To them, they were treasures and keepsakes, sure.

But to Camilla, they were nothing more than used junk.

Take Assassin Zero’s sword she had just given Rube, for example. What was she even supposed to do with that if she kept it?

At least Rube liked it, so that was something.

Well, some of them were actually useful.

What she was taking out now was one of those things. No, if she was being honest, this might have been the most useful thing of all.

[What is that?]

[Liquor?]

What Camilla pulled out of the box was a fairly large liquor bottle. And not just one bottle, either, but several.

“It’s Aclea fruit wine.”

[Aclea fruit?]

[Ho... But the color’s different from ordinary Aclea wine.]

“It’s 400 years old.”

[H-how many years?]

[400 years?]

Derin and Perol’s mouths fell open at the same time.

Aclea fruit was not something you could get easily to begin with.

Even in the hot southern regions, the weather had to be just right for it to grow, and it was so rare that a proper harvest only came around once every 20 years, if that.

Even so, the reason people still tried however they could to get their hands on it was simple: the liquor made from it tasted extraordinary.

And it was said that the more time passed, the deeper the flavor became, the richer the bouquet.

But this wasn’t 10 years old or 20 years old.

It was a full 400 years old.

To be honest, Camilla had thought, No matter how good liquor is, can something that’s 400 years old even still be drinkable...?

And yet?

The moment she had opened one of the bottles earlier in the palace, one that had been sealed away for ages, the entire area had filled with the scent of flowers, and even Camilla herself had gone blank for a while.

Could even liquor made from flowers smell like this?

[Thank you. Even after dying, I was still so curious what this would taste like.]

Had he been a heavy drinker when he was alive too?

The prince, who had asked her to find the liquor he had hidden in a secret place and let him drink just one glass of it, took the drink Camilla personally poured for him, then left looking deeply satisfied.

[You can have all the rest.]

She had never tasted it herself, but just from the aroma alone, she could tell it was fine liquor, so she had gladly swept up every last bottle.

“Anyone who wants some, raise your hand.”

The moment Camilla finished speaking, Derin and Perol immediately shot their hands into the air.

It was exactly what she had expected. She had noticed before that both of them knew a great deal about liquor, and every time they passed the liquor cellar, they would smack their lips.

But then...

Why are there four hands?

Raised high in the air—

Xeno and the priest ghost Arena had somehow appeared and planted themselves right beside Derin and Perol, both with their hands raised high.

Well, Xeno was one thing.

“A priest can drink?”

[What does it matter that I was a priest when I’m dead?]

Arena snorted as if the question was ridiculous, then sat down first in front of the bottles.

[And you, what exactly do you take me for?]

“Huh?”

[Do I look like the kind of person who lived a proper priest’s life when I was alive?]

No.

[I drank plenty even when I was a priest. There’s a secret passage behind the papal offices, you know. I used to sneak out through there and—]

Of course you did.

What exactly had the Lord believed in when giving Arena that enormous amount of holy power? Religious discipline, devotion, all of it scraped rock bottom.

“Then would you all like to try a glass each?”

[Yes, my lady!]

[Gladly.]

[Give me two glasses!]

[I want three!]

[GYUU!]

Huh?

“King, when did you get here?”

[GYUGYU!]

“...You want some too?”

[GYU!]

“What does a tiny little thing like you think you’re going to drink?”

[GYUUU!]

“...You’re saying you’re all grown up?”

[GYUGYU!]

“......”

No matter how high you raise that tiny front paw, you still don’t look very grown up, King.

“...Want an apple?”

[GYUU.......]

That pitiful look isn’t going to work.

“Tsk.”

Under Camilla’s scolding stare, King’s ears finally drooped all the way down.

Chapter. Sena

KRAKOOOM!

“You’re really going to keep doing this?!”

The chair kicked by a foot flew off to one side and slammed into the wall. It had been a fairly expensive chair, too. She would probably have to order another new one.

“You want to get dragged out again like last time?”

Even as she looked at the broken chair, Juella did not so much as blink.

The violence of the man who had once been family, who had once been her brother, had long since gone past familiar and become simply exhausting.

At first, the employees used to be startled every time it happened, but now they had reached the point of just taking it in stride.

Of course, she also knew perfectly well that every one of them kept their eyes and ears fixed on this side without pause, ready to call soldiers at once if things started to look dangerous.

“Do you have any idea what kind of situation we’re in right now?”

“Do I need to?”

“Our entire family was completely ruined because of you!”

“Ha.”

Juella let out a hollow laugh. He said the exact same thing every single time, with such astonishing consistency that it no longer stirred any feeling in her at all.

And she, too, gave him the same answer every time.

“It wasn’t because of me, Young Master Bakes. It was because of you. Or have you already forgotten who it was that gambled away all the money and even piled up debt on top of it?”

“You little—!”

Mantits’s face twisted violently when Juella addressed him crisply as “Young Master,” treating him like a stranger.

It seemed the days when he used to lash out every time Juella called him brother had already vanished into the distance.

“So now that you’re making a little money, you think you can look down on me?”

“I always looked down on you.”

She had only endured it because they were family.

“You little—!”

Mantits clenched his fist tight. It looked like he might hit her at any moment.

Still, maybe he had some awareness of his own position now, because he did not swing that fist right away.

“You worthless piece of trash, after all the trouble of raising you! A bitch like you—!”

But the stream of abuse did not stop. As if saying this much was the only way he could preserve even a scrap of his pride.

Even while looking straight at Mantits, Juella did not so much as crease a brow, nor did she give him the slightest reaction.

My father said this once.

Duke of Sorpel did?

When a dog barks, if you react, it just barks louder, so don’t react at all.

That was what she thought of, remembering the advice Camilla had once given her.

Of course, if the barking intervals got shorter and the barking got louder and louder—

“You bitch, because of you our family—!”

THUD!

“GAAAH!”

“A beating really is the best cure.”

A familiar voice came from behind Mantits as he cried out in pain and clutched his head.

The moment Juella saw who it was, a smile immediately spread across her face.

“Camilla.”

It was Camilla, clicking her tongue, one pointed heel still in her hand.

“Why are you just standing there listening to dogshit?”

“I was just wondering what I should throw at him to make him shut up.”

Camilla and Juella went on talking as if the groaning Mantits did not exist.

“Throw him out already. Sprinkle salt after him too.”

“You heard her. Get out.”

“Y-you crazy bitches! You think I’m just going to let you get away with this? You filthy—”

“Mantits Bakes.”

“...!”

Mantits, who had been hurling curses, flinched without thinking.

The look in Camilla’s eyes as she stared at him was that cold.

“You should watch your mouth.”

“Wh-what?”

“No one here has any reason to listen to that kind of filth from you. More than that...”

Camilla stepped toward him.

Flinch!

At the sight, Mantits instinctively shrank in on himself and took another step back.

Watching him, Camilla clicked her tongue briefly to herself. How could he be such a cliché?

Strong toward the weak, and the moment anyone pushed back even a little, he tucked his tail and backed down. The fact that Juella had lived with a pathetic bastard like this for so long suddenly seemed impressive all over again.

“Do you seriously have no idea who it is you’re calling bitch and {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} slut? Juella got a medal and a title not long ago.”

The clothes Juella designed had become wildly popular not only across the empire, but in other countries too, especially the Gracia Empire.

On top of that, she had gone from success to success, even winning the grand prize in an international competition...

So Crown Prince Edsen, who had had his eye on Juella’s rise for quite some time, had ostentatiously awarded her both a medal and a title. Something about preventing talent from leaving the country.

Do you know that’s all thanks to me?

What are you talking about? Why would Juella getting a title be thanks to you?

I promoted her very enthusiastically. Whenever someone showed up wearing clothes your friend designed, I never held back on the compliments. You know perfectly well how much influence a single word from me carries in high society, don’t you?

That’s so moving I could cry. Want me to actually cry for you? I’m pretty good at crying scenes, you know. I could bawl my eyes out for you.

Daughter, haven’t you gotten a little too cold these days?

That’s surprising.

What is?

That you think I only got cold these days. I thought I’d always been this way.

.......

Her biological father, the Duke of Eskra, had tried to claim credit, but she had just let it go in one ear and out the other.