Chapter 51
“I… I’m not good at hurting others.”
Cecilia, who had been muttering calmly as if it were someone else’s business, turned her gaze to Sophia.
“I’m not good at refusing either. I just… I hate creating conflict. The situation itself is too stressful for me…….”
“Isn’t being hurt just as stressful and uncomfortable?”
“That’s true… but it’s not a situation I created.”
“It’s not a situation you created that is making Lady Sophia angry, either.”
Sophia’s eyes, which had been wandering toward the floor, lifted. Her tear-filled, light-brown eyes looked a little surprised.
“It’s true, isn’t it? If they hadn’t been rude first, Lady Sophia wouldn’t have had any reason to get angry.”
“…….”
“Let the filth left behind by trash return to the trash. That’s how the world gets a little cleaner.”
“I…… I’ve never thought of it that way.”
Judging by her words, it seemed plausible.
Because she was bold enough to shoot a gun well and step forward, I thought she was a courageous person, but she wasn’t at all. Sophia Demore was simply a puppy who loved people. Not a snappy little dog, but a big, gentle one.
“Today… you were so cool, Lady Cecilia.”
“Thank you.”
“I actually saw you speaking to Viscount Lenard, too. That was also so cool, and…….”
“…….”
“I should have done that to Viscount Lionel, too…….”
“Did he harm you?”
Sophia suddenly clamped her mouth shut. She wasn’t just closing it; she was holding back tears. Sophia, who was twisting her lips wildly, dropped her head low.
“Sophia?”
“I… I was so foolish, I couldn’t say anything to that bad man…!”
Finally, Sophia burst into tears. A flustered Cecilia looked around before moving into the dense woods.
She was someone with many rumors surrounding her due to her involvement with Viscount Lionel. There was no benefit in being seen crying outside.
“Lady Sophia, tell me what happened. Maybe I can help you?”
“Really? You really could?”
“Tell me the story first.”
“…That man is threatening to use the Marquis’s power to get him out of prison.”
“From prison? What on earth… is he using to make such threats?”
“I… I lent Viscount Lionel some money once.”
“Surely, that money wasn’t used in the kidnapping incident?”
Sophia nodded, sobbing hysterically.
“Evidence? Do you have evidence?”
“It was a check under my borrowed name… and he used it to hire thugs to kidnap people, he said…….”
“……Ha, how has that not been caught until now?”
“Viscount Lionel said he simply claimed it was a check under his borrowed name…….”
It was a staggering tale.
Cecilia glanced around once more. This was a story absolutely no one should hear. She looked at the young girl sobbing uncontrollably like a nuisance, then rubbed her forehead.
“Lady Sophia, first of all. You must not tell anyone this story.”
“Yes, y-yes…….”
“That, of course, includes me.”
“……Yes?”
Sophia lifted her tear-streaked face. Her dumbfounded, shocked expression was a sight to behold.
Looking at her face, it was like there was one more Margaret. Why did only such bright and innocent women flock around me? Cecilia sighed.
“How can you trust someone you met for the first time today and tell me this? What if I use it as a weakness to manipulate you?”
“B-But, Lady Cecilia helped me…….”
“Viscount Lionel was your lover. You even shared love with him?”
“……Then, are you going to… use me?”
It was a pitiful voice, with tears clinging to every syllable.
Sophia was also about to have her debutante ball, so she truly was the same age as Cecilia. Being at the age of becoming an adult, it was natural that she was still a child.
She had been raised so delicately by her family that she was overly trusting, and so gentle she bordered on being foolish.
Cecilia didn’t dislike women like this. They were innocent people. She envied their untainted purity and wished they would live happily ever after in such a world.
With the thought, Since I can’t, I hope you all can.
“I will use you.”
“Oh…….”
“And at the same time, I’ll help you.”
“Pardon?”
“It just so happens that I have something I’m curious about regarding that Viscount.”
This wasn’t what I originally intended.
Truly, she had planned to use Sophia without her realizing it.
Sophia’s family, wealth, and relationship with Viscount Lionel—there was an infinite number of things to exploit.
But looking at the young girl openly weeping in front of her, she simply couldn’t bring herself to do it. So Cecilia impulsively revealed a sliver of the truth.
“It means we’re joining hands because our interests align. I’m not helping Lady Sophia without any compensation.”
“……Wh-what’s the difference….”
“Uncompensated kindness is dangerous. There’s no reason to trust it. But a transaction is different. It requires loyalty.”
“Loyalty… where does that come from…….”
“I told you I have business with Viscount Lionel.”
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