“I refuse.”
“So why not!”
In front of the royal underground prison. It wasn’t a particularly important place in the story, and the author didn’t seem to be one for perfect historical accuracy, so Summer felt at ease as she approached.
Seeing Ian Langerster standing firmly like a sentry blocking her way, Summer tugged at her hair in frustration.
The first reaction when things don’t go as planned is anger.
Summer stood her ground against Ian, who looked down at her coldly. Gasps of surprise could be heard from the onlookers, but neither of them paid any attention.
It was a battle of spear and shield.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Your Grace, that person over there is allowed to enter. I just need to talk to the real Legacy Lady for a moment, just a moment!”
If anger didn’t work, the second step is pleading.
“Ha... Summer. Go back.”
Ian, who had been speaking politely in front of others, couldn’t hold back and called out Summer’s name.
The soldiers standing guard around them were shocked, but neither Ian nor Summer noticed.
It was a duel of wills.
“Please, just once!”
“No.”
“Why are you even here in the first place, Your Grace? It’s a historical inaccuracy, right?”
“Ha. A countess raised with care wanting to enter an underground prison would indeed be a historical inaccuracy.”
The soldiers began to murmur among themselves.
No one dared to act so boldly in front of Ian Langerster, but even if they did, given Ian’s personality, he would have coldly dismissed them or called for someone to drag them away.
But Ian seemed to be enjoying this, in a way.
“Oh, Ian! Please!”
“What?”
As Ian sharply questioned her, Summer finally reached her last resort.
“...Fine, I understand.”
It was resignation.
Ian looked at Summer with a slightly incredulous expression, then, rubbing his face with one hand, spoke in a low voice.
“Come in with me. Then I will allow it.”
“What?”
“Did you not hear? I said I would allow it.”
Suddenly, he said he would allow it. Relieved, Summer quickly moved to Ian’s side.
The underground prison was much darker and damper than Summer had imagined. She couldn’t believe that Ferotia was trapped in a place like this.
Soon, Ian’s steps halted in front of a cell.
“Ferotia Legacy. It’s a visit.”
“Your Grace. You’re deliberately speaking to me so coldly, aren’t you? Huh? You’re supposed to love me!”
Ferotia suddenly thrust out her arm and screamed like a banshee. Ian’s gaze grew colder in response.
“The one visiting is not me, but her.”
As Ian stepped aside, Summer took a step closer to Ferotia.
“Lady Lindsay?”
“Yes. I am that Lady Lindsay.”
Was she going to slap her or scream? But Ferotia merely glared at Summer with wary eyes.
It wasn’t the reaction Summer had anticipated.
“Legacy Lady. I know you’re feeling wronged.”
“Lady Lindsay! You are a proper noble, aren’t you? Yes, I am wronged!”
That was a test. Ferotia reacted fiercely, her eyes glistening.
Being cruel doesn’t mean being strong. In fact, it’s more likely to indicate weakness. Just like Ferotia now.
The person who used to treat the maid’s hands and feet as a joke was now crying just because she had been locked in an underground prison for a few days. Honestly, Summer found it amusing.
The underground prison was quite spacious, and the torches were brightly lit. At least compared to the small boarding house she lived in, this was a place where one could survive.
“Legacy Lady. Do you remember what happened that day?”
“I remember! Ugh, I just asked everyone to celebrate together, but Lady Dudley suddenly collapsed!”
“...”
“Wait. What did you say?”
Summer fell silent, as if she had a rough idea of the situation. Instead, it was Ian, standing next to her, who stepped forward and asked incredulously.
“Right. Everyone is saying that the Legacy Lady was the instigator.”
“Ugh, I’m wronged...”
“I also think you wanted to kill Julian.”
“Why would I! I wasn’t someone who hated Julian like that!”
“Then why did you try to kill him?”
“I didn’t try to kill him!”
“Lady.”
“...”
Summer bent forward to meet Ferotia’s gaze.
The icy blue eyes were even colder for their lack of emotion. Ferotia flinched.
“Just because someone instigated you doesn’t mean you are innocent.”
“Th-that...”
“I originally disliked the Legacy Lady, but today my thoughts have changed.”
“W-who are you?”
“I feel sorry for the Legacy Lady, just as much as I think about Julian.”
You’re just fulfilling your role, aren’t you? Who would point fingers at a marionette without a self? We should identify and punish the one who manipulated that marionette.
So this world should punish the author. Especially Ferotia.
“L-lady. Please get me out of here...”
“If you tell me who instigated you, I’ll get you out.”
“...”
Ferotia clamped her mouth shut. It was a clear exercise of the right to remain silent. Summer sighed heavily and straightened her upper body.
“You don’t have to say anything.”
“Lady, that’s... that’s...”
After a moment of hesitation, Ferotia finally closed her eyes tightly and chose not to speak.
It was somewhat expected. But if Ferotia was trembling with fear to that extent, it meant that there was someone above her.
“How strange.”
Summer muttered.
There were very few people with more power than Ferotia.
Duke Russell Bertrand, Duke Ian Langerster, the Emperor, the Empress. That was about it. In fact, since there were no children between the Emperor and Empress, that was really all there was.
“Lady Lindsay, please save me...”
Ferotia pleaded, reaching out to grab the hem of Summer’s dress. Summer easily understood that her plea was not just to be taken out of the underground prison.
It was a plea to pull her life, which had fallen into the mire, out somehow. But Summer was not in a position to save anyone.
She couldn’t even save herself, so what could she do?
“Don’t worry, Legacy Lady. You’ll be released soon. This is a prophecy.”
Summer briefly held Ferotia’s hand before letting it go.
A foolish and pitiful marionette.
* * *
As Ian exited the prison, he quickly blocked Summer’s path as she tried to leave.
“Summer.”
“What is it?”
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“I’m sorry. I have nothing to say.”
“Why does the Legacy Lady say that Julian drank poison?”
Julian? The way he referred to him was somewhat affectionate.
“Your Grace, when did you become close with Julian?”
“Is that important right now?”
“It is important.”
This is a romance fantasy, and in this world, the romance is only between you and Julian.
In a bleak world, it was a refreshing romance, and Summer couldn’t help but be curious.
“We exchanged clothes and letters at the banquet. And there’s a misunderstanding; we’re not close. It’s just—”
“Uh-huh, I know, I know.”
The nameless little boy she met as a child might be Julian, and Summer slowly began to suspect that. Her heart raced for no reason.
She found this part interesting. She regretted not being able to observe it from above like a god.
Seeing Summer smile contentedly, Ian’s face hardened coldly. His dark, thick eyebrows twitched as if displeased.
“It’s not like that.”
“I know.”
Summer replied in a voice that seemed to ripple like waves. Ian tried to clarify again, but Summer quickly stopped him with a smile.
It was the first time Ian had seen Summer smile like that.
“Don’t say anything! I just want to feel a little flutter in this harsh world, even if it’s through someone else’s story.”
With that, Summer turned to leave, and Ian couldn’t stop her. He merely followed her retreating figure with his silver-gray eyes.
* * *
“Mary.”
Upon returning to the mansion, Summer immediately looked for Mary. Among the cleaning maids working like machines, Mary stood out as noticeably tired.
Mary straightened her back, which had been bent, and tossed aside her broom.
“You’re back early.”
“Can you bring me some gossip magazines? I want to start paying attention to the media again.”
Summer said in an excited voice.
“Just a moment.”
Soon, Mary led Summer to the building where the maids’ quarters were located. The building where the maids stayed was quite neat and ordinary.
“Oh my, Mary. Are you really showing me your room right now?”
“Yes. The gossip magazines are here. I’ve collected them.”
“...Thank you.”
Mary’s room was as simple and tidy as her personality.
But Summer knew all too well how much tedious labor it took to keep even a small room so clean.
“Here you go.”
Mary handed over a box, which Summer quickly accepted. It was heavier than she expected.
On top of the box, the headline of a gossip magazine caught her eye.
“Lady Dudley’s daughter collapses at the Legacy family’s coming-of-age party...”
The world intervened. So urgently that it manipulated the blatantly obvious fact.
It was clearly Summer who had collapsed after drinking poison. But according to the article, Summer’s existence was completely erased.
At the coming-of-age party, just as in the original story, Julian was said to have drunk poison and was on the brink of death.
“But Duke Langerster...”
He remembered. The protagonists were unable to accept the world’s intervention.
Had the author grown so fond of the protagonists that they were granted the power to resist the gods?
If not, everyone was saying that Julian had collapsed, yet the male protagonist, Ian Langerster, was the only one who accurately remembered the incident.
“Mary. I think something terrifying is about to happen.”
Summer blurted out, her face blank. Mary, grasping the situation, nodded once with her characteristic tired expression.
“Well, it seems likely.”
“I thought I was just a speck of dust, and no matter how much I struggled, the world would ignore me.”
“Well, from the world’s perspective, aren’t you a terrifying thing in itself, Miss?”
Mary replied indifferently and took the box back from Summer.
Summer was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice Mary had taken the box.
It felt ominous. Like a premonition of failing an exam due to a marking mistake. Very ominous.