I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 25
“So, what you’re saying is……”
Hyacinth, Bangcadium’s loyal retainer, turned over the words he’d just heard.
“You made a deal with that mite—that little one?”
Had he heard that correctly?
Hyacinth wanted confirmation.
But no matter how many times he asked,
“Stop asking. It’s tiresome.”
he received only the same response.
“……Huh.”
Was this actually real?
Hyacinth glanced quickly at his colleague Sys. Of course, his answer was singular.
Affirmation.
‘What in the world is happening?’
With Sys’s confirmation, Hyacinth grew even more bewildered.
It was startling enough to suddenly bring back an outsider, but to have picked up a fellow from prison—and done so quite competently, no less.
What struck him most was that the new ally was so young, barely able to speak intelligibly.
‘Setting aside the master’s nature, of course.’
Even Veronica, though outwardly mild, possessed the signature temperament of a Bangcadium—which was to say, not particularly pleasant. Sys was much the same.
They were not the type to accept someone roleplaying as ‘I want to be your ally!’
Yet apparently, this child had struck a remarkably rational and sensible bargain with them.
Hyacinth regarded the child before him with gravity.
Pink hair fluffy as cotton candy, reaching down to the waist. Eyes the color of unpolluted glass.
The devastatingly cute little one reminded him momentarily of ‘that person,’ but no further. Hyacinth quickly collected himself.
A gentle countenance was hardly rare in the Empire, and besides—who the child resembled was not the matter at hand.
“What sort of deal could it have been that you’ve brought her to the main estate?”
When was the last time an outsider set foot on Bangcadium land? Nearly a decade, wasn’t it?
An age ago. Bangcadium was insular enough not to admit just anyone onto its grounds.
Yet the answer that came was even more surprising.
“She said she’d clear my false charges.”
“Pardon?”
“Imperial Insult: 9,999,999 counts. Assassination Request: 388,112 counts. Extortion and Blackmail: 4,829 counts.”
“……”
“A Criminal Record of 10,392,940 charges relating to the Imperial Throne—the words carry weight.”
“Ah, I see.”
Hyacinth nodded slowly.
‘Our master went to prison once,’
and seems to have lost his mind while there……
He found himself suddenly concerned for the family’s future.
“Say, I’m sorry to interrupt while you’re listing her charges,”
Veronica raised her hand mid-conversation.
All eyes turned to one point.
Veronica gestured to the child resting against her thigh. The little one whose eyes had been bright and alert mere moments before was now fast asleep, breathing softly.
“She’s asleep.”
“……”
“Soft snoring.”
* * *
A child’s body was vulnerable to fatigue.
Just moments before, I seemed perfectly alert, but at some point the world before my eyes went black, and soon—snap—consciousness cut out entirely.
Well, I’d crossed half the Empire on foot through the night. Even accounting for Bangcadium and Sys, there were limits to what a young body could endure on such a forced march.
Not collapsing halfway was something of a miracle in itself.
Perhaps that’s why.
“Mmm……”
Enveloped in a softness I’d never known before, I curled my body into a ball.
The warm, gentle touch against my cheek felt strange, yet wonderfully comforting.
I drifted like that for some time in drowsy confusion.
Waking at the sound of voices, I poked just my head out from the fluffy blankets.
“Oh! You peeked your little head right out!”
“My, looks like she’s waking up.”
“So adorable. She’s so small. How old are you?”
“??”
Through the fog of sleep, I heard enthusiastic voices.
But I lacked the energy to respond to each exclamation—the fatigue accumulated in my body had not yet lifted.
Dazed, I looked around, then simply collapsed back into the cozy bedding.
How much time passed?
“Oh my, you’re awake, little miss?”
……Little miss?
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar address.
Around the time I wondered if I was still dreaming, women in neat, tidy clothes approached with bright smiles.
“Hello, little miss.”
“I’m Mary, sent by the Master to serve you from today onward. The friend who just greeted you is Lisy.”
“I’m Io, little miss. Please feel free to call me whatever is comfortable.”
Mary, Lisy, Io.
As I committed each name to memory, my eyes flew wide open.
The Master mentioned—that surely meant……!
“Miss?”
I bolted upright despite myself, and the maid tilted her head in confusion. Belatedly conscious, I surveyed the room.
The attic of the Earl’s Mansion and the prison at Iztail.
The luxurious interior before me was incomparable to anywhere I’d been before.
I swallowed hard.
I’d forgotten while asleep,
‘This was Bangcadium.’
My drowsiness fled in an instant.
* * *
Two days.
Two days had passed since I collapsed in the reception hall, the servants said.
‘How could I sleep that long?’
Even exhausted, it was almost like being dead.
But surprise gave way quickly.
The maids rushed toward me.
“Come now, little miss. Huzzah!”
“Shall we go play with soap bubbles?”
“You must be starving. I’ll fetch something from the kitchen at once!”
They removed the prisoner’s clothes I’d been wearing,
then guided me into a bathroom as large as a room,
scrubbed me clean until I squeaked,
and in what felt like mere blinks, I was outside again facing sliced bread, meat, and warm potato soup.
I stared unfamiliar at the steaming food.
Meanwhile, the maid tending to a scraped knee on my leg asked worriedly,
“Didn’t that hurt? It looked like you took quite a tumble.”
“It didn’t hurt. Not at all.”
Of course, that would have been a lie if I said the pain didn’t register.
I was human, after all.
But after the countless wounds I’d endured, a scraped knee hardly merited complaint. So it was fine.
At least compared to other suffering, this scrape was far preferable.
“But why aren’t you eating, little miss? Perhaps……”
“Can I actually eat this? Really?”
“Of course you can!”
Io, reintroducing herself, nodded earnestly.
“The head chef made this with such care, thinking of our little miss. So it’s yours.”
At Io’s words, I opened my mouth silently. Someone had made food while thinking of me.
The soft blankets, the warm bathwater and silken nightclothes—and this, too, was my first time experiencing such things.
“Um, what about the others?”
“Pardon?”
“What about Veronica, or the Master, or even Sys……”
“The Master and the others from Bangcadium, along with Sys, are in a meeting at the moment. Why do you ask?”
“Well……”
I looked at the food still warm from the kitchen.
“I want to share it with them.”
“Pardon?”
“It looks so delicious……”
I’d always eaten discarded scraps. Luxury like this was a first. The glossy bread looked especially appetizing.
Something this delicious,
“I want to share it with the others.”
I couldn’t eat it alone in good conscience.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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