Chapter 15
“How can we trust the word of a common thief?”
Julius asked Sislein with a frigid expression.
‘Ugh, Teacher. Sis is finally finding his courage, so please, just be quiet.’
I kept my hand tightly clasped in Sislein’s and looked up at Mrs. Mimosa and Julius.
“It would be terribly unfair to suspect Sislein without any concrete evidence.”
Julius furrowed his brow and retorted.
“Is there any evidence more definitive than the stolen item being found in Sislein’s locker, Annette?”
I directed my response to Mrs. Mimosa.
“Mrs. Mimosa, you know as well as I do. It’s entirely possible that someone else did this.”
Mrs. Mimosa’s golden eyes stared at me coldly.
I was reminding her of the fact that ‘there is a child who is intentionally bullying Sislein.’
I wanted her to reach the conclusion that this incident might not be Sislein’s doing at all.
“…….”
Before long, Mrs. Mimosa’s eyes narrowed.
‘Will my words get through to her?’
If Sislein is branded a thief here and the situation escalates, it plays right into the little devil’s hands.
I don’t want that to happen.
Just as I was swallowing hard in tension, Mrs. Mimosa finally opened her mouth in a low voice.
“It would be best to conclude this matter here.”
“……!”
Julius’s expression twisted. Conversely, I beamed.
‘Oh, thank goodness!’
If we had been forced to take the fall right now, without any way to expose the little devil, it would have been truly unjust.
It seemed that after the recent ‘water trauma’ incident, she trusted me at least a little bit. I suppose you could say the buildup had paid off.
Mrs. Mimosa continued calmly with her characteristic stern expression.
“In any case, the item has been recovered, and Reina herself said she does not suspect Sislein.”
“……That is preposterous! Mrs. Mimosa.”
Julius immediately bristled in protest. His blue eyes darkened ominously.
“That is absolutely out of the question. This is a clear case of theft, and those who steal once are bound to do it again.”
Julius’s cold gaze pierced Sislein like a needle.
I bit my lip inwardly.
‘Ah, Teacher… please, just back off!’
“A child with bad conduct who has committed theft once will never be able to stop. Isn’t kleptomania a nasty disease that cannot be cured? We must nip it in the bud before—”
“Enough.”
Mrs. Mimosa’s strict, icy voice cut Julius’s words short.
Her expression had frozen over like a sheet of ice.
Her signature golden eyes looked like a lioness about to tear into someone’s throat, and I flinched in surprise.
Julius, receiving that gaze head-on, stood as rigid as the prey she was eyeing.
“Are you questioning my judgment, Julius?”
“……I, I was merely.”
“Do not forget, Julius, that it is I, Mimosa, who decides all matters concerning The Forest.”
Julius bit his lip tightly. Soon, he bowed his head as if resigned.
“Yes, I understand, Madam…….”
With that, the situation was neatly resolved.
“You children may go and rest now.”
As soon as Mrs. Mimosa finished speaking to the children, she left the classroom immediately.
The atmosphere among the children brightened instantly.
Julian also looked relieved, pressing his small fist to his mouth and giggling.
“Happy I found the bear.”
“Yeah, the treasure hunt was fun!”
“It was even more fun because the treasure appeared so fast! So much!”
The children each chimed in with a word, nodding their little heads before returning to their seats.
However, Julius did not leave; he remained until the very end.
He looked at Sislein with his deep blue eyes and muttered in a low voice.
“Sislein, never forget that I, your teacher, am always watching you.”
“…….”
Julius did not forget to deliver a cold, stinging warning.
‘He thinks Sislein is a thief one hundred percent.’
Even though the matter was settled, he stayed behind just to say that. He really is too much.
“A child who cannot cure their kleptomania and remains a disgrace to The Forest is of no use to anyone, Sislein.”
“What will you do if you’re wrong?”
“What did you say……?”
Julius’s eyebrows twisted at my sudden interjection.
I asked back, calm and unperturbed.
“If it turns out it wasn’t Sislein, how will you apologize and compensate for framing him as a thief?”
The corner of his mouth curled.
“……You are truly audacious, Annette. Very cheeky and audacious. What kind of tone is that to use with your teacher? There is a limit to how much I can overlook just because you are a model student.”
He looked at me as if he wanted to give me a good, hard rap on the head.
But if he were a real teacher, he should be looking into these matters with more thoughtfulness, rather than branding a child.
There were many truly wonderful teachers in The Forest, but it seemed Julius was certainly not one of them.
He looked down at me with a gaze that suggested he found me absurd.
He probably thought that small children like us couldn’t do anything to him anyway. He was the teacher, and we were just children.
I didn’t like his attitude of judging us so easily because he looked down on us.
‘Was there anything about Julius in the original novel?’
I racked my brain quickly.
In the first place, the original novel, *Dogs of the Mansion*, didn’t have much content regarding The Forest itself.
The focus of the original was on the relationship between Heinri and Sislein and their ‘revenge.’ Mrs. Mimosa’s screen time was naturally low, and Julius didn’t really have much either…….
Just that he was one of the strongest mages on the continent (the original never explained why such a mage was teaching children in The Forest), and that, as the ‘Noble Etiquette’ teacher, he loathed troublemakers.
And…….
‘Aha?’
Just then, some quite useful information from this point in the story surfaced.
“Troublemakers usually don’t just cause one kind of trouble, Annette. Besides, kleptomania is like a disease, so they are destined to live as thieves forever.”
“So you’re certain that Sis is a thief?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
He said it with a smile, but his face didn’t look the least bit unfortunate.
“Then, please bet that ‘ring’ on your words, Teacher.”
“……!!!”
I smiled brightly, like a child who knew nothing, and pointed to the ring he was wearing.
‘It must be the Pluto Ring.’
Julius was actually from the ‘Pluto Clan,’ who possessed powerful talent for magic, and that ring contained their souls; by rubbing the gemstone, one could summon them from anywhere.
The Pluto Clan served whoever possessed that ring as their master.
Therefore, to keep from losing his autonomy, he had to guard that ring with his life.
Otherwise, he would be reduced to a slave without any recourse.
“……Do you even know what kind of ring this is! This is my everything!”
Judging by his reaction, it was one hundred percent certain that it was that ring.
I lowered my eyebrows and said.
“Hmm, Teacher. Then were you framing Sislein even though you weren’t sure?”
“……Wh, what?”
“You can’t bet the ring because you aren’t sure, right? If you were sure, what reason would you have not to bet it?”
“That is!”
The look of panic was evident on Julius’s face.
“You shouldn’t be framing a child so recklessly when you aren’t even sure, Teacher. Right, everyone?”
I deliberately spoke in a loud voice, like an oblivious 12-year-old, so the children nearby could hear.
Before I knew it, the children’s bright, clear eyes were turned toward us.
Julius let out a “Grr,” and scowled. It was obvious that if he backed down here, he would become a reckless teacher with no authority.
And that was the one thing Julius couldn’t stand.
“Fine! I am confident in my judgment. If the real culprit is someone else, I will give this ring to you, Annette.”
Oh, ho.
I narrowed my eyes.
Julius raised the corner of his mouth and declared confidently.
“But you won’t be able to find the real culprit, will you? As I said, troublemakers are bound to cause all sorts of trouble. If Sislein is not the real thief, I will apologize to Sislein and become that child’s ‘younger brother.’ I am that confident!”
“…….”
I smiled wickedly.
So wickedly that Julius flinched at my expression.
‘Then, at twenty-five years old, go ahead and try being the younger brother to an 11-year-old, Teacher.’
Then, I immediately beamed—bright and cheerful—and replied.
“Yes! It’s a promise!”
“…….”
For a moment, Julius looked as if he realized he had been played.
But it was already too late.
‘Hmm, this is a huge gain. A powerful mage who can be summoned from anywhere.’
Plus, he’ll have no choice but to obey my commands.
He was a figure who would be quite valuable to have when I eventually leave the children and live my ‘post-original retirement’ life.
I rubbed my nose with satisfaction.
‘I’m starting to really look forward to the moment I catch the real culprit.’
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