"Ulula! You... what do you think you’re doing!?"
Ulula Lavender had returned to the Margrave Lavender House after completing the initial phase of the plains development project—only to be greeted by her grandfather’s thunderous roar.
"Hmm..."
With a soft, weary sigh, Ulula looked toward her grandfather, who had stormed out to the mansion's entrance hall to meet her.
Faced with her strangely accusatory gaze, the man—Margrave Loser Lavender VI—flenched ever so slightly.
"Wh-what is with that look? I don't recall ever giving you permission to stare at your grandfather with such defiance!"
"..."
"Damn it! I told you to stop that!"
Infuriated by her uncharacteristic rebellion, Loser swung his hand back.
He intended to slap the girl across the face then and there, but at the last second, her attendant Arlie stepped between them.
"My Lord, please. Compose yourself."
"Get out of my way! Move!"
"The servants are watching. I ask you again—please, compose yourself."
"Nnh...!"
Only then did Loser take in the atmosphere of the room.
The mansion's entrance hall was filled with staff and soldiers, all of whom were staring in stunned silence at the Margrave’s outburst.
"Gnuuu... Come with me! We're having a talk!"
With Loser in the lead, they stomped down the corridor toward the back of the house.
"Thanks."
"Think nothing of it, my Lady."
After a quiet word of thanks to Arlie, Ulula followed her grandfather.
They were led into the Head of the House’s private office. Once Ulula and Arlie were inside, Loser slammed himself down into his chair.
"Where is the ring? You stole it, didn't you?"
Loser’s voice was somewhat lower now, though he was far from calm. Blue veins pulsed at his temples, and his face was so flushed it looked as though he might succumb to a stroke at any moment.
"That ring was locked inside a hidden safe! You’re the only person who could have taken it!"
"..."
"Give it back! You can't possibly be ignorant of what that item represents!"
"I gave it away," Ulula replied shortly.
Her response was blunt, her iridescent eyes shimmering with a challenging glint.
"Gave it away? Gave it away!? You... you mean to tell me you handed it to a stranger!?"
"Yes."
"Don't you dare mock me! I won't stand for such idiocy!"
Loser hammered his fist onto the mahogany desk. His face turned such a deep crimson it seemed as though steam might burst from his ears. He barked like a cornered animal.
"That ring is the authority that commands our 'Shadow'! To entrust it to another is the same as handing someone your own heart on a platter!"
A few days prior, Ulula Lavender had indeed handed the ring over to a certain man.
The ring was the key to commanding the 'Shadow'—the Margrave house’s elite secret unit. It was the law of their house: without that ring, not even the Margrave himself could issue them orders.
"You... you fool! You absolute, wretched fool...!"
"It's fine," Ulula said, her voice like ice cutting through her grandfather’s shrill hysterics.
"Safekeeping. Trust."
Arlie stepped in to interpret. "Her Ladyship says she has placed it in the care of someone she trusts, so there is no issue."
"You steal from me and then have the gall to spout that? You ungrateful child of a prostitute!"
At Arlie’s translation, Loser’s rage reached a boiling point. In his fury, he began hurling the kind of vile insults at his granddaughter that he usually kept buried in his mind.
"Ungrateful brat... I raised you, the spawn of my useless, good-for-nothing son and a whore whose only merit was her strange divinations! Have you forgotten the debt you owe me? Do you have any idea how much coin I poured into your education!?"
"..."
"You were meant to be a tool for the Margrave Lavender House! You exist only to destroy the Empire! I raised you to be a convenient little doll—don't you dare start developing a pathetic sense of self now!"
"Murderer," Ulula said softly.
"What...?"
"You killed them... You killed my father and my mother...!"
Loser froze.
The color drained from his face instantly, the previous rage replaced by a sickly pallor.
"Wh-what are you talking about...?"
"You killed them. You... murdered my father and mother. I know the truth."
"..."
Loser’s mouth worked soundlessly, opening and closing like a fish gasping for air.
It was a reaction far too obvious to ignore—a silent affirmation. It was a clear, unmistakable response that confirmed every word Ulula had just spoken.