Chapter 5

And from here on, it's Belta's speculation -- her sister likely fled after burying the method of concoction in darkness.

No, if Beller moved after three years, there's a possibility that she hid multiple fake recipes. She might have searched, found, and tested them, only to realize they were all fakes, and then sought out her sister.

The only one who had any interaction with her sister. The sister who disappeared without a trace right after her sister's death.

But that's just a possibility; it's not certain that the sister... Belta... knows about the drugs. There's a chance she has them without realizing it.

That's why Beller has abducted Belta and is trying to take possession of her belongings. Even if she is a commoner, she can't easily speak about the existence of the drugs, so Beller is avoiding direct questions and is trying to handle the situation while preparing for the possibility that Belta doesn't know.

But the fact that he's resorting to such rough methods already shows that it's all in vain.

Yes, if she doesn't know, and has been holding the evidence without realizing it, then taking it away would be the end of it. But ---

"You know, don't you?"

Belta knew.

She knew what the earl had made her sister do.

"You know -- you have it, don't you!"

She knew what her sister had entrusted to her.

Beller, who had discarded his noble elegance, shouted and grabbed Belta by the collar, lifting her up. Belta, tied to the chair, was pulled up by her upper body, causing her body to creak. It was hard to breathe, but she couldn't stop laughing.

The situation hadn't changed. Beller stood in front of her, and Belta was tied to the chair. But their mental states had reversed. Beller, who had been maintaining a composed demeanor, was now showing his anxiety and anger as he grabbed the commoner girl. Belta, who had been trembling with hatred and anger, was now laughing uncontrollably with joy.

Belta, who had always frowned and glared, now had her cheeks flushed, and her face was filled with joy, like a young girl who was delighted by a large birthday cake. The only thing that satisfied Belta now was the fact that her sister had managed to get back at Beller. The joy of knowing that her sister, who had been killed cruelly, had managed to make the other party speechless.

She laughed, not caring about the man's direct threats, feeling very pleased.

If he had treated her roughly, Belta would not have been shaken. Beller clicked his tongue in a vulgar manner.

"Is it a letter? What kind of communication did you have with your sister, using a method only you two could understand? No, that doesn't matter. Just tell me where you hid the recipe. If you do, I'll spare your life."

"My belongings have already been investigated. It's a pity you didn't notice."

"What?"

"If you didn't recognize it when you saw it, you'll never get your hands on the recipe again."

Beller already knew where Belta was staying and what she had with her. If there was something necessary, it would have been easy for his men to search Belta's room thoroughly. The fact that he had to abduct Belta means he couldn't find it. The recipe.

Of course. The earl had his subordinates check the letters to prevent her from seeking help from the outside. It was impossible for her to leak the recipe while being monitored.

So her sister... had taken a gamble.

She glared at Beller with a full smile. It felt so good!

"I won't tell you even if I know. I won't tell you even if I die! Just look at this, Earl!"

"…!"

"Gyah!"

Beller's hand struck Belta's cheek roughly. Belta, who had been hit by an adult male, fell sideways with the chair. Beller stepped on her, but he only stepped on the edge of the backrest. The sound of hard objects colliding echoed in the room.

"How dare a commoner, a peasant, defy me! It was already unbearable that a mere peasant would pretend to know and expose the secrets of the estate!"

Beller, upon hearing about the painkiller without bitterness that Belta's sister had concocted, immediately moved to cover it up. He had taken her sister for further research to improve the precision of the drug. However, it had always bothered him that a mere peasant had achieved something that the earl's family, who had been researching drugs, had not.

Moreover, the recipe for the concoction had gone missing with her sister's death. He thought it had been hidden carelessly, but all the recipes he found were fakes. For three years, he had repeatedly tried to concoct it based on the remaining information, but the bitterness could not be eliminated. As a result, the drug that had once been in circulation was now smoldering. If this continued, he might lose his customers. That's why he was anxious. He needed the recipe that Belta's sister had created to make a powerful drug without bitterness.

But he couldn't find it at all.

He suspected that it had all been destroyed, but given the character of the creator, that was unlikely. If the recipe for the drug was destroyed, the drug could not be made, but neither could the neutralizer. Because she was concerned about the existence of the drug, she could not have completely destroyed it.

And its existence linked the drug to the raw material, the weeds. The weeds that grew in the Backlin estate were not found everywhere. Even if she pretended not to know, eventually the source of the drug would be traced, and if the raw materials were known, it would be revealed that she had sold the drug. It was more likely that she had left the recipe to bring about the downfall of the Backlin earl, not just to neutralize the drug.

For the earl, the nobles were his customers, but once the truth was exposed, the customers would leave. There were many important customers, but the earl would be the one to be cut off. If a higher authority moved, the dark history of the earl's family would be destroyed.

After that, he searched for the sister, who had left the village, and found that she was enrolled in the royal capital's academy. Her enrollment was so inappropriate that he immediately realized she knew something. She must have been planning something. With no time to waste, Beller decided to abduct her sister, Belta, and extract the information. There was no need to consider a commoner's feelings.

If she confessed while he was being gentle, that would be fine. If she didn't, he would torture her. Even though she was enrolled in the academy where the second prince was, she was just a lowly commoner.

Belta, who had been stepped on, looked up at the earl with a cold eye.

"…You may be of noble birth, but you're not a noble."

"What?"

"You can't be a noble like those high-born people. You're different from the nobles I've seen at the academy."

The young, future-bearing nobles.

Many thought it was inappropriate for a commoner like Belta to be there, but she didn't mind. It was true. Belta had forced her way into the academy, and there was no way she could master what they had learned over years in just a few years. Her knowledge was superficial. She could pass a paper test, but using that knowledge was a different matter.

They accepted the results she produced. They reached out to her despite the difference in status. They called her, invited her to tea parties, and even helped her with her studies. Belta couldn't express it on her face, but each of these was a joyous event for her. For Belta, who could only move forward driven by revenge, their kindness truly warmed her cold heart.

Belta had been living off of them in that academy, which she thought was full of enemies.

The duty of the noble.

When she was with the second prince and his entourage, Belta always remembered these words.

--- Belta wanted their power.

She didn't know who the earl's customers were, so she couldn't blindly cling to them. She wanted to cling to a clean-spirited authority figure.

She wanted to borrow the tiger's might.

But -- if she was protected like a kitten, she couldn't use the tiger's might to bring someone down. Belta wanted to be a fox, not a kitten. She wanted to be a clever being who could use others, not a protected one. She wanted to be a bad child for revenge.

In the end, the reason she couldn't ask them for help, the reason she couldn't ask them about her sister, was because she couldn't become a fox. She couldn't be clever with them.

The more she studied, the more she realized that the power they held couldn't be used selfishly.

Belta, who had entered the academy to gain their power, was also a lowly person.

And this man, who entraps others and enriches himself, is also a lowly person, unworthy of the name noble.

"You're not a noble. You're just a lowly scoundrel who killed my sister."

Belta's insult made Beller's face flush with anger. Veins bulged on his forehead as he raised his foot high ---

The door to the room opened with a loud bang, and Beller was sent flying to the wall almost simultaneously.

When Belta felt the wind, Beller was already gone from her sight, and in his place was a leg encased in a fine greave. Belta, who had never seen such a thing up close, didn't know what it was for a moment.

By the time she realized it was a knight's plate armor, the owner of the greave was already on his knees. The blue scabbard of his sword caught her eye, and the rough gauntlet that lifted her along with the overturned chair finally made her understand who had appeared.

"Lord Rennart...?"

When she called his name in a daze, the man in the splendid armor she had never seen in the academy nodded quietly.

In the academy, he prioritized protection, and the students around him made it impossible for him to walk around in full armor. As a knight, he was usually in light armor. The heavily armored knights guarded the entrances and exits of the academy, so it made sense. Belta, seeing his heavy armor, was so surprised that she forgot the situation.

Why is Rennart here?

"Excuse me for the sudden intrusion, Earl Backlin."

While Belta was in a daze, a soft voice came from the open door, making her jump. It was Rennart, but more surprisingly, it was the voice of someone who shouldn't be here. Beller, who had been sent flying to the wall, was lying on the floor. He didn't seem to be unconscious, but he didn't have the presence of mind to respond.

The one who appeared in the chaotic room was none other than:

"Prince Benedikt... and Lord Hannes...?"

The marshmallow-like second prince smiled beautifully.

The suspicious next prime minister candidate smiled suspiciously.