Chapter 115……………………………………………………
“Hey! Commoner! Where do you think you’re going?”
Raymond swaggered over, dragging some children with him.
Piace let out a heavy sigh in her heart.
Raymond only picked fights when Piace was alone.
“I don’t understand why he only acts like this when I’m alone. Coward.”
Raymond stood in front of Piace, leaning in and shouting.
“Commoner, I said, where are you going? Are you ignoring me?”
“My, my name isn’t Com—commoner. I’m… Piace Ibrante.”
“My, my name isn’t Com—commoner. I’m… Piace Ibrante. Hahaha!”
Raymond mocked her accent and laughed, his chubby cheeks full of mischief.
Every time, he teased Piace by calling her a commoner.
He had pulled her hair and messed it up more than once.
Still, Piace endured it. She didn’t want to cause trouble and disappoint the Duke.
But a few days ago, she couldn’t hold back her anger.
Raymond had grabbed her hair and messed it up.
It had been styled neatly that morning, and the Duke had said it looked pretty!
When she clenched her fists, Raymond shoved her hard.
The scratch on her cheek came from that moment, when she had scraped herself against the corner of a chair while falling.
“You’re too stupid to understand. Commoners don’t go around however they want.”
Even though Piace had told him her name several times, he insisted on calling her whatever he wanted.
“I have a name too…”
It was fine if he ignored her first name, but she couldn’t stand him ignoring her family name.
Ibrante was the most precious and radiant thing she had.
“Now, try to hold back your anger three times before fighting.”
Piace recalled the Duke’s words and tried to calm herself.
“So… how can I go? Will you let me go?”
“You need my permission first.”
“I—I’m Ibrante… And the Duke said only His Majesty can command an Ibrante.”
“Where are you talking back from? You’re not even really an Ibrante! Do you think you’re the Duke’s daughter?”
“N-Not right now… But the Duke said if we were engaged, I’d be accepted as his foster daughter. It’s true.”
“You believe that? If the Duke marries the Third Prince and has children, someone like you will be discarded.”
Raymond’s words struck Piace like a hammer.
She had thought she would live with the Duke’s family forever as his foster daughter. She never imagined being abandoned.
“If you’re kicked out of the Duke’s house, where will you go? I’ll tell the orphanage not to take you in.”
Piace barely had time to react to Raymond’s words—her mind was already full of anxiety.
“Would the Duke really abandon me?”
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why she would be discarded if the Duke had children.
“I’m really not the Duke’s child…”
It had been the same in the Molten family.
No matter how well-behaved she was, the Marquis and his wife always favored Bianca.
Even when Bianca was in the wrong, Piace was the one punished.
Eventually, she had been driven out.
Tears began to gather in Piace’s eyes.
“So you better behave. Depending on how you act, you might get to live in my bedroom. If you think of it as a pet, there’s nothing you can’t handle.”
“…….”
“I told you, my house is huge. Probably bigger than the Duke’s mansion. There are dozens of bedrooms, and even a golden fountain.”
Raymond puffed up his chest and lightly tugged at Piace’s hair.
“Hey, you even know what a golden fountain is? Commoners don’t get to see it.”
“L-Let go of that.”
“L-Let go. Hehe. Don’t like it?”
Raymond mimicked Piace’s tone, teasing her mercilessly.
Piace wiped away her tears and pushed his hand away.
“D-Don’t… pull my hair!”
“What… a commoner dares to hit my hand?”
“My name isn’t Commoner! I told you, it’s Piace Ibrante! You’re an i-idiot!”
It was the first time Piace had spoken harshly.
Raymond’s expression changed.
His eyes, partially hidden in his face, gleamed sharply.
“Idiot? Did you just insult me?”
“You’re too mean! Awful! I’d rather be abandoned by the Duke than live in your house!”
“Then do you want to live on the streets? Like a beggar?”
“I-I’ll build a house in front of the Duke’s mansion! You fool!”
“Ha!”
Raymond grabbed Piace’s pigtails tightly.
“Do you even know who I am? Kneel and apologize! Beg for forgiveness!”
Piace bit her lip and puffed her cheeks, remembering the Duke’s advice, and clenched her fists firmly.
“No!”
Smack!
I went with Leonhart to the academy counseling office.
Oswald, fidgeting outside, hurried over when he saw us.
“L-Lady Piace Ibrante… Huh! And His Highness, the Third Prince, too?”
“Where is Piace?”
“She’s inside.”
“And the child she fought?”
“Th-that child… as well.”
“So you put them in the same room?”
“The child’s guardian was too agitated to bring Piace out.”
“So she’s alone? We’ll discuss this later.”
Oswald looked extremely frustrated.
“I didn’t want this either! But the knights just dragged me out. What was I supposed to do?”
“Knights?”
“The child’s guardian brought two imperial knights! This is the first time I’ve experienced something this absurd!”
[Oh my! They even brought imperial knights for a children’s fight?]
[That’s beyond reason. But do imperial knights intervene in matters like this?]
[Those bastards must have reported Piace, so the knights came along. Right, Gnome?]
[(nods)]
“Let’s go in.”
“W-Wait a moment!”
Oswald lowered his voice seriously.
“There’s something you should know before going in.”
“What is it?”
“The child Piace fought is a prince. The son of the Second Prince.”
Leonhart, who had been quietly standing, furrowed his brow and interjected.
“Raymond, you mean?”
“Yes, Raymond Camiel Filio. That’s the child.”
So that explained why the imperial knights accompanied him.
I gestured at the counseling room door.
“I’ll open the door.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
As Oswald opened the door, a man’s shout erupted.
“Aha! You show no sign of remorse! If you don’t want to end up in the imperial prison, kneel and beg Raymond for forgiveness! Now!”
On the left side of the long table sat Raymond and his guardian, with two knights standing behind them.
Opposite them, Piace sat alone with her head bowed, and it made my blood boil.
I stepped inside and spoke calmly.
“Piace, lift your head.”
“……!”
Seeing me, Piace started crying thick tears.
“D-Duke… Waaah!”
She ran and clung to my waist, soaking it quickly.
I placed my hand on her trembling shoulder and glared at Raymond’s guardian.
Before I arrived, he had been bullying Piace confidently, but now he avoided my gaze.
“Why are you crying? Are you scared of being punished?”
Piace shook her head.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. Even though Raymond kept calling me a commoner, I endured it… all three times…”
“Then why are you crying?”
“D-Duke, will you… abandon me?”
“…Who said that?”
“R-Raymond said… that if you marry the prince and have children, I’d be fake and thrown away…”
Her words explained everything at once. There was no need to ask why she had fought Raymond.
“Piace, do you remember the gift I gave you before you entered the academy?”
“Th-The pen?”
“I promised that I would never abandon you until the pen wore out. And yet you believed Raymond’s words?”
Pretending to pout, I lowered my eyebrows, and Piace waved her hands frantically.
“N-No! I didn’t believe Raymond! He’s a fool!”
“Hey! What did you just say?”
“N-No! Your Highness!”
Raymond flared up, but his guardian restrained him, realizing he’d made a big mistake.
“I believed in you, Duke! Really! But if you actually have a child… things could change. And thinking that… made me so, so sad.”
“No matter how many children I have, I will never abandon you. Unless you yourself leave my side. Do you understand?”
“…Really?”
“I’m Ibrante. Even if the Emperor comes, I won’t change my words.”
“Waaah…”
Piace looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
For the first time, I noticed something I hadn’t before.
[Oh my! Piace has bruises near her eyes!]
[Looks like that kid hit her.]
[Since that kid got a nosebleed, Piace won. Right, Gnome?]
[(nods)]
Suppressing my anger, I gently tapped the top of her head.
“…Are your hands okay?”
“I held my fists like you taught me, Duke. They’re fine.”
Piace showed her fists with a small grin.
“Your face is a mess. Go wash up.”
“Yes!”
As soon as Piace went out, I erased my smile.
The counseling room was filled with a cold, tense silence.
