The Price Is Your Everything - Chapter 36

Thud!

With a sound even heavier than that, Nualan staggered backward.

For a moment, it looked as though he might fall over the railing, causing a few people to scream.

But he barely managed to grip the edge, steadying himself as he stood.

“I-I told you it’s not true! Jo, don’t you trust me?”

“Then why is my sister crying?!”

Fury burned in Joyce’s eyes.

From the first floor, the Count, Countess, and Shivna rushed up the stairs.

“There are guests here! What’s going on? Were you two fighting?”

“What is the meaning of this, Nualan?”

Nerys had never been formally introduced to Shivna since arriving at the mansion, but she recognized him immediately.

A man whose lack of confidence hunched his shoulders and whose eyes carried both defeat and the defensiveness that came with it.

At least Nualan could deceive people with his outward appearance.

And true to form, Nualan didn’t seem remotely fazed by his father’s reprimand.

Rolling his eyes, he tried to muster a casual smile despite his swelling face.

“There’s been a misunderstanding, Uncle, Aunt. Jo, let’s go downstairs first. We can talk this out calmly, okay?”

By taking control of the situation and subtly implying that Joyce had caused the commotion by acting recklessly, Nualan’s words were cleverly crafted.

Some of the onlookers began to step back.

Then, Nerys suddenly burst into loud sobs.

“Diane! Diane, are you okay? You’re not bruised, are you? I really thought something terrible was going to happen because of brother Nualan…!”

Bruises.

At that word, the Count and Countess’ faces hardened.

Nualan saw their gazes shift toward him, their trust faltering.

And at that moment, he understood.

Nerys had called for witnesses not by claiming he had tried to kill Diane—but by saying he had hit her. (T/N: What a fking madwoman! )

People preferred explanations that fit within their understanding.

If Nerys had accused him of attempted murder, few would have believed it outright. But hitting Diane? That was something easy to believe.

More than that—

Nualan’s gaze dropped to Diane’s legs.

Through the crowd, Betty pushed her way forward.

Joyce handed Diane over to her, giving a clear instruction.

“Check her for injuries.”

“Yes, young master.”

Nualan wanted to stop Betty, but she was already beyond his reach.

Shivna, who had been watching with narrowed eyes, finally spoke.

“Nualan! What did you do to make her cry? Apologize to Diane this instant!”

Nerys nearly laughed.

An apology? For what?

An attempt on someone’s life could only be answered with a life in return.

An old adage, older than the empire itself—An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Shivna’s words didn’t sit well with the others either.

He had failed to properly raise his son, and yet here he was, raising his voice without so much as an apology to his older brother and sister-in-law.

A scream rang out from the nearby room.

“Oh my heavens, my lady! What happened to you?!”

That alone was enough.

The Count’s expression turned to stone, and the Countess, maintaining her composure, began dismissing the guests.

“I apologize for this disturbance on such a joyous evening. It is a private family matter, so please, do not trouble yourselves. Shall we move to the drawing room?”

Of course, because it was a private family matter, the guests were brimming with curiosity.

But they couldn’t defy their hosts’ wishes.

Reluctantly, they scattered, retreating to the drawing room, music hall, or banquet hall—where they would undoubtedly spend the entire night speculating.

“Nualan, Joyce. It’s late. Both of you, go to your rooms. And little one, you shouldn’t be out at this hour either. Go to bed.”

“…Yes.”

The “little one” they referred to this time—Nerys—answered with an appropriately dejected and shaken expression.

She then planted herself by the door where Betty had taken Diane.

The Count and Countess didn’t press her further, instead leading the remaining nobles to the drawing room.

Nualan said nothing as he left, but the look he shot Nerys was filled with malice.

Even so, she wasn’t afraid.

No matter how much taller and stronger he was, the worst he could do to her was kill her.

And death was merely the loss of expectation.

Nerys had no expectations for the future.

Thus, death did not scare her.

And by extension, neither did Nualan’s anger.

—

Betty emerged with Diane a short while later.

Diane, her expression heavy with exhaustion, brightened slightly when she saw Nerys waiting for her.

Nerys had intended to escort Diane back to her room before heading to her own.

But as she turned to leave, she felt a small hand grab her sleeve.

She looked back at Diane, now seated on the bed, and spoke softly.

“There. You had a long night.”

Diane, her eyes red from crying, hesitated before murmuring,

“…Can we sleep together?”

For a moment, Nerys didn’t understand the question.

Then it clicked.

Diane was, unlike her, a real child.

And she had nearly been killed tonight.

It made sense that she would want to be near the only person who had witnessed it and helped her escape.

Lady Betty, having just returned with an ointment for Diane’s bruises, spoke up.

“Miss Nerys, if you don’t mind, I can bring anything you need for the night.”

Had she not wanted to, no amount of persuasion from Betty—or anyone—would have convinced her.

But she had no real reason to refuse.

So Nerys sat beside Diane on the bed.

“Alright. Your bed is big enough—I doubt I’ll roll off.”

“I sleep really still!”

Diane tried to smile, but it came out weak.

Betty, finishing up with the ointment, went to stoke the fireplace, muttering furiously.

“I never would have imagined… Master Nualan—that kind of man! What could our lady have possibly done to deserve this? And more importantly—”

The bruises on Diane’s legs weren’t in places one would expect from ordinary violence.

Betty’s words trailed off as she frowned in thought.

Diane burrowed under the thick goose-down blanket and gave a simple command.

“Betty, I want to sleep now. Turn off the lights.”

“Yes, my lady. The firewood is sufficient—it’ll stay warm until morning. Sleep well. Do you want some chocolate or cake?”

“I’m fine, just turn off the lights.”

Even the rare chance to indulge in a late-night treat didn’t tempt Diane. She simply responded weakly.

Betty sighed heavily, snuffed out the candles, and left the room.

Nerys removed her robe and climbed under the covers in her white nightgown, settling next to Diane.

The room was luxurious, filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance. But Diane’s expression, as she stared up at the gold-embroidered canopy above her bed, was far from that of a content young lady—her face was burdened with deep worry.

Several quiet breaths passed between them. When it became clear that Nerys wasn’t going to speak first, Diane couldn’t hold back any longer.

“How did you know?”

“You mean brother Nualan’s plan? I already told you—I guessed.”

Of course, if she hadn’t spent so much time in her previous life wondering why Diane never attended the same academy, she might have missed the clues.

And if she hadn’t taken an interest in the languages of foreign minority groups, she wouldn’t have been able to confirm her suspicions.

But there was no need to mention all that.

“You’re really smart!”

Diane, caught in a moment of pure admiration, felt her chest lighten ever so slightly—some of the gloom and fear that had been weighing her down dissipating.

Nerys turned on her side and watched Diane’s face.

Even with the candles extinguished, the glow from the fireplace illuminated the young girl’s expression clearly.

“Diane, listen carefully. Your parents would do anything for you. If they lost you, they would be devastated.”

“…Yeah, they would.”

The weight of if they lost you, they would be devastated sank into Diane’s small heart, making her nose sting with emotion.

But Nerys, showing no sentimentality over her own words, continued in a level voice.

“Brother Nualan, Angelo Railing, and Shivna MacKinnon—they were all targeting you. Maybe they didn’t originally intend to kill you, but once I showed up, they probably thought, why not? Now we have a perfect scapegoat.”

People, even when they knew the full truth, had a tendency to distort it in ways that made it easier for them to accept.

That meant that even if suspicions arose, the MacKinnon Count and Countess—if pressured by the people they normally trusted—might have ended up believing that a powerless, unknown little girl was the real culprit.

Diane’s face went blank with shock.

Nerys understood what she was feeling.

She had trusted them because they were family.

She had always endured for them, acted for them.

And yet, what had they ultimately wanted?

Some people, when treated with kindness, only demanded more.

They had been given love, respect, and even deference—yet it still wasn’t enough.

Now, they wanted her life as well.

Thinking this, Nerys let out a bitter smile.

“They wouldn’t gain anything from killing you outright. You were just the first step. If you were hurt, your parents wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else for a while. Your brother would be the same. And when that happens, someone else would have to step in to take their place. The person who gains the most is usually the culprit.”

That kind of deduction only came after first being certain that a crime had been committed. Diane understood that much, at least faintly.

But she hadn’t yet developed the vocabulary or reasoning skills to articulate her suspicions clearly—her education hadn’t reached that point.

Instead, she turned to a different set of questions—ones that had been piling up endlessly in her mind.

“How did you get them to move the sacred water just at the right time? How did you know it would happen tonight? Huh?”

Festival decorations—especially something as important as the sacred water—weren’t usually repositioned in the middle of an ongoing event.

That meant Nerys had arranged it herself.

“It made the most sense that they’d act tonight. And there was only one window of time to slip away during the gathering.”

The timing—Nualan himself had practically handed it to her.

All that nonsense about lifting Diane up to show her the first floor, the way his eyes had gleamed as he stared at the balcony—it had been unsettlingly obvious.

If he was planning to throw Diane off the second floor, there was only one logical moment to do it.

The grand banquet—formal, dazzling, and the most tempting event for a child’s curiosity.

Between the banquet and the post-dinner gatherings—when people were the most relaxed and servants weren’t constantly walking through the hall.

During the banquet itself, too many attendants were moving around with food, making it difficult for Nualan to leave without drawing suspicion.

During the later gatherings, it would have been too late—there would be no way to claim that Diane had accidentally wandered out of her room.

Nerys closed her eyes.

“I told the servants that your mother ordered them to move the sacred water. Make sure to clear that up tomorrow.”

“Of course!”

Diane’s eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly.

Then, seeing Nerys’ closed eyes, she waved her hand in front of her face.

Feeling the movement, Nerys frowned slightly and opened her eyes again.

“I’m going to sleep now. What?”

“How can you sleep? Nothing’s been solved! What do I do, Riz? Huh? How am I supposed to face brother Nualan and Uncle Shivna tomorrow? Just looking at them makes me want to throw a rock at them!”

“You won’t have to. Your parents won’t let them anywhere near you.”

“Still! Why didn’t you just tell everyone the truth back there?”

Diane couldn’t understand.

She wasn’t blaming Nerys—after all, she had been the one too afraid to speak up, too paralyzed by the fear of breaking apart her family.

But Nerys had lied, as if she had a plan all along.

Nerys sighed.

“Diane, some things are more effective when left unsaid.”

“…If you don’t say them?”

“You make people figure them out for themselves. People might doubt what others tell them, but they rarely question the conclusions they reach on their own.”

The more shocking the realization, the more this held true.

Nerys knew that she had a lot to do the next day.

And none of it required Diane’s help.

To conserve her energy, she firmly shut her eyes.

Seeing this, Diane rolled her own eyes before shifting closer.

She wriggled forward, pressing herself against Nerys and throwing an arm and leg over her.

There was no way Nerys wouldn’t notice, but she didn’t move.

Smiling to herself, Diane closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.