The Little Whimper
A sob echoed through the space, startlingly loud.
Idel, who had unconsciously been rubbing her lips in response to the familiar sound, quickly realized it wasn’t hers.
The culprit was Jayana, standing there dazed amid the chaotic whirlwind of emotions.
“K-kh, snif…”
“Puhaha!”
Idel, who had been hanging loosely from her attendant’s arm without realizing it, burst into a wheezing laugh.
Her puffy, swollen face—clearly a sign she’d been crying—made the whole scene oddly funny.
“…How ugly.”
Idel whispered under her breath, voice laced with amusement.
In that instant, the girl who had been hiding her red face behind her hands and keeping her head lowered suddenly snapped it up.
“Just now…”
Idel’s wide eyes sparkled with a fresh, bright expression.
Jayana stared at the retreating figure of Idel, then suddenly spotted a tiny clue and blinked rapidly.
‘She definitely laughed! She even made a joke!’
She hadn’t misheard or misseen anything.
The sting of disappointment and hurt in her chest suddenly began to throb again.
Idel really had lied to Sylvia.
‘Idel doesn’t hate me.’
Though their meeting had been brief, Jayana was now convinced she had met a genuinely kind boy.
She still couldn’t quite understand why Idel had lied right in front of Sylvia…
‘Why on earth…?’
Jayana blinked quickly, still deep in thought, then shot Idel a suspicious look.
Idel was whining at her attendant while alternately glancing at Jacob and herself.
The sight struck Jayana with a strange realization.
‘…She did it all for me?’
What had Sylvia said at the very beginning?
‘Miss, are you all right? What on earth is this…?’
Yes, that’s right. Sylvia had first pointed out how unlike a noble lady Idel was.
Then Idel had asked her, “Is that you?”
Jayana’s mind replayed every detail that had happened since.
Recalling it all, she finally understood: Idel had taken every bit of her own punishment upon herself.
‘She even protected the secret of the den!’
The thought made her nose sting again.
Idel, who had casually pointed at Jacob and said, “This must be the kid who got his clothes stolen,” would have been overjoyed to know.
“Let go of me!”
“Lady Idel, please stay still. This kind of fuss isn’t necessary.”
“Hmph! Do you think I’ll run away?”
Watching the argument between her attendant and Idel, Jayana wiped the tear-soaked face with her sleeve.
With clear vision, she could see Idel’s sharp, prickly expression and the attendant’s exasperated sigh.
The clever child had understood everything in an instant.
Idel had lied instead of telling the truth to help her because she already knew no one would believe her words.
“Snif!”
Jayana snuffled and clenched her small fist tight.
‘The star was right. I’m really the big sister now.’
And a big sister must protect her little brother.
Whether the monster in the fairy tale or the adults who only wanted to see Idel hurt.
This time Idel had protected her—but next time, Jayana vowed to protect Idel herself.
* * *
Regardless of Jayana’s resolve, Idel’s anxiety only grew longer and heavier.
All the attendants, led by Sylvia, were insisting she had harassed Jayana, so it had become an established fact.
‘It seems Jayana cried bitterly in front of the duke, saying it wasn’t her, but…’
She had piled up quite a few sins already. Would any of them count?
Idel let out a small fart and quickly scanned the unusually quiet room.
For the next week, she would be staying alone in the side building.
Of course, she could still receive the essential meals.
A few attendants had been arranged in case an emergency arose.
‘It’s simply to make me appreciate the value of my surroundings while feeling inconvenienced.’
Normally the attendants handled almost everything.
Though a rather drastic measure, the duchess had looked at her with worried eyes and asked if she was really all right, but…
‘There’s no way I’m not.’
In fact, she was thrilled.
‘Now that I’ve found the shortcut, this is almost like getting it handed to me. Anyone who sees this would think we’re in on it. Or that the system window is still active.’
Idel pulled out all the supplies she would need for her escape from under the bed, stacking them neatly.
She glanced once more toward the window outside. The terrace below was still empty.
‘Since I won’t be going far while under scrutiny, it must be enough to post guards only at the main entrances.’
“Truly the best.”
She dropped the bag filled with supplies off the terrace and swiftly changed clothes.
The loose male trousers she had grabbed were worn in a way that felt lived-in.
“They’re a bit big on me.”
Idel checked her reflection in the mirror and muttered to herself.
As long as the noble-lady aura was gone, it would be fine.
‘The biggest worry had been ordinary clothes I could wear outside the ducal estate…’
Idel picked up the cute letter and the crookedly drawn map that had been lying beside the clothes.
This unexpected gift was exactly what she needed to ease her worries.
[Idel, I’m inviting you to the den! Come visit whenever you’re lonely or scared. Yeah, of course you can come anytime you want to see me too. I miss you so much!
From: Dre, because I didn’t want her dress to get dirty, I sent some clothes to change into too! I had to pester Jacob for them.
From: Chuchu, …it’s not your fault, but sorry I couldn’t stop Dad from stopping you.]
Idel reread the letter she had read before, then slid the note and box under the bed and murmured again.
“Thanks for all the help, but this kid is way too nice, right?”
How could anyone send gifts to someone who called her stupid? She was too gentle to survive in this harsh world.
Idel briefly worried about Jayana, then shook her head.
‘Not the time for that.’
Time was running out. She stuffed a pillow under the blanket to make a bump and gripped the doorknob.
In her mind, she replayed the route she had drawn, the supplies, and her contingency plan in case something went wrong.
“Hah. Good.”
There was no such thing as a perfect plan, but Idel cautiously hoped it would succeed.
Conveniently, the shortcut Jayana had shown her was close to the townhouse where Melissa had stayed.
‘Of course I hadn’t gone hiking in the back mountains like Jayana…’
Still, anything was better than a completely unknown path.
According to the map she had taken from the side building’s study, the route wasn’t even difficult.
It was simply a straight descent westward from Jayana’s den.
‘Let’s go.’
Idel clenched her fist once more, took a deep breath, and slipped out of the room.
A few hours later…
“…I made it.”
Idel had finally left the ducal estate and reached a familiar area.
She had set out before dawn, yet when she arrived, the sun was already high in the sky.
Her small body had slowed her pace, so it had taken longer than expected.
‘Good. I’m here now.’
A minor variable could be fixed. She took a long, slow breath and carefully surveyed her surroundings.
As expected, no one paid her any attention.
Her pale skin couldn’t be hidden, but dirt, leaves, and sweat made her look sufficiently different.
‘…Refreshing.’
The long-forgotten sense of freedom sent a chill down her spine.
‘This is what it means to live as a person.’
She clenched her fist and calmed her racing heart.
To feel this feeling again in the future, she would have to stay on high alert and complete today’s mission.
‘Still, better to cover my face just in case.’
People working in the ducal estate might go out looking for work.
Idel immediately reached into her bag and pulled out a cloth the attendants had given her, saying it would wipe away any dirt she picked up while alone.
She carefully covered her hair and face, then set off once more.
Finding the way wasn’t hard. The Crow’s Nest was famous.
‘There are even prominent landmarks.’
Idel’s gaze fell on the enormous twin-crow wall painting.
This was the battleground for today’s final clash.