Sin
Lux’s Side
If only I hadn’t said something unnecessary to begin with.
I already knew some people from marquis families had a tendency to be overbearing. No matter what they said, I should’ve handled it with grace and let it roll off my back.
Even now, I don’t think my words were wrong. But as the eldest son of a count’s house, destined one day to become the lord, it was the wrong decision. If I’d been thinking like a true lord, I would’ve known better than to stir up conflict—especially with someone from a powerful house like a marquis family.
I’d spent nearly an hour in my room, thoughts churning over and over, when someone knocked on the door.
“Master, may I come in for a moment?”
It was Siana’s voice. I couldn’t bring myself to face her.
Still, if she had something to discuss, I should at least hear her out.
“Yeah, Siana… you can come in.”
When I said that, Siana stepped quietly into the room and came over to stand beside the chair where I sat.
One look at her face told me how worried she was.
“Is something wrong, Siana?”
“…You look like you’re in pain, Master.”
“Huh? Oh… It was the first day at the noble academy. I think the unfamiliar setting just wore me out.”
I tried to put on a bright face as I said it, but Siana simply watched me in silence. I couldn’t hide anything from her, could I.
I let the false smile fall and spoke plainly.
“The truth is… I had an argument today with someone from a marquis family. Normally, I’d have ignored it. But they spoke in a way that belittled Felisiana-sama, and even though I should’ve let it pass—should’ve kept my composure as a future lord—I let my emotions get the better of me.”
After I laid bare the weight I’d been carrying, Siana opened her arms and smiled gently.
“You’ve done nothing wrong, Master. And you’ve been holding far too much alone. Please, let me carry even a little of it with you.”
“I appreciate that, Siana… but I can’t. I can’t let myself lean on your kindness. This happened because of me, and as the next lord, I have to shoulder it all myself.”
“I belong to you, Master. I want to carry everything with you—that is the very reason I exist. So please, let me bear this with you, so my existence has meaning.”
No… I can’t.
If I let myself rely on Siana’s kindness, then I—… But looking at her gentle expression, those thoughts vanished like smoke.
“…Siana!”
Before I realized it, I had pulled her into my arms.
“Just imagining that, because of me, the Rodwell Count family… or you, Siana… could be hurt—it terrifies me. I don’t even know if I deserve to be a lord anymore. It feels like everything I’ve worked so hard for is falling apart… I didn’t want you to see me like this—this pathetic. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Siana.”
As my voice trembled and I laid all my fears bare, Siana gently stroked my head and spoke with quiet warmth.
“You’re not pathetic, Master. To grow angry for others, to cry for others—that kind of heart doesn’t just make a fine lord. It makes a man worthy of being a king. I swear it. So please, rest for tonight.”
As always, Siana’s words had a way of being grandiose… but right now, I felt like they saved me.
“…I will. Thank you, Siana.”
Siana guided me to the bed, and I fell asleep under her gentle watch.
…Only moments ago, I’d been drowning in anxiety. But just having Siana nearby let me drift into peace.
Thank you, Siana—
Siana’s Side
Once she was sure Lux had fallen asleep, Siana quietly closed his door and returned to her own room.
There, waiting for her at the desk, was a tall girl in a black hood, several documents spread out before her.
“Ojou-sama, how was Rodwell-sama’s condition?”
“Just as I expected… No, even more than expected. He was utterly consumed with guilt. Lux-kun hasn’t done a single thing wrong, and yet he’s blaming himself this much… I said your follow-up was too soft, but it looks like I was just as naïve. —Show me the documents you compiled.”
“Yes, Ojou-sama.”
The hooded girl handed the papers over, and Siana began reviewing them, her eyes flat and unreadable.
One page. Two. And then the third.
“…Heeh.”
When her eyes landed on a certain sentence written on the third page, a small smile curled her lips.
There were still a few pages left, but for Siana, that one line was all she needed. She tossed the rest into the trash without hesitation. The hooded girl, watching her, understood exactly what Siana meant to do.
Then Siana spoke, her voice as cold as ice.
“Let’s go. It’s time to punish the fool who committed the greatest of follies.”
“—All is as you command, Ojou-sama.”
On a quiet, dark night, where not a soul was in sight, the two girls left the Rodwell Count estate and climbed into a carriage bound for a certain place.
On the third page—the one that made Siana smile—the following line had been written:
[Marquis Zald Zarden attempted to gain a ducal title from a foreign nation in exchange for selling part of this country’s intelligence, but negotiations with that nation collapsed.]
—A crime so grave that, if judged by royal authority, it could be condemned as high treason—punishable by death.