My Life Was Taken by My Charm-Wielding Sister—But It Ends Here (The Mind-Reading Noble Lady’s Journey to Happiness After Escaping Her Toxic Family) - Episode 30

Otilie was brought before the man by Varick. Surrounding them were many knights who had grasped the situation and rushed over, including Philip. As for the man himself, he was bound hand and foot with rope, hanging his head dejectedly.

“Lord Varick.”

The knights bowed in unison. Varick gave them a gentle smile.

“Well done. You’ve done excellent work. Actually, I’d like to speak with him. Could everyone step back a bit?”

When Varick spoke, the knights exchanged glances with confused expressions.

[We should obey if it’s Lord Varick’s command, but…]

[Is this really alright? Bringing His Highness to a scene like this might cause problems later.]

If anything were to happen to Varick, it was only natural for servants to think this way.

(Should I give up after all?)

Just as Otilie looked down, overwhelmed with guilt.

“It’s fine. I trust you all. My safety is completely guaranteed,” Varick said.

At his words and smile, the knights gasped softly. Otilie instinctively raised her head.

“Besides, it’s not me who’ll be speaking—it’s Otilie. I’ll take full responsibility for whatever is said, and there will be no consequences for any of you.”

Even though he couldn’t actually hear their thoughts right now, Varick had sensed the knights’ concerns and properly addressed them.

“Now then, Otilie.”

As the knights stepped back, Varick gently pushed Otilie’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Lord Varick.”

Otilie took a deep breath before slowly bending forward.

“Um…”

“Why… why like this? My plan should have been perfect. Why was I stopped before I could carry it out? Why? Why?”

His whisper was so faint she had to lean in to hear. Otilie gulped and moved closer.

“I could hear it. Your inner voice.”

“Inner voice? …That’s ridiculous. There’s no way you could hear that.”

[If someone could hear my emotions, my suffering, this never would have happened in the first place.]

The man laughed scornfully. Otilie quietly shook her head.

“That’s not true. In the carriage, you were shouting ‘I won’t forgive them. I’ll kill them’… over and over, weren’t you?”

The man flinched then timidly looked up at Otilie.

“So that’s how you figured out my scheme?”

“…Yes.”

Upon hearing her response, the man burst into loud sobs.

“You’re lying? Damn it! Meddling…! You! If you hadn’t interfered, I could have fulfilled my wish! Really, why did you have to get in the way…?”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

Otilie whispered. The man’s eyes widened as he stared intently at her.

“You don’t really think you were ‘meddled with.’ You didn’t actually want to hurt anyone, did you? …Because you were hesitating. You desperately wanted to turn back, didn’t you?”

At Otilie’s words, the man shook his head. He leaned forward aggressively, as if ready to bite.

“No! Don’t act like you understand me! I never once thought about ‘wanting to turn back’ or anything so cowardly! No matter what, I was going to see it through! I was determined to make them understand!”

“That’s right. Certainly, your inner voice said that… to deceive your own heart. To encourage yourself… Isn’t that so?”

Otilie asked. The man furrowed his brow deeply.

“‘I won’t forgive them,’ ‘I have to go,’ ‘Alright, let’s go,’ ‘I’ll kill them’—I heard it over and over. Yet, you couldn’t bring yourself to move. Even though you had already arrived near the square.”

“Th-that’s only natural, right? What I was about to do was such an outrageous thing.”

“The very fact you think that way means you actually ‘disliked’ it. You didn’t want to do it.”

Human hearts sometimes tell lies. To deceive themselves. To justify themselves. —To protect themselves. They’re creatures that can even think the exact opposite.

“I was the same. There was a place I had to go, but I hated it so much. I’d reach for the doorknob only to pull back, crouching down. Each time, I’d tell myself over and over, ‘I have to go!’ But it was a lie… My legs would freeze and I couldn’t move. The more I thought ‘I’m scared’… ‘I hate this,’ the more I hated it. To hide those feelings, I started lying to myself, saying ‘I want to go.'”

That was Otilie’s daily life until just recently. The moment she stepped outside her room, everyone in the mansion would mock her and shower her with cold words. Still, to survive, she absolutely needed to eat.

She thought countless times how much she hated it, how she didn’t want to go. But that just made her legs feel weak.

So Otilie lied to herself. To look away from the dark, sad feelings. Because otherwise, she felt she might break and disappear.

“No! I… I’m not like that!”

“Then, what did you want to accomplish by killing someone?”

“Eh? That’s…”

The man abruptly fell silent.

[I just wanted to make them understand. The country that ignored me. Society. I wanted to tell them, ‘You’re the ones who made me like this.’ But even if I said that…]

“You just wanted to make them understand. The country that ignored you. Society. You wanted to tell them, ‘You’re the ones who made me like this’—is that right?”

Otilie voiced the man’s inner thoughts aloud. His eyes widened enormously as he stared at her in astonishment.

“You can really hear it?”

“…Yes, I can hear it. Even without causing an incident that hurts people, your feelings can be conveyed… I’ll listen.”

Otilie tightly squeezed the man’s palm. His eyes grew moist before he suddenly averted his gaze.

“But even if you listen, it’s meaningless. Even if you alone know, the country, society, people… none of them will change…”

“That’s not true,” Varick interjected.

He crouched beside the man like Otilie and smiled warmly.

“Despite appearances, I am the crown prince. I have the power to change the country and society you so desperately desire.”

The man’s eyes widened even further. Tears streaming down his face, his shoulders slumped heavily.

“Even without hurting anyone, even without gathering people’s attention, your feelings can reach us. We properly understand how deeply troubled you were. So please, rest assured… I want you to be honest with your own feelings.”

Varick spoke. A soundless scream echoed directly in Otilie’s heart. Whether it was sadness, happiness, or confusion she found herself on the verge of tears from the inexplicable emotion that made her want to claw at her own chest.

“—Thank you.”

A voice so small it seemed ready to vanish. Otilie stared at the man in surprise.

“I’m glad you stopped me. Thank you.”

His voice, choked with sobs, was terribly difficult to understand. But Otilie could clearly hear what he wanted to say.

“Yes.”

Placing a hand over her chest, Otilie gently narrowed her eyes.