Chapter 31

“Riz, what’s wrong with Heather?”

Diane sipped her hot chocolate in the sitting room as she asked.

Because the MacKinnon Count and Countess insisted that her pale complexion must have been from the cold, Diane and Nerys were made to stay indoors for a while. Nerys smiled.

“She looked down on both of us. She was acting in front of everyone to paint me as the bad person and get me thrown out, assuming that no one would believe us even if we defended each other.”

“What?!”

Diane rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps. Heather had always made unsettling remarks since they were young, but this was the first time she had been so blatant—

How should I describe it?

Heather hadn’t exactly lied. She hadn’t fabricated anything from thin air.

Diane struggled to find the right word when Nerys, after taking a sip of her hot chocolate, summarized it for her.

“She’s good at subtly twisting people’s words to change the meaning. If you don’t give her any words to work with, she won’t be able to do it at all.”

That was it.

Diane felt relieved as Nerys precisely articulated the uneasiness she had always felt toward Heather. But concern lingered.

“But won’t she fight back? What if she twists the story even more and spreads strange rumors?”

“Diane, has Heather ever done something like that to you before?”

Nerys looked at Diane seriously. Diane fidgeted with the handle of her horn-shaped cup before nodding.

“…Yeah.”

“Was it about the rocking horse incident Betty mentioned?”

Diane’s ears turned slightly red.

“…Yeah.”

Nerys patiently held Diane’s gaze and encouraged her to continue.

“Tell me the details. I’m curious.”

“It happened last year.”

Diane recalled the events one by one.

Around this time last year, she had received a beautiful rocking horse as a gift. It wasn’t a toy she could ride—it was an ornate decoration for her room, adorned with gemstone eyes and candy-colored accents that made everyone envious.

But on the second day after receiving it, while the party was still ongoing and the estate was filled with guests, the rocking horse was found broken. Diane was devastated and immediately set out to find the culprit.

The list of suspects was narrowed down quickly: Heather, Muriel, and a maid working in the household.

Heather and Muriel had both entered and exited the room within moments of each other when no one else was around. The maid had entered last and was the one who discovered the broken rocking horse.

Heather and Muriel vouched for each other, leaving the maid as the only suspect. The MacKinnon Countess was not someone who made rash judgments, but with no other suspects, there was little choice.

In the end, the maid—who had worked at the estate for three years—was dismissed without even a letter of recommendation.

Diane couldn’t accept it.

The dismissed maid had always been honest, and if she had been responsible, she would have admitted it.

And what bothered Diane even more was that, when the maid had tried to say something, Heather had subtly cut her off.

But no one believed Diane’s suspicions. Before she knew it, rumors had spread among the adults that she was simply jealous of Heather and trying to accuse her out of spite.

Angelo Railing had expressed his deep resentment, and the MacKinnon elders had repeatedly told Diane why she shouldn’t suspect Heather. Heather had a witness. If she had been guilty, she would have confessed because she was too sweet and innocent to lie…

But Diane, being a child herself, knew perfectly well that even a seemingly sweet child could lie to adults.

To her, it was an absurd and infuriating bias.

Muriel had then confronted her, furious.

“So what are you saying? That I lied to protect Heather? That you’re suspicious of me?!”

Diane had been confused.

If Heather had been guilty, why would Muriel defend her? They were family, after all.

Yet the atmosphere made it clear—continuing to defend the maid would make her seem foolish and lacking trust in her own family.

Diane had been only eleven years old at the time. In the end, she had started to doubt herself.

Around then, Muriel had publicly scolded her again. Heather, ever so kind, had gently intervened.

“My lady, you’re still young and pure-hearted, so it’s easy for a deceitful servant to take advantage of your kindness.”

The adults had nodded in agreement. Even Betty had praised Heather’s maturity and considerate nature.

But Diane, standing right in front of Heather, had seen the way she looked down at her.

Heather hadn’t spoken out of kindness.

Sure, maybe the maid had been the real culprit.

But Heather had emphasized young and kind in an oddly pointed way as she looked at Diane.

Ever since Heather started visiting the MacKinnon estate, she had occasionally looked at Diane with that same expression.

Until then, Diane had thought it was just unfamiliarity.

But at that moment, she understood it clearly for the first time.

Contempt.

Diane had immediately lashed out, accusing Heather of looking down on her.

There had certainly been a more precise way to phrase it, but at the time, Diane hadn’t possessed the right vocabulary.

The MacKinnon Count and Countess had assumed she was simply acting out of personal dislike.

To them, Heather had shown an unbelievable level of composure for someone so young, while their own daughter seemed to be throwing a tantrum.

“…She’s close with Muriel, and her father works with Uncle Shivna. Even after that, it’s not like she could stop coming around. Mom and Dad even gave her a gift, saying they were sorry for my stubbornness.”

Diane looked dejected.

As she retold the story, she started wondering if she had been wrong to doubt Heather after all.

Was it possible that Diane had simply misjudged Heather because of her unsettling gaze? Had she been trying to pin crimes on her without real proof?

After all, Diane had no solid evidence.

Nerys, however, smiled lightly. Her clear, sharp eyes swept across the extravagant decorations of the sitting room.

Red silk ribbons and glass baubles adorned the pine branches that had been placed in the room in place of a sacred tree. Not just this sitting room, but nearly every corner of the MacKinnon estate was lavishly decorated. Such extravagance was only possible for the truly wealthy.

It wouldn’t be strange if more than one person had their sights set on it.

“You don’t need to doubt yourself, Diane.”

Diane’s eyes widened, startled by how well Nerys had read her thoughts. Seeing that innocent reaction, Nerys spoke calmly.

“You were more certain about this when we were on our way here.”

“I was… but after seeing her face again, I started wondering if she really meant any harm. Besides, Riz… I don’t actually have proof that she started the rumors.”

“As I told you before, I trust your judgment.”

Diane’s friend’s words rippled through her. What had started as a small doubt quickly turned into confidence and filled her with courage.

“She really was awful!”

Diane muttered, seething. Nerys nodded.

“This is your home, and yet she tried to get me thrown out. The nerve. And jealousy?”

Nerys’ eyes flickered around the room once more before she scoffed coldly.

“Diane, do you remember what I said?”

“Huh? When?”

Diane remembered most of what Nerys said, but which part was she referring to? Her innocent confusion made Nerys raise an eyebrow.

“Some words naturally emerge from the context of a conversation, and some don’t. But why is it that, when you suspected Heather, the rumor that spread was about jealousy? There are so many better reasons to doubt someone.”

Diane only understood about half of what Nerys was saying. But as she thought about what Muriel had said before, something clicked.

Nerys gave a firm nod.

“You wouldn’t have been the first to bring up jealousy. Why would you be jealous of Heather Railing? So, Diane, the rumors were definitely started by her. And the one who broke the rocking horse was very likely her as well. But she was also the one who framed your suspicions as jealousy. So tell me—who is really the jealous one?”

Who was truly unable to stand it?

A child who was loved endlessly by both family and servants, who always wore the finest dresses, and who received gifts so beautiful they seemed like something out of a dream.

A child who prided herself on being smarter than others but still had to bow and flatter those around her.

It was a simple matter, yet Diane had never considered it from that angle. Despite her usual keen insight, she remained silent for a while.

After some time, she looked at Nerys with an expression of disbelief.

“Then… why did Muriel say that she and Heather had gone into the room almost at the same time? Was Muriel part of it too?”

“I wasn’t there to see it myself, so I can’t say for sure. But tell me, Diane—do you think Muriel is clever?”

“No!”

“I thought as much.”

Nerys’ swift reply made Diane burst into laughter.

The laughter rang brightly through the sitting room, light and cheerful like floating bubbles. The golden glow of the winter sunlight made the entire space seem to shimmer.

For a moment, Nerys’ gaze went blank. Then, quickly regaining focus, she strengthened her expression. Diane, unaware of the fleeting shift, smiled widely and asked,

“Are you saying Heather tricked Muriel?”

“I’m not ruling out the possibility that Muriel was in on it. Maybe they planned together to ruin your gift. But Muriel doesn’t seem like she’d be good at lying—at least, not in a way that would fool adults.”

Unlike someone else.

Diane nodded thoughtfully.

Nerys leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and cupping her chin in her hands. The simple movement was executed with such grace that Diane momentarily stared.

Nerys always carried herself maturely, but even in her more relaxed moments, she exuded the elegance of a noblewoman of high status.

Not that she ever seemed out of place.

Even when Sheridan had taught them the most complex postures, Nerys had mastered them as naturally as drinking hot chocolate.

Diane figured that she was probably the only one who had ever seen Nerys act this casually. The thought made her feel oddly proud.

Meanwhile, Nerys, unaware of Diane’s musings, was deep in thought.

“They went in one after the other? I wonder where the rocking horse was found. If it had been hidden among the other gifts after being broken, Muriel might not have noticed it. There must have been a lot of presents—she wouldn’t have checked on the rocking horse constantly.”

“I don’t know where it was found. By the time I heard about it, it was already placed on the table.”

Diane thought back. She was fairly certain that Muriel had gone into the room after Heather.

Had Muriel claimed that the rocking horse was fine when she left? No…

What Muriel had said was—

“I didn’t see a broken rocking horse.”

Not that it hadn’t been broken when she was there.

Nerys read Diane’s expression and let out a cold chuckle.

The hot chocolate, once steaming, had now cooled and thickened slightly. Diane inhaled the sweet scent, then sighed, her lips unconsciously pouting.

Noticing her sulky expression, Nerys paused for a moment before speaking.

“Diane, Heather isn’t a real problem. Right now, your parents and brother still think of this as just a minor misunderstanding between children. But they care about you the most. If you truly make it clear that you don’t want her around, they’ll listen.”

Then, Nerys’ gaze darkened slightly.

“But there are other people who concern me more.”

Angelo Railing, who had set his sights on the MacKinnon estate.

Shivna MacKinnon, who worked with him.

And Nualan MacKinnon, who hid behind Muriel’s sharp words.