“If you had a tongue left… you would, wouldn’t you?”

Annette laughed softly. Before her smile could fade, the young ladies began screaming and confessing their misdeeds.

The mage stood among the maids, silently recording the scene in his crystal ball.

? ? ? ?

All the young ladies gathered in the tea room were allowed to leave only after they had each written a statement admitting their sins. After the ladies signed their statements, the official clucked his tongue.

“What a devious trick. No one can get away with being framed in this way. I feel sorry for the young lady who was harassed, it must have been very painful for the Duchess of Aden.”

It was only the women who were called into the tea room to create an atmosphere where the young ladies could readily admit their guilt. The official who took their statements and categorized the papers according to their sins was also a woman.

Rebecca Wilson.

A commoner by birth, Rebecca was an accomplished official who was knighted for her work in uncovering the corruption of a marquis.

Annette clicked her tongue as she studied Rebecca’s documents.

“That’s a lot of people, even if they were only involved in framing the Duchess of Arden.”

“How many have been expelled from society in the last eight years?”

“If I remember correctly…, maybe two, not counting the Duchess of Arden. They were all the ones who bullied her.”

If they had suffered the same fate as Rosetta, then the number of those who had participated in the harassment must have been considerable. Some of the young ladies gathered at the tea party today were guilty as charged.

“There are twenty-seven families, what are you going to do? Each family is not powerful, but together they are powerful.”

It’s easy to convict a dozen or so young people, but when there are twenty-seven of them, it’s a different story. Even if they had written their own statements, they would claim that they were pressured into writing their statements by the imperial family.

Of course, they won’t be able to openly antagonize the imperial family, but it’s troublesome when they’re related to them.

“It depends on how the young ladies behave.”

Annette had one suggestion before they left the tea room.

The reactions of the huddled, frightened young ladies were mostly similar, but not identical. Some were discouraged and frightened, while others were disgruntled, thinking she was being unfair.

She said to them, “You are all afraid. Are you worried about me and the emperor… about how we will handle this?”

The young ladies looked at each other, unable to answer. One or two of the darker-haired ladies in the group hid their rebellious glances, and they knew it. They know that their numbers are large enough to shape public opinion.

The power of numbers can be frightening and despicable, so they must be scattered.

‘I don’t want some of the younger ones, whose sins aren’t as heavy, to be swept up and blamed, either. They’re too young, and too prone to mistakes.’

Annette looked at those who had participated, but had played a minor role, in placing the blame on Rosetta. The few young ones who had played a leading role, on the other hand, gave her an uneasy glance.

‘Besides…. There is a family that has been loyal to the Emperor for so long, I cannot help but be troubled by this. Are they the kind of people who would do something like this, given their family’s name?’

Those who met Annette’s gaze bowed their heads in shame. Weaknesses were caught, but not all weaknesses were fatal.

Secrets that could have ended in parental scolding or social embarrassment. Unwilling to be found out, they engaged in dastardly deeds.

‘So I’m going to give you a chance, I’m going to ask you to tell me who it was that threatened you, and I’m sure a couple of you will recognize the perpetrator. Of course, the emperor and I know who it was, and how she was able to threaten you….’

Annette’s words stunned the young ladies. They, too, were curious about the sender of the letter. They couldn’t understand how anyone could know such a secret. The young ladies were puzzled by their assumptions about the letter’s sender.

‘As it is, you will be punished just as much as she is, and when you think of their family… it is very likely that you will be found guilty.’

The young ladies’ faces grew red as they realized who had sent the letter. Seeing them bite their chiseled lips in anger, Annette nodded slowly.

‘I have only one suggestion: go behind their backs… and bring out the one who is laughing at you without a single stigma.’

Embarrassment spread among them, not because they feared the secret they held. It was because most of them didn’t know who it was.

‘If they can get hard evidence against her… she’ll take all the blame, though you won’t be able to escape responsibility entirely…. With proper restitution and an apology, you’ll get off with a month or two in the temple.’

She thought that was unjust, too, but it was better than Rosetta, now a duchess, taking revenge on them.

The lady of the Marquis, who had been the first to speak when Annette entered the room, asked cautiously.

‘But..What happens if we don’t find the evidence?’

‘If you don’t… the five most guilty among you will be punished in public with the brand of sin on their tongues.’

Of course, the rest of the young ladies would also be punished with whippings, or imprisonment, or something, but Annette didn’t tell them that. It was important to instill the idea that it wasn’t all of them, just some of them.

If they thought that, they would spread out.

It was better than having their tongues cut out, but the idea of having their tongues cut out made the young ladies sick. They would be cured, but they would have to bear the stigma of their sin for the rest of their lives.

‘It is too harsh….’

‘Harsh? Compared to the bitterness of those who have been accused of sin, even though they have not committed it… is it not absurdly light?’

At Annette’s stern expression, the youngsters gulped and lowered their gaze.

‘For the sake of your family and your parents, I’m giving you one more chance… I hope you won’t sully your family name by squandering it.’

With those words, the young ladies were all dismissed, and they would go about their business of trying to find the person who had manipulated them with the anonymous letter to free them from their sins.

“…Are you sure that’s enough punishment for you to forgive them?”

Rebecca asked, a look of reluctance on her face. Annette nonchalantly picked up her teacup.

“I must keep my word.”

The punishment, of course, lacked the accusations or outrage of the Emperor, Michael and Rosetta, the Duchess of Arden, or Count Whirsen. It was a punishment for earning the wrath of the Empress.

“There is no power in my own forgiveness.”

Rebecca smiled wryly, recognizing the bitterness in Annette’s reply. Annette looked at Rebecca’s report and said.

“…Will this be enough for the Duke of Arden’s wedding gift?”

“I think he will be both pleased and enraged. If he loves his new bride.”

“Hmm. I’m sure he’ll be furious…. She’s the first woman he’s ever set his heart on.”

If an individual had harassed Iris Leon, it would have been dismissed as a one-time foolish act by a young lady. But by placing the blame on an innocent individual, the sin was compounded.

“The Duke of Aden will not stand idly by…. Then what if they come out of their house, weeping and asking the emperor to intercede?”

Annette laughed bitterly and tilted her teacup.