Chapter 16
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“Sislein, are you okay?”
After even Julius had left, I made sure to check on Sislein first. He had been unfairly branded a thief and subjected to all sorts of cruel words.
‘He had only just managed to crawl out of his shell.’
A boy who had hidden away because the world was too scary and harsh had been forced to face the world’s cold, judgmental gaze once again. From Sislein’s perspective, this was enough to be deeply wounded. If it were me, I think I would have wanted to throw everything away and run.
Catching the real culprit is one thing, but the emotional scars left on a child are hard to mend.
Fortunately, however, Sislein looked at me and nodded calmly.
“I’m okay, Annette.”
“……Are you sure?”
“Yes. You told me, didn’t you? That if I just waited patiently, something would happen.”
The boy smiled faintly.
“I expected this to happen, so I wasn’t hurt.”
……Sob, our baby is all grown up. Everyone in the world, look at how sensible our baby is!
I realized that as long as Sislein didn’t get hurt and held his ground, catching that little devil would be a piece of cake.
I smiled brightly and said, “You did so well standing up for yourself earlier and saying you didn’t do it! Sis.”
“……It’s my first time.”
Sislein lowered his red eyes beneath his black hair, looking slightly embarrassed.
“The first time I’ve ever said it wasn’t my fault when I was being falsely accused.”
“…….”
He must have just taken the abuse in other places. He probably couldn’t even refute it when others recklessly branded him.
A strange heat brushed against my chest. I clenched both my fists and said, “……Sis. From now on, you must always say it’s not your fault if it isn’t. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
He nodded so obediently that he looked adorable, so I gave Sislein a tight hug.
“……!”
For a moment, I felt Sislein’s hands hovering in the air, unable to find their place. Soon, the hesitant boy carefully placed his small hands on my back.
The warmth was so wonderful.
When I pulled away after the short hug, the boy’s face was flushed completely red, like a ripe tomato.
‘Hehe, cute.’
“You know, Sis! I have a good idea.”
“……Oh, what idea?”
At this timing, could there be any other ‘good idea’ than the one I was thinking of?
I said, my eyes sparkling.
“I’ve thought of a way to catch that ‘little devil’ who’s framing you as a thief.”
“Really?”
“Yes! But we have to wait a bit. We don’t know if they’ll steal again or try to harass you in another way.”
If they come at us with a different method, we’ll have to come up with a new plan accordingly. But if they steal again…….
“If something like today happens again, I think we’ll be able to catch them in one go.”
“How?”
Instead of answering, I smiled and gave him a wink.
“Just leave it to me!”
* * *
I went straight to Reina. Reina was touching her little teddy bear with great care.
“Reina, can I ask you one thing?”
“Yes! You’re always welcome, Annette! You can ask me anything!”
Reina nodded enthusiastically, her blueberry-colored eyes shining.
‘Active cooperation. Good.’
Thanks to that, I could ask the question I’d been curious about without any hesitation.
“By any chance, have you talked about that teddy bear anywhere else besides showing it off in the classroom earlier?”
Heinri definitely wasn’t in the classroom when Reina showed off the teddy bear brooch earlier. There was no way he could have stolen and hidden an item he didn’t even know existed. On the other hand, Vivian was in the classroom and had definitely heard the bragging.
‘So, depending on Reina’s answer, the fate of the little devil candidates number one and two will be decided.’
If Reina hadn’t talked about it anywhere else, the culprit would be narrowed down to Vivian. Because out of the two, only Vivian would have known about the existence of the teddy bear.
“Umm…….”
Reina thought hard with her innocent eyes shining, then lowered her eyebrows.
“I showed it to Heinri earlier.”
I felt as if my heart had been sliced by a sharp blade.
“……Is that so?”
“Yeah. But Heinri told me not to be too happy. He said he’d received dozens of gifts like this, but no noble had ever actually filed for adoption…….”
“…….”
“He said it’s the same as giving snacks to a dog or a cat because they’re cute.”
Ah…… Heinri knew, too.
So that was it.
A shadow fell over my face. I hadn’t realized it, but I suppose I had been hoping for a specific answer from Reina.
“Why? Are you not feeling well, Annette?”
“Ah, no!”
I quickly changed my expression and gave her a bright smile. Then, I clasped my hands together.
“Reina, you will definitely be able to meet a good family.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
I nodded quickly. Reina immediately beamed, looking as lovely as a flower.
‘There’s no need for such a kind child to be disappointed and hurt in advance.’
In truth, there were many cases in The Forest where things fell through even after getting close to adoption, but there were also far more cases where adoptions actually took place. That was because all the Trees were wonderful and lovely.
Of course, Heinri was different. Adopting a Tier 1 Awakened cost a truly astronomical amount of money, an amount even prominent nobles couldn’t easily spend. Because of that, there were bound to be painful experiences. Getting close to adoption only for it to fall through, or being treated like a son only to be abandoned.
That was why I knew Heinri couldn’t trust people, hated them, and clung only to me.
‘Poor thing…….’
I swallowed my bitterness, finished comforting Reina, and returned to my seat.
“Phew.”
A light sigh escaped my lips before I could stop it.
‘The moment I heard that Heinri knew, I felt disappointed without realizing it.’
I had been hoping that Vivian was the culprit without even knowing it myself. To think I held such feelings while helping Sislein, who had been unfairly accused. I felt so sorry for Vivian.
‘I’m sorry, Vivian.’
I looked at the small, platinum-blonde head and apologized sincerely. If I lost my objectivity and framed an innocent child, there would be no point in helping Sislein.
I must think objectively, absolutely. No matter how much I love Heinri.
“Good.”
I firmly nodded, habitually stroking the apple Sislein had given me, which was already polished smooth.
“Big sister, what’s that apple?”
“Ah, you startled me!”
Heinri, who had approached my side at some point, rested his chin on his hand and smiled.
“What are you thinking about that you didn’t even notice I was here?”
“…….”
I widened my eyes and looked to the side. Heinri’s slender violet eyes looked just like a kitten seeking attention. His smiling face was so beautiful. Heinri buried his head against my shoulder and rubbed his forehead lightly. It was his own way of being affectionate.
“Big sisteer. Answer me.”
“……!”
‘Ah, my objectivity is melting away like snow……!’
How difficult it is to be objectively cold in front of one’s favorite character, sob. But I opened my eyes wide, trying to keep my wits about me as much as possible.
‘This is for Heinri’s sake, too!’
If Heinri keeps doing bad things to Sislein, it will eventually be found out. From that point on, the story would have no choice but to follow the original plot. Thinking of the distant future where both Sislein and Heinri suffer and slowly head toward ruin, I snapped to my senses. I remembered the nights I had fallen asleep with my pillow soaked in tears because I felt so sorry for Heinri in the original story.
‘……I can never let that happen, Heinri.’
“Heinri, where did you go earlier?”
“Hmm.”
“Why did it take so long? You were gone for quite a while.”
To my question, Heinri finally shrugged nonchalantly and replied.
“Ah, I was going to come right back, but Mrs. Mimosa called me, so I talked in her room for a bit before coming back.”
“……!”
In an instant, I remembered my meeting with Mrs. Mimosa.
“I am asking all the children who have been in and out of my room as part of the procedure.”
She had said she would talk to all the children suspected of tampering with the student records.
……Why did Heinri go to that room? And what on earth did they talk about for such a long time? Was Mrs. Mimosa suspicious of Heinri enough to ask him so many questions and have a conversation?
I looked at Heinri with eyes that felt a little unfamiliar. My heart pounded with tension.
Soon, I carefully opened my mouth.
“What did you talk about in Mrs. Mimosa’s room?”
“That is…….”
Heinri brought his head close to me. My nose tickled from his signature sweet scent.
*Thump, thump.*
Soon, in a voice as languid as a little devil, Heinri whispered into my ear.
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