Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Endure "In" Three Times and You're a Sucker
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My toddling feet, which had been stepping along so diligently, came to an abrupt halt. The maids looked at me curiously and quietly spoke up.
“What’s wrong, Lady Sien?”
I had clearly stopped in my tracks, and they were fidgeting anxiously. Yet the voices whispering in my ears didn’t stop. If anything, those kids opened their mouths even wider, as if they wanted me to hear every word.
“She’s going to get kicked out soon anyway. Then her head will roll right off, won’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Good riddance!”
“Our family has no use for weaklings like her who are rotten to the core!”
I clenched my lips tight.
‘Why are they so hostile? Did Dad and I… not just get exiled? What does “blood of the wicked woman” even mean?’
Questions swirled in my head.
I couldn’t tell if their words were truth or just rumors, but one thing was crystal clear in that moment.
Those brats had just insulted me and Dad.
‘Should I endure this insult for Dad’s sake?’
I pondered it briefly, then shook my head firmly inside.
‘No way. If I stay quiet, my precious Dad will hear even more crap like this. I need to show them I’m the craziest one around here so they won’t dare make a peep!’
Those kids were surely the type who bullied the weak and cowered before the strong.
If I let this pathetic insult slide, worse ones would follow. Even a ten-year-old like me would dare to trash-talk my Dad.
‘Dad cries buckets just seeing me hurt my hand picking fruit. If he heard trash like this, he’d sob his heart out for sure.’
That thought made my fists clench.
‘I need to shut their mouths without getting Dad in trouble.’
I might not be able to stop the bad grown-ups’ words right now, but I could definitely seal these kids’ lips.
I turned my head toward them. Their eyes, brimming with malice and sneers, locked onto me.
“That was aimed at me?”
“Yeah.”
I hadn’t expected them to admit it so readily. They were surprisingly straightforward. Probably because Dad had a reputation for being too kind. And our home in the Northern Spire played a part too.
‘They’ve already made me their enemy. If I hold back, I’ll just look like easy prey.’
I couldn’t cause a huge uproar in the family estate.
‘Alright, I’ve got a sneaky, perfect plan!’
Of course, I had no intention of clumsily bursting into tears or hurling curses.
I blinked up at them.
“Say it again. What you said before. What’s this about the wicked woman’s blood?”
I directed my question at the short-haired kid who seemed like the ringleader. Like a ball bouncing up, she shot back her answer instantly, as if she’d rehearsed it.
“Just what I said. You’re the wicked woman’s blood! Get that cursed eye out of here! You Northern Spire witch!”
I crossed my arms and glared at them.
I didn’t exactly know what “wicked woman’s blood” meant.
But fine. Time for some leading questions.
Northern Spire witch?
Wicked woman’s blood?
There was definitely something off about their words.
I tilted my head and said to them,
“Oh, I get it now. You guys are really bad, huh?”
“What’s so bad about us?”
“It’s bad, but hearing it from you just makes me feel gross.”
They puffed up at the word “bad.”
‘That’s not how you should react, though…?’
I smirked and decided to twist the conversation.
“Phew. So Grandma told me and Hammoni to go live in the Northern Spire?”
“Yeah, you got chased out!”
“We didn’t get chased out. So you’re saying our Hammoni is that kind of person? The type to just kick out her own granddaughter like that?”
At the word “Grandma,” the kids’ eyes darted around.
No matter how I thought about it, even they must fear “Duchess Lukella.” She might lack real power now, but she’d once ruled the central tower.
Mentioning Grandma made them deflate like punctured balloons. But I wasn’t stopping there.
“And you called me the wicked woman’s blood?”
“Y-yeah. Wicked woman’s blood!”
“If you’re badmouthing our Hammoni like that, doesn’t that mean you’re calling our Hammoni the wicked woman?”
“W-what are you talking about!”
I glanced around.
The Duchess still held some sway in the estate. With no family heir yet, she managed parts of the mansion’s internals.
Especially among the maids.
That must be why. The maids who’d ignored my humiliation were now all watching eagerly.
To exaggerate a bit, every servant and maid in the garden was witnessing this.
I deliberately shouted at the top of my lungs.
“I think our Hammoni is the best in the world! You guys are the worst!”
Flattery was essential seasoning for survival.
I stared pointedly at the ringleader kid. Her fuming face was quite the sight.
“We’re not talking about the Duchess or anything!”
Their faces turned beet red.
Getting flustered meant you’d already lost.
“So? Who are you talking about then?”
It might sound like a question, but I wasn’t expecting an answer.
I wailed in the most pitiful child’s voice I could muster.
“I heard everything! Poor Hammoni. She’s such a good person. No one should badmouth her! Don’t call Hammoni a wicked woman! Don’t call me wicked woman’s blood! You idiots!”
If there’d been an adult nearby to grab them, they might’ve pointed out the flaws in my words.
But after I’d brought up the “Duchess,” no adult here could intervene.
I drove in the final nail.
“Hey, Onni. Didn’t you say Hammoni handles my schedule during lessons?”
I narrowed my eyes triangularly and looked at the maid beside me.
“Yes?”
“Hm?”
“Oh, yes.”
The maid tilted her head, not grasping my point.
“Then we have to report this too, right?”
“Ah! Yes, of course.”
“No, don’t say anything.”
I shouted it extra loud on purpose.
Loud enough for everyone in the garden to hear.
“Huh? Why not?”
“I’m worried our Hammoni will get hurt.”
The maids exchanged meaningful glances.
I pressed my index finger to my lips and shushed them.
“Our little secret, okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
I didn’t know if the Northern Spire maids would report to the Duchess or not. They were already slaves to the palm fruit I’d given them.
But the garden maids were different.
As the Duchess’s eyes and ears, they’d surely report this in detail.
Believing they’d get off scot-free now that I’d spoken, the kids lifted their chins defiantly and yelled.
“Hmph! So you know to be scared? Northern Spire slave!”
“Yeah, if I’m a Northern Spire slave, you’re brainless idiots who can’t see an inch ahead!”
I beamed brightly at the little kid and poked the maid again.
The startled maid cautiously looked down at my head.
“But why did they say all that?”
“Huh?”
I grinned and threw a parent diss.
“It’s ’cause their parents raised them wrong.”
But it was true, and they struck first!
‘May you get dragged to the Duchess for flapping your mouths!’
The kids would be fine. Their parents would face Duchess Lukella’s wrath instead. The dice were rolled, so I’d just watch the fun and enjoy the snacks.
“I can’t wait to see how you turn out. You bad kids. But this is all a secret, got it?”
I glanced at the surrounding maids and servants.
If you want news to spread far and wide, declare it a “secret.”
The moment it’s a secret, it sprouts wings and flies.
I was certain.
This whole thing would be reported to the Duchess within five minutes.
A conspicuous blue-haired servant had already darted off toward the west garden.
I giggled inwardly and headed into the mansion.
People who spew trash talk deserve exactly that much punishment.
I never tolerate it.
There’s an old saying: Endure “in” three times and you’re a sucker!
‘But seriously, what does “wicked woman’s blood” mean?’
I felt the need to look into this properly.
***
At that moment, a gaze watched Sien from afar.
That gaze quietly followed her departing footsteps before vanishing elsewhere.
The gaze faded, but the person remained.
The owner of that subtle gaze was Leonhardt Mirmod, the boy who would soon join Sien for heir lessons a few minutes later.
A few dozen minutes had passed since he’d seen her in the garden.
The masked boy, Leonhardt, finally entered the heir education room.
In his view: a large room, two desks in the center, and one tiny bean like a nightshade berry.
To have lessons alone with such a little kid.
Some might find it insulting to their pride.
Especially since he was already acknowledged for his genius abilities, he could’ve thrown a tantrum, accusing them of looking down on him as an adopted son.
But Leonhardt was different. Age meant nothing to him. And having witnessed Sien’s performance earlier, he was even a bit excited.
Even if he appeared stoic and expressionless to others.
‘Thought it’d be boring, but maybe it won’t be so bad.’
That was his impression.
Leonhardt was the quiet type by nature.
Truth be told, it was more accurate to say he had no desire to converse with anyone.
No one paid him much mind anyway, and he returned the favor.
But Sien was different.
Even he, who ignored rumors, knew the tales of Sien and her father, Archduke Matthias.
‘So that little bean is the famous…’
As he approached the desk, he closely observed her baby-field-of-millet hair and the chubby cheeks visible from behind.
‘…the one they say will die by Archduke Matthias’s hand?’
Meeting someone younger after so long felt novel.
She was bold, like she was living a second life.
And probably Archduke Matthias’s daughter.
Of course, Archduke Matthias was dangerously ruthless. Even his own daughter would be discarded if deemed worthless.
What had it been like when Matthias was in heir training? Those who opposed him, those who betrayed him—they were torn apart.
Such things were commonplace in the family. But Matthias went further with his cruelty, mercilessly slaughtering even his seemingly weak allies.
And now, this little girl, Sien, who’d survived somehow until now.
She seemed clever with her wits, but looked weak as could be.
‘Too bad if she dies young.’
But it was time to end the musing. Leonhardt, still stiff-faced, took the seat beside the little one.
‘Let’s test her out.’
He planned to poke at her like pressing a sore spot. Propping his chin, he glanced at Sien and tossed out a casual line.
Start with something he already knew.
“Hey, bean. What’s your name?”
The bean child primly opened her mouth toward him.
“I’m not a bean, I’m Sien.”
As the little one spoke boldly, her twin pigtails—probably clumsily tied by those weird maids—swayed and shook.
“Sien. Sien Mirmod?”
“Yup.”
Sien turned her head away again. She’d lost interest in him already.
Apparently, nothing about Leonhardt piqued her curiosity.
Amused by that, Leonhardt chuckled softly.
‘A kid who doesn’t wonder about my mask. Well, she is Matthias’s daughter.’
He’d expected as much from the daughter of that Matthias.
She’d probably never been allowed to wonder about anything in her life.
‘Matthias must’ve abused her for sure.’
That Archduke Matthias was more than capable of it.
Upon entering the Mirmod family registry, Leonhardt had stolen a few family secrets. Among them was why “Archduke Matthias” had been exiled.
He was always described as ruthless and vile. It was only natural. A ruthless and vile man wouldn’t raise his daughter properly.
Leonhardt quietly spoke.
“You’re that Matthias’s daughter.”
This tiny tot, daughter of that brutal, terrifying demon, Matthias Mirmod.
He’d expected a monster, but she was a little bird-like thing, lovel… not quite.
Leonhardt put in a bit of effort to maintain his stoic face as he looked at Sien.
“Yup.”
Sien yawned again. She clearly didn’t want to talk more.
But Leonhardt was different. He was curious about her life. Had she hidden in shadows like him? Tormented by Matthias…?
“…Yeah. There’s never been anyone like Archduke Matthias in family history.”
Sien stared at him intently as the topic turned to Matthias. Her eyes finally sparkled—must be a subject she cared about.
It was natural for her to react that way. Even Leonhardt’s eyes flashed when recalling his abusers.
‘Right, you must know all about your father’s cruelty and heartlessness well, Sien Mirmod.’
Many committed evil casually like Matthias. But none had his overwhelming power, elegant beauty, or sheer brutality.
None who vanished like the dead only to return.
None with such an overpowering presence just by existing.
Leonhardt was curious about Matthias—and what Sien would say.
“Yup. Of course there hasn’t.”
Watching Sien nod, Leonhardt observed her face calmly. A subtle flush rose on her soft rice-cake cheeks.
Emotionally inept, Leonhardt knew only one reason for a reddened face.
Fear.
‘Suspected as much, but confirmed. Sien fears Archduke Matthias. Even to his own kin, he shows no mercy.’
He’d assumed Matthias tormented her. But seeing the little one’s face so red and teary stirred an odd irritation in him.
No matter what, how could anyone torment such a rice-cake bean?
Thinking that despite being a kid himself, Leonhardt calmly continued.
“Then you know you could die anytime.”
Archduke Matthias might kill Sien at any moment. Given his nature, it was just a matter of time.
Did Sien know that obvious fact?
Surprisingly, she nodded.
But her face wasn’t despairing.
“Yeah. But I won’t give in. I’ll live.”
Leonhardt froze briefly, reading an astonishing will to survive in the little one’s face.
Defying even that Matthias with such spirit and grit.
Was that how this kid made it to the ducal house without dying by his hand?
Finding the bean intriguing in many ways, Leonhardt tossed out another line.
“Yeah. Live.”
Sien nodded repeatedly.
Leonhardt nodded back once more, looking down at the tiny bean.
This bean was pretty cool.
The sunlit bean—Sien squeezed her eyes shut and let out a light sneeze.
“Achoo.”
What’s this.
She’s even cute.
Sien peeked his way and whispered.
“Phew, stop staring already.”
Leonhardt tilted his head.
“Why?”
“Feels like the teacher’s coming.”
Sure enough, quick footsteps approached from outside.
He smirked and looked down at the bean-sized kid.
For some reason, he kept wanting to see that soft face. Maybe because those cheeks reminded him of the slime he’d played with years ago.