episode_0146

3pm the next day.

I devoted myself to examining the contents of the wine, not only staying up all night, but even canceling my second and fourth period lectures on Potions and Herbalism.

There was no advance notice, and some students who found out that the lecture was canceled only on the same day came to the lab and protested, but since it was at the professor’s discretion to cancel a lecture for a day or two, all of their objections were ignored.

I looked at the wine my sister sent me several times and compared it with other wines on the market. Again and again and again. Over and over again.

What started yesterday evening could only be concluded after about 19 hours had passed.

‘Ordinary wine… … .’

The wine my sister sent me was the same as the ordinary wine found everywhere.

Not one. A cross-verification was conducted with a total of 17 bottles of red wine, taking into account the grape variety, grape growing area, ripening date, and various other conditions.

Color, sweetness, acidity, tannin, body, etc. Although there may be subtle differences in taste and aroma, the wine my sister sent did not contain any additives.

She said it didn’t contain any of the drugs that my sister was worried about.

“Ah… … .”

In other words, the man was drunk with alcohol and his own anger and stabbed his sister with his hand.

Just like my father that day.

‘Useless! Die, die!! ‘Someone like you should never have been born!!’

I was just recalling the memory, but I felt the wound from that day throbbing.

When I thought that it was none other than my older sister who was experiencing such a terrible thing, such fear that I couldn’t even breathe properly, I felt like my five organs and six parts were crushed and my internal organs were going to come out of my mouth.

Feeling nauseous along with extreme dizziness, I placed both hands on the desk.

“Wow… … !”

I felt like my heart was falling into the abyss. My body was shaking so much that I couldn’t even stand properly unless I had both hands on the desk.

That day, after seeing my sister happy just by being with that man, I gave up telling her how I felt.

Although I couldn’t let go of my feelings and it became an obsession, even then and now, I tried to hide this distorted obsession and live as long as my sister was happy.

“Sister… … .”

But, if something like this happens… … . What becomes of me, who gave up on my sister who chose to live with that man?

As long as my sister was happy, that was enough for me. I almost developed a twisted affection for my sister’s daughter that any human would know, but I endured it well.

However, I wanted my sister to be happy, even giving up everything. If my sister isn’t happy, what happens to the feelings I’ve been suppressing all this time? What happens to all the time I spent suffering alone and erasing my feelings for my sister?

“Black… … . Ugh… … .”

I cried out of frustration and resentment. I shed tears because I felt sad and pitiful.

no… … . It’s my fault for not being able to sort out my feelings toward my sister, and my fault for not being able to convey my feelings toward her, but she’s not at fault.

“Inhale… … . Phew… … .”

I took a deep breath, gathered my emotions, and thought of the person who created this whole situation.

“Derquel, La Rochelle… … .”

okay. That guy is all bad. My sister’s perfection left a huge scar that will never be erased.

The sister who chose to be by her side even at the cost of giving up on perfection, and the one who stabbed her while intoxicated with alcohol and a moment of anger.

It’s all him.

“… … .”

No matter how many times I thought about it, the moment I came to the conclusion that that guy was the cause of all of this, I started to feel unbearable anger.

I know very well how scary and painful it is to experience violence that cannot be resisted.

Even to the extent that she asked me for help, it was obvious how severe her violence towards her was.

smart–

plural? No, it’s nothing like that. I have no reason to take revenge on that guy.

The reason my sister went to that guy’s side was because she seemed happy, and it was my fault for handing her over to that guy. That’s no reason to blame that guy.

The reason I’ve been suffering all this time is my fault for not being able to express my feelings because of fear, so that’s not a reason to blame him either.

As I acknowledged my mistakes, regrets, mistakes, and everything else, my anger disappeared somewhere and I was filled with only determination.

Okay, this isn’t revenge.

“I’ll save you, sister.”

For the first time in my life, where I had been just looking after my sister, I had a clear goal.

The tremors in my body suddenly stopped, and my mind, which was full of all kinds of thoughts, became clearer than ever before in my life.

My work was determined, and so was my heart.

“I will do anything for my sister.”

It may be an arbitrary and messy thought, but how long have I longed for such arbitrary salvation when I suffered from my father’s violence and verbal abuse? How long have you longed for someone’s touch?

I know the despair I felt back then when I couldn’t get help from anyone, and now the same situation has happened. I won’t look away.

What if it’s arbitrary, what if it’s a mess? If only my sister could escape from that man’s shadow and walk out into the sun. That’s enough for me.

smart–

“Please wait a moment.”

I came to my senses when I heard the knocking sound from earlier, tied my loose hair neatly, and picked up the gown I had taken off.

“Huh?”

[Sorry for falling asleep. I guess I lost my energy because I cried so much. I can’t bother you anymore, so I’ll leave for today and come back later. -Charlotte left-]

There was a note left on the gown from my nephew. I had completely forgotten about it because I was in a hurry, but that’s it… … . Now that I think about it, my nephew must have had a hard time because of that guy.

I nodded with a heavy heart, thinking that I had to save not only my sister but also my nephew.

After putting my nephew’s note in my pocket, I said as I put on the gown I had taken off.

“Yes, please come in.”

“Excuse me.”

The person who opened the door and came in was a man wearing a uniform worn by those related to the royal family.

As soon as he opened the door and came in, he frowned slightly and said.

“Phew… … . I didn’t expect to smell alcohol all the way here… … .”

“Sorry. Due to personal matters, I was unable to organize the experiment until recently, so it looked like I couldn’t see it.”

“Ah, it’s done. On the contrary, I feel more sorry for creating a bad impression from the first meeting. Since I’ve been moving from place to place because of wine a few days ago, just the smell of wine makes me feel nauseous, so I said this without thinking, so please forgive me with your generosity.”

The way he spoke while scratching his head looked like a person wandering around because he had nothing to do, and his grumpy attitude did not match the clothes he was wearing.

As I was writing down the magic formula on the inside of my sleeve so that I could use magic at any time, just in case, he stood still and looked at me, then lowered his head in a polite manner.

“Sorry about this. It seems like I’ve become more wary for no reason because of my needless and harsh attitude.”

“I think I knew that attitude was a problem. So, what brings you to me and who are you? I have urgent work to do. Depending on the answer… … .”

When I quietly lifted my chin and showed my intention to use force if I lost control, he raised both hands and said,

“It seems like it’s quite urgent, so let’s get straight to the point.”

After saying that, he slowly lowered one hand and took something out of his pocket.

What he took out of his pocket was a plaque with the sun and an eye in the center.

“Investigator directly under the royal family… … ?”

“Your understanding makes things go faster. It is called Terra Earning Stone.”

After being taken aback by the sudden appearance of this being, I asked back with a calm face.

“The royal investigator, why did you come to see me?”

“I came here because of something that happened this spring.”

“What happened in the spring… … ? Are you really talking about that? I think it’s quite late to bring that up now.”

As he said that and narrowed his eyes, he put the seal he was holding into his chest and sighed.

“Yes, well… … . Since it was a complicated matter in one way or another, the start of the investigation was delayed a little – no, a little too much. There is a handwritten letter from the King here granting permission for the investigation, so there is no problem.”

Another item he took out was a handwritten letter with the king’s seal on it.

Why on earth did they prepare something like that?

Even though there was nothing to shake, I swallowed dryly at the strange tension I felt.

“Marquis Priscilla de Arbel. Please answer without lies in front of the current king’s name.”

Did you ever meet Charlotte La Rochelle on the day of the Spring Festival?

He said that and looked at me.