Chapter 63
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63
It was because Lisian was walking down the stairs from the high seat.
Dressed in a perfectly tailored, elegant dress uniform, he possessed the kind of stunning beauty that would make anyone believe he was the male lead of a major game.
Plus, there was that strangely ethereal silver hair.
Lisian, who had reached me before I knew it, asked the chief physician, "C-can I move her... u-up there?"
"Without the wheelchair, you mean?"
"Yes."
"As long as you ensure her instep doesn't touch anything, it should be fine."
"Tulia."
Lisian looked at me and gave a warm smile.
This was why I couldn't help but like him.
There was always a lingering warmth in Lisian’s smiles.
Contrary to his sun-like, gentle impression, Lisian picked me up with great ease.
No one spoke a word as he strode up the stairs.
Oh. This makes me feel like Cinderella in its own way.
A handsome silver-haired young man as my mode of transport.
Lisian carefully set me down in the high seat where he had been sitting.
Then, he took off the ring he had been wearing all along and pressed it into my hand.
"It’s the ring of the 'Marquis' of Frezier."
"To be precise, it’s the Succession Ring."
Gauging the heavy weight of the ring in my palm, I looked down at Tedric—both physically and metaphorically.
Whether it was because of the clear difference in our eye levels or simply because he hated me so much, Tedric’s eyes were filled with a rage laced with an inferiority complex.
Good grief.
Fine, glare at me all day if you want. Your eyes are the only things that'll hurt.
I’m planning to finish you off for good this time.
"Uncle. You said Tedric made a mistake because of a faulty magic tool, right?"
Lilius answered quickly.
"That’s right, Tulia. The magic tool was the problem. We will be lodging a formal protest with the Mage Tower in the name of Frezier!"
"There’s no need for that."
At my words, a visible wave of anxiety rippled across Lilius’s face.
"…Tulia. What do you mean, there’s no need?"
"Uncle. Speaking from the perspective of the one who was attacked that day…"
I continued, staring straight at Tedric.
"Tedric Frezier intended to kill me and Brother Leon."
In an instant, the Grand Council Chamber was thrown into an absolute uproar.
* * *
"Honey."
Aubrey spoke, her voice laced with anxiety. The handkerchief embroidered with beautiful patterns had already been crumpled hundreds of times in her hands.
"Should we put our Tedric in a wheelchair too? Should we take him out to the forest like that?"
"No. That would only make him look more ridiculous."
He should have brought him out while making a huge fuss, just as Tulia had done from the start.
He had even instructed the chief physician to wrap Tedric in bandages to make him look 'much more pained.'
But Tulia had gone further.
She looked like a critically ill patient who had barely managed to crawl out to the Grand Council Chamber.
How has she hidden that devious brain of hers until now?
Lilius was now at the point where he found Tulia’s very existence baffling.
At first, he thought everything was being directed by Marquis Aster Frezier.
He assumed Aster was giving her instructions on how to act in the main castle in exchange for precious gifts or incredibly expensive sacred relics that Lilius or Aubrey couldn't even dream of.
But after the events of yesterday and today, Lilius was starting to have serious doubts about that theory.
Tedric shooting Tulia was clearly an accidental mishap, yet she was reacting with such terrifying precision.
There was no way for Tulia, Lisian, or Leon to have contacted Marquis Aster Frezier in such a short amount of time.
The distance between the border and here is immense!
"Honey, what on earth is that girl up to?"
Even amidst his thoughts, Aubrey continued to ask in a voice thick with unease.
"Why did she suggest we all come out here?"
Anxious and afraid.
He felt the same way.
They—and indeed, all the vassals who had been in the Grand Council Chamber—were currently out in the forest where the hunting competition had been held, following Tulia’s lead.
* * *
"Then, I will stand here."
Just like the day the hunting competition was held, the day Leon Frezier and I became targets for arrows.
The air was pleasant, and the sky was clear.
There was hardly any wind, making it quite perfect weather.
I stepped out of the wheelchair, pulling the cloak I had brought along a little tighter.
It really is a bit hard to stay standing.
The moment I stood up from the wheelchair, my instep throbbed, causing me to stagger slightly, but fortunately, I didn't fall.
"Now, Uncle Lilius."
I looked at Lilius, who was standing in the exact spot where Tedric had stood a few days ago.
"Try shooting me again with that magic tool."
"…?!"
As all the nobles and mages who had attended the council meeting gathered, a crowd of about 800 people surrounded the area.
Everyone, wrapped tightly in cloaks and coats, wore grave expressions, unable to grasp the intent behind my words.
Only a few exceptionally clever individuals, and perhaps Lilius standing in front of me, seemed to have read my intention.
Lilius Frezier spoke slowly.
"Tulia. So, what you’re saying is…"
"You said the problem was a serious defect in the magic tool, right? Not that Tedric had malicious intent?"
"Yes, our son would never try to harm you!"
Aubrey cried out in a tearful shriek.
I glanced at her and then looked back at Lilius.
"So she says."
"…."
"So, to prove Tedric’s innocence and soothe my aunt’s grievances, you should do it yourself, Uncle."
"…."
"Just try shooting that magic tool at me."
"B-but how could I do such a thing to my own niece…"
I felt like making flyers about how he embezzled my money and distributing them throughout the entire territory.
Looking at Lilius’s suffocating hypocrisy made such mischievous thoughts spring to mind.
Regardless, for now.
"Don't the vassals know better than I do that you’ve been a master marksman since you were young?"
It was actually true.
Tedric hadn't been bragging about his archery skills for nothing.
His father, Lilius Frezier, had also been exceptionally skilled with a bow since childhood.
Whether it was hereditary or not, Tedric’s archery skills were indeed outstanding.
"So, it would be most accurate if you were the one to shoot. Isn't that right, Uncle Nigella?"
Standing to the side with his arms crossed, Grand Count Nigella Frezier furrowed his brow slightly.
"Hmm… Come to think of it, she’s not entirely wrong."
"B-brother!"
"You were always good with a bow. Good enough that our father praised you specifically for that."
"But…"
"She is right, Viscount. You caught the most deer in this hunting competition as well."
Lilius’s vassals and loyal followers hurried to speak up in agreement.
Well, it would be troublesome for them too if Lilius sinks like this.
If they couldn't prove the issue was with the magic tool and Tedric was convicted of attempted murder, it was as good as Lilius’s ship sinking.
Furthermore, Lilius’s head must be spinning right now.
Even so, we can't exactly throw Tedric into the underground prison.
However, Lisian would demand astronomical compensation.
And Lilius, who had failed to secure the business rights for the Statis Plains horse ranch, was surely not in a good financial position right now.
In other words.
There had only ever been one choice from the beginning.
After a moment of deliberation, Lilius finally nodded.
"Then, to prove Tedric’s innocence, I will—unavoidably, truly unavoidably—aim the magic tool at our precious Tulia."
* * *
Is there really a girl this stupid?
Lilius laughed inwardly.
Being cunning is different from being smart.
Tulia Frezier was a prime example of that.
All Lilius had to do now was shoot Tulia Frezier.
By doing so, he could blame it on the magic tool’s defect, and if he was lucky, that girl would die along with the evidence.
If I kill her outright, the Marquis of Frezier might come up here.
That would be troublesome, of course.
But he was confident enough to at least make her a cripple.
As Tulia said, Lilius’s archery skills were second to none.
Though even those skills fell slightly short of Marquis Aster Frezier.
That damn eldest brother of his.
It was always like that.
Marquis Aster Frezier was outstanding in almost every way and had a cold personality to boot.
As the youngest, Lilius had no choice but to build an image that was the opposite of his brother's.
Affable, benevolent, and merciful to all.
Lilius, an ambitious man, had sworn that he would one day take the position of Grand Duke.
Both Grand Count Nigella Frezier, with whom he was currently allied, and Marquis Aster Frezier, who had gone to the border and cut off all contact.
In the end, they would both lose everything to the youngest brother they had ignored.
Tulia Frezier.
Resent the fact that you were born as your father’s daughter!
He wanted to laugh, but he couldn't.
He merely acted out a grave and serious expression.
Just as Lilius, careful to maintain his facade, lifted the magic tool.
"Ah, wait a moment."
Tulia suddenly raised her hand.