That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us - Volume 2 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Stephanie’s Fate

THERE WAS GREAT UPROAR at the royal palace. The Offreys were facing public hearings.

They were more spectacle than anything; although the events were called “hearings,” judgment had been rendered already. The Offrey house name was to be expunged from the record of noble houses. The family had lost their lands already, and their cumulative wealth had been funneled to the royal palace.

To put it unflatteringly, the palace was making an example of them. They were being condemned publicly because their ties to air pirates made them categorically unworthy of the noble status they’d once enjoyed. The palace likely hoped that would satisfy the many victims who’d suffered at the Offreys’ hands.

Given the scale of the affair, countless aristocrats had flooded into the palace since the crack of dawn to watch the hearings unfold. Angelica was among the visitors. Clad in her school uniform, she strolled down a palace corridor, turning a corner to see Deirdre farther down the hall.

“Angelica,” Deirdre said by way of greeting. “You were a great help in this messy business.”

“You certainly made a show of it,” Angelica replied as Deirdre fell into step beside her. “This affair will be all anyone talks about for a while.”

Deirdre slid open her fan and pressed it over her mouth. “I greatly appreciate your getting us through to Her Majesty.”

“Well, I wish you’d settled things more quietly. Justified though you were, this was all too abrupt. Have you any idea what waves it will send through the aristocracy?”

Deposing an entire aristocratic family was never a simple affair. The matter didn’t just end with their demise. Once the palace had taken care of the Offreys, anyone linked to the family would be swept up and faced with consequences as well. An inquiry would be required to assess how many of the Offreys’ cohorts had been aware of the illegal goings-on and to what extent they’d been involved, if at all.

There had been no time whatsoever to prepare for this, and palace officials would burn the candle at both ends overseeing the aftermath of the Offreys’ deposal.

Deirdre smiled and snapped her fan shut. “Oh, we Roseblades were in no rush. It was Lord Bartfort…” She trailed off and cleared her throat. “Ahem, it was Leon who was in such a hurry.” She spoke his name with a tone of familiarity and affection.

Angelica’s brows knitted. “You never mentioned anything about a potential union between your house and the Bartforts.”

“They approached us about it, and we saw no reason to refuse.”

It frustrated Angelica that she’d known nothing about this until it was too late. Still, she understood that she had no room to protest if the Bartforts requested the union themselves. I should’ve arranged a meeting between Bartfort and His Highness sooner. I suppose I ought to give up trying to win Bartfort’s loyalty, now that his family will have a strong link to the Roseblades.

She’d hoped to induct Bartfort into Julius’s faction, but he’d established a different allegiance, so at this point she hesitated to pursue the plan. If only I’d known, I would’ve moved things along more quickly. The missed opportunity filled her with more regret than she’d ever have expected.

The Roseblades weren’t allies of the Redgraves. The houses weren’t currently opposed or hostile to one ­another, but depending how things changed, warfare was within the realm of possibility. A Redgrave snatching Leon from the Roseblades’ clutches would surely push them a step closer to such conflict. That was more than enough reason to hesitate and reconsider.

Deirdre slid her fan back open, again hiding her mouth. “My apologies, Angelica. You had your eye on him, didn’t you?”

“You knew I did, so don’t waste time with such a hollow question,” retorted Angelica. “At any rate, it’s nearly time for the former earl’s hearing. I assume you’ll be in attendance?”

Deirdre’s smile became that of a savage beast eager to watch its prey. “Why, of course I will.”

***

The former Earl Offrey’s hearing was probably kicking off at this very moment. Marie and I were elsewhere in the palace, though, attending someone else’s hearing. Our testimony had been requested, hence our participation. 

The criminal facing judgment was Stephanie. She was too inconsequential for her hearing to merit the theatrics her father’s had; still, the palace couldn’t let her off the hook. They’d reserved a separate chamber to carry her hearing out simultaneously with her father’s, mostly because the officials were eager to wrap up the messy business with the Offreys and Lafans. Or so I pieced together—I didn’t really know the specifics.

The chamber in question was set up like a meeting room. Stephanie was fully bound and positioned prominently. As Marie and I watched her, the presiding official spoke.

“We cannot overlook how you wielded your family’s power and influence to commit a wealth of crimes against fellow students. Orchestrating air pirates’ infiltration of the capital to serve your own ends was especially egregious.”

He then read off a list of Stephanie’s offenses while the gallery jeered her, hurling all kinds of verbal abuse.

“Traitor!”

“You and your family were always merchants playing at nobility. Still, you committed atrocities beyond redemption!”

“Put her head on display!”

Stephanie kept her gaze glued to the floor, shivering. She couldn’t defend herself against their abuse. Her pompous, entitled attitude was nowhere to be seen, her face pale with fear. She was like an entirely different person. 

The young Offrey woman could no longer turn to her family for help or protection. She was just another academy girl. No, she wasn’t even an academy student anymore. Just a regular girl, then.

Marie tugged my sleeve and whispered, “Hey, when they mentioned the air pirates in the capital, were they referring to what I think?”

“Brita and her friends admitted everything. They were eager to help if it meant repaying their debt to you,” I replied.

“Really?” Marie stared at me, mouth slightly open, as if she couldn’t believe it.

I didn’t tell her that I’d asked them to do so as a favor. Or maybe it’d be more accurate to say I persuaded them. Either way, they’d been reluctant but ended up promising to cooperate.

After the presiding official listed off Stephanie’s crimes, he said, “Your standing as an academy student notwithstanding, execution would ordinarily be the best way to deal with someone like you. However, we have elected to hand down a different sentence. From this point on, you will be divested of citizenship. You will be neither noble nor commoner—a woman lacking legal affiliation with any country. That will be the price of your many crimes.”

Essentially, after her hearing, the palace would throw Stephanie out and wash their hands of her. At first, that punishment sounded quite light. Yet the way Stephanie jerked her head up, face pale, said otherwise.

“N-no. No! Let me die an aristocrat! Execute me however you like, but don’t cast me out!” she wailed, tears streaking down her cheeks.

Half the gallery was too stunned to react, as if they didn’t totally understand what this punishment meant. Perhaps that was a given, since most were fellow academy students who’d come to see their tormentor’s fate play out.

While the kids didn’t comprehend the implications, however, the adult spectators did. Some of the men smirked, knowing exactly what awaited Stephanie when she left the palace.

Marie tugged my sleeve again. “Hey, um…is that really a punishment? They’re only kicking her out, right? Isn’t it actually kind of risky?” 

She probably feared Stephanie would retaliate against us. The girl no longer posed a threat, however. Stephanie was neither an aristocrat nor even a peasant. She had no rights. No law would prohibit any behavior from her, but on the other hand, none would protect her.

Rumors of the Offreys’ many misdeeds were spreading across the kingdom, which would make Stephanie’s position even more precarious. Nowhere would be safe for her anymore. Not within Holfort.

“She always looked down on us for being poor, but now, we’ll be as far above her as the moon,” I explained. “And once she’s thrown out of the palace? Anyone can do anything they want to her without consequences.”

“Wait…” Marie’s eyes widened. She finally understood what I was getting at.

Anyone with a grudge against Stephanie would have free rein to take revenge. Stephanie could run to whomever she wanted for help, but it would be pointless. The kingdom wouldn’t save her. She was no one to them. Simple execution might’ve been a happier end.

As Stephanie wailed and screeched, the female knight beside her struck her in the back of the head. “Enough with the bawling! Shut up!”

“Ow! That hurts! Stop! Someone help!”

“‘Help’? Who would help someone like you?! Haven’t you seen the faces of your audience?” 

The knight seized a fistful of Stephanie’s hair and forced her to survey the gallery. Everyone was either ­glaring or sneering at her. Her fall from grace was a dramatic one: from earl’s daughter to someone who didn’t even possess the basic rights afforded to citizens. This was a spectacle by any measure.

The female knight smiled sadistically at Stephanie. I wondered if she had some personal grudge against the girl, though they hadn’t seemed acquainted.

“Doesn’t look like anyone wants to help you,” the knight said.

The look on Stephanie’s face was one of pure terror. “No!” she shrieked, her voice echoing through the chamber.

Her reaction bothered me less than the crude way the lady knight handled her. I couldn’t imagine a male knight being nearly as cruel and merciless.

“That’s enough,” said the presiding official, finally stopping the knight’s viciousness. “Let us proceed to exposing your accomplices. Stephanie, you were close with other girls at the academy, correct? How many had significant connections to the air pirates affiliated with your family?”

This wasn’t the appropriate venue for an interrogation. The official’s question was for entertainment, and he didn’t actually expect Stephanie to answer honestly. In fact, if she didn’t divulge anything, it would make his life easier. The less work, the better.

Didn’t they already investigate the knight families bound to the Offreys and confirm they weren’t involved with the air pirates? 

Even if Stephanie’s entourage had such links, it would’ve been through Stephanie. Those girls had been in a tough position; they couldn’t have defied her even if they wanted to. They would likely still face punishment, but it wouldn’t be as heavy as Stephanie’s. Probably.

“Upon investigating your entourage, we discovered that Carla Fou Wayne has the closest association with you,” the presiding official went on, “and is thus likeliest to be linked with air pirates. Would you agree?”

At the mention of Carla, Stephanie’s entire demeanor changed. She flinched, stared at the ground for a few moments, and then said, “Sh-she doesn’t know anything about the pirates. She only ever followed my orders.” 

She was actually trying to shield Carla.

The presiding official’s lips pulled into a wicked smile, giving me the impression his personality was just as unsavory. “Is that so? Well, according to everyone else, that was seemingly the case. Your retinue insisted that following your orders was nothing short of torture. They even lamented the humiliation of needing to suck up to the descendant of a merchant who’d scammed his way into the aristocracy. Every single one scorned you.”

A fresh wave of tears fell from Stephanie’s eyes. I stared at her, dumbfounded. I’d been so sure she would turn her back on her followers and sell them out. Yet Stephanie stubbornly defended Carla to the last—far from what I’d expected.

“Enough,” said Stephanie. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Carla was more intelligent than the others, so I kept her by my side and made use of her. But do you really think I’d leave important matters in the care of a pawn? I never…trusted anyone else…ever.” At the last, her voice broke, her body quivering. In that moment, she looked truly heartbroken.

***

“Why didn’t Stephanie tell the truth about Carla?” I asked as we trudged down the steps into the palace dungeon.

“Carla Fou Wayne was her closest retainer, correct?” Luxion said. “Given their proximity, Carla would’ve had access to the most information about the Offreys. She neglected her duty to her kingdom by neglecting to report them sooner, which makes her crimes even graver than those of her peers.”

“Yeah,” I said. “But what reason does Stephanie have to shield Carla? I mean, after hearing that her followers trashed her, I would’ve thought she’d be eager to drag them down with her.”

“Whether Stephanie provided testimony against Carla wouldn’t have greatly affected the punishment she faced. That hearing was intended as spectacle, nothing more.”

“That I agree with.”

As our conversation petered out, Marie heaved an exaggerated sigh at us. “You guys really didn’t pick up on it?”

“Pick up on what?” I demanded.

“Did you notice something we did not?” Luxion asked more politely.

“This is only intuition,” Marie hedged, “but I think Stephanie probably just wanted friends.”

“No, that can’t be it.” I shook my head. “Absolutely not. I mean, how did you even reach that conclusion?”

“If that was her intention, she made a fundamental error in the process of befriending them,” Luxion said.

Marie didn’t seem the least bit surprised by our skepticism. She still bore Stephanie a grudge, but there was a twinge of empathy in her voice as she explained further. “I did say this is just intuition. At any rate, Stephanie doesn’t actually have friends.”

“Not surprising, with her attitude.”

“I thought that at first, too,” Marie continued. “But life in this world is more complicated, isn’t it? Depending what house you’re born into, lots of people won’t even give you the time of day.”

I understood what she was getting at. A merchant’s family had taken over House Offrey while they were in decline; the merchant appropriated their lineage by questionable means, stealing their name and status for himself and his line. Thereafter, though the Offreys called themselves nobles, they were still just merchants using a title, as far as everyone else was concerned. 

Although business acumen enabled them to climb the social ladder and claim an earldom, the things they’d done to get where they were damaged their reputation irrevocably. It was baked into the game’s storyline that most aristocrats ostracized them. Marie was right; making friends would’ve been incredibly challenging for Stephanie.

“I understand that approaching nobles would be hard for her, knowing how she was viewed. Still, it was only nobles who hated her, right?” I pointed out. Surely Stephanie could’ve made friends outside the aristocracy.

Marie sighed at me. “What she wanted was aristocratic friends.”

“Then she’s a terrible person.” If she thought status made someone worth befriending, she was no better than the people who looked down on her.

“I think she was partly influenced by her upbringing. She grew up in such a twisted atmosphere, it’s little wonder she got so twisted. Don’t mistake this for pity, because it’s not. What she did was unconscionable. But we can’t deny the cards were stacked against her.”

If only Stephanie had been raised in a more upstanding household, she might not have gone down such a dark path.

“Stephanie is nonetheless fully responsible for her role in this incident,” said Luxion. “Were she a better person, her sentence would have been far lighter. I will acknowledge her environment is partly to blame, but her personality itself is part of the issue.”

“Yes, but—” Marie tried to argue.

Luxion interrupted her. “If we take environment into account, the same argument could be made about you, Marie. Yet you…” He paused. “Well, admittedly, you have caused numerous issues. However, they were minor in comparison to Stephanie’s multitude of crimes. There is absolutely no need for you to empathize with her.”

“I saw it while I was there,” Marie responded once Luxion said his piece. “Stephanie always kept Carla at her side. It seemed to annoy Carla; it looked like Stephanie enjoyed her company, though. She was just terrible at being a friend—so terrible that there was no way anyone she tried to befriend would realize what was happening.”

“I still don’t buy it,” I said.

Even assuming Marie’s hypothesis was true, if Stephanie had caused everyone trouble simply because she didn’t know how to be friendly, she was no more than a nuisance.

Using your status or connections to strong-arm those weaker than you was harassment and abuse of power. Perpetrators had all kinds of excuses. They might even say things like:

“I did it for their own good.”

“I just interact by messing with people.” 

“Unrealistic expectations help someone grow.”

An unbiased third party would find such reasoning impossible to comprehend, but the aggressors could always rationalize their actions. They sometimes even thought they were fully justified. Whether the rest of the world agreed was a different story.

Basically, what I’m getting at is that the stuff Stephanie did was unacceptable, even if she desperately wanted noble friends. 

Marie didn’t seem to approve of her behavior, either. “I agree that Stephanie’s rotten to the core,” she said. “I’d rather never see her face again if I can help it. But I do think extenuating circumstances made things even worse. This is supposed to be a cozy, comfy otome game. Don’t you think it’s a little dark and grim?”

“Assuming I understand you correctly, you posit that she lacked proper communication skills and knowledge regarding how to properly form and maintain friendships, correct?” Luxion asked. “An intriguing interpretation. Stephanie’s punishment was already handed down, however. It will resolve nothing to puzzle out whether nature, nurture, or a mix of both so twisted her personality.”

Marie lowered her gaze. “I know you’re right. Thinking about it now won’t change anything. Still, I saw girls like that when I worked in the adult industry. I can’t help wondering if her life would’ve been different if she’d realized her mistakes sooner.”

Seeing Marie so dejected about this whole mess made me sigh. Why was she hung up on Stephanie? “This is all guesswork on your part, right? That’s why we made the trip down here.”

Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, Luxion engaged his cloaking device to hide himself. A nearby guard lifted his head as we approached, and I quickly explained the situation. He kindly guided us to the cell where Carla was being held. She sat on the floor, clothes and skin somewhat filthy. She looked haggard.

When she heard our approaching footsteps, she lifted her head. “What do you want?” 

“Stephanie’s hearing is over,” Marie told her. A door of metal bars separated us. “She lost everything, and they’re going to cast her out.”

Carla seemed to understand what that meant, because she snickered, a sinister grin on her face—as if she took genuine pleasure in Stephanie’s misery. “Is that right? Feels good to hear it. Being ordered around by her all the time was bad enough, and then she dragged us into this mess.” She heaved a breathy sigh. “It’s what she deserves. If only I could’ve attended. I’d love to have seen how pathetic she looked.”

We stood there quietly as she cackled. It was as if she’d given in to her own despair.

“Her losing everything is the best possible outcome,” Carla continued. “She spent all this time looking down on people, deriding them. It’s an ironic twist of fate for her to lose the very power that let her do that, isn’t it? Now, she’ll be the target of everyone else’s condescension and scorn!” Her grin turned from sinister to maniacal.

“Stephanie insisted you had nothing to do with her crimes, especially those pertaining to the air pirates,” Marie said. “She didn’t sell any of you out.”

Carla stared, open-mouthed, at Marie. She was speechless. 

Only once we left her cell, and began to exit the dungeon, did we hear her mumbling behind us. “You wouldn’t sell us out? After everything you put us through, you choose now to shield us?! Why would you do that? Keep acting arrogant and hateful!”

That news about Stephanie had really shocked Carla. She was probably also profoundly fatigued, so maybe she was confused. In a better state, she might’ve retorted, “Does she honestly think that’d earn my forgiveness? It’s a little late.”

As we trudged back to the exit, we passed the cell where Marie’s father was being held.

“Marie! That’s you, isn’t it, Marie?!” he cried. “H-help me. Help me smooth things over with Bartfort. I’m innocent, I swear!” Fat tears rolled down his cheeks as his hands stretched through the bars toward her.

Marie’s brows pinched together. She huffed and turned away from him, stomping off, but I saw from how her shoulders hunched forward that she wasn’t as flippant as she tried to seem. She had no reason to feel unhappy about abandoning him and the rest of her family, though. They’d been nothing short of terrible to her and deserved the resentment she felt, although I could tell she harbored guilt over deserting them.

I scratched my head. “There’s no reason for her to feel bad. She takes on way too much.” I was really just thinking out loud.

However, Luxion took that as his cue to respond, manifesting despite the (former) viscount’s presence. “I wholeheartedly agree. That said, I do think you two are similar in many regards. It is for that very reason that I believe you’re superbly compatible.”

“Hey, what’re you doing, showing yourself?”

The former viscount’s eyes widened. He understood instantly that he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to. “Baron Bartfort!” he pleaded. “I’ll keep this secret. So please, I beseech you—find it within yourself to help me! If you don’t…I’ll tell everyone you keep suspicious company.” He flashed a smarmy grin.

Annoyed, I pursed my lips. I didn’t have to respond, though, since Luxion saw fit to do it for me.

“You are not mentally stable at present,” he told Marie’s father. “No one would heed your testimony; thus, your attempts at negotiation are meaningless.” He turned back to me. “Now, Master, we should hurry after Marie.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

I strode off with Luxion, ignoring the former viscount.

“No! Save me!” he screeched behind us. “I don’t want to die yet!”

At least Stephanie had shown some dignity by protecting her followers. Marie’s father was a coward to the bitter end.