Chapter 18
“Vivian. You’re the only one who knew that compass was a precious item of mine.”
Annette’s usually gentle, lime-green eyes were now calm, as if piercing right through her opponent. She felt more imposing than any teacher.
Vivian, flustered, retorted, “...That! You told me it was a compass to find your parents. That’s why it was precious...”
“That’s right.”
The corners of Annette’s eyes curved into a soft smile.
“And I told that only to you.”
“What is that supposed to mean...”
“The compass wasn’t even mine to begin with.”
“...?!”
*Ah, I’ve been played.* Vivian realized it in an instant. The shock of that realization caused the focus to drain blankly from her turquoise eyes.
*Then, everything said by the lakeside was a trap?*
* * *
A few hours ago.
Annette had devised a plan using two items. A fountain pen and a compass. Although they were items she had never seen before, they were now destined to become her most precious possessions.
Annette first went to the lakeside with the compass. It was a place Vivian frequented often.
Vivian, who had come to the lakeside for some air as usual, spotted Annette.
*What is she doing here?*
Her brow furrowed instinctively.
*This is my spot. How unpleasant.*
She was already annoyed at the thought of a girl she disliked being in her space. The person Heinri liked and followed to an inexplicable degree. She hated her even more because she didn’t know the reason, and she was jealous.
*Plus, she’s always acting so kind and gentle to the other kids.*
Vivian didn’t want to be with Annette, but she couldn’t give up the lakeside. So, she sat down next to her.
“Hello.”
“Oh, Vivian, hello?”
Annette smiled brightly with those lime-green eyes beneath her brilliant blonde hair, just as she always did. In her hand, she held a small compass. Even at a glance, it looked like an old object.
“...What’s that?”
“Ah, this? They say if you go where this compass points, you can meet your family!”
The ultimate hope of the children of The Forest was always “meeting their family.” It was the greatest wish of the Trees, so to speak.
“Hmph.”
Vivian’s eyes narrowed into slits. Annette looked down at the compass, cradling it with both hands as if it were precious.
“That’s why I’ve kept it since I was little. If I lose this... it feels like I’d be losing my future family, too.”
Vivian’s lips twisted upward.
“Oh, I see. You must keep it very safe!”
“Yes!”
Afterward, Vivian secretly followed her and discovered the place where Annette hid the compass.
*Stupid thing. It’s a precious item, and you’re only hiding it in a locker?*
*You’ll regret this, Annette.*
Vivian laughed wickedly.
* * *
“Big Sister, what’s that?”
Heinri asked, looking at the box I was hiding under my bed. It was intentional that I’d tucked it away so secretly and deeply to draw his attention.
“Hmm, this? Should I show you, or not?”
If I said this, he’d be hooked one hundred percent... because I know Heinri well.
Sure enough, like a cat following a treat, Heinri’s violet eyes sparkled as he promptly sat on my bed.
“Big Sister, why are you hesitating? Is there anything you can’t show me? ...It just makes me more curious. Show me!”
I smiled softly. Then, I showed him the fountain pen.
“Ta-da!”
“Oh, looks nice?”
“Yes! This is my father’s fountain pen. They said it was in my cradle when my parents abandoned me.”
“It must be a precious item to you, Big Sister.”
“Yes!”
I showed him the fountain pen in more detail.
“Actually, I’ve bragged about it to the children of The Forest a few times, but you haven’t seen it, have you, Heinri?”
I said it on purpose. It was a trick to imply, *“Not only you, but the other children know of this pen’s existence.”* Heinri was subtly quick-witted and clever, so I had to be careful with every word.
But for some reason, Heinri was looking down, appearing dejected.
“...Heinri? What’s wrong?”
“Your father left you something like that, Big Sister. Must be nice.”
...Ah, come to think of it.
Heinri probably wasn’t left anything when his father abandoned him. My heart gave a sharp, painful throb.
*I’m sorry, Heinri.*
I was so focused on deceiving you that I hadn’t been thoughtful enough to consider that. Seeing Heinri looking so hurt made my heart ache mercilessly, and I wanted to stop everything, including catching the culprit.
*But I have to see this through.*
My heart hurt, but I had to deceive Heinri fairly, too. To catch the little devil, I had decided to become a little devil myself.
A while later.
During the outdoor class where the little devil was active, I deliberately told Sislein to enter the classroom late. Then, finally, at the hour of destiny, I stood before the locker with a trembling heart.
*Did my plan work?*
If it worked...
*If what’s inside is the fountain pen, Heinri is the culprit. If it’s the compass, Vivian is the culprit.*
I took a deep breath, counted to three in my heart, and threw open Sislein’s locker.
*Click—*
“...!”
The old “compass” was pointing to the culprit.
* * *
Vivian shouted, her eyes trembling.
“S-setting a trap like that is cowardly, Annette!”
“Why did you do it?”
Annette said with dignified, cold eyes. It was an atmosphere quite extraordinary for a twelve-year-old.
“You’re the one who snitched that Sislein was hiding in the ‘hideout,’ aren’t you?”
When she pressed her hard, an anxious Vivian scowled and yelled.
“Is snitching a crime? That was a violation of school rules in the first place! Why would that be a crime?!”
*So, you were the identity of that shadow after all.*
Mrs. Mimosa, who was observing the two of us with cold golden eyes, naturally knew the identity of the snitch. So, Vivian wouldn’t have been able to lie. Unlike the highly agitated Vivian, Annette had a face as calm as ripples on a lake.
“You’re the one who contacted the slave trader, too, aren’t you?”
“...N-n-no?!”
*He wouldn’t know if I didn’t say anything anyway!*
Vivian tried to deny it at first. But Annette seemed already convinced. Vivian felt afraid of Annette for the first time as she walked toward her, *tap, tap, tap*. She had always been a soft, gentle girl like pudding who walked around with a silly smile; why had she become so scary?
*Why are you doing this to me! Stop it!*
But Annette looked like she had absolutely no intention of stopping. Like a determined wildcat, she drove the mouse into the final corner.
“You clean Mrs. Mimosa’s room. Is there any child as likely as you? You rummaged through the ‘student records.’ And then you contacted the slave trader.”
“No!”
“Why did you contact the slave trader?”
Annette’s fair brow furrowed. It was an expression Vivian had never seen before. Because Annette had always smiled at everyone.
“Because of you, Sislein almost got taken as a slave. You know what happens if you become a slave, right?”
“That’s...!”
“You have to live miserably for the rest of your life. Did you like seeing your friend go through that?”
“No!”
Tears welled up in Vivian’s eyes before she knew it. She finally burst into tears and protested.
“I...! I didn’t think it would go that far. I just wanted Sislein to leave!”
Heinri, who had been listening quietly, scowled and finally threw in a word.
“Horrible.”
“...!”
At that, Vivian bit her lip and shouted.
“I did it for you! Because you hate Sislein...”
Heinri let out a low breath and smiled. Unlike his expression, his gaze and voice were as cold as an ice sheet.
“When did I ever ask you to do such a thing?”
Vivian soon burst into tears of sorrow and said.
“You’re so mean!”
“You’re the mean one, Vivian. Apologize to everyone.”
At Annette’s words, when Vivian looked up with a tear-streaked face, she saw Mrs. Mimosa, Julius, and the other teachers... and the faces of Reina, Robert, and Sislein, whose items she had stolen.
Only then did Vivian realize what an ugly thing she had done.
Vivian, covered in tears, apologized to Reina and Robert.
“I-I’m sorry...”
Even the kind Reina didn’t tell Vivian that it was okay. She just glared at her firmly with her violet eyes. Robert shook his head, *no, no*. Amidst everyone’s cold reactions, Vivian approached Sislein, trembling.
“Sislein, I’m really...”
After sobbing with her shoulders heaving several times, Vivian lowered her head with a flushed face.
“I’m sorry!”
Sislein looked at Vivian with dry eyes that were impossible to read.
“...”
The boy only answered with silence, but to Vivian, that quiet rage felt even more terrifying.
At that moment, Mrs. Mimosa stepped forward.
“It seems everything has been settled. I will now hand down Vivian’s punishment.”
Her cold golden eyes shone.
“Vivian will be whipped until she repents and will live in the ‘Temple of the Forest’.”
“...!!!”
Vivian’s face turned pale in an instant. The ‘Temple of the Forest.’ It was effectively the highest punishment for the Trees. A place where the sound of children crying could be heard day and night. A place with terrifying, monster-like reform teachers.
“M-Madam...! Please forgive me!!!”
Vivian knelt and clung to Mrs. Mimosa, but it was useless. Mrs. Mimosa’s cold expression remained unchanged.
“Please forgive me just this once, p-please...!”
“Take this child to her room. So she can pack her belongings.”
“Yes, Madam.”
One of the teachers who had been watching pulled Vivian away and dragged her off. Along with the sound of her sobbing in repentance, screams could be heard.
“Madam, Madam...!”
“...”
Meanwhile, there was a man watching the situation quietly, breaking into a cold sweat. It was Julius. He moved his feet stealthily and hurried out of the auditorium.
* * * “Damn it, damn it!”
Julius walked down the hallway, glancing back over his shoulder. He was checking to see if anyone was following him.
‘Damn it, why did Vivian have to go and do something like that!’
This time, he had been wrong. And since he had been wrong in front of everyone in The Forest, there was no turning back now.
‘But I can’t just hand over the clan’s ring.’
A promise made to a mere child shouldn’t matter if he didn’t keep it anyway. As a teacher in charge of “Noble Etiquette,” he usually believed in keeping his word, but he simply could not give up this ring. It was his everything.
‘Yes, surely that child won’t actually demand it.’
Lost in such thoughts, he was busy making his escape when it happened.
“Teacher!”
At the bright voice ringing out from ahead, Julius’s heart nearly dropped to his feet.
“Teacher, Mr. Julius! Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“……!!!”
It was Annette, who had taken a shortcut to get ahead of him. The child, dressed in a white dress, was smiling like an angel.
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