C44
I stopped to avoid falling into confusion and began to speak to the woman in front of me.
"Liena, be careful with what you say. We don't have a relationship where we can talk freely."
At that moment, I saw the expression on Liena's face. An irritated expression, as if she had discovered something she wanted to hide.
The woman quickly returned to the "Liena Cassius" I knew. As if putting on a mask, a childish pout filled the place where anger disappeared.
"...I made a mistake because I got angry. But my sister-in-law spoke too harshly."
"Are you blaming me?"
"It's true that you said something harsh. It bothered me."
"Ha, yes. Besides that, what did you say before about all this being for me? What did you mean?"
"Literally that. I don't want my sister-in-law to go through a hard time. It's much more comfortable and safe to be under Cassius's protection."
It was not logically incorrect, but it was an explanation that somehow sounded like an excuse. Certainly, it didn't seem like she had said it that way before.
Liena must have felt the scrutinizing eyes and quietly stepped away.
"Ah, it's already very late. My father and brothers are waiting for me to go. See you later, sister-in-law!"
"Just a moment..."
"I learned that my sister-in-law's wounds were deeper than I thought. But it's okay. When my sister-in-law comes back, we can heal her."
"I won't come back. I will win in the trial."
"Well, is that really so?"
That embarrassed smile probably stemmed from ridicule.
"We can't make a premature judgment about who will win."
"I will look forward to it."
Vinetta asked after Liena left.
"Should I have caught her?"
"It's fine. If we had used physical force against the Duke's daughter, we would have been at a disadvantage without any reason."
Even if I had caught her anyway, I wouldn't have been able to get the information I wanted. Liena was not immature enough to reveal information she wanted to keep hidden just because she couldn't overcome her anger.
"Just showing that strange attitude a moment ago was uncharacteristic of Liena."
What the hell was that? Even when I think about it again, it doesn't resemble the Liena I knew.
There were several moments in the story when Liena got angry, but this time it felt different.
"One moment."
She's not like the Liena I knew... How much do I know about Liena?
A question I had never thought deeply about hit my head. I read Liena's novel, "Return and Walk on a Flower Path," countless times.
But can I really say that I understand everything about the character of Liena Cassius?
After thinking about it carefully, the answer to this question was "no."
I had already questioned the legitimacy of the Cassius family after seeing the hidden circumstances of the steward's son. Furthermore, I witnessed several times a dark side of myself that is not shown in the novel.
"Until now, I thought it was because the people around me loved Liena too much."
Now I am beginning to question Liena herself.
I felt it intuitively. I met another side of Liena a moment ago.
What kind of person is Liena? What kind of face does she put on in the parts that are not covered in the novel?
--------------------
Liena walked down the hallway, concentrating her thoughts. Don't get excited about something that doesn't matter... It wasn't like her.
"Back."
Leandro asked as we entered the waiting room.
"How was it?"
When Liena shook her head with a somber expression, he sighed deeply. Duke Cassius, who was beside him, spoke angrily.
"Liena, you have nothing to worry about such an ungrateful person."
"Hey, don't talk like that. We acted wrongly towards my sister-in-law."
"How did we act wrongly? She's not even a child to complain about not receiving attention."
"Dad."
"Why make such a fuss about not wanting a divorce and make my daughter hear hateful comments?"
Liena desperately tried to stop the Duke when suddenly an arrow pointed at Leandro.
"It's not like that. I also showed up because I wanted my sister-in-law to come back."
"You're so kind that it's a shame."
In an attempt to lighten the now hostile atmosphere, Liena spoke cheerfully.
"It's okay. It's obvious that this side will win the trial, so we should only talk about good things. Should we go out for a family meal after we're done?"
"... ..."
"... ..."
"... ..."
But the response she received was a bit strange. The expressions of the three men became stiff.
"Oh, what's going on?"
The response came from Leheim, her second brother.
"Bunny must have gone to talk to her sister-in-law as soon as she arrived, so she probably didn't hear. Things are a bit strange. Read this."
"It's a newspaper."