#05. I Won’t Be a Victim Again

 “What?”

 Penelope had a dumbfounded look on her face.

 It made sense. Back then, I always tried to be respectful in front of Penelope, afraid of earning Taran’s hatred.

 ‘At the very least, I never dared to defy her in front of Taran.’

 She was Taran’s aunt. Wanting his love, I tried to stay in her good graces even when she treated me unfairly and with contempt.

 Perhaps I believed I had done something wrong without realizing it. I expected things would change if I just behaved well enough.

 How foolish.

 “Y-you, how dare you make such false accusations against me!”

 As expected, Penelope was no amateur. The moment I pointed at her, she made a show of tearing up for Taran to see.

 “Did you see that, Taran? I knew this child hated me as her stepmother…!”

 Falling to her knees with a thud, Penelope began sobbing loudly.

 “Still, I overlooked it thinking she was just a child from outside, still adjusting…  sob!”

 She even made up a story on the spot.

 Even though I was an ignorant and foolish half-breed, her skill at tormenting me, a Grand Duke’s daughter, for years was admirable.

 “My lady, please dry your tears!”

 “This is too much, there are so many witnesses!”

 “My lady even promised to forget everything if the precious item was just returned! And yet–!”

 Penelope’s personal maids quickly fell to their knees and wailed loudly.

 But from my low vantage point, I could see it.

 The corners of Penelope’s mouth curling up as she pretended to sob with her head down.

 ‘Not a bad scheme.’

 Taran hates noise, and he hates troublesome matters even more.

 This scene of people blaming each other and shifting responsibility is exactly the kind of thing Taran would hate most.

 ‘Originally, Taran found me annoying anyway.’

 So he would want nothing to do with all this, and I could clearly picture his back as he walked away complaining about the hassle.

 And then how Penelope would deal with me once she dropped her weak act after he left.

 But….

 “Brother Taran.”

 Did they think I would just be a victim again?

 I spoke up, not caring whether Taran listened or not, though maintaining the appearance of making a formal complaint.

 “Didn’t Penelope say she searched the entire castle?”

 “Yes.”

 …Huh?

 I hid my inner surprise at his unexpected response. I thought he would surely ignore me.

 ‘No, who cares about Taran.’

 That’s not what’s important.

 I raised my voice so everyone could hear:

 “I wonder if Penelope thoroughly searched the secret safe under the yellow tulip still life next to her bedroom.”

 “……!”

 Startled by this unexpected revelation, Penelope stared at me in shock. I continued, pretending not to notice.

 “What was it, the slightly white brick on the bottom left of the center–”

 “Shut up!”

 Unable to pretend anymore at this continued exposure, Penelope screamed while glaring at me. Her demeanor was menacing, as if she would harm me at any moment.

 However,

 “A secret safe, you say.”

 Before I knew it, a solid wall-like back was protecting me, blocking my view.

 “Sounds interesting. I wonder what’s hidden in there?”

 …Why is this guy being so cooperative?

 Like me, Penelope also seemed quite shocked. She hurriedly tried to explain to Taran.

 “No, no! Taran, the Divine Beast’s egg isn’t there!”

 “‘The egg isn’t there,’ huh? So something else is?”

 “T-that’s…”

 Under Taran’s questioning, Penelope’s face began to tremble. After rolling her eyes around frantically, she met my gaze.

 “I… I’m sorry, Young Lady!”

 “!”

 The moment our eyes met, Penelope fell to her knees and, surprisingly, even bowed her head.

 “Our Young Lady, I was misled by the servants’ false words!”

 She even elevated her speech, pounding her chest with her fist as fresh tears streamed down.

 “Sob, sob.“

 It was a sight that would appear pitiful and sympathetic to anyone watching.

 Beyond being dumbfounded by her remarkable change in attitude, I was even impressed. While admitting fault was the lowest move, it was the best option in the current situation.

 “I didn’t know that you, a daughter of Dragonia, would be so fragile…”

 “!”

 My face, which had been calmly listening to her apology, hardened.

 ‘Fragile’ had long been my weakness. Unlike other Dragonias, I didn’t possess a transcendental body.

 ‘That’s why I was suspected of being a fake Dragonia.’

 With my mother’s unclear origins and lacking the robustness of other Dragonias, I was constantly met with suspicious glances questioning if I was really the Grand Duke’s daughter.

 This was why I was mistreated by not only Penelope but even the maids, and why I was constantly called a half-breed.

 “Sob.  It’s all my fault. Please accept my apology.”

 Having successfully jabbed at my weakness, Penelope subtly lowered her tone. Following her lead, her lackeys quickly pressed their foreheads to the floor in apology.

 “Please forgive us!”

 “That’s right. Lady Penelope truly didn’t know about your condition.”

 “Please show mercy…!”

 This was an implicit demonstration.

 Don’t make a big deal out of this when you can’t even prove if you’re a real Dragonia,

 Know your place.

 ‘The past me would have really given in.’

 She even apologized on her knees, after all. It’s not easy for an adult, especially Taran’s aunt, to do such a thing.

 Even though I wouldn’t have been okay with it at all inside, I would have forced myself to forgive her.

 ‘Otherwise, I would be the only one criticized.’

 No matter what happened, making Taran’s aunt kneel — they’d say I was arrogant and selfish for a mere half-breed Dragonia.

 So realistically, the best option would be to nod and accept the apology to end the situation, but…

 “No.”

 “Yes, thank you for your mercy… What?”

 Not my problem.

 The maids who had been answering before even hearing my response, and Penelope who had been nodding naturally, all froze.

 ‘Let them criticize me. What does it matter?’

 This is just a nightmare anyway. I smiled at them defiantly as I answered.

 “You falsely accused me out of nowhere, then assaulted me as a group and tried to drag me away by force.”

 “T-that’s…”

 And that’s just talking about what happened just now. If I were to count everything Penelope had done to me since I first arrived at the Blue Stone Castle, ten fingers wouldn’t be enough.

 “After all that, you want mercy?”

 “That’s why I’m kneeling and apologizing…”

 “So what? Is there some law that says I must forgive just because you apologize?”

 “……”

 Penelope opened her mouth with a bewildered expression. I could see her hands trembling on her knees.

 Her face contorted with humiliation, but when she met Taran’s gaze, she quickly adopted a servile manner and asked,

 “Then, what should I do…”

 “It’s simple. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…”

 I approached Penelope while staring directly into her eyes. And when I got close enough,

 “For violence, violence!”

 WHAM!

 I headbutted her with all my might.

 “Aagh!”

 As her scream of pain followed the cracking sound, I smiled inwardly.

 ‘I’ve wanted to hit you back exactly like this every time you raised your hand against me, you horrible woman.’

 But it really does hurt… Groaning from my bruised head, I looked up and my eyes widened at the sight before me.

 I wasn’t the only one surprised.

 “Lady Penelope! B-blood–!”

 “…Blood?”

 Penelope quickly covered her nose as blood dripped down.

 When our eyes met, I couldn’t help but laugh. I never thought I’d see the day I’d reduce that woman to this state.

 “Y-you dare–!”

 Penelope, having lost her composure, forgot even her pretense of civility and tried to lunge at me.

 However,

 “BWAHAHAHAHA!”

 A sudden burst of loud laughter froze everyone in place.

 “Ah, damn! This is fucking hilarious!”

 Because the laughter came from Taran.

 He laughed heartily, not caring about appearances at all, even holding his stomach.

 “Whew– Ah, really. This is so funny.”

 After laughing for a while and even wiping away tears, Taran slowly raised his head.

 Those characteristic Dragonian blue eyes were twinkling with amusement as they looked at me.

 “Partanie, you’re really something else!”

 “……”

 My mind froze at this unexpected reaction. Taran wasn’t someone who smiled at me often.

 No, he did smile — but those were closer to sneers, not bright smiles like this.

 ‘But why?’

 I couldn’t understand it.

 But then again, how could I understand someone nicknamed the Mad Dog?

 Having laughed his fill, Taran roughly ruffled my hair, still wearing a smile.

 “Ha, it’s been a while since I’ve had such a good laugh.”

 “L-Lord Taran?”

 I wasn’t the only one confused.

 The maids who had been trying to grab me while watching Penelope’s reaction with her bloody nose carefully spoke up.

 “Um. The lady…”

 “What about her?”

 “M-My lady is injured……”

 “Ah, right. Her nose is bleeding.”

 As if just remembering, Taran turned sharply to look at Penelope.

 Perhaps harboring silent expectations because Taran turned to look at her, Penelope’s eyes welled up with tears while covering her blood-covered nose.

 “Taran, look! That thing did this to me, your aunt…!”

 “Ha, it’s still funny looking at it again.”

 Taran snickered again.

 Penelope was taken aback by his behavior, which was closer to that of a delinquent thug than a nephew.

 “Why, why are you acting like this, Taran. That thing just—!”

 “Ah— you’re so fucking clueless.”

 You didn’t even get your money’s worth.

 Bending down to cast a shadow over Penelope’s face, Taran wiped the smile off his face and muttered in a low voice.

 “Did you think I’d just let your bullshit slide? Keep your mouth shut and stay put.”

 Penelope’s face turned pale at his ruthless tone, which was nothing like how a nephew should speak to his aunt.