I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 159

Having identified the man as Dad, I waited for the Grand Duke to return to the manor.

 

I still wasn’t sure how to treat him.

 

Should I reveal that I actually knew? Or should I wait for him to tell me first?

 

If I did, should I be angry first, or should I thank him for his help?

 

As if sensing my thoughts, Carson asked, “Leen, what do you think of the Grand Duke?”

 

“I resent him.”

 

I understand that the Grand Duke was against my mother’s marriage to my father.

 

But there had been plenty of time to make amends since then.

 

Kun’s mother spoke as if she recognized me as a child. That means she knew where my family lived.

 

If the Grand Duke wanted to find my father, he could have found him with her help.

 

But the Grand Duke was not looking for my father.

 

“Caon, I wonder if things would have been different if I had grown up as the Grand Duke’s granddaughter.”

 

I know it’s a silly thought. But I couldn’t help but think about it.

 

“Maybe my parents wouldn’t have died.”

 

Rex and Erhan wouldn’t have done anything to hurt me.

 

How long he’d known I was his granddaughter, I don’t know.

 

“If he was going to hide it, he should have kept it a secret, even in the banquet hall.”

 

It should have been perfectly kept secret.

 

While looking at me with such affection.

 

Treating my lover, Carson, like he was the greatest thief of all time.

 

The way you offered to sell me the quince, wrote me a contract, and told me to take it all.

 

How could I not notice?

 

At least he shouldn’t have said ‘Because you’re like my granddaughter’.

 

“And there to defend me, drawing a sword in front of the Emperor?”

 

It’s hard to laugh at that. If he came out of there like that, I couldn’t turn away even if I wanted to.

 

I gaze into Carson’s eyes and place my hand on his cheek.

 

The soft touch makes me feel a little cheerful.

 

“…But without that past, maybe I wouldn’t have met you.”

 

I couldn’t imagine a future without Carson.

 

So I thought this was fate, too.

 

Carson’s eyes widened at my words. As if he had never thought of it before.

 

But then he shook his head.

 

“Don’t you remember I said I fell in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you? I would have married you no matter what.”

 

I kissed him lightly, then pulled away.

 

“That’s a given. We could have never met.”

 

Carson blushed and sighed in regret. His eyes fixed on my lips with an impatient look.

 

“…I would have found you at some point, though.”

 

His cracked voice heightened the tension.

 

As I lowered my gaze, I could feel him drawing closer.

 

There must be people protesting outside Potitua’s mansion right now.

 

I wonder what Sera’s face would look like if she realized I was in here with Carson.

 

Just as I was about to kiss him, Carson’s eyebrows twitched as if he sensed something.

 

“…Well, I don’t know what the Grand Duke was discussing with the Emperor, but he must be very upset.”

 

My eyes widened.

 

It meant the Grand Duke had returned to the mansion.

 

🍃

 

The Grand Duke summoned Carson to meet him as soon as he returned to the mansion. His expression was quite grim.

 

“His Majesty has decided to hold a trial in a week.”

 

“…What?”

 

A week later, let alone a trial?

 

This seems ridiculous. There was a strict preparation period before a trial.

 

Not to mention, there hasn’t even been a proper investigation.

 

This is tantamount to framing me as the one who spread Monstera.

 

“This was not a decision made by His Majesty alone. At the meeting of the nobles this morning, the majority voted in favor.”

 

“So the nobles have fallen for Sera’s instigation?”

 

“Some truly believe you are a witch, but…”

 

The Grand Duke buried his face in his hands, looking bitter.

 

“Some even tried to strip you of the rights to the medicine you developed through a trial, so they could make their own.”

 

“Hah.”

 

So this was the witch trial I’d heard about.

 

A chill ran down my spine. If I hadn’t had the Grand Duke and Carson with me, I would have been taken to prison immediately.

 

In there, the inquisitors would have forced me to confess and tortured me if I didn’t comply.

 

I wonder what would have happened.

 

Burned at the stake?

 

Whatever the outcome, it would have been my death.

 

Yeah. I’m sure I sold at a fair price, but it would have been a burden.

 

I rely on Lagras for a lot of my supplies.

 

Between the transportation costs and the tariffs, it would be more expensive than buying from Lagras.

 

They’d be scared to death of when they’d raise prices, as Sera claimed.

 

But the idea of accusing me, the developer, of being a witch and taking away the recipe…

 

“Wow. I guess this is the reason the devil jobless rate goes up every year.”

 

Ugh. They have no conscience.

 

As if noticing that I’d said it as if it were no big deal, the Grand Duke bowed his head deeply.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I could say ten things.”

 

For a moment, I wondered if I should call him grandfather or, as was customary in public, Grand Duke.

 

The word grandpa, which I had used so well, felt awkward.

 

“You’re not to blame, Grand Duke.”

 

Don’t apologize for something like this, you’ve got other things to be sorry for.

 

The Grand Duke finally sobbed, as if he couldn’t contain his emotions.

 

“…Everything. I’m sorry for everything.”

 

Staring at him like that, I suddenly had a question.

 

“You don’t suspect me, do you?”

 

Honestly, if Sera’s words are any indication, she’s the culprit.

 

“How could I…!”

 

The Grand Duke, who had raised his voice, hastily trailed off.

 

“How could I not trust you…!” he raised his voice and quickly trailed off.

 

There was a moment of silence, and then he breathed heavily, as if deciding something.

 

“Leen. You will not attend the trial.”

 

“…If I don’t go to the trial, I’ll be confirming that I’m guilty.”

 

In response to my retort, Carson, who had been listening to the conversation in silence, spoke up.

 

“No, as the Grand Duke says, it is better to skip the trial.”

 

He pulled out a bottle of wine he rarely drank and downed the entire bottle. He seemed to be trying to calm his anger.

 

“They don’t care if you’re the culprit. What they’ll gain by depriving you of the rights to the formula. They just need the arrows in the quiver of an angry populace.”

 

“I know, but whether I show up or not, I’m still going to be framed.”

 

Besides, if I don’t attend the trial…

 

The Grand Duke, who has been protecting me, would suffer.

 

The Grand Duke has already sacrificed enough. 

 

He drew his sword in the Emperor’s presence, disobeyed orders, and locked the doors of his mansion so that no one could drag me away to be accused of spreading the Monstera.

 

He would be held accountable for what he had done, even if my innocence was proven.

 

When I looked at the Grand Duke, he spoke firmly.

 

“If you’re worried about me, Leen, you don’t have to be,” he said sternly.

 

“…Grand Duke.”

 

“I do not need to be protected by anyone. I am the one who protects. I’ve been that way all my life.”

 

So, “I’ll make sure to protect you.”

 

He carefully reached out and clasped the back of my hand.

 

It was a rough, wrinkled hand, unlike anyone’s I held every day.

 

But it was so reassuring, so warm. I couldn’t push it away.

 

🍃

 

It’s been a week since I was accused of being a witch.

 

Or maybe not.

 

The news of the witch trial against me has sent petitions flying from all over Lagras.

 

The Dukes of Begonia and House Ananas of Fjord, not to mention Lysianthus. My aunt, the Countess of Armeria, Hans at the top, and the families of the Leli-Club.

 

All moved to prove my innocence and condemned the behavior of Abascanthus.

 

It was, to put it mildly, a warlike atmosphere.

 

“At least I haven’t wasted my life so far.”

 

Carson made an ambiguous expression, not sure whether to be pleased or sad.

 

“I don’t know if I should be happy or sad…”

 

I stroked his pink hair, thinking he was cute as ever.

 

What was a little surprising was that even the common people of Lagras sided with me.

 

I thought it was funny that the same person was being treated as a Saint on one side and a witch on the other.

 

This has kept me from stepping foot outside the manor, but I’ve never been bored.

 

I spent most of my time with the Grand Duke or Carson, and occasionally received guests.

 

I’m sure they’d be more than happy to fend off knights and angry mobs trying to arrest me…

 

The Duke and Duchess of Lysianthus have heard of it and have traveled to Abascanthus via spatial magic.

 

They wanted to take me to Lagras immediately because of the trial or something.

 

But I refused their offer.

 

It was true that I chose not to attend the trial.

 

What mattered was afterward.

 

I was going to see what the people of Abascanthus would do.

 

While it may seem like I’ve spent the time without a solution, I actually had a last resort.

 

“The Monstera Cure.”

 

Although the rate of spread has slowed, Monstera remains far from completely under control.

 

People are constantly spraying themselves with repellent to avoid mosquito bites.

 

Soldiers sent by the imperial army used to exterminate the demonic mosquitoes with mana relaxants.

 

But people were still contracting monstera, and no one had yet found a cure.

 

Abascanthus needed me.

 

My cure, to be exact.

 

Unfortunately, the people of this country didn’t know that.

 

I didn’t want to take the cure hostage, but I wasn’t about to let them off the hook either, not with their lives at stake.

 

Aha! 

 

Sometimes Kun would come to visit me through the secret passages of the mansion.

 

He was always busy apologizing to me, looking like a sinner. He seemed to think that this had happened because he had invited me to Abascanthus.

 

All the more so since the reactions of Lagras and Abascanthus were markedly different.

 

“Leen.”

 

Carson’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

 

“Why?”

 

“…Do you think Arcandus will come before the trial?”

 

For a moment, his face stiffened. His name was a forbidden word in this matter.

 

“Why Arcandus.”

 

“Leen. You are far more important to me than that bastard.”

 

I gritted my teeth and glared at Carson.

 

“Watch your tongue, Caon. He clearly told me he didn’t do it.”

 

He told me he wasn’t the killer.

 

No doubt.

 

Sure… that’s what he said.

 

Carson opened his mouth to say something.

 

Bam!

 

“Lady!”

 

Carson narrowed his eyes at the servant, and his face lit up with excitement.

 

“The culprit behind the artificial creation of the demons has turned himself into the Lagras Imperial Court!”