Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Hide and Seek Trap
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"Why have you lost so much weight?"
Riki asked with wide eyes, and Lillia thrust out her lips in a sulky pout.
"It's not like it matters..."
"Anyway, what's so special about Lubon that you had to come all this way to celebrate my birthday? It's freezing out—why not just stay home?"
Veins bulging on my forehead, I still managed a smile as I asked. The twins responded with forced grins of their own.
"Oh, Rubette. Is today just any old birthday? It's your first one as an adult!"
"Exactly. Of course we have to celebrate. Big Brother Viego even brought in the head chef from the capital's most famous fine dining restaurant, so eat up. We need to fatten you back up."
"Yeah..."
We exchanged greetings like we were just your typical close-knit siblings. That's when someone else climbed down from the carriage.
'...And who's that?'
A girl with brown bobbed hair and a somewhat gloomy expression. Her face rang a faint bell.
"Come on down."
Lillia yanked the girl's arm and introduced her.
"You know Nora Pelkan, right? This is her closest friend."
"Nora... yeah, I know Nora..."
Why wouldn't I know Nora Pelkan, Lillia's lifelong best friend who was always glued to her side since they were kids?
Even as a child, she was notorious around town for her foul temper. She used to storm into our shop every so often, screaming for us to take her order, which gave poor Becky stress-induced gastritis.
'Right... she was the one always tagging along with Nora Pelkan.'
Only then did I recall where I'd seen the girl's vaguely familiar face.
"Nora caught a cold and couldn't make it today. She sent her friend in her place, so let's all have fun together. Go on, say hi."
"...I'm Evelyn Torsso. Nice to meet you. Happy birthday."
Evelyn Torsso, daughter of the Torsso Baron family.
Friend or not, she was the girl Nora Pelkan kept at her side and treated like a servant.
She'd run errands for her and get smacked if she stepped out of line...
'She knew she wasn't treated like a friend but stuck around anyway, throwing away her pride for whatever scraps she could get.'
It must have been inconvenient for them to keep toying with me after I turned into a mad dog. So they'd brought along a replacement they could push around without worry.
I trembled inwardly at the twins' malice but answered evenly.
"Yeah, thanks. Have fun and make yourself at home."
* * *
Servants bustled about, carrying dishes to the lavish table in the villa's front yard, where warm fires blazed everywhere.
"Lubon's air is nice. Must be living the good life, getting punished for your stupidity and still lounging around eating well."
Lillia grumbled as she gazed out from the best guest room on the second floor.
"Living the good life? The kid's down to half her size. Think she caught something?"
Riki stuck out his tongue, recalling the Rubette he'd just seen after so long.
The once-unrecognizably plump Rubette was now too slim to even tease about being a pig.
"Yeah, seriously. Is that even the same girl I knew? Maybe the isolation penalty messed her up bad."
Dominic Alon, the Alon Marquis Heir—heir apparent to the Alon Marquis house and chief cheerleader for the twins' gang alongside Nora Pelkan—lounged arrogantly on the sofa, equally surprised.
"More like she did it on purpose."
Cedric Raizer Sub-Duke, the Raizer Vice Duke, sat between Riki and Dominic, shaking his head.
"She wants to look pretty for me, after all."
"Even if she starves herself, it's not gonna make her pretty. Drawing lines on a pumpkin doesn't turn it into a watermelon."
Cedric smiled tenderly at Lillia, who shot back sharply with evident discomfort.
"Of course. No matter how hard she tries, she can't hold a candle to you. Why's our Diorus swan looking so sour?"
"Hmph."
Lillia snorted, her expression pinched, as she sat beside him. Cedric chuckled and stroked her hair.
"Hey! Don't mess it up—do it right!"
Lillia snapped sharply at someone.
It was Evelyn, standing in the corner with her head bowed like a serving maid. She nodded silently.
"It's the third wardrobe in the dressing room on the right on basement level one. Don't forget."
"Okay..."
The twins were intimately familiar with the villa's layout from their many visits to Lubon.
That wardrobe in the third room on the right in the basement held special meaning for them. It was where they always locked Rubette away during their visits.
How scared she must have been—every time, she'd bawl her eyes out, snot and tears streaming, begging to be let out...
"Hee hee hee!"
Just thinking about it sent a thrill through them.
Lillia giggled, her mood lifting instantly, and the little demons followed suit with wicked grins.
* * *
"Happy birthday to you~"
"Happy birthday, dear~ Ru-bette~"
"Wooo!"
Clap clap clap clap!
Surrounded by about thirty kids in party hats, singing happy birthday...
My cheeks cramped from forcing a smile.
[You look like you're having fun.]
[Haha... really? Who nailed a spike in your eye? You think this looks fun?]
[Heh heh...]
I shot back at Wishit, who was watching from afar like it was someone else's problem, then blew out the candles on the three-tiered cake Viego had specially ordered.
"Woooow!"
"Happy birthday, Duchess!"
"Thanks for coming, everyone!"
The one silver lining in this boring birthday party was that most of the kids Viego invited were nobles who knew nothing of my situation.
So the twins and their gang couldn't outright torment me in front of these loose-lipped children.
"Wanna play hide and seek?"
But no sooner had I relaxed than Riki suggested it.
"Hide and seek?"
"Sounds fun!"
The girls who'd been blushing and stealing glances at slick-faced Riki nodded eagerly.
"We can't go outside, but the villa's huge anyway! If you hide well, it'll be really hard to find you!"
Riki beamed, pointing to the villa behind him.
With two basement levels, three above ground, and an attic, the Lubon villa was every bit as massive as he said.
'Ah, trauma activating again.'
Lubon was so close to the capital that the twins dragged me here often.
Molga was the guardian, and the twins' gang was always with us. I was the only one alone.
Need I say more about what happened in this Lubon villa?
[This is so childish, seriously...]
[Tell them no.]
Wishit tried to stop me, but I snorted.
[Don't worry. You think I'm dumb enough to fall for this obvious trick?]
I sat there bored as the thirty-odd kids had already rushed inside to hide.
Lillia, Cedric, and Dominic—the thug crew left at the table—stood with sly smirks.
"I'll be it!"
Riki said, heading toward a tree in the front yard.
"Riki."
He turned at my voice. I flashed him a sweet smile.
"Make sure you look real hard, okay?"
"Huh?"
"Don't pretend you can't find me even though you know exactly where I am and waste half a day messing around."
"H-ha... When did I ever do that? I'll find you first."
"Sure, whatever."
I tossed aside the stupid party hat and stood.
As I headed for the villa...
"Um, Rubette..."
Evelyn, who'd been hovering awkwardly in the corner, approached and spoke to me.
"Yeah?"
"...Wanna hide together?"
"..."
I twirled a lock of hair, glancing between Evelyn and Riki leaning against a distant tree.
'These little brats think they're so clever.'
I shrugged and smiled at Evelyn.
"Sure."
Not like I didn't have questions for her anyway.
* * *
My last memory of Evelyn Torsso was at age fifteen.
She hadn't come to my original sixteenth birthday party. In fact, she probably wasn't even in the country by then.
'She used to trail after Nora Pelkan like a shadow, then vanished for about six months. Later I heard her whole family had fled abroad?'
No clue why they left the empire so suddenly. Time to find out.
"Evelyn."
"Y-yeah?"
I grabbed her as she headed confidently down to the basement like she'd been here many times.
"Has your family been preparing to move abroad or something?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
She looked utterly clueless.
'No pre-planned exile, then. They must've fled the empire in a hurry for some reason... What was it?'
As I pondered, Evelyn urgently tugged my arm.
Basement level one, third room on the right.
A place all too familiar to me.
"Sigh."
I followed her into the room without resistance. A large wardrobe stood inside.
I crossed my arms and asked bluntly.
"Kid, why are you playing maid for Nora Pelkan? Why not just cut ties with her?"
Evelyn froze at my direct question, her eyes going wide.
"Wh-what?"
"Why live like that, all pathetic? Think you'll get scraps hanging around with popular kids from good families? I just feel sorry for girls like you."
Seeing her eyes waver annoyed me further.
"You're trying to lock me in that wardrobe on their orders, right? Do you even know who I am? No guilt at all?"
"..."
"This is a crime. Ever think how your parents would feel knowing you're groveling to please some nasty bitch like that?"
"Wh-what do you know!"
Evelyn suddenly glared at me, teeth gritted. Her eyes reddened fast.
"You think I like this? You think I want to? If I don't obey her, my whole family starves."
"What?"
Evelyn wiped her tears with her sleeve and added bitterly.
"You rich young ladies wouldn't get it. You think all nobles are the same?"
"What does that mean? Why would your family starve if you don't obey Nora Pelkan?"
I asked, but Evelyn clamped her mouth shut. She looked panicked.
I'd yelled in frustration, and now she regretted it, sniffling as she apologized.
"S-sorry..."
"Forget the apology. Just tell me what's going on."
"P-please, I'm really sorry. I-I'm begging you."
Terrified, Evelyn shakily pointed to the wardrobe with trembling hands.
"P-please get in the w-wardrobe..."
"Ha."