Chapter 010. Their Twisted Hero (6)

“Could you teach me some of the Hernia script?”

In truth, it was a gamble.

He still didn’t know whose side Peggy was on or why Rosalyn kept pairing them together. Nothing was clear.

But he couldn’t just sit idly by. He needed to extract information from the only person he could converse with aside from Rosalyn.

After all, Peggy wasn’t the only one with family she needed to meet.

* * *

Afterward, whenever Sionne was left alone in the room, he would rummage through Rosalyn’s work desk.

He did this in hopes of finding any information about Merilyn and Anna.

Reports on the annual yields of Anata and the surrounding territories.

Military reports from Anata and nearby regions.

But the scattered documents had nothing to do with what Sionne wanted to know. All he learned was how dire the situation in Anata was.

“This isn’t it either.”

Sionne put down the papers he was reading and ruffled his hair in frustration.

He tried searching for ‘Merilyn’ and ‘Anna’ among the Hernia letters he barely understood, but he couldn’t find a single clue.

*Sigh…*

The more he looked at the messy desk, the more hopeless it seemed. Could there really be any information about his family in this disorganized pile of papers?

Creak.

Just then, without warning, the door opened.

“So, the little rat has now taken to digging through papers?”

Rosalyn stood leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching him. Her voice had an odd, slightly elevated tone, unlike usual.

Sionne awkwardly stood up, surprised to see her return earlier than expected.

“I heard you can’t even read Hernia script. What exactly are you looking at?”

“…”

“Answer me. Who taught you to read?”

Rosalyn tapped her arm with her finger, issuing a warning.

“I can read the basics.”

Sionne replied with a blank expression.

“Ha? Really?”

Rosalyn laughed in disbelief. She walked briskly over to the desk, pulled open a drawer, and retrieved a small piece of paper.

“Read this.”

She shoved the paper in front of him.

“?”

“It’s basic, right? Go ahead and read it.”

Sionne stared at the paper in his hand. There were a few familiar letters, but he couldn’t piece together the full meaning.

A proper prince of Feitan would have been able to read it fluently.

But he had only begun formal education at the age of eighteen, and he hadn’t had enough time to properly learn Hernian script.

“You need to read it.”

Rosalyn pressed, her tone threatening, as Sionne continued to glare at the paper in silence.

“Before I rip the tongue out of the maid who disobeyed my orders.”

She had already figured out who the culprit was.

“Report: As per the… commands issued, mmm…”

Sionne struggled, reading the Hernian words in halting fragments. The few letters he recognized were ones he had picked up during the war with Hernia.

“No, that letter is ‘Me.'”

Rosalyn corrected him, pointing to the spot where he had faltered.

“And this one is ‘An.’ Do you know who these letters refer to?”

Sionne bit his lip. It was clear they were referring to Merilyn and Anna.

“The letters may not be the same as those used in their names, but they’re pronounced similarly. That’s how they’re being referenced.”

“…”

“But you can’t read, can you? Even when it’s right in front of you.”

Rosalyn waved the paper in front of him and then, without hesitation, tore it to shreds.

The ripped pieces of paper fluttered down at his feet.

“Don’t waste your time. Focus on your role.”

It was a warning.

Though what exactly his role was supposed to be remained unclear to him.

* * *

The warning didn’t end there.

The next day, Rosalyn caught Peggy when she visited the room, as usual.

And then, she personally handed Sionne a sword.

“Kill her.”

The person who gave this cruel order wore an expression filled with deep boredom.

“Aah…”

The young girl with chubby cheeks let out a faint groan. Her slender shoulders trembled instinctively from fear.

Sionne glanced between the sword in his hand and Peggy’s pale, terrified face. He had no idea how to handle this situation.

The thick atmosphere of despair and helplessness filled the room.

“I told you I don’t like repeating myself, didn’t I?”

A lazy voice interrupted the tense silence. It was Rosalyn de Anata, the one who had driven the situation to its worst possible conclusion.

“Kill her, Sionne.”

“Couldn’t you spare her… just this once?”

“Spare her?”

“I was the one who asked her to teach me. I’m the one who should be punished…”

“Hahahaha!”

Before Sionne could even finish speaking, Rosalyn laughed loudly, the sound grating to the ears. Her laughter made anyone watching feel an overwhelming sense of discomfort.

“You say the funniest things.”

Rosalyn wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingers, looking as if she had been unbearably bored just moments before.

“You’re already being punished, aren’t you?”

Rosalyn abruptly stopped laughing and asked, her voice suddenly cold.

“Was she the only one who disobeyed my orders? I’m punishing both of you.”

Unfolding her arms, Rosalyn approached Sionne. She leaned in close to him and whispered.

“Know your place, Sionne Feitan.”

The muscles in Sionne’s jaw tensed. He was clearly struggling to hold back his rising emotions.

“Ah! Or maybe… is the opponent too insignificant for you?”

Rosalyn spoke as if she had just come to a realization. She assumed Sionne’s hesitation was because of something she had decided in her own mind.

“Hmm, that might be it.”

Rosalyn smiled beautifully, like a poisonous mushroom, and nodded her head.

Seeing that smile, Sionne’s eyes wavered. Though they hadn’t known each other long, he already understood how dangerous she became when she wore that expression.

“No…!”

But before he could stop her, Rosalyn pulled a dagger from her robes.

Thud. She carelessly dropped the dagger at her feet.

Scrape. She nudged the dagger with her foot until it slid in front of the now ashen-faced maid.

“Hey, you. You want to live, don’t you?”

Rosalyn’s voice was soft, as if she were explaining something to a child.

“Then, pick that up and stab Sionne.”

“!”

Peggy looked down in shock at the ornate dagger before her.

“I’d give you a sword to make it fair, but judging by your arms, you wouldn’t be able to wield it properly.”

Clicking her tongue in displeasure, Rosalyn swept her gaze over Peggy’s frail arms.

“So I’ll say this just once. Listen carefully.”

Rosalyn hooked her arm around Sionne’s neck and pulled him forward.

“Ugh.”

Her slender, calloused fingers pressed firmly on specific points along his rigid neck.

“Thrust it here. If you succeed, I’ll let you live.”

Peggy picked up the dagger with trembling hands. It was short, but its edge was razor-sharp.

The girl clutched the knife tightly with both hands. In this room, she, the weakest one, had to hold onto any weapon she could.

“Pfft!”

“?”

“So, you’re willing to stab Sionne just to survive, huh?”

Rosalyn smirked, narrowing her eyes as if pleased by Peggy’s decision.

“No, no! Your Grace, I’m so sorry! I truly didn’t mean to!”

But Peggy’s reaction wasn’t what Rosalyn expected. Despite gripping the dagger tightly, she was begging for forgiveness.

“I have… I have younger siblings. If I die, my family, my household… they’ll all… Huhuhu…”

“I didn’t ask.”

Rosalyn’s face twisted in disgust at Peggy’s pitiful plea.

“I never said you could beg for mercy.”

“Grand Duke”

“Seriously, are all of you the same, using weakness as a weapon?”

Rosalyn sneered, but even though she was smiling, the air in the room grew more dangerous.

Sionne watched Rosalyn carefully, ready to intervene if things escalated any further.

“So, if I spare you?”

“Pardon?”

“Would you deceive me again?”

Though Rosalyn’s gaze was fixed on Peggy, it was as if she was staring at someone beyond her.

“You all live in such predictable ways, don’t you?”

Rosalyn irritably brushed back the stray hair that had fallen across her face as she muttered to herself.

“When you show mercy, you use it as an opportunity to betray.”

Rosalyn took a step closer to Peggy.

“I hate.”

One step. The girl’s lips turned white from fear.

“Those who pretend to be weak while hiding their true intentions.”

Another step. The girl’s eyes sank into a deep, black despair.

“I find them so revolting, I can’t stand it.”

“…”

One more step. Blood trickled from between the girl’s clenched teeth as she struggled to suppress the hatred rising inside her.