The Young Supporter of Darkness

“I-I really did not.”

Mariel couldn’t breathe. What’s going on here? What’s going on?

Childhood nightmares were coming back.

“Thief!! What a disgrace to the aristocracy. You!”

“How can an aristocrat steal?”

“I am not!! Rachel, Edia, tell them! You guys saw it. I’m not, am I?”

“Mariel.”

Mariel looked at her two best friends with desperate eyes.

Say no, please. We were together.

“I can’t believe you’re doing such a bad thing. I’m disappointed in you.”

“Please forgive her, Madam!”

Hmm, Mariel looked up in surprise. Edia and Rachel were on their knees in front of her.

“Mariel is not a bad child either.”

“She is just poor—thus! That’s why she was blinded for a moment.”

Mariel’s face stiffened.

If they say this here now, does it do more than admit that she really stole it?

“Hng, it’s just that Mariel hasn’t broken her childhood habit yet…”

“Did this happen when you were young?”

Madam Banten reacted fiercely to Rachel’s tearful remark.

“Ahh!!”

“Why did you do that, Rachel!”

Rachel covered her mouth with a face that said she had made a mistake, and Edia cried and blamed Rachel.

However, the mood was already flowing as the two wanted.

Madam Banten exclaimed sharply, looking at Daphne.

“Grand Duchess! I need to search this lady-in-waiting’s body!”

Mariel’s eyes shook as she looked at Daphne. She was not, so she was telling her to stop.

“You may do so.”

Daphne nodded. Then, she smiled at Mariel.

Ah. Mariel, who understood the meaning of her eyes, endured the search with her skirt tightly held.

The search was not long. A pair of earrings wrapped in a handkerchief came out of Mariel’s apron pocket.

Madam Banten held the earrings and shouted.

“Where is the other one? Hurry and give it back!”

When Zegman took a step forward to stop her from doing it, Daphne stepped forward first.

“But isn’t it strange?”

The madam who had warmly accepted Daphne until the meal was gone.

Madam Banten shot back sharply, her face distorted.

“If you want to somehow cover up the mismanagement of your lady-in-waiting—”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just really strange.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You only have one earring.”

Daphne tilted her head as she looked at the earring in the madam’s hand.

“If she had stolen it, she should have both, but why is there only one? Earrings need to have both to fetch a proper price.”

“That.”

Count Hins stepped forward.

“She hid one somewhere!”

“If you’re going to hide it, you should hide them both, but do you keep only one?”

“This lady-in-waiting was stupid! The grand duchess just saw the earring protruding from the lady-in-waiting’s body.”

“I saw it. I don’t mean to deny it, Madam.”

“Then—”

“Count Hins.”

Suddenly, Daphne turned around and looked at Count Hins.

“Can you guess where my lady-in-waiting hid the other one, Count?”

“Why me?”

“You seemed to have a good feeling when you came forward earlier.”

Daphne smiled innocently.

The smile made Rachel nervous.

‘You noticed it!’

As Daphne predicted, this was Rachel’s own play.

Actually, Rachel and Edia.

The two intended to steal an item from the former grand duchess, Ritena, and hide it in Daphne’s room through a bribed servant.

But thanks to Madam Banten, the plan changed.

Count Hins naturally gave the earrings to the servant whom Rachel bribed, which made things easier.

Mariel, who has a history, is easier to attack than Daphne.

‘Hmph, I guess she noticed.’

Edia laughed inwardly. The other pair of the earrings was already in Mariel’s bag.

Because Edia brought it herself and hid it.

Daphne and the traitorous Mariel were now rats in poison.

‘Squeak squeak, mouse!’

When she thought of the two crying in pain, she automatically laughed.

Count Hins, who was hesitating until Rachel and Edia signaled, nodded immediately.

“Yes, there’s actually a place I can guess. It’s that lady-in-waiting’s room!”

“Mariel’s room.”

Daphne nodded. Then she immediately gave an order to Wessler.

“Sir Wessler! Please take some knights and search Mariel’s room.”

“I’m coming too, Grand Duchess.”

“Me too!”

Madam Banten and Count Hins stepped forward. When Daphne gave permission, they immediately followed Wessler upstairs.

“Baby.”

Zegman called Daphne, who was about to climb the stairs with a serious face.

“This is not an ordinary matter. Madam Banten is the biggest business dealership with our family.”

In other words, she was an important customer.

Daphne smiled brightly.

“I know. And Count Hins is also an important client.”

“Then get rid of the lady-in-waiting now.”

“But I know Mariel didn’t steal it.”

Zegman shut his mouth at the remark.

“Don’t worry, Mister Zegman. This will definitely help the Bertrand Grand Duchy and His Grace Kael.”

Having said that, Daphne quickly moved up the stairs.

When Daphne arrived at Mariel’s room, female knights were already checking the room under Wessler’s command.

Of course, no earrings were found.

“Captain, no matter how much we search, there are no earrings.”

Mariel was noticeably relieved by those words.

“Wait, get out of the way!”

It shouldn’t be like this. Rachel overtook the knights and began to turn over Mariel’s room.

And so did Edia.

‘Why isn’t it here?’

She was sure she hid it in her suitcase, yet why!

In the end, she couldn’t control her anger and almost tore the pillow apart, checking the inside, but there were no earrings.

“…There really isn’t.”

Madam Banten, who seemed a little calmer, furrowed her brows.

“Then why on earth did the grand duchess’s lady-in-waiting have my earrings?”

“I know, I’m curious as well.”

Daphne’s eyes widened as she looked at Rachel and Edia.

“By any chance. Could the servant have been confused earlier?”

“What do you mean the servant was confused?”

“Yes. As you can see, Mariel is still wearing the imperial lady-in-waiting uniform.”

“That’s right.”

“Maybe that’s why he got confused with someone else in the same lady-in-waiting uniform? In addition, Mariel and Edia have similar hair colors.”

“…..!!”

“I thought it might have been confusing if you didn’t know it well.”

Rachel and Edia held their breaths. No way!

“Sir Wessler, check the rooms of these two ladies-in-waiting this time.”

Daphne ordered, looking down at Rachel and Edia.

Then.

“I found it!!”

One of the earrings was found.

The knight whom Rachel pushed earlier held out the earring to the madam.

“Is this the earring, Madam?”

“That’s right!”

Madam Banten snatched up the earring. Tears welled up in her eyes in relief.

But soon her eyes sharpened.

“But why did this come from the two ladies-in-waiting’s room?”

Rachel and Edia were also curious about that.

Obviously, they couldn’t figure out why the earring they hid in Mariel’s room came from their room.

‘Why the hell is this here?’

Daphne’s room and Mariel’s room were next to each other. However, this room, which Rachel and Edia share, was quite far even though it was on the same floor.

But how did the earring in Mariel’s bag come out of their room?

“We did not, this is some kind of scheme—”

“…No way, because of me.”

Daphne burst into tears before the two could make excuses.

“Grand Duchess?”

Madam Banten, as well as Count Hins, Edia, and Rachel, were surprised to see Daphne.

Tears were dripping from Daphne’s big eyes.

Daphne began to weep sadly, as if she had burst while trying hard to hold back her tears.

“I-I’m so sorry. Both of them.”

Daphne, who kept mumbling incomprehensible words, looked at Madam Banten.

“Madam, it’s my fault. Please forgive my ladies-in-waiting, pl—hic—ease. Please, I beg you.”

“Grand Duchess.”

Madam Banten comforted Daphne with familiarity.

“Speak slowly. I won’t be angry.”

Hic, Daphne nodded while wiping away tears at the words.

“That—as a matter of fact. His Grace punished the two, hic, of them.”

“Punish?”

Daphne nodded. At that time, the tears that could not be wiped were falling.

“Yes, because they brought me ice as washing water. They heard that B-Bertrand’s specialty is ice…”

“…..!!”

At that, everyone in the room glared at the two.

In particular, Wessler’s eyes were serious. Startled, Edia and Rachel cowered in fear.

“Since then, I’ve only been close to Mariel. It’s clear that the t-two of them are upset. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s my fault…”

“So that’s why you did this.”

Madam Banten’s eyes were terrifying.

She was angry that she was used for this, but most of all, what made her angry was that they bullied this child.

She also had a child about the same age as Daphne.

“I’ll never let this go easily! I will officially protest against their families!”

“The Bertrand Grand Duchy won’t stand still either.”

When they turned around at the sudden voice, Zegman was standing there with a ferocious face.

‘He didn’t look like that even during the Madeline incident.’

It was to the point that even Daphne forgot that she was crying due to the expression that seemed like he would kill someone at any moment.

“The servant confessed.”

In this short time? The question was soon resolved.

‘He’s bleeding.’

There was definitely blood on Zegman’s sleeve.

It was a vivid red, as if to show that it hadn’t been long.

“Rachel Theodore, Edia Brighton.”

“Hiik!”

Two people backed away. However, they soon hit the bed and stopped.

“The crime of daring to touch Bertrand will not be light.”

“W-we are His Majesty the Emperor’s!!”

Rachel broke the taboo and spoke the emperor’s name.

‘You fools.’

Daphne smiled in Madam Banten’s arms.

What use is the emperor?

They’re now stepping on Bertrand’s land, and the emperor is far away.

‘It’s over.’

Shall we watch what we need to pack now?