Grace (3)
"Good grief, what a bloodbath…"
Seeing this, Kallen could understand why Judith—proud, haughty Judith—had begged and clung to Professor Jiya the moment she heard the words "parent-teacher conference."
Dorian, who had been venting his anger one-sidedly and was about to storm off, seemed to remember something and turned back around.
"You've been taking your medicine, haven't you?"
"…Yes."
Judith gave the faintest nod, her head still bowed.
"You must never forget to take it on schedule."
Dorian added the warning in a stern voice, as if her answer were of no concern to him whatsoever.
Once the sound of his departing footsteps faded, Kallen poked his head back out and peered down at the stairwell landing. It looked as though a violent storm had just swept through.
Judith, left all alone, was huddled miserably on the floor with her head buried between her knees, trembling.
"…Hhic."
He could even hear the faint sound of her sniffing back tears.
Seen like this, even that sharp-tongued little wildcat looked a touch pitiable.
Judith spent a long while holding back sobs before she finally managed to collect herself and rise to her feet. On her reemerging face, the sorrow from moments before lingered only as the faintest trace.
The speed with which she composed her usual air of nobility was almost impressive enough to draw admiration.
And then Judith, swaying slightly, began walking toward the very stairs where Kallen was hiding—
Only then did Kallen remember where he was: a dead-end landing on the top floor.
Wait—!
He spun around in a panic, but the rear door leading to the rooftop was locked fast with chains and a padlock. And the moment Judith rounded the corner, her eyes met Kallen's dead-on as he stood there frozen mid-step.
"Uh…?"
"…"
A strange silence hung between the two as they exchanged glances. Slowly, the color drained and then flooded back into Judith's face, turning it apple-red despite her efforts to compose herself.
"Ah—agh…"
"…"
Kallen, leaning against the railing and sneaking a glance downward, let out a stifled sigh. For some reason, Judith showed no intention of leaving. She had claimed the stairs directly below and remained crouched right there.
She had planted herself squarely in front of the only exit, and Kallen was at a complete loss.
"…You're even more of a lowlife than I thought."
Judith fired off the words without so much as a glance at him, her voice still thick with tears.
"Eavesdropping on the private conversation of a noble house? If that had happened in my domain, I'd have had a hand cut off at the very least."
"Sorry to break it to you, but I wasn't eavesdropping—you served it up to me."
Kallen corrected her immediately.
"I've been up here resting for two hours now. If anything, I'm the one whose break got ruined."
"…"
Judith bit down hard on her lip, looking thoroughly aggrieved, then buried her face wordlessly back into her knees.
Kallen glanced sideways at her and spoke up, feeling awkward.
"…Why don't you just tell them no? Even that insufferable woman would probably take your side this time."
Even at Kallen's suggestion to seek Professor Jiya's help, Judith only shook her head in quiet despair.
"My brother's word might as well be the head of house's command. Father hasn't been able to tend to his duties in years, on account of his age…"
Judging from her words, Judith was evidently the youngest daughter Duke Vitelles had come by late in life.
Kallen could roughly piece together why she acted out so shamelessly.
So she's the baby of the family—raised on nothing but affection.
An awkward stillness hung between them all the while. Unable to endure the prickling, wordless pressure any longer, Kallen sighed and asked another question.
"You don't get along with your brother, I take it?"
"He was terribly kind to me when we were little… but at some point, he turned so strict."
Judith replied in an even more despondent voice. The usual proud front was nowhere to be found as she poured out her family's private history to Kallen, unprompted.
Recalling the earlier scene, Kallen frowned and tilted his head.
'Strict' doesn't quite match the vibe I got, though.
No matter how grave a mistake she'd made, selling off your own sister like livestock to a house several rungs down the ladder simply didn't happen. And the Vitelles family hardly seemed pressed for money…
As he mulled it over alone, Kallen stole a glance at Judith and asked.
"Don't tell me you're a half-sibling? An illegitimate child?"
"You have a real gift for insulting a Duke's rightful daughter. Father has been devoted to my mother, heart and soul, his entire life."
"Or are you competing with Lord Dorian for the succession?"
"I couldn't care less about that. The next head of house is as good as decided—it's my brother—so why on earth would I bother?"
Judith shot Kallen a withering glare, as if to say don't spout nonsense.
Unable to arrive at any explanation, Kallen remained utterly baffled.
"Oh, that reminds me…"
Then, remembering something else entirely, Kallen threw out another question.
"What was that whole thing about medicine earlier?"
"…Just herbs that help restore vitality. I've always been rather frail…"
At her still-damp, listless voice, Kallen's gaze swept over Judith almost automatically, appraising her.
"Hmm… you don't exactly look sickly to me…"
When he lingered his stare a touch too long on one particular region, Judith crossed her arms over her chest and snapped.
"How dare you toy with a member of House Vitelles—"
"Not toying. Just an honest observation."
"Ngh…"
Faced with Kallen's unflappable shrug, Judith found herself at a loss for words.
She couldn't for the life of her understand why she was spilling her most private circumstances to such an incorrigible ruffian. Worse still, Kallen was the very man responsible for putting her in this situation in the first place—hardly a point in his favor.
But with things having come this far, it was all water under the bridge. He'd caught sight of everything anyway.
Better to unburden herself a little than sit there in suffocating silence.
With a what-the-hell-it's-over-anyway feeling, Judith spoke as if muttering to herself.
"…When I was little, I caught the Early Winter Plague and barely survived it. Because of that, I've had lingering ailments ever since…"
"You caught the Early Winter Plague—and survived?"
At that, Kallen, who had been only half-listening all along, snapped his eyes wide open.
Among all the calamities spread by Plague-spreading Zgahi—the demonic sword that had devoured the continent's eastern territories—the Early Winter Plague had been singularly vicious. The Emperor himself had fallen to a curse it carried, and for over a decade now had yet to regain consciousness. Nothing more needed be said.
If she had truly contracted it and still lived, she was, without question, remarkably fortunate.
"My brother only got angry for a moment… he doesn't truly hate me. He even personally prepares my medicine every time, after all…"
Only a vain, futile hope could be heard in Judith's murmuring voice.
"…"
Something about it struck Kallen as faintly unsettling, but he shook his head once more. It was another family's affair, plain and simple. There was nothing more he could do here.
Hearing her out this far already more than fulfilled his duty as a decent human being.
Seeing Judith having recovered some of her composure, Kallen rose from his spot with a grunt.
"Well… good luck with all that."
Then, carefully sidestepping Judith, who was still planted in front of the stairs, he added what he hoped passed for encouragement.
"Um… congrats on the wedding, I guess?"
"…Ngh."
And Judith's face crumpled into a fresh picture of misery.
Kallen winced, realizing he'd kicked a hornet's nest for no reason, and started babbling.
"I mean… Count Hatz? He might be nicer than he sounds, so don't get too down about it."
"…"
"Th-there could be a certain charm to an older man, you never know…"
"Hhic… hhh…"
His pointless attempt at comfort was promptly swallowed whole by the sorrowful wailing that burst out of her all over again. Kallen heaved a sigh in his heart.
Haaah. It's about time I accepted that I have zero talent for consoling people.
It was beyond his hands now.
And so, warily eyeing Judith's heaving shoulders, Kallen was quietly trying to slip away when—
"*Sniff*… I—I wanted to… marry someone… I actually l-loved… *hic*…"
Kallen squeezed his eyes shut, and a curse escaped him involuntarily.
"…Damn it."
An upscale salon in Caliburn. Thanks to having rented the entire place for the day, the interior was blessedly quiet.
Count Hatz sat there alone, shoulders shaking with quiet chuckles.
What unimaginable fortune is this…!
Count Hatz had never once dreamed that he would be granted a bride in the very flower of her youth—and not just any girl, but the daughter of the great House of Vitelles, no less.
He had certainly greased Dorian's palm in advance, but he'd never imagined the man would hand back such an enormous gift-wrapped bundle. This sat somewhat at odds with the common sense of noble houses. Not that Count Hatz had any way of knowing that.
All he had to do was sit back and savor the pumpkin that had rolled right into his vine, vine and all.
"I hear she's got quite the fiery spirit. Best to have her properly leashed from the wedding night—she won't even dream of defying her husband…"
Just as the Count was murmuring to himself, lost in his fever dream, a bell chimed pleasantly at the door.
The woman who stepped inside had glossy crimson hair, meticulously arranged, and wore a dress of immaculate elegance. The sight of her left Count Hatz gaping without meaning to.
The reputation of the Vitelles daughter had long since reached his ears—but he had never imagined she would be such a fresh, radiant young woman. Even the faint shadow that settled across her face only served to enhance her natural beauty.
Watching Judith take the seat across from him, Count Hatz broke into a foolish grin and flung his arms wide.
"Ooh, my fiancée! I have waited with such feverish longing for thy arrival!"
At the wretched man's improbable performance, Judith suppressed the wave of revulsion rising in her throat. She dipped her head gracefully and offered a formality of a greeting.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Count Hatz. I am Judith of Vitelles."
"Ho ho ho! No need for such ceremony between us! We are soon to be bound in matrimony, after all—"
"No, we are not."
"…Eh?"
At Judith's resolute follow-up, the Count let out a dim-witted sound.
Judith continued, her voice dripping cold with every word.
"I cannot accept your proposal, Count. That is what I came here to tell you today."
"Wha… what in the…? But I have already settled everything with Lord Dorian—"
"…I already have a beloved, with whom I have shared my heart."
Watching the Count flounder in disbelief, Judith heaved a great sigh and spoke.
"And so, marriage with you is impossible."
"Y-young lady of Vitelles! Do you hear the nonsense that…!"
Struck by a bolt from the blue, Count Hatz shot up from his seat, on the verge of bellowing his rage—
"Ah, there you are."
A lazy, drawling voice suddenly cut into their exchange. Approaching them out of nowhere was a man with a distinctly unsavory look about him.
A swaggering gait, shabby clothing, hair and beard that hadn't seen a proper trim in who knew how long. Everything about his appearance screamed gutter trash fresh from the slums.
The man, having appeared, stood over the Count and looked him up and down with open contempt. Then, a snicker tugging at his lips, he addressed Judith.
"This the old man?"
"Wh-what insolence—!"
Fury boiled up across the Count's wrinkled face. Meanwhile, the newcomer had already slid into the seat right beside Judith and was pulling her shoulder into his embrace.
What galled the Count even further was that the Vitelles daughter did not rebuff the man's flagrant familiarity—she merely lowered her head in embarrassment.
"Ngh…"
The man's body heat was no less awkward for Judith herself. At the rough, possessive hand pulling her in, heat flushed up her face as well.
With a deep breath, Judith calmed her hammering heart as best she could and steeled her resolve, eyes wide open. She wasn't sure this was the right thing to do—but at this point, she truly had no other options left.
"How dare you, in the presence of—!!"
"Ahem."
Judith cut the Count off with a deliberate cough and was just beginning to speak with composure.
"Allow me to introduce him, Count. This is my beloved—hhyeun?!"
Her view suddenly lifted into the air, and she let out a shriek. The shameless man had scooped Judith clean off her seat and set her sideways atop his lap, settled neatly across his knees.
"Apologies for the late introduction."
And then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he began slowly stroking her thigh and opened his mouth.
"Judith's beloved. The name's Kallen."