Chapter 8
I held up my middle finger quietly before the carriage had completely disappeared.
"What a load of crap."
If I had truly been just a young child, the verbal abuse spewed by Viscount Puterio would have left a deep, lifelong trauma. But I am a twelve-year-old with a whole previous life, aren't I? I could deflect that level of vitriol with my "previous life" shield.
"Sislein, we need to wash our ears. We just met a man who spews sewage from his mouth."
I said it bravely, gently rubbing Sislein's ears with my hands. *Ew. It's dirty, so dirty.*
'But something is strange.'
The very appearance of that man was odd. 'This was definitely an episode that wasn't in the original story.' If it had been in the original, I would have been prepared... but no matter how much I racked my brain, there was no episode where he visited The Forest. But since it had already happened, finding a solution was the best course of action.
'...Marquess Corel, was it?'
I remembered him because he was an extra in the original with quite unique traits. 'He was a man with extreme health anxiety. Plus, he was a germaphobe.' He constantly badgered his physicians out of fear for his health, and his germaphobia was severe enough that he feared catching diseases. He was such a sensitive human being that he would even change his gloves after every handshake and could even trigger a seizure from his own anxiety.
'He and Viscount Puterio had done some slave trading together a few times, hadn't they?'
That must have been why. It explained why Viscount Puterio didn't leave the dispute resolution to the lord of 'Perdes,' where his business was based, but insisted on calling the local Marquess Corel instead.
'At this rate, I don't have a winning hand for tomorrow...'
"...Are you okay?"
I stopped thinking for a moment and asked Sislein. Perhaps it was because he was wet? I could feel him trembling like an aspen tree. Just seeing his terrified face made my heart ache. Suddenly, the Viscount's verbal abuse came back to me.
"Sometimes, there are children who are nothing more than 'excrement' of one's lust."
...How many times must Sislein have heard such cruel, biting words? If I had been trapped by a man whose tongue was as sharp as a whetted blade, my self-esteem would have been ground into the dirt, too. Suddenly, the words the boy said when I first met him came to mind.
"Because I'm a dirty kid."
"If you talk to me, you'll get dirty too."
...I could guess what kind of abuse he had been hearing, and my heart throbbed with pain. As I stroked the boy's back, he whispered quietly.
"Are you okay, Annette?"
Even in this situation, Sislein was worried about me first. Even while he was trembling like this...
"I'm fine!"
"I'm not bothered at all, either. Annette."
Sislein, it's okay to say you're scared if you're scared. It's okay for a child as young as you to feel that way. I stroked him gently, as if soothing him. Then, the dejected Sislein said something unexpected.
"Maybe I should just go back into the hole."
"...Huh?"
"If I'm there, no one can take me away."
That was when I realized. The reason Sislein had gone into the hole. It wasn't just because his senses were overwhelmed and he was hiding. He had believed that place was safe. A place where the hands of those who tormented him couldn't reach. In that narrow, dirty, and lonely hole, he had actually felt at ease. My heart grew heavy.
"No."
I cupped Sislein's cheeks with both hands and said it with determination.
"I will never leave you alone in that dark, gloomy place again."
'Hmm, I just sounded like an Obsessive-Maniac Buff.'
"From now on, you're staying with me, Sis."
His beautiful, ruby-red eyes wavered. He asked back in a small voice.
"...Stay, together?"
"Yes!"
When I beamed at him, Sislein's ears turned red. The boy lowered his head quietly, as if to hide his handsome face, and replied.
"...Okay."
'Ugh, so cute.'
I winked confidently.
"That's right, so just trust me!"
* * *
That afternoon, I visited the incinerator with Heinri. Since this was the place where trash from The Forest was burned, the Trees usually didn't even come near it.
"...Big sister, do we really have to go this far?"
Heinri said, unable to hide his displeased expression, his hands clasped behind his head.
"You could just send that beastly brat to the Viscount."
"Heinri, you shouldn't say such mean things."
"Why!"
"That child is our friend."
"Tch, since when were you friends..."
Heinri muttered quietly, his violet eyes gleaming.
"I have no intention of being friends with him. ...And you like that guy too much, big sister."
I grabbed Heinri's hands with both of mine and smiled.
"Anyway, thank you for coming with me, Heinri."
"...!"
Heinri's soft, mochi-like cheeks twitched. Then, they quickly turned as rosy as a perfectly ripe peach.
"Hmph, you don't need to thank me for something so obvious."
Heinri easily climbed the wire fence, which was twice his height, and jumped down.
"Ah, be careful!"
*Thud.*
He landed coolly, dusted off his hands, and opened the latch from the inside. As I stepped inside, I didn't forget to coddle the little guy.
"As expected, there's no one like you, Heinri~!"
Heinri puffed out his chest like a kitten that had caught its first mouse and boasted.
'Aigo, my cute little baby...!'
I laughed as I entered the incinerator and immediately began to gather the morning newspapers from the last month, sitting down to read them. What I was looking for were articles about Viscount Puterio or the Perdes region. Viscount Puterio was quite a famous figure in the local community and a man who operated a large-scale slave market. If anything had happened recently, it would have had enough impact to be in the papers.
'It's very strange that he suddenly came to The Forest. And to take just one little kid, at that.'
50 million gold is a large sum, but his slave market was recording massive sales. Whether it was worth coming such a long way, dealing with the notoriously difficult Mrs. Mimosa of The Forest, and even calling the lord to cause a scene... well, it was a bit ambiguous.
"Huh?"
Then, one headline caught my eye.
「 Outbreak of the deadly 'Marel' plague in Perdes. Is it a devil's curse? 」
'So a plague is spreading.'
The paper reported that the Lord of Perdes had sealed the borders and blocked the movement of commoners between regions.
'If a plague is spreading... the slave market must have taken a huge hit.'
Who would buy a 'human' coming from a region where a plague is rampant? Sure enough.
「 Perdes Slave Market on the verge of bankruptcy, Viscount Puterio "Requests help from the local community" 」
'On the verge of bankruptcy!'
Now the situation made sense. That was why. That was why he had come all the way to this countryside to find one kid and threatened us to cough up 50 million gold. Once a business has a hole in its funding, it collapses in an instant.
"Hmm."
I smiled lightly, the corners of my mouth curling up.
"I've finally thought of it. A way to keep Sislein from being sent away."
"Huh? Really?"
Heinri tilted his head, raising an eyebrow as if he were truly curious. I crossed my arms proudly on top of a cardboard box and smiled.
"Yes, I've thought of something very bad."
"...Something bad?"
"Our Sislein isn't going to anyone."
I let my eyes flash like a character in a dark, obsessive romance novel. If everything went according to my plan, Marquess Corel would side with Mrs. Mimosa tomorrow. And that plan is...
* * * The next day.
The smell of bread wafted through the air from the morning.
In the kitchen, the little ones were sitting in a huddle, kneading dough.
"Annette, look at this! I made it."
Julian held out his dough to me, his lake-like sky-blue eyes sparkling.
"Oh, my, you did a great job."
I said with a gentle smile.
"Did you make a monster, Julian?"
The large eyes beneath his fluffy blonde hair welled up with tears.
"……Th-this is Annette……."
'His artistic world is quite profound.'
"Ah! Now that I look at it, it really does look like me~"
At my words, Julian, who had been sulking, beamed! He smiled like sunshine.
It was a long-standing tradition of The Forest for the children to make food together whenever a distinguished guest arrived.
Today was the day of the summary trial requested by Viscount Puterio, who was claiming ownership of Sislein.
The key to a summary trial lay in the word "summary."
Normally, this would be a matter that required visiting the Marquess's estate to determine right from wrong, but given the fact that the existence of The Forest was a secret to the outside world, Marquess Corel had agreed to come in person.
Because of this, the secretaries of Marquess Corel and Viscount Puterio had been visiting The Forest since the morning, giving us tips on their masters' tastes and preferences.
The menu was prepared without a single shortcoming, from roast duck and clam chowder to soft bread and seasonal fruits.
And finally, just before the trial was set to begin.
I met with Sislein.
"Sis, you must be very nervous……."
The boy kept his red eyes fixed on the floor, unable to lift his gaze.
'He couldn't even meet Viscount Puterio's eyes properly before.'
To Sislein, the Viscount must be a monster.
The very person who had hurled terrifying verbal abuse at him, tormented him as if to kill him, and, as if that weren't enough, made him fear even water.
Naturally, it would take great courage just to look him in the eye.
Yet, he had to participate in a trial in the same room as that monstrous man who had treated him so mercilessly.
Moreover, depending on the outcome of the trial, he could be dragged away by that monster.
'It's no wonder he's scared.'
I would be relieved if he could even keep his head up throughout the trial.
I cupped his cheeks and said in the gentlest voice I could muster.
"Sis, look at me."
"……."
Through his shaggy black hair, his beautiful ruby-colored eyes looked at me submissively.
'Oh my, he looks like a frightened puppy.'
It was heartbreaking yet adorable, so I spoke with deliberate cheerfulness to ensure Sislein wouldn't be afraid.
"You know, we're going to go in there, and we are definitely going to win and come back."
"……Annette."
The boy parted his dry lips.
"I'll go in alone. Annette, stay outside."
"Why……?"
I thought he would say he was scared and wanted to go in together?
Shadows deepened in his ruby-colored eyes.
"Viscount Puterio is a vicious human being. I don't want Annette to get involved because of me."
To think he would willingly face the monster alone, and all because he was worried about me…….
I had felt it when we met Viscount Puterio last time, but Sislein strangely found the courage to act whenever it concerned me.
If that was the case, I had to find my courage, too!
I lowered my brows and smiled brightly.
"I'm not scared at all, you know?"
"……."
I took Sislein's hands in both of mine and held them tightly.
"Sis, from now on, we're going in there to prove that the Viscount is wrong."
"……."
"Don't keep suffering from the trauma that such a wicked human gave you."
"……."
"So, today, when the Viscount is brought down in there…… your fear of water will be brought down along with him. Understand?"
The boy's gaze, which had been wavering as if caught in a typhoon, had calmed down before I knew it. A flicker of determination appeared in his eyes.
"Okay."
Sislein nodded.
'Finally.'
Now it was time to put the plan I had prepared into action.
Today's operation was, so to speak, "fighting fire with fire."
It was about defeating a bad guy with another bad guy.
Would the Marquess really move according to my will?
Thump, thump. My heart trembled with tension and excitement.
Holding Sislein's hand, I pushed open the door to the courtroom with vigor.
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