Unchanging Days
A week had passed since Mardian had tried to assault me.
Mother declared she would never let this matter rest and filed a formal complaint with the Imperial Court, naming the Abreldein Countship as the defendant. Though the court was initially cold and dismissive, the investigation proceeded in earnest thanks to Viviana, who stepped forward without hesitation to lend us her influence.
In the end, Mardian went unpunished.
Our family received a modest monetary settlement, and the trial was concluded in secret. While it was established that Mardian had abducted me into her carriage, the court ruled that her attempt to assault me could not be proven.
There were many lengthy explanations, but the real reason was plain. The Abreldein Countship was a founding merit family of the Empire, while ours was nothing more than a declining barony. And no doubt the Abreldeins had greased the court's palms with bribes.
In the end, all Mardian suffered was a bit of compensation paid out and a rumor that she had kidnapped me. Mother continued to pour every effort into the matter afterward, but she could only slam against the cold wall of reality.
One night, when Mother's face had grown steadily more haggard, I slipped quietly into her room. The woman who was always so composed sat alone in the deep of night, drowning her sorrows in drink. I sat silently beside her and poured her wine; she lowered her head with sorrowful eyes.
"I'm so sorry for being such a useless mother, Tina…"
"Please don't say that."
I comforted her. Mother was never useless. If anything, she was more capable and gifted than anyone. I moved behind her and held her tight. Pressing my lips to the ear of my grief-stricken mother, I offered soft words of comfort.
"I love you, Mother. I love the mother who cherishes me more than anyone else in this world. Not once have I ever failed to love you, so please don't say such heartbreaking things."
"…What have I even done for you."
"Tsk. That's a bad thing to say, Mother."
I climbed into her arms and sat on her lap. Kissing her cheek and forehead as she grieved, I soothed her self-reproach.
"I can't even imagine what would have become of our family without you. The fact that I can live happily here is all thanks to you."
"…Yes. Thank you, truly."
She still looked sorrowful, but thankfully her face seemed to brighten a little. Mother looked at me with lips pursed, her cheeks faintly flushed from the wine.
"Tina."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember when our lips touched last time?"
She seemed to mean the time I had meant to give her a cheek kiss and accidentally kissed her on the lips instead. I had worried she might dislike it, but fortunately Mother had let it pass without making a fuss.
"Yes. What about it?"
"Well… if you wouldn't mind… Mother doesn't think it would be so bad."
"Pardon?"
I tilted my head with a puzzled expression, not understanding her words. Mother looked at me for a moment, then shook her head firmly and stroked my hair with a gentle smile.
"Never mind. It seems Mother is quite drunk. You should go to bed now."
Questions remained, but with Mother's words the night passed. Though her anger toward Mardian still seemed unresolved, she returned to her usual face and began handling the family's affairs once more.
After that, Mardian's name never came up again. Mother seemed to avoid any direct mention of her out of consideration for me.
And nothing had changed in high society, either.
"Tina…"
"Lady Shari-one."
Shari-one looked at me with eyes full of complicated emotion. With somewhat listless steps, I nestled into her embrace. She patted my back, sat on the sofa, and laid me across her lap.
"I heard the rumors. That something unsavory happened with Young Lady Mardian."
Shari-one spoke while slowly stroking my hair. At her words, the other young ladies nearby carefully watched the mood and offered me comfort.
"You must have been so frightened, Tina."
"Lady Mardian can be… she does get impulsive like that sometimes."
"I'm sure it was because Tina is just too adorable. Sometimes even I get impulsive urges when I look at Tina, you know."
…I'd rather they not say things like that even as a joke. Having one psycho villainess like Mardian looking at me with lustful eyes was more than enough.
"You'll be all right now, Tina. Don't resent Lady Mardian too much."
Everyone fretted over me. But not a single one of them strongly condemned Mardian. No doubt because they all knew perfectly well how powerful the Abreldein Countship's influence was.
It couldn't be helped.
The Abreldein Countship was a family with deep roots in both the light and shadow of the Empire. Such a house would never fall simply for laying hands on the young lady of a declining viscountship. The young ladies here knew that, which was why they couldn't openly criticize Mardian's clear wrongdoing. No matter how fond they were of me, that fondness only went as far as the gaze one casts on a cute pet.
No young lady would make an enemy of Mardian for my sake. No matter how precious a dog you raise, it can never be more precious than your own livelihood. Well, that was the kind of relationship I had wanted from them in the first place, so I had no great complaints.
In a situation like this, showing open hostility toward Mardian would do me no good at all. Better to turn this incident to my advantage and win even more of the young ladies' favor.
I rested my cheek lightly against Shari-one's shoulder and offered a faint smile.
"You're right… I'm sure Lady Mardian simply made a mistake. I don't resent her at all."
"…Tina."
"How could I resent her? She's someone I like as much as I respect you, Lady Shari-one. I want to clear up the misunderstanding with her as soon as possible."
Clear up a misunderstanding, my ass. The moment I met those red eyes of hers, I'd want to throw up on the spot. But thanks to my words, the affection in Shari-one's gaze deepened further.
"Tina is truly so obedient."
"How could I ever harbor ill will toward my mistresses?"
"Hehe. You know, I was worried Tina might be upset, so I prepared a little gift."
"Pardon? Oh, no, you really didn't have to…"
Shari-one handed me a small box from beside the sofa. When I opened it, a transparent glass orb lay inside.
"It's a magical tool. If you keep it by your side when you sleep, you'll be able to rest peacefully."
When Shari-one tapped the glass orb with her finger, a soft light bloomed within the empty sphere and a cozy melody began to play. Just as she said, it was perfect to keep beside the bed before sleep.
"…Thank you so much, Lady Shari-one."
In terms of practical value it wasn't particularly precious, but it was still a magical tool, so it must have cost something. Hiding my calculating thoughts, I clutched the glass orb tightly to my chest. The solid weight of the magical tool seemed to speak of its worth.
Yes. For now, handling things this way was the right call.
Anyone watching might wonder why I was still fawning after what happened with Mardian, but it wasn't something that greatly concerned me.
Mardian had been a special case from the start.
Look at Shari-one or Versha — they treated me purely as a lovely pet, didn't they? Mardian, who harbored sexual desire for the pet she raised, was the abnormal one.
In the original game, she had been the villainess who tormented Lillian — one of the protagonists — to the very end. Judging by how she had harassed Lillian both mentally and physically, she was fundamentally a twisted pervert.
Failing to notice that had been my carelessness. But one thing was certain: the other young ladies would not cross the line the way Mardian had. Homosexuality wasn't even common in this world, and there was no way another twisted pervert who lusted after the same sex would turn up.
"Tina's feelings are admirable, but unfortunately you won't be seeing Young Lady Mardian for a while. Count Abreldein has ordered her confined to the estate for a month."
At Shari-one's words, I swallowed a curse. She tried to rape someone and all she gets is a month of house arrest? Nobles really had it made. I had plenty of grievances, but the fact that I wouldn't have to face her for a month was welcome news.
I resented Mardian enough to want her dead, but I wasn't particularly thinking of revenge. I didn't even have the power to harbor such intentions in the first place.
If I had a protagonist buff like Lillian or Viviana, maybe — but for an extra who just clung to young ladies by fawning over them, opposing Mardian in high society would be nothing short of suicide.
Honestly, using my knowledge of the original and the young ladies around me, there were ways I could deal Mardian a fatal blow — but there was no need to go out of my way and take that gamble.
She was going to fall anyway.
That was the biggest reason I had no intention of retaliating against Mardian. Even if I did nothing, her downfall was already a foregone conclusion.
Lillian Endoria.
Like Viviana, a protagonist of this world — the one who would one day expose every last of the Mardian family's scandals and bring the villainess down. She was probably still a low-ranking cleric, spending her time on menial chores at the temple.
If my sense of the timeline was right, Lillian would soon receive the Saintess's blessing and make her debut in high society. Once that happened, Mardian's attention would turn back to the protagonist. Mardian taking an interest in Lillian and tormenting her was a fixed setting in the game, no matter which route you took.
I do feel a little sorry for Lillian.
Having to deal with a pervert as slimy as Mardian… And for our protagonist, whose nature was so kind she could be called a pushover, it would be all the more of a headache.
But well, that wasn't my problem.
Whatever hardships Lillian went through…
As long as it wasn't me.