Living Up to Your Expectations - Chapter 7

“…Do not hurt Allie any further.”

As if slicing through the silence, Lord Elliot spoke in a low but clear voice. His gaze carried anger and a hint of impatience.

Via leisurely brought her teacup to her lips and replied.

“Are those words directed at me?”

Via’s voice was as sharp as a “sword.” And Lord Elliot, not realizing he’d been cut by it, clenched his fist tightly and foolishly responded.

“Yes. Olivia. This treatment toward Allie, who was so happy to become friends with you. No, this isn’t just about today. I have no intention of overlooking what you’ve done to Allie.”

What flew from his mouth was an all-too-sudden “accusation.”

“I heard you’ve been telling the academy teachers all sorts of lies, manipulating things to put Allie at a disadvantage. Are you jealous of Allie? If you think being a duke’s daughter allows such tyranny, you are gravely mistaken!!”

Well, his delivery is top-notch.

Lord Lance and Lord Conrad followed.

“Acting tyrannically toward those of lower rank. How despicable. If she had behaved as adorably as Allie, I might have even invited her to lunch.”

“I would have given her gifts without hesitation.”

The more I listen, the more foolish they sound. Do they intend to bestow charity upon their “bestowed” fiancées? To say such things proudly, what kind of upbringing did these young masters receive?

“That’s not all!”

—Here she comes. The heroine.

Lady Allie, wiping her eyes, spoke in an affected, trembling voice.

“You pushed me down the academy stairs. At that time, the person behind me was Lady Olivia, it was you!”

She spoke as if it were the “truth.”

“The thought of someone like you being my fiancée is horrifying. Olivia, I’ll make myself clear now. Don’t expect me to ever love you from now on.”

Lord Elliot pointed at Via and declared loudly.

“Clarice, you too.”

“Ah, of course, Carla, the same goes for you.”

The focus of those words wasn’t limited to Via. Lady Clarice and Lady Carla also had arrows shot at them, one after another, by their respective fiancés.

But not one of them. Via, Clarice, or Carla was perturbed. They quietly set down their teacups and turned their gazes toward the boys.

“There are far too many contradictions in your story.”

Without moving a single finger, merely by their presence, the atmosphere grew tense and severe. I could see the boys, who had been so confidently speaking until moments ago, visibly flinch.

Have they finally understood the difference between the real thing and a farce?

—And in that moment.

“…Do you have any evidence?”

A low, authoritative voice that seemed to tear through the scene. It was less a question and more a pronouncement. Everyone who turned around gasped.

Emerging from across the lawn was Via’s father, Duke Dirk Valois.

His demeanor held no pretense or theatrical exaggeration. Merely by standing there, he exerted a pressure that demanded “submission.” Even I naturally closed my knees and straightened my back.

“…Your Grace…”

I could hear the pathetic sound from Lord Elliot’s throat. As if his earlier boisterous shouting were a lie, his face had gone pale.

The duke first cast a glance toward his daughter.

Then, he coldly directed a question at Lord Elliot.

“Are you saying that my daughter, Olivia, harmed another? Then, present your basis for that claim.”

His voice was calm. He neither shouted nor intimidated. But within it lay an “inescapable interrogation.”

Lord Elliot’s lips trembled.

“Th-that is… Allie said so. She isn’t the kind of girl to lie!”

Weak. So weak.

There was no logic, no evidence. Just the emotion of “wanting to believe” running ahead of everything. I nearly let out a small laugh at the sight.

“…Testimony alone? Then let me ask: Is there recorded evidence from the surveillance magical devices at the location where you claim Olivia pushed her? Are there any other witnesses?”

It wasn’t an inquisition; it was a “confirmation before judgment.” At the duke’s words, Lord Lance and Lord Conrad exchanged pale-faced looks.

Lady Clarice blinked coolly, and Carla smiled and tilted her head slightly.

And then, the duke took one step forward.

“Also, Elliot, whose fiancé were you? Isn’t the person you’re protecting the wrong one? —Ah, and it was you who said, ‘Is the duke’s family really that great?'”

At those words, Lord Elliot’s face twitched.

“Whether we are ‘great’ or not is not for me to say now. But just how much ‘influence’ we hold, you will soon learn through personal experience. Don’t expect to be forgiven.”

“…!!”

“And you others as well. The words you directed at my daughter and her friends, you will take proper responsibility for all of them together.”

At the spoken prophecy of the future, Lady Allie’s shoulders trembled slightly. The fingertips she had raised to cover her eyes remained frozen, still dragging the aftertaste of “tears.”

Her face is deathly pale.

Meanwhile, Via, as if nothing had happened, took another sip of her tea.

‘I didn’t hear the duke would be here! That’s unfair!’

Lord Elliot, lowering his voice, pressed in on Via, but it was nothing but the howl of a defeated dog.

What does it matter that you didn’t hear?

This is the duke’s residence, after all. There are many eyes and ears in place of the duke, and everything that happens is inevitably reported. And yet, you were the ones who came here as guests and made such a loud scene.

“I did not call for my father. I merely invited her and you all to today’s tea party. And, as it happened, my father passed by. That is all.”

There was no excuse, no exaggeration. The voice that stated only the facts was stronger than anything else.

Hehe… That’s right, Via simply prepared the stage, sat back, and waited.