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Seraphina, unable to bear Dayna's harsh words any longer, finally opened her mouth.
"Then, are you saying that Lady Averil should never go out, never accept anyone's kindness, and just live shut away? That she should endure that absurd overprotection without resistance?"
"That's not what I'm saying! I'm saying Lady Averil shouldn't just rely on other people's kindness. Thoughtlessly accepting help without considering what kind of risks that person might be taking for her, don't you think that's far too irresponsible?"
"Responsibility should only be demanded when someone is capable of bearing it. Criticizing Lady Averil for not taking her family's behavior into account when acting is like telling someone with a broken leg not to ask for help even when attacked by a knife-wielding robber, just to run away alone."
"Why are you exaggerating like that? It's not as if Lady Averil is in a life-or-death situation right now, is she?"
"Maybe not to that extent, but neither the Duke nor the rest of her family ever actually listen to her. Even five years ago, during the hearing, they said they'd bring her, but instead had knights stop her from coming. How can you overlook such irrational, insane behavior and still blame her for it?"
As the argument began to grow more heated, Letticia stepped in to stop Dayna.
But Dayna, hearing Letticia's words, only grew angrier. She turned toward her with a furious expression.
"You too, Letticia! Five years ago it was Sir Achilles, and this time it's the Duke. The ducal family has caused you harm twice already, how can you just let it go so easily?"
"Let it go? Me? Both last time and this time, my family received proper compensation and a formal apology for the damage we suffered."
Letticia blinked, completely caught off guard by Dayna's accusation.
Until now, she'd never once been "lenient" toward anyone who had wronged her. If anything, she was the type to trample her enemies when she could. So she couldn't even begin to guess what made Dayna think she was being forgiving.
"I'm not talking about compensation! Normally, even if people receive compensation, the anger doesn't just disappear. They just stop bringing it up. But you, you just forgive and forget everything after getting an apology and some payment. How can you do that so easily? Especially when this time, it was your own family that got hurt?"
"Hmm, I think you're misunderstanding something, Dayna. It's not that I forgave or forgot. I just don't see the point of wasting my time and energy staying angry over what's already done."
Letticia shook her head as she denied it, but Dayna still didn't look convinced.
To someone like her, who never hid her grudges even in private, Letticia's calm and unbothered attitude was incomprehensible.
"Then what about the Duke drawing his sword at Lord Sharon? Are you saying that wasn't worth your anger either? That's why you're just staying quiet like this?"
"No, that does make me angry. Of course it does. How could it not? My brother nearly died."
Everyone froze at Letticia's quietly spoken words, turning to stare at her in shock.
Ariette, in particular, looked stricken with fear and guilt, her face pale, trembling all over as if she were the one being condemned.
Seeing that expression only irritated Letticia. The Duke was the one who had drawn his sword, so why was Ariette the one apologizing?
"To be honest, I'm not satisfied with the punishment His Grace received. They call it an exile from the capital, but in reality, he just dumped all the aftermath on his children and ran away, didn't he?"
"T-Then… what would it take to ease your anger toward Father, Lady Sharon?"
Ariette asked in a quivering voice. Letticia replied without a hint of emotion.
"I don't expect anything from the Duke. He wouldn't have reflected on his actions sincerely anyway, and even if someone forced him to kneel and beg for forgiveness, it wouldn't bring me any joy. I'd rather take revenge myself."
"R-Revenge?!"
"What are you talking about, Letticia?!"
"Lady Sharon!"
At the word revenge, all three of them gasped in unison.
Ariette froze completely at the idea of Letticia seeking revenge on her father. Dayna, realizing that she might've provoked something far more extreme than intended, went pale as well.
And Seraphina, her voice sharp and reprimanding, immediately scolded Letticia.
"Taking personal revenge on someone who's already been punished is wrong! And to say something like that in front of Lady Averil, no less!"
"Ah, I suppose I should explain better. When I say revenge, I don't mean I'm going to harm the Duke or anything. It's nothing illegal, and honestly, probably not even unethical."
Her tone was so casual that the other three looked at one another in confusion.
Revenge that's neither illegal nor immoral? What on earth was she talking about?
"Not immoral? But you just said it was revenge!"
"Revenge isn't always wrong. No matter how much he's punished or scolded, it won't really affect the Duke himself. So, I thought about what would actually make him suffer the most…"
She picked up her spoon and idly stirred her ice cream, continuing with a faint smile.
"I figured… what would torment him more than losing all his remaining estates or being stripped of his title would be seeing Lady Averil live happily, far happier without him around."
"Wait, you mean… you intend to help Lady Averil as a way of taking revenge on the Duke? Are you serious?"
Seraphina's eyes widened in disbelief. The look of shock on her face was shared by both Ariette and Dayna, who could hardly process what they'd just heard.
Realizing the misunderstanding growing among them, Letticia waved her hand lightly.
"Oh, come on. I wouldn't ruin Lady Averil's life just to get back at the Duke. That would be cruel. I only mean that if Lady Averil ends up happier because of me… well, that would count as revenge too, wouldn't it?"
"Even so, once such an impure motive is involved, it can no longer be called genuine help! Do you truly believe your desire for revenge won't overpower your goodwill and friendship toward Lady Averil?"
"Of course. What I want is for Lady Averil to be happy."
She might have called it revenge, but she wasn't talking about ruining Ariette's life. On the contrary, she was saying she wanted to help her become happier. From Ariette's perspective, that should've been a good thing.
Still, helping her for the sake of revenge, could that really be considered sincere?
Ariette couldn't make sense of the contradiction between Letticia's fierce word revenge and her gentle intention of happiness. Confused, she hesitantly asked.
"Then, Lady Sharon… do you mean you want me to be happy just so it will make Father miserable?"
"No. Like I said, your happiness itself is his punishment. Since the Duke can't leave his territory anymore, as long as you don't go back there, you can live however you wish. You can pursue happiness in your own way, doing whatever you truly want."
"…Not in the way you want, Lady Sharon, but in the way I want?"
"If I decided that for you, would that really be your happiness? That would just be mine."
Letticia replied lightly, then turned to Ariette, who was staring at her blankly.
"Lady Averil, please be honest with me. Compared to when the Duke was still around, how has your life changed now?"
"…It's much easier. Even during meals, my brothers don't threaten to dismiss the chefs or punish them if I leave food unfinished or go out to eat alone anymore."
"They punished the cooks for something like that?"
Dayna muttered in disbelief, but Ariette didn't seem to hear her and continued.
"The secretaries don't come to me crying and begging me to stop Father anymore either. He used to postpone his work just to drag me out shopping or to see the flowers. And since he doesn't keep trying to give me shops as gifts anymore, it's a lot easier to just say what I want to eat."
"He postponed work to go play? To the point that his secretaries would cry and beg you?"
This time, Seraphina asked in outrage. Ariette nodded weakly.
"Every time I took a day off, it was like that. Even with a pile of documents waiting for his approval, he'd insist we go shopping or flower viewing together…"
"My goodness… Did His Grace ever fulfill even one of his duties properly?"
Seraphina sighed, her tone filled with exasperation.
A complicated look crossed Ariette's face. Even she, his own daughter, couldn't deny that the Duke had failed in every way, as a lord and as a father.
'It's a relief he wasn't the Emperor, really.'
Letticia thought grimly. If the Duke had been Emperor, he probably would've turned into a tyrant, conquering entire continents for the sake of his daughter.
Just imagining him colonizing a nation simply because his daughter liked chocolate, forcing its people to produce it with their blood, sweat, and tears, only to proudly offer it to her, made Letticia shudder.
Yes, Ariette was far happier without the Duke.
But for someone who had spent her whole life within the walls of her family's affection, admitting that her happiness came because her father was gone… wasn't something easy to do.
If she had suffered violence or cruelty like Ezkhiel, perhaps it would've been simpler. But overprotection was its own kind of abuse—a twisted form of affection—and that made it even harder to acknowledge.
That's why what she needed now… was a justification. A reason to rationalize her newfound peace.
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