"He's dead! A villain like him surely deserves to die!"
"Punish his daughter too! Punish her! Behead her as well!"
"Your Highness, please punish her too! Uphold your justice!"
How could this be ….
"Do you mean … Shirley Ersteal?"
… How did everything end up like this?
"If that's true, then it's fine. She's just a foolish girl who knows nothing about how the world works."
Why ….
"Not even knowing that her father, the one she thought was the kindest person in the world …."
… Her fiancé, whom she loved, did this?
"… Ended up committing such a vile act."
What exactly?
What has led Shirley ….
"H—h—ha … hu …."
… To be in this position?
"HUAAA!!!"
In the vast court field, in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes witnessing the scene, Shirley screamed loudly.
Her trembling hand was raised, wiping her face, then pulling at the skin under her eyes, making her eyeballs look as if they were about to pop out.
"FATHER! HUAAA!"
Shirley's pupils shrank. Dark and sharp, even though accompanied by tears of sorrow that were overflowing, she fearfully looked toward the stage where the execution of the criminal was taking place in front of the royal family.
"NO! NOOO!"
There, in front of her, was the only thing that had driven Shirley almost mad ….
A man who had just lost his head.
A man still sitting upright, despite his neck being severed and bleeding profusely.
A man who was none other than ….
"FATHER! AARHH! AARHH! NOOO!"
… Her father.
"I have punished Duke Ersteal. I will also erase the Ersteal name from this kingdom."
Shirley cried out loudly.
She wailed.
"That disgraceful girl you see no longer bears the Ersteal name. Her status is no longer that of a Crown Princess."
With her sanity nearly lost, Shirley crawled.
"She is no longer a noble. She also has no right to the wealth that Ersteal unlawfully obtained. In this kingdom, no! Even in this world, she will have no place to return to!"
The miserable girl desperately tried to gather herself and approached the stage.
"That is the punishment I have given her."
She succeeded in climbing the execution platform after struggling to do so.
"DISPERSE!"
Ignoring the Crown Prince's command, which should have been obeyed, Shirley approached her father's headless corpse.
His blood was still pouring out, causing a pool of foul-smelling red water to accumulate around her.
"Father, no … no, what should I do … why did this happen to you?"
Ah, Shirley didn't know what to do.
She didn't know what to think.
What could she possibly do now?
"Don't go, don't leave me alone."
Not knowing what else to do, Shirley spontaneously hugged her father's lifeless body.
Without fear of the smell of blood, the girl buried her face in her father's chest, where his body had been seated.
For her, the most terrifying thing was this.
"Father …."
That is ….
"… I am truly alone now."
… Losing the only family she had.
"Your Excellency."
Meanwhile, from afar on the execution platform ….
"Let's go."
… Appeared the person who had caused the earlier commotion.
Marquess Aschenford, Escar.
"…."
Escar sat limply on the barren ground after just throwing up due to recalling a similar event that had once befallen him.
"My Lord!!!"
Once again, the knight tried to persuade him.
This time, he did so by putting an arm around the Marquess's shoulder.
THUD!
Escar rejected Sir Bashilian's offer with a harsh gesture, showing an angry expression, accompanied by the emerald green gaze that was starting to fill with tears.
"Haa~!"
Sir Bashilian took a deep breath.
Then, the knight, who was only ten years older than his young master, squatted down, bending one knee.
"What can we do?"
Escar didn't answer.
"The crime committed by the late Duke Ersteal is too severe. If we help him, we'll only fall into disgrace as accomplices."
He chose to ignore it, showing his clear displeasure with Sir Bashilian's reckless attempt to stop him earlier.
"Do you remember how the late Lord tried so hard to ensure that you and the late Marchioness wouldn't be punished?"
"…."
"Your Excellency, I've been assigned one mission since Lord placed me as your personal knight."
Ah, reminded like that, Escar began to reflect.
"It was the first and last mission I received from your Father. That was …."
The young Marquess began to wipe away his own tears.
"… To make sure you're alright."
Then, the one with emerald eyes looked at his knight with a softened gaze.
"Forgive me if my decision to protect you this time caused you harm. I had no choice, because my first priority is always you. One and only … you."
"…."
At first, Escar remained silent.
But after hearing Sir Bashilian explain his reasoning in more detail, finally … the Marquess softened.
"Let's go home first."
Before following Sir Bashilian's lead, Escar turned around once more.
"After that …."
He focused his attention on Shirley, who was in deep mourning, looking at her faintly.
"… You can think of various ways to help Lady Shirley."
"…."
Sir Bashilian was right.
If he helped her now, it would be like suicide.
In that case, Escar had to go home first and think of a proper way to offer help!
---
ZRASHH!
"Hey, hurry up and clean that up!"
"Wahaha, her dress is still in good condition! I'll take it!"
"Hey! Save some for me too!"
This is where Shirley stands now.
BLARRR!
Under the night sky, assaulted by the falling rain and the repeated flashes of lightning … Shirley stood in front of the large Ersteal estate.
An estate that had lost the right to reside in.
"…."
Shirley stood silently, glaring at every servant moving in the estate, like a wandering ghost.
Her hair was messy, her dress was tangled with bloodstains that were beginning to fade from the rain's assault, and her eyes, red as they were, glowed even brighter in the darkness.
She looked exactly like a ghost.
A wandering ghost.
"Tsk! What else do you want to do here?!" The Head Butler came to scold her. "Isn't the punishment the Crown Prince gave you clear enough?! Why is a filthy whore like you back here?!"
Back then, the Head Butler was often seen flattering Shirley's father to secure a more advantageous position.
Now, everyone was showing their true colors.
"Shush! Get out of here! Leave before we get punished like you!"
What does it feel like to be driven out of your own home?
It was the first time Shirley felt this.
And the answer ….
GRAUK!
… It was so frustrating!
"Keyarghhh! Let go! Let go!"
The lonely girl didn't think twice before biting the arm of the Head Butler that had been waving toward her to shoo her away.
The commotion caused by the Head Butler even drew the attention of other servants, who gathered to assist the victim of the criminal child's bite.
"Let go!"
BRUAKK!
Shirley was thrown back as a male servant yanked the collar of her dress, causing her strength to wane as she felt choked.
Once the girl opened her eyes wide after instinctively closing them in shock, she was greeted by dozens of terrifying gazes.
"…!"
Shirley was dumbfounded.
She had fallen into a pit of ruin alone.
There was no place to go back to.
Her home to return to had disappeared.
SRUKK!
Before those rude people could do anything to her, Shirley immediately stood up.
She ran, fleeing from her former home, the warmth of which she would forever remember, without turning back even once.
She didn't know where she was going or what her destination was, but one thing was clear—Shirley was determined to break through it on her own.
Hopefully … what she would find as a life raft in the days ahead would be better than today.
•••
"K-k-kindle some pity for me, Sir. Have mercy~ Madam."
It was embarrassing.
But this was the only way for Shirley, who could do nothing, to survive.
Yes, she begged to stay alive.
"Sir, would you marry me?"
She had begged everyone she saw, for a whole week.
"Sir, I wouldn't mind being your nth wife!"
Besides asking for food and money, she also begged for someone's love.
Someone who might be willing to accept her, this forsaken woman.
But ….
"S-s-sir!"
… No matter how hard she begged for mercy from others, Shirley still found no hint of kindness.
It was all too clear.
The Crown Prince had discarded her, so what could she expect from people who didn't want to be inconvenienced?
GROOO~!
Her stomach, wrapped in the same dress from a week ago, voiced its emptiness.
Ah, Shirley was starving.
It had been three days since her stomach was filled with any food.
What was she supposed to do to survive tomorrow, if today was already like this?
Should she sell herself for a piece of bread?
TUK! TUK!
In the middle of her confusion, someone tapped her shoulder from behind.
She slowly, carefully, turned her head—her hair unwashed, filled with tension.
And suddenly ….
["Hello!"]
…When she saw a young man with silver-white hair and emerald green eyes smiling at her, even his eyes, which were drooping, widened into crescent moon shapes, and the words he held in his special book made … Shirley's eyes go wide.
"Y-you!"
Surprised, Shirley instinctively stepped back from the man.
The man who was known as the mute Marquess.
Perhaps because her pride was hurt, meeting someone who had once seen her in her best appearance now when she looked so unkempt … or because her heart was still sensitive from being blinded by love for the Crown Prince, Shirley asked with a mocking tone.
"Why are you here?!"
["I want to help you!"]
The harsh and unpleasant words she had spoken were instead met with ….
["Would you come with me?"]
… A kind offer.