Episode 71. The Lie Revealed
Canary must protect herself.
If she wanted Barbara back, she had to do it too.
Of course, Canary knew the easiest way.
Go to Renisha, kneel, and crawl.
In a humiliating position, laying everything aside, as if she had nothing.
Canary bit her lip.
Let's say she saved Barbara like that.
Would Barbara have kept Canary's secret?
Or would she have revealed it for her own safety?
"What should I do... What should I do!!"
Canary tore her hair.
Renisha became Canary's trouble the moment she returned.
Turiel, whom she had thought was on Canary's side, immediately turned back to Renisha.
Canary had ultimately achieved nothing.
Barbara tore her hair.
Was hunger really this vicious?
It only lasted two days, two days.
Her parched lips trembled, and she felt as if she could lick the water pooling on the floor.
She felt like she was going crazy.
Barbara carefully considered her situation.
All the noble ladies present agreed.
It took a moment for Barbara to become a fool.
She remembered the cold gaze that had been watching her, and then Renisha, who stood at the top of them all.
She stood there, seemingly indifferent, calm, but it was Renisha who had manipulated the situation.
Canary and Barbara had been played to death.
Despite the fact that all the circumstances supported her, there was nothing Barbara could do.
And what about Canary?
All she had was the paltry affection she received from Renisha.
When she was living in luxury at the imperial court, perhaps her sense of reality had plummeted, and she had fallen into the complacency that everything would be alright.
There was only one way for Canary to save Barbara: to lie low and beg Renisha for mercy.
Instead of acting overbearing and pretending to be an Empress, she should stick to her place!
Barbara's sanity quickly cooled.
There was no time to chase dreams. She should live and see.
"Canary..."
Barbara's voice cracked.
Canary wasn't the kind of person who would sacrifice herself for Barbara.
Barbara reached out her desperate hand.
The worn decoration on the wall swayed gently.
"I'll tell you anything! Anything!!"
She cried in a shrill voice.
"Anything is fine... I'll tell you everything I know... Please."
Barbara crumbled.
Renisha smiled contentedly.
Barbara decided to speak before her life ended.
Barbara, after all, was someone who valued her own safety above all else.
Barbara was trapped in the basement of Turiel's dressing room.
"You came?"
Turiel smiled proudly, brimming with pride at having perfectly fulfilled her duties.
"She can't even last three days."
Renisha snickered. Well, it's good that you didn't have to feed her.
"It wasn't a relationship built on trust and affection to begin with. It's not like us, Lady Renisha."
Turiel smiled catlike and stood next to Renisha.
Renisha gently squeezed Turiel's arm and then released it, and Turiel's face lit up with a smile, as if she'd just won a great prize.
The door Barbara had been locked in opened, revealing the musty smell of the basement.
Turiel gestured, and her staff, like her own right-hand men, stood behind her, holding deliciously scented food.
Barbara's eyes rolled.
Again.
The click of Renisha's shoes echoed unusually loudly in the basement.
"I heard you had something to say."
"Ha, I have something to say!"
Barbara's gaze turned to the back, her eyes shining with intense desire.
The smell of food, a long-awaited scent, made her nose flare and her stomach feel like it was churning.
Barbara twisted.
"I'll tell you everything. I can tell you anything you want! There's nothing I don't know about Canary..."
"Whose seed is it?"
Renisha asked slowly.
"What?"
Barbara raised her head.
"I asked whose seed it was. Can't you hear me?"
Renisha tilted her head.
An inexplicable madness swirled in her pink eyes.
Barbara swallowed dryly.
“Wh, whose, seed, seed is that?”
“The child in Canary’s stomach. There’s no way that child is Laxus’s seed.”
“T-That’s ridiculous...! This is an insult to the imperial family! The Emperor will never forgive...!”
“Laxus can’t come here, Barbara. Do you have a chance to go before Laxus and confess my sins?”
“Will... you kill me?”
“You don’t realize you’re dying even now.”
Renisha closed her eyes and laughed faintly.
A low laugh echoed through the basement.
There are always people this stupid. Renisha rolled her tongue around in her mouth.
“You’re starving to death, Barbara. Haven’t you ever thought you might starve to death?”
Barbara shivered.
It was a thought she had been having repeatedly for the past three days.
No matter how much she tried to hold out, thinking she might kill her, she reached her limit and pulled the rope.
“Would you even blink if you died? What did you say?”
“You, you...”
“Barbara. Look into my eyes.”
Renisha bowed.
“Do I look sane? With these two eyes, I saw my parents’ severed heads brought in a salt chest. With these two eyes, I saw my husband flirting with the maid who used to wash my feet. With these two eyes, I watched my husband destroy my family.”
Renisha pointed at her eyes.
Those eyes had once been as warm as a spring day.
But now, inside them sat a woman coiled with hatred and malice.
“Do you really think I’m sane? I have something to gain, what wouldn’t I do?”
Barbara unconsciously stepped back, avoiding Renisha.
Her body trembled involuntarily.
“So, you’d better tell the truth, Barbara. I won’t bat an eyelid if you meet some miserable death here. Do you really think the world will come looking for you when not even Canary is looking for you?”
“Ca, Canary?”
“What can she do? Except come to me and beg. She did come. Rolling her eyes, she looked for you. She quivered her lips and asked how you were doing.”
Canary had arrived yesterday.
She had come to Kassius’s mansion, daunted.
Her eyes were darkened, exhausted from a single night.
“Your master assessed the situation accurately. She knew no one would help her. The only answer was me.”
“S-so...?”
“That’s all, Barbara. That’s all Canary did. She came to me to ask how you were. She asked if you were alive. She was so filled with pride at being pregnant with the Emperor’s child that she couldn’t even kneel before me. Then who will save you?”
Barbara’s pupils dilated.
She shouldn’t have expected anything, but she had, and her stomach churned with betrayal.
She knew Canary was a selfish, self-centered person.
Barbara chewed her lips.
While she kept her mouth shut out of a sense of duty, Canary didn’t even bother to kneel.
“The Emperor’s child?! She's pregnant with a seed she doesn’t even know!”
Barbara cried hysterically.
“That child... is my lover’s child. She gave her body, which should only be granted to the Emperor, to a man she doesn’t even know! All because she wants to have the child and become Empress!!”
Barbara slammed her fist on the floor.
“I know everything! I know everything!!”
“So where is the father?”
“He’s dead. Where did that foolish woman learn such things? They say you have to kill a man after having a child.”
Hot tears flowed.
What had Barbara worked so hard for, to finally end up like this?
Even giving her lover poison?
But now all she could think of was a cool glass of water and warm soup.
Anything that could fill her stomach would do.
“You’ll be held accountable for those words, Barbara. Do you have proof?”
“Witness, witness!”
Barbara cried desperately.
Yes.
She thought she’d left something behind in case Canary abandoned her.
“Ca, the caretaker of the villa where Canary spent time with that man. She knows everything. She promised to keep quiet for money!”
Renisha’s smile deepened.
Turiel looked ecstatic at Renisha.
“Turiel.”
“Yes.”
“We must take her.”
“I will take care of it.”
Food was thrown in front of Barbara.
Barbara devoured it greedily.
The door that had been imprisoning her opened, but it wasn’t until she stepped outside that she realized she had nowhere else to go.
Meanwhile, Kassius had heard that an unknown body had been found outside the island and was heading there.
Count Calliot’s knights had returned, but he hadn’t, so he was investigating.
The knights who had been close to Kassius in Hiloshine were desperate to avoid him.
When asked about Count Calliot’s whereabouts, they simply kept their mouths shut and shook their heads.
They said they had nothing to say.
He thought something must have happened.
“...You were here.”
Kassius knelt on the floor.
He remembered Count Calliot smiling at him before he left.
If he had known this would be the end, he would've held him longer.
Kassius bit his lip in despair.
Count Calliot, whom Kassius had asked to meet in the capital when he had sought instruction, could not have anticipated this situation.
If a seasoned knight like Count Calliot had been abandoned like this, there must have been a traitor within him.
His heart clenched at the sight of their ruthless scheme.
“I will take care of the Count.”
Kassius covered Count Calliot's body with the blanket he was holding.
A wave of regret washed over him.
He should've sent Hiloshine's knight.
No, Kassius himself...
“Your Excellency.”
The subordinate knight shook his head, as if he knew what he was thinking.
Kassius slowly rose.
“It was not your fault, Your Excellency.”
“Find out exactly what happened. It was an involuntary death.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
The knights carried Count Calliot's body onto a stretcher.
The corpse, devoured by wild beasts, was incredibly light.
It was the unjust death of a knight who had reigned supreme for an era.
Kassius clenched his fists.
He would uncover the truth behind this death.
And soon, Kassius would know the culprit.
Gale Calliot.
A new Count Calliot had ascended the throne. Laxus had pointed him in the eye!
The culprit was right next to him.
Canary must protect herself.
If she wanted Barbara back, she had to do it too.
Of course, Canary knew the easiest way.
Go to Renisha, kneel, and crawl.
In a humiliating position, laying everything aside, as if she had nothing.
Canary bit her lip.
Let's say she saved Barbara like that.
Would Barbara have kept Canary's secret?
Or would she have revealed it for her own safety?
"What should I do... What should I do!!"
Canary tore her hair.
Renisha became Canary's trouble the moment she returned.
Turiel, whom she had thought was on Canary's side, immediately turned back to Renisha.
Canary had ultimately achieved nothing.
***
Barbara tore her hair.
Was hunger really this vicious?
It only lasted two days, two days.
Her parched lips trembled, and she felt as if she could lick the water pooling on the floor.
She felt like she was going crazy.
Barbara carefully considered her situation.
All the noble ladies present agreed.
It took a moment for Barbara to become a fool.
She remembered the cold gaze that had been watching her, and then Renisha, who stood at the top of them all.
She stood there, seemingly indifferent, calm, but it was Renisha who had manipulated the situation.
Canary and Barbara had been played to death.
Despite the fact that all the circumstances supported her, there was nothing Barbara could do.
And what about Canary?
All she had was the paltry affection she received from Renisha.
When she was living in luxury at the imperial court, perhaps her sense of reality had plummeted, and she had fallen into the complacency that everything would be alright.
There was only one way for Canary to save Barbara: to lie low and beg Renisha for mercy.
Instead of acting overbearing and pretending to be an Empress, she should stick to her place!
Barbara's sanity quickly cooled.
There was no time to chase dreams. She should live and see.
"Canary..."
Barbara's voice cracked.
Canary wasn't the kind of person who would sacrifice herself for Barbara.
Barbara reached out her desperate hand.
The worn decoration on the wall swayed gently.
"I'll tell you anything! Anything!!"
She cried in a shrill voice.
"Anything is fine... I'll tell you everything I know... Please."
Barbara crumbled.
***
Renisha smiled contentedly.
Barbara decided to speak before her life ended.
Barbara, after all, was someone who valued her own safety above all else.
Barbara was trapped in the basement of Turiel's dressing room.
"You came?"
Turiel smiled proudly, brimming with pride at having perfectly fulfilled her duties.
"She can't even last three days."
Renisha snickered. Well, it's good that you didn't have to feed her.
"It wasn't a relationship built on trust and affection to begin with. It's not like us, Lady Renisha."
Turiel smiled catlike and stood next to Renisha.
Renisha gently squeezed Turiel's arm and then released it, and Turiel's face lit up with a smile, as if she'd just won a great prize.
The door Barbara had been locked in opened, revealing the musty smell of the basement.
Turiel gestured, and her staff, like her own right-hand men, stood behind her, holding deliciously scented food.
Barbara's eyes rolled.
Again.
The click of Renisha's shoes echoed unusually loudly in the basement.
"I heard you had something to say."
"Ha, I have something to say!"
Barbara's gaze turned to the back, her eyes shining with intense desire.
The smell of food, a long-awaited scent, made her nose flare and her stomach feel like it was churning.
Barbara twisted.
"I'll tell you everything. I can tell you anything you want! There's nothing I don't know about Canary..."
"Whose seed is it?"
Renisha asked slowly.
"What?"
Barbara raised her head.
"I asked whose seed it was. Can't you hear me?"
Renisha tilted her head.
An inexplicable madness swirled in her pink eyes.
Barbara swallowed dryly.
“Wh, whose, seed, seed is that?”
“The child in Canary’s stomach. There’s no way that child is Laxus’s seed.”
“T-That’s ridiculous...! This is an insult to the imperial family! The Emperor will never forgive...!”
“Laxus can’t come here, Barbara. Do you have a chance to go before Laxus and confess my sins?”
“Will... you kill me?”
“You don’t realize you’re dying even now.”
Renisha closed her eyes and laughed faintly.
A low laugh echoed through the basement.
There are always people this stupid. Renisha rolled her tongue around in her mouth.
“You’re starving to death, Barbara. Haven’t you ever thought you might starve to death?”
Barbara shivered.
It was a thought she had been having repeatedly for the past three days.
No matter how much she tried to hold out, thinking she might kill her, she reached her limit and pulled the rope.
“Would you even blink if you died? What did you say?”
“You, you...”
“Barbara. Look into my eyes.”
Renisha bowed.
“Do I look sane? With these two eyes, I saw my parents’ severed heads brought in a salt chest. With these two eyes, I saw my husband flirting with the maid who used to wash my feet. With these two eyes, I watched my husband destroy my family.”
Renisha pointed at her eyes.
Those eyes had once been as warm as a spring day.
But now, inside them sat a woman coiled with hatred and malice.
“Do you really think I’m sane? I have something to gain, what wouldn’t I do?”
Barbara unconsciously stepped back, avoiding Renisha.
Her body trembled involuntarily.
“So, you’d better tell the truth, Barbara. I won’t bat an eyelid if you meet some miserable death here. Do you really think the world will come looking for you when not even Canary is looking for you?”
“Ca, Canary?”
“What can she do? Except come to me and beg. She did come. Rolling her eyes, she looked for you. She quivered her lips and asked how you were doing.”
Canary had arrived yesterday.
She had come to Kassius’s mansion, daunted.
Her eyes were darkened, exhausted from a single night.
“Your master assessed the situation accurately. She knew no one would help her. The only answer was me.”
“S-so...?”
“That’s all, Barbara. That’s all Canary did. She came to me to ask how you were. She asked if you were alive. She was so filled with pride at being pregnant with the Emperor’s child that she couldn’t even kneel before me. Then who will save you?”
Barbara’s pupils dilated.
She shouldn’t have expected anything, but she had, and her stomach churned with betrayal.
She knew Canary was a selfish, self-centered person.
Barbara chewed her lips.
While she kept her mouth shut out of a sense of duty, Canary didn’t even bother to kneel.
“The Emperor’s child?! She's pregnant with a seed she doesn’t even know!”
Barbara cried hysterically.
“That child... is my lover’s child. She gave her body, which should only be granted to the Emperor, to a man she doesn’t even know! All because she wants to have the child and become Empress!!”
Barbara slammed her fist on the floor.
“I know everything! I know everything!!”
“So where is the father?”
“He’s dead. Where did that foolish woman learn such things? They say you have to kill a man after having a child.”
Hot tears flowed.
What had Barbara worked so hard for, to finally end up like this?
Even giving her lover poison?
But now all she could think of was a cool glass of water and warm soup.
Anything that could fill her stomach would do.
“You’ll be held accountable for those words, Barbara. Do you have proof?”
“Witness, witness!”
Barbara cried desperately.
Yes.
She thought she’d left something behind in case Canary abandoned her.
“Ca, the caretaker of the villa where Canary spent time with that man. She knows everything. She promised to keep quiet for money!”
Renisha’s smile deepened.
Turiel looked ecstatic at Renisha.
“Turiel.”
“Yes.”
“We must take her.”
“I will take care of it.”
Food was thrown in front of Barbara.
Barbara devoured it greedily.
The door that had been imprisoning her opened, but it wasn’t until she stepped outside that she realized she had nowhere else to go.
***
Meanwhile, Kassius had heard that an unknown body had been found outside the island and was heading there.
Count Calliot’s knights had returned, but he hadn’t, so he was investigating.
The knights who had been close to Kassius in Hiloshine were desperate to avoid him.
When asked about Count Calliot’s whereabouts, they simply kept their mouths shut and shook their heads.
They said they had nothing to say.
He thought something must have happened.
“...You were here.”
Kassius knelt on the floor.
He remembered Count Calliot smiling at him before he left.
If he had known this would be the end, he would've held him longer.
Kassius bit his lip in despair.
Count Calliot, whom Kassius had asked to meet in the capital when he had sought instruction, could not have anticipated this situation.
If a seasoned knight like Count Calliot had been abandoned like this, there must have been a traitor within him.
His heart clenched at the sight of their ruthless scheme.
“I will take care of the Count.”
Kassius covered Count Calliot's body with the blanket he was holding.
A wave of regret washed over him.
He should've sent Hiloshine's knight.
No, Kassius himself...
“Your Excellency.”
The subordinate knight shook his head, as if he knew what he was thinking.
Kassius slowly rose.
“It was not your fault, Your Excellency.”
“Find out exactly what happened. It was an involuntary death.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
The knights carried Count Calliot's body onto a stretcher.
The corpse, devoured by wild beasts, was incredibly light.
It was the unjust death of a knight who had reigned supreme for an era.
Kassius clenched his fists.
He would uncover the truth behind this death.
And soon, Kassius would know the culprit.
Gale Calliot.
A new Count Calliot had ascended the throne. Laxus had pointed him in the eye!
The culprit was right next to him.
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