

“N-no! Of course not! Why would I, her nanny, do such a thing… Miss has been feeling very unwell today and was fussy earlier — maybe she had a nightmare and said strange things.”

At the implication that she’d targeted Lin, Theodor’s eyes grew even colder, but Yubara, desperate to save herself, didn’t notice; she was blind with the thought that she had to protect her own skin.

‘Why now, of all times!’

Today was supposed to be the day she reaped the rewards of the plans she’d been making.

Rather than staying on as the nanny to a mutant child who turned out to be harder to cajole than she’d thought, she planned to perform one simple “job,” take the payment, and leave for another manor.

‘All I needed was to make the acting head of the household distrust the guardian who was attached to the child, and then create a chance to approach the child myself!’

But now, with the acting head glaring at her while she had the child tucked in her arms, it didn’t look like her plan would work.

Still — she hadn’t actually done anything that bad, had she?

Grasping at a way out, Yubara racked her brain and blurted out, flustered.

“Kidnap? What a terrible misunderstanding… Children sometimes make up things when they’re half-asleep. You wouldn’t really mistake me for a kidnapper just from hearing that, would you?”

She forced a conciliatory expression, pulling up the trembling muscles of her face into a gentle look.

‘They were just muttering while under my pheromones. That mutant child can’t possibly remember anything clearly.’

A six-year-old who can’t speak coherently versus a reasonable, plausible explanation from an adult — which would sound truer?

She hadn’t tied anyone up like some real kidnapper; she’d only used a little affinity pheromone.

Capybara beastfolk affinity pheromones ease all the body’s tension; when someone sleeps deeply under them and wakes, their condition is often the best it’s been, so everyone wants that ability.

‘Right. I didn’t do anything bad.’

She repeated that lie to herself until she almost believed it, and to show proof of her story she displayed the hoof marks on her torso and acted as if the pain was worse than it really was.

“Liar!”

“Miss Lin…”

“He was being suspicious of me, saying he’d take me to someone who would help. I didn’t want to go! He was trying to put me to sleep with pheromones!”

With some of her strength back, Lin spoke clearly, pointing out Yubara’s wrongdoing, then drew a deep breath.

And, as if she couldn’t stand this, she raised her voice with all her might.

“You insulted Uncle Teo!”

Theodor stared down at the small hand clutching his sleeve with a look of utter disbelief.

“I — how could I insult the acting head? A little animal beastfolk like me wouldn’t have such nerve….”

Yubara trembled as if this were the first time she’d heard such an accusation; paired with the capybara’s naturally gentle appearance, she looked quite pitiful.

“Really? Well, you’d need nerve to insult our steward.”

“Well, there must have been a reason Miss Lin is so angry, right?”

“I don’t know exactly what happened.”

The conflicting remarks left the people around them in confusion.

There was no clear evidence visible, so the knights didn’t know what to do and murmured among themselves.

Unlike the hesitant crowd, Theodor issued a decisive order.

“Lock her up.”

At the clear command, the knights moved immediately.

Despite their bewildered expressions, the knights acted quickly on their superior’s instructions.

“Acting head! You can’t do this to me! You can’t lock an innocent person up with no proof!”

Frightened as if she were already a criminal, Yubara cried out desperately when the knights restrained her.

“I’m really innocent!”

Her earnest plea caused hesitation to show on some of the knights’ faces. Sensing this, Yubara raised her voice further to appeal.

“If adults indulge a child’s tantrum like that, it’s not good for Miss Lin! If you treat what she said in a nightmare as if it were real, won’t she start to confuse dream with reality?”

“It wasn’t a dream!”

“I’ve been Lin’s nanny for a long time. How would being dragged away like this by the woman who’s cared for her for so long look in Lin’s memory? It wouldn’t be good for her emotionally!”

Lin snapped back quickly, but Yubara’s words weren’t aimed at the child.

Even though she kept mentioning “Miss Lin,” Yubara was really trying to sway the adults who had decision-making power. The child’s protests, lacking authority, barely registered.

“I really did nothing wrong!”

“Nothing wrong?”

Theodor’s voice lowered but carried a chilling calm that made his words more frightening.

“The child screamed in terror — and you say the nanny did nothing wrong?”

“W-well….”

“At the point the child has lost this much trust, you’ve failed as a nanny.”

Theodor’s words pinned Yubara down, and then, as if she might have collaborators, he ordered the knights around him.

“Close the gates. Search the nearby area.”

“Aren’t you really treating me like a kidnapper?”

Ignoring Yubara’s pleading, Theodor instructed the knights.

“Search everywhere. No exceptions, whoever it is.”

“Yes!”

“You’re really going to lock me up based on a six-year-old’s word? Children don’t think they’re lying; they change what they say without thinking. Such nonsense isn’t proof!”

Yubara continued to protest her innocence, but no one responded any further. The knights assigned search areas under Theodor’s orders, and the knight who’d been holding her bound Yubara’s hands firmly.

‘No! If they drag me away like this… ugh, I’m not dying alone!’

Posing as an innocent victim out loud while intending to blackmail the employer from the shadows, Yubara choked back tears and shouted as she was pulled.

“Is persecuting an innocent beastfolk without evidence what Lord Pegasus should do?”

“!”

Invoking the lord’s duty to protect his people was meant to undermine the legitimacy of the acting head.

Theodor didn’t flinch at Yubara’s outcry, but for Lin, hearing that slander aimed at her uncle was different.

Lin’s round golden eyes widened to their limit at the shocking words.

‘Uncle insulted again!’

She bared the new strong teeth she’d recently grown and snapped harshly.

“Where’s the evidence?”

Everyone’s attention turned to Lin at the confident demand for proof.

Staring at the lying Yubara with the scariest face she could make, Lin pointed to her own throat.

“Here! I recorded everything!”

‘A r-recording magic device?’

At the unexpected claim, Yubara’s face drained of color.

Click.

Without hesitation, Lin twisted the button on her necklace.

A recording charm set in the middle of the necklace — given to her by Uncle Teo without others knowing — immediately played back the recorded voices.

“-Someone who’s wary of Miss gaining strength is very close to you.”

“-My power…?”

“-Yes. I’m really worried too. I looked for someone who might be helpful for Miss Lin.”

“-Who, who…?”

“-They’re waiting for you right outside the castle. Shall we go see them as if for a little walk?””