The fact that the eldest daughter of Count Epheria got poor treatments could also be seen at the food being served. I looked at the lunch menu that only consist of potato cream soup and two sliced of bread while clicking my tongue.
Are these the food that being served in a wealthy household? For real!? I highly doubt it. The food served at the church were much better than these! The food for the priests are almost similar to these, but some meats are always present in holy knights" meals because we need much more energy to do our tasks.
“The Count… ermm… I mean my father… I want to meet him.”
I tore the bread while saying it to Sofia who was standing besides me. Though he is my father, I have never seen his face even once.
Sofia appeared to be confuse by my words.
“Master never visited Miss.”
“But I"m her daughter though.”
“If Master considered Miss as his daughter, how could Master let Miss got treated badly?”
“Thats right…” I mumbled while staring at the simple design of the dinning table. What could you expect from the father who even didn"t care about her daughter"s meals? Moreover, Silla"s fiancee was a rapist.
“Futhermore, these days Master didn"t meet anyone other than the head butler and Madam. Eventually the Madam could spread her influences.”
“How about the Countess… ah, I mean my stepmother.”
“Miss can meet her anytime. But it will be the best not to meet her.”
Hearing Sofia words, I recalled my brief encounter with the Countess. What Sofia said is right. The Countess can"t be take down easily. Still, I have to come inside the tiger"s den to catch one, right?
“Seems like it"s inevitable because I need to meet her at least once. I broke my engagement.”
“… WHAT?!”
Sofia widen her eyes in amazement.
“M-Miss has broken the engagement?”
“Yeah, it seems like he didn"t really like me.”
It couldn"t be that he still intended to proceed with engagement after went through all that things, right? If he could still say that he still likes the woman who broke his arm and leg, I would suggest him to go to the church for psychology examination.
“It has ended just like that, but I still have to tell her even though she"s my stepmother, don"t I?”
“That"s… right, but… the Viscount really agreed with it?”
“He said he didn"t want to meet me anymore.”
Well, I didn"t hear him said it directly from his mouth though, but he should have thought the same, I guess? Except if he has gone insane. It can"t be that he"s a pervert who loved getting beaten, right?
Sofia looked extremely happy that she"s clapping her hands when she heard me.
“Congrats, Miss! Finally Miss could get away from that disgusting leecher! Of course the Madam should be inform about this! But, what made the Viscount given up?”
“We had a small talk.”
I"m not lying, we did talk a bit.
“Turns out that b.a.s.t.a.r.d could be reasoned with.”
Well, although he agreed to it after I broke his arm and leg.
Sofia gave an inquiring looks but didn"t ask any further.
“Well, whatever! Anyways this is a really good news. I wonder what kind of face would the Countess makes when she heard of it.”
Sofia smiled widely with expecting looks on her face.
It"s still the same as usual, the Countess enjoyed her time leisurely by having some tea in the middle of the flower garden. She looked like a dignified and charming n.o.ble lady from outside, but within her was a ruthless person that ordered a man to rape her step-daughter. No wonder Sofia called her as the great grandmother of the Demons. Hahh…Seriously.
“I come here because there"s something I should inform you of.”
The Countess moved her lips into a smile and offered me to sit.
“Have a sit.”
As I sat before her, she"s pouring the tea for me by herself. I took a sip of the orange-goldenish tea and started to talk.
“Viscount Schwart.”
“I know it very well that you don"t like Viscount Schwart.” That woman continued her speech with loving tone as if she"s my birth mother. “Even so, isn"t it too much to have him murdered?”
“… What?”
I was caught off guard that I asked in my bewildered state. I widen my eyes at the Countess. What did she just say…?
“… murdered?”
“Yes. Viscount Schwart was murdered yesterday.”
He died…? No, wait! I remember that I didn"t give him any fatal wounds. I just broke his arm and leg so it"s not possible to cause any bleedings. And also, my hits to his body didn"t injure any of his internal organs. Moreover, wasn"t that b.a.s.t.a.r.d friend of his in downstairs below? How could he died?
“… he"s still fine when I left him,” I said with a frown.
I did injure him, but I didn"t give him any fatal injury that endangered his life. I"m completely sure as I"m an expert with many experiences of beating others for about 10 years.
“Besides, you were talking as if I"m really the one who killed the Viscount.”
The Countess nodded while keeping her gentle smile.
“Because you"re indeed the murderer.”
“Don"t spout nonsense! How could a girl who was only bring a parasol, killed a healthy grown up man? Futhermore, the Viscount was not alone. Sir Cain Silac, the Imperial Knight, were also there. It"s impossible to deal with both of them using my own strength.”
Perhaps the former me could do it, but with my current self, I would have a hard time if both of them attacking together. I was able to deal with Viscount Schwart because I was lucky that Cain left us alone. If it was the other way, I would definitely escape through the window.
“Any normal person with decent brain, wouldn"t doubt my innocence.”
I said it firmly. Logically speaking, it was impossible and I truly didn"t murder him.
“But, dear…”
The Countess" gentle voice floated in the air.
“There is a witness that could give a testimony for your crime.”
“A Witness…”
It can"t be …! There"s only one person I could think of to become a witness in this situation. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d who schemed against my subordinate, that ended in my subordinate got dishonorably dismissed. It seems like he use similar method back then. Without me realized, I gritted my teeth.
“Sir Silac?”
“Turns out you already knew! Well, if you"re the real murderer, naturally you could guess.”
“I just make a guess based on the situation. Besides, even without any illness, I"m all for them to see that I"m just a mere weak girl.”
Even though there"s a witness or whatever it could be… Silla Epheria is not Roel, the holy knight, and doesn"t have any abilty to kill Viscount Schwart.
How could it be for Silla to be able to killed a grown up man with her weak arms and legs, even more couldn"t even thrust a chicken? Anyone could easily knew this was a trap. I stared coldly to the lady before me.
“I understand you wish to drive me out of Epheria household, but you shouldn"t resort to this kind of scheme.”
First it was a rape attempt, and now turned into a scapegoat for a murder case? Her visciousness runs too deep that it made me shuddered. I never expected she even wanted to destroy a girl"s life just to possess the Count"s household! Even if they weren"t related by blood, Silla is still her daughter and she had known her since she was a child. It"s been almost 20 years… even a stray dog that always wandered around the street would made many people took a pity of it. She"s really cold-hearted.
“Scheme? Your words are too brazen.”
“You have no right to say that.”
She was someone who could turned white to black and black to white openly. But, don"t you ever think that I won"t retaliate.
The Countess sighed and looked at me with pitiful gaze.
“You"re really someone who didn"t deserve to be protected.”
“Protected…?!”
There"s a limit in deceiving others by using cheap tricks! For goodness sake, who in the world was the real murder? How could she talked nonsense? I"m completely sure the woman in front of me is the one who ordered for the Viscount to be killed. I tried to suppress my anger because of the thick-skinned Countess, but instead she sighed for the second time.
“Indeed it was too difficult for you to injured Viscount Schwart by yourself. Didn"t you have accomplices?”
“Accomplices? I went alone, didn"t I?”
“Yes thats right! You pretended that you went alone and tricked the Viscount into your trap.”
“It"s the opposite.”
“The opposite.”
The Countess tilted her head innocently as if it was the first time she heard about it. Woah…I"m impressed. She really knew no shame.
“Yes. Viscount Schwart pretended he would accompany me to see the funeral procession but instead he brought me to an isolated inn and admitted that he wanted to defiled me.”
As soon as Sofia who was standing anxiously not too far from me, heard it, she inhaled sharply. Meanwhile, the Countess" expression didn"t change in the slightest, because she"s undoubtedly the mastermind behind this.
“Hm? So there"s also that kind of occurance. But, it is still odd, isn"t it?”
“Odd?”
“Yes. The Silla that I knew, wouldn"t followed the Viscount to go inside the inn without any reasons.”
Ugh… T-that…I have no argument to counter her. A normal n.o.ble lady won"t ever do something reckless on her own like I had done.
“… I was forced to come inside.”
“You were forced to come inside, but you could came out safely, hm?”
“I waited until I got a chance and jumped out of the window.”
“You jumped from the second floor while you were wearing a dress and heels?”
“That was because I was really desperate at that time. Jumping out from second floor is something doable, isn"t it?”
“Your words just now implied that a 19 years old n.o.ble lady could jumped from second floor and escaped from two men that went after you while you were wearing high heels?”
“…”
I"m really angry, but that was indeed unbelievable. If I admitted that I have enough strength to deal with one to two men, she would definitely accused me as the murderer. F*ck. I"m screwed. What should I do now? Should I just cry? Or should I hold back and try to make a deal with the Countess? The last choice seems tempting, but there"s still the Count. Up to this point, I"m still not sure who is the real mastermind behind all of these. It wouldn"t be a problem if the Countess was the real mastermind, but if it was the otherwise, she was nothing but a p.a.w.n that could be discarded anytime.
While I was being indecisive, I sensed someone approaching.
BANG!
Almost at the same time as I rose up from my sit suddenly, I didn"t dare to move anymore. The Countess" neck was within my reach, but if I dared to reach out my hand and killed her, I couldn"t escape either. I diverted my gaze on the Countess and looked at the approaching man.
Cain Silac. His sword that has been unsheathed, lifted up towards me. If the sword had not been unsheathed, perhaps I still have a slim chance, but reality turned its back to me. Its just impossible for me to confront this b.a.s.t.a.r.d with untrained body and without any weapon in hands!
“What bussiness does an Imperial Knight have here?”
That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Cain"s gaze fall upon the Countess for a moment then shifted to me while talking with rigid tone.
“I come to arrest the murderer of Viscount Schwart.”
F*ck! You"re the real murderer, a**hole! The d.a.m.n someone who could possibly killed the Viscount in that situation is no other than the b.a.s.t.a.r.d in front of me. Without the need to arrest innocent person, you could just crawled to the prison on your feet.
“Arresting the murderer isn"t your duty.”