"Give me a reason not to execute you at this very moment."

'It was embarrassing. I feel stupid. I'm glad it ended.'

Adelaide thought to herself while playing her part of a poor victim. It was refreshing to spout nonsense into the duchess' face, but she did not even want to rewatch the scene where she kneeled into the small broken pieces of glass and screamed ever again.

'I did not rile you up for you to sit still, you idiots. I did part-teleportation in front of you and risked being exposed just to do all the work myself.'

She did not want, nor expect, everyone to stand still like statues. The reason why Adelaide decided to piss the duchess off was to make her lose control without the noise-canceling device.

Of course, Adelaide was not a masochist. If Elicia had really lost it and wanted to do something excessive, Adelaide was sure those minions of her would stop her at all costs. They would not want to be ignorant servants who ended up taking the fall.

The duchess might not get away with it, but she would remain unharmed. What about them?

'I'm sure at least some of the maids would be sane enough to realize the issue of not having anything to stop the noise. They wouldn't dare cover the bitch's mouth, but they could stop her from any irrational acts.'

'If things went that way, I would have jumped in and given myself some light scratches and act as if it was the bitch who did it.'

It would be even better if Elicia got so angry that she stood up and tried to do something to Adelaide herself. If that were the case, the maids, who were at the bottom of the food chain, would sense their well-being and future being threatened. They might even grit their teeth and jump in to protect her since they knew such noise would lead people here soon.

That way, at least they would be perceived as loyalists who protected the young lady while not harming or insulting the duchess. When words got out, with the level of pride Duke Charles possessed, they might even receive rewards instead of punishment.

'I gave you a chance! Such stupid minions who don't know how to invest.'

When Adelaide first raised her head and started her play, she was satisfied with the duchess' frozen smile. Teleporting one of her hands and snapping the device down was a success. It broke immediately, which was also a success.

'Luckily, my hand is small. Well, it doesn't matter if they found out. They wouldn't suspect me anyways, as I am the infamous no-ability-lady.'

It was normal for people to be shocked when such an unexpected situation unfolded.

However, Adelaide soon realized that everyone just continued to stand still despite her remarks. No one uttered a word, even when she tried getting up and walking around the room.

She was shocked herself, but as the one who started it all, her mind tried searching for a solution. She thought she must continue. So, Adelaide ended up performing a one-man show.

'They must have thought of me as some kind of psycho.' She sighed internally while looking down at her blood-covered arms.

It was in fact not a serious wound, as she only scratched the surface of her skin. It was to the point that blood would ooze out to create a serious-looking effect, but the wound would only sting a little.

The problem was her two lower legs. It took Adelaide a lot of effort and self-motivation just to press them down forcefully into the pieces of glass.

It was fortunate that she broke it down into smaller pieces similar to glass dust. Although it definitely hurt, the tiny pieces ended up stuck to her legs and did not pierce her flesh.

'Alfred looks…angry?'

Adelaide looked up at her brother and thought. With his almost flawless features, Alfred's jawline looked perfect, even from her sight of view.

It was hard to decipher the level of angriness within the teen. She was happy with how rational Alfred was. He received her signal, and he was angry that his sister looked hurt, but there was also calmness in his eyes.

"Why aren't you saying anything, mother?"

Alfred's continued speaking after a brief silence. He even put pressure on the term 'mother', which he rarely used.

Duchess Elicia shook slightly on her chair. Adelaide did not know if it was because of the gun pointing in her direction or because of Alfred himself, but she did not look good. She tried to hide it, but a small hint of terror was displayed on her face.

"Young master, it's not what you think it is…" Her head maid, Susan, gulped and spoke up.

However, before she could even explain, Alfred smiled. It was not a polite or business-like smile, but one with ridicule.

"It's not what I think it is? You really think of me as some deaf nerd who knows nothing about what's going on, aren't you?"

"No, no, we--"

"I can hear my sister's voice clearly from miles away, and look what I found? Turns out, our duchy had raised nothing but ungrateful dogs who bite the hands that fed them."

"…"

"This many people, all jumped in and abused a little girl? Even normal children would not be treated like that, much less the princess of a duchy. And pardon me, mother, what reasons do you want to give me this time? She hurt herself due to trauma? And you tried to make the servants stop her, and it was unsightly that it happened right when I stepped in?"

"…"

"You think I didn't know what really happened that day?"

Elicia was about to retort, but her eyes opened wide in surprise when Alfred blew it up with the last sentence and gave her a mocking smile.

As the one closest to the duke slash accomplice, it was obvious that Elicia knew most of the duke's doings. She was guilty.

However, that did not apply to the maids around her.

Linda was someone saved by the duchess. Her loyalty towards Elicia was top-notch. She was uncomfortable by the way Alfred spoke to his stepmother since earlier.

In her opinion, duchess Elicia went a little too far, but the lady remained healthy all these years, so why did that matter?

She was a noble lady who was destined to possess both wealth and privileges since birth. Unlike their duchess who had to strive on her own, who was ridiculed for her common origins, lady Adelaide was born with a golden spoon simply by luck.

There was nothing wrong with educating young children. The duchess' method was a little extreme, but to Linda, it was nothing as Adelaide still grew up well-served by people.

'If it was her birth mother who educated her, young master would not even react this much. It was all because of the 'step-mother' label and stereotype.' was her thoughts and beliefs.

Humans were emotional creatures who constantly make excuses for their loved ones. To Linda, duchess Elicia treated her well, and everything else did not matter as her own expression of Elicia stood firm from the day she rescued Linda.

Linda was someone who saw Alfred since he was eight, so she still thought of him as a kid. She thought if she explained things to him, he would understand.

Her young master had always been someone who was polite and mild. Someone who listened.

To be fair, thirteen was not a much higher age compared to eight. He was barely a teen. Maybe he was only in his 'rebellious phase'. It was the phrase she came across when listening to the Duke and Duchess' talks on scientific newspapers. Even someone as mature as Alfred could be hot-tempered, too.

Linda did not understand why Miss Susan, their head maid, stood still like that. Shouldn't she support the duchess? Weren't they childhood friends? If Her Grace said her methods were according to traditions, then it was according to traditions.

She was dissatisfied with how Susan was responding. It was reasonable for the duchess to be shocked as she was misunderstood, but why was Susan the same?

After boosting her confidence to the extreme, Linda opened her mouth and spoke.

"Y…young master, I do not think it was right to blame Her Grace. She was only educating the duchess, though the method was a little extreme. However, as Her Grace said, that's also how normal families teach their offspring, and they all grew up well."

"Oh?"

Linda heaved out a sigh of relief at Alfred's response.

"It does not mean that we should treat the lady that exact way, since she was born a noble. I ad-admitted that He-Her Gr-Grace might have gone overboard, young master, but I think we could resolve the situation. I-I was here when the young lady got hurt, and this humble servant assures you that the duchess did not mean any harm towards her."

"…"

"The i-injuries were all self-made by the lady." Linda's voice shook slightly as she told the 'truth', "s-she was a-angry at the duchess and got agitated. It's the t-truth, young master. Maybe it was because of the trauma she got from being kidnapped."

"…"

"A…am I right, Your Grace?"

As if given the last straw, duchess Elicia jumped in and talked with desperation and sadness in her eyes.

"Yes, yes, that's the truth. However, unlike what Linda said, it was totally my fault, Alfred."

"No, Your Grace, why are you…"

"Adelaide was excited about her new dresses, so we went together to try them out, but I suppose closed spaces are something unendurable to her at this moment, so she became a little…unstable."

"I tried to stop her, I really tried, but Adelaide said things that angered me. She's a noble lady, and what noble lady talks like that? I went a bit overboard, but that was it. I understand Adelaide was agitated because of trauma, and I knew my actions were unexplainable."

"If you are still skeptical of me, I understand, Alfred. But I promise I'm trying my best. Didn't you see how I have improved?" Elicia continued with tears in her eyes. "I-I just think of Adelaide as my own daughter, so I ended up educating her like now normal families would. That was unacceptable of me…I should've known…"

"All the servants and your father could bear witness to the fact that we agreed on going here. She even looked excited. Would someone look that happy to the thought of possible t-to-torture?"

She explained well. Even Adelaide had to admit that.

"So, you're saying," Alfred said. "That it was an untimely coincidence?"

"Yes, and I'll search for a psychologist, the best there is. I will consult him too, as I think my methods are wrong, I admit that."

Alfred's attention then turned towards Linda.

"So, what you meant is that my sister had always been an insolent kid? To the point that sticks were needed so that she will behave herself?"

"No, I--"

"It was tradition for kids to be beaten up, right? What you meant is that since Adelaide was born a noble, she should be beaten up so that it's fairer for other people? So it is okay for you maids to beat your own master up since you were not born with the privileges?"

"'We're just following the duchess' plan. We're helping the lady to mature and soon realize the true harsh world. It was all for her future. The duchess replaced the hard position of mother, so educating her so she'll grow up mentally strong is only right'. That was your excuse, right?"

"In fact, 'she did not do anything, yet received such benefits and wealth' is your true thought, correct?"

"Though," Alfred talked slowly as he lowered his gun and knocked it lightly on the floor. "I understand how the duchess, someone not very bright, was --"

The act of lowering his gun was like a new dose of adrenaline to Linda. As a result, when she heard him talking about his mother that way, she thought it was rude.

"Young master, Her Grace is your mother, you shouldn't talk about her like tha-"

'BANG'

However, before she could finish, a bullet had already pierced her heart.

It was an accurate shot.