Chapter 71

# 71

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Nabia took a deep breath, feeling the weight of Schleman's sincere words on her shoulders.

It was something she had to do anyway.

Even if she hadn't heard such words, she would have done what she had to do.

"Alright."

Just as Schleman accepted Nabia's help, Nabia also accepted his request for assistance.

The feeling wasn't too bad.

Nabia spoke again.

"Then, please buy me a tree."

Blink.

Schleman had talked a lot about the forest and trees.

But he hadn't expected her to actually ask for a real tree...

'Haha, it must be a joke. Or maybe a metaphor...'

Nabia drove the point home.

"A poplar tree."

* * *

Theorban paced restlessly, waiting for a messenger to arrive at the palace.

Since Agnes came from the wealthiest family in the empire, she would undoubtedly pay an enormous compensation.

"Surely, she'll also hand over a mana stone."

Mana stones were more precious than jewels.

Greed sparkled in Theorban's eyes.

"Sir, the messenger has returned."

Soon, the messenger he had been waiting for entered the office.

However, the report was far from what he had expected.

"What? Lark might take in that insolent foster daughter?"

That insolent brat, who had been spouting nonsense with her cunning tongue, dared to covet my position?

Theorban felt a sudden dizziness from anger.

Is this what they mean by a rolling stone dislodging a fixed one?

The messenger continued his report.

"Her Majesty mentioned the letter you sent, but Count Janeger said he needed to discuss it within the family first and firmly refused."

"That old man...!"

Schleman's lack of support was expected.

But he didn't anticipate that the brat would be used as a shield against him.

'Ha! So that's why she wasn't thrown into the dungeon but treated like a guest? To oppose me!'

Theorban's face was boiling with rage.

'If I had known this would cause trouble, I should have just killed her on the spot without a second thought.'

Now that things had come to this, removing Nabia was not an option but a necessity.

'I was already considering using an assassin.'

However, with Lark, the monster, in the house, he was unsure if the assassin would succeed.

'If that doesn't work, I can always use the maids.'

Theorban couldn't suppress his anger as he recalled the difficulties and humiliations caused by Nabia.

He wanted to smash her pretty face to pieces to feel better.

'The only reliable fact is that Lark only cares about the third floor, nothing else.'

So, he hoped everything would be settled before the compensation arrived.

#12.

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Observer

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Benny and Sylene reluctantly woke up in the morning.

"Ugh, I feel strangely stuffy."

Sylene shivered and grumbled as soon as she opened her eyes, noticing the pitch-black surroundings.

Benny also felt uneasy from the moment she woke up.

"What can we do? We have to deal with that girl we saw yesterday if we want to leave here."

They discussed how to ruin Nabia as if it were a tedious task.

"We shouldn't be too harsh from the start. We need to start with small things and gradually tighten the noose to drive her mad."

Benny grinned, and Sylene, while changing her clothes and tidying up, scolded her.

"You're just too mean, you know."

"Hey, do you even have the right to say that to me?"

There was a reason they had been directly assigned this task by Theorban.

They were exceptionally skilled at subtly tormenting people.

"So, what do you think is best?"

As Sylene pondered, Benny suggested.

"Should we catch a mouse and put it in her room?"

Sylene recoiled in disgust.

"Ew, a mouse? I don't like that!"

"Hehe, you're a coward."

"You catch it if you want to."

"Alright. What's so scary about a little mouse?"

Once today's task was decided, Benny chuckled softly.

"Hehe, this will be fun."

* * *

Nabia suddenly felt the need to build up her strength quickly, as she realized she couldn't do anything.

This would help her recover from injuries faster and increase her activity level.

She always had to keep in mind the possibility of being expelled before the one year she had promised Lark was up.

However, meeting Minerva was a stroke of luck.

Minerva had a particular talent for creating things.

The ointments, anesthetics, and recovery potions she made had noticeable effects every time Nabia used them.

'This is what they call a genius.'

At that moment, the maids entered the bedroom.

"Good morning, Miss."

Their polite smiles and cheerful attitudes made them seem friendly to Nabia.

Nabia sat up and greeted them with an innocent face.

"Yep, good morning."

"The weather is nice today! A few days ago, it suddenly rained and even snowed."

Nabia only smiled faintly.

"Indeed."

The maids, not noticing her meaningful expression, opened the curtains to let the sunlight in.

Sylene scanned the room, then wrapped her arms around herself and muttered.

"It's still dark even with the sunlight."

Nabia observed Sylene like a hunter who had spotted her prey.

'Now that I think about it, she was more afraid of this place than Benny yesterday.'

Sylene frequently checked her clothes to see if they had been stained black.

'She must be quite timid.'

Nabia liked people who were timid. It meant they had many weaknesses.

"Have your breakfast, Miss."

"Okay."

While Nabia was focused on her meal, Benny pretended to tidy the bedding and slipped a dead mouse she had found early in the morning into it.

'How surprised will she be when she tries to lie down and finds the dead mouse?'

The thought was so amusing that Benny had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

After finishing her meal, Nabia tried to wipe her body with a damp cloth.

Seeing this, Sylene's eyes sparkled as she approached Nabia.

"Oh, let me help you."

Sylene intended to aggravate Nabia's wounds while pretending to clean her body thoroughly.

How could Nabia not see through her dark intentions?

Nabia would have let it go, but recovering from her injuries was important, so she refused.

"No, I'll do it myself."

"You can't even reach your back. Let me do it, please give me the cloth."

However, Sylene ignored Nabia's refusal and took the cloth without hesitation.

Nabia wanted to sigh.

She had anticipated that they would try to torment her in some way, so she was prepared for a few more injuries.

Still, she didn't like the idea of pain and naturally wanted to avoid it if possible.

There was no one to help her now, so resistance would only make things worse.

'I'm not even Lark's foster daughter, and I'm no longer related to Agnes.'

Nabia was only being treated as a lady because Lark had left her alone; otherwise, she would have been imprisoned as a criminal.

So, she had no choice but to endure. She couldn't match their strength, as there were two adults.

Just as Nabia was about to reluctantly nod,

Knock knock.

The door opened, and Minerva entered with her medical bag.

Minerva spoke with a stiff expression.

"Good, morning, Miss."

Her tone sounded like someone being controlled, as if she was trying hard to speak accurately without stuttering.