“I’m always making Mom and Dad’s lives hard. I want to make things easier for them, but I just keep messing up.”
Without a word, Iris embraced the child.
“Honestly... I don’t want to see Mom and Dad. When I’m with them, I’m always hurt and in pain.”
Roo gripped Iris’s robe tightly, trembling all over—
a child trembling in fear.
“But I know I shouldn’t be like this. Everyone must hate a child like me.”
Afraid of being abandoned, of being left utterly alone.
Yet,
this child was still alive emotionally—unlike her past self, who had been crushed and lost all will.
Though confused, she could still be saved from this hell.
In that moment, Iris asked Roo once more.
“The Leontheim estate’s annex is a cozy, warm sanctuary. How about staying here just for today?”
The small girl clutching Iris hesitated, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.
After long contemplation, she bowed her head slightly and nodded.
Iris then asked a few children who hadn’t yet left for the day to stay with Luke, so she wouldn’t be alone.
“Of course, this isn’t an order. I’ll inform your families, so choose comfortably.”
The children smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.
“It’s alright!”
“Yeah, we’ve all been worried about Luke this whole time.”
“Thank you.”
As long as Luke remained here, she would be safe tomorrow. For Iris, that single day was enough—enough to shield Luke from those dreadful foes.
That morning, Iris was sitting peacefully drinking tea while poring over a thick document filled with countless characters. She was nearing the end—soon, the time would come.
She set the papers down on the tea table with a soft thud, and just then, a knock echoed at the door as if perfectly timed.
Upon granting permission, the head maid, Hannah, rushed in, breathless.
“Milady, there’s a serious problem. Even Master Butler Vincent isn’t here—what should we do?”
“Milady! He has arrived!”
Vincent suddenly appeared beside Hannah, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise. When Hannah asked how long he had been there, Vincent just gestured silently for her to wait and handed Iris a sealed envelope.
“Did I arrive at an appropriate time?”
“Perfect timing, Vincent.”
Iris smiled gently at him.
“And Hannah, please escort our guests. Where should I lead them?”
Hannah’s eyes grew wide as she hurried to follow Iris, who took the lead.
‘How did she know so quickly?’
It had been only minutes since the arrival of the parents of the newly hired child, Luke.
“We’ve ordered them to wait in the hall, but the atmosphere feels tense. Using force to drive them away might be an option.”
“If we use force, it will be to our disadvantage. So no, it’s fine.”
True to Hannah’s words, a man and a woman stood in the hall. The woman kept dabbing beneath her eyes with a handkerchief, while the man looked around, barely restraining his anger.
When Iris descended the stairs, they rushed over.
“Your Grace, the Grand Duchess, what have you done with Luke, my daughter?”
Iris smiled—not the warm, kind smile she usually wore, but a cold sneer meant for fools.
“What do you mean?”
“As I said, my daughter Luke has been missing since last night.”
“Ha! I can prove my daughter Luke never left the Grand Ducal estate!”
She wiped away tears as she spoke. The street vendor near the estate, who usually watched over Luke when she used a nearby shortcut, hadn’t seen her last night.
“How is that my fault? You’re accusing the wrong person—”
“Shh, Hannah.”
Iris silenced Hannah, who was growing angry at the foolish parents, and looked down on the pair.
“Mr. and Mrs. Grimoire.”
The gaze of the Grand Duchess looking down from above was heavy enough to press down on anyone.
“You seem to have no fear.”
Under her stern words, the couple exchanged glances and nodded.
Showing up unannounced like this was usually considered rude—especially in the Grand Ducal estate that governed this territory.
In truth, Iris could have charged them with lèse-majesté, and they knew it, which was why they were so brazen.
‘They must have powerful backing,’ Iris thought coldly, maintaining her sneer.
“I heard you are a fallen noble family from Leontheim. Bankruptcy and all.”
“That’s correct.”
“But that does not excuse abusing and exploiting your own daughter. Is that so?”
Neither responded.
‘That foolish woman’s been caught.’
‘Did she rat someone out?’
Well, it didn’t matter. As long as Iris could reclaim what was hers, she could fix this.
“As rightful lord of Leontheim, I cannot stand idly by at your actions.”
“So, what do you intend to do?”
“Of course, I intend to prosecute you under the Child Protection Laws.”
At those words, both of them couldn’t help but let out a small, involuntary chuckle.
Good heavens. So this supposed Duchess of the Northern Province turned out to be such a naive woman.
“Prosecute us?”
That was what they believed, the reason she refused to return Roo.
Roo’s mother spoke in a syrupy, coaxing tone:
“Is that so? And what evidence do you have...? If you mean the bruises on the neck, our Roo got those from accidentally falling.”
“Children at that age are naturally prone to injuries. I would like to believe that the Duchess who rules over the Northern Province would not hold such a narrow-minded view.”
“And we are no strangers to the law either.”
Their eyes shone with confidence—clearly aware they would not be arrested.
Hannah felt displeased at their attitude, but Iris remained unusually calm.
“Indeed. You are well-versed in the law. That’s why you got your charges of fraud, theft, and assault suspended on parole, isn’t it?”
“...”
Finally, a ripple of unease flickered across the once so confident couple’s eyes.
How did she know that?
It’s okay. It’s already over—there’s nothing even the Duchess can do now!
And all those charges had been definitively resolved, unrelated to any child protection laws.
The Duchess’s threats are just intimidation.
It seems she’s trying to get a confession out of us—no chance.
The two sealed their lips and remained silent.
It didn’t matter—they knew Iris intended to tell everything.
“You acted very cleverly. You knew only oral evidence presented in official court holds weight, so you kept silent in front of the judiciary.”
“That... is a baseless accusation.”
Yet the more Iris spoke, the more their faces hardened.
“Is that so? Then consider this.”
The Grimore couple unconsciously clenched their fists tightly.
What else does she intend to do?
They had thought this would be an easy matter.
But hearing every detail of their actions made them gradually uneasy.
They sensed this couldn’t be solved just by exploiting legal loopholes as before.
“You used your background as fallen nobles to gain sympathy votes at the citizen trial days later, reducing your sentence.”
The townsfolk pity commoners who receive harsh punishments from nobles.
That wasn’t all.
Their assault charge was dismissed for lack of evidence, and they escaped the fraud charge by proving the fraudulent act was unintentional.
“Perhaps you believed that as long as the case was resolved, no records would remain—so you kept committing these acts repeatedly.”
Most of the cases that led to their reduced sentences followed this pattern.
The Grimores exploited the gaps in the law, committed misdeeds, moved on, and targeted new victims.
“But did you really think none of your crimes were ever recorded?”
At that, Vincent and Hannah’s brows twitched.
It meant the pair before them were criminals who had escaped by exploiting legal loopholes.
But the Grimores quickly regained their composure.
What is this? Just nitpicking?
Their earlier anxiety faded.
If there was real evidence, they’d have dragged us away already. This is just a leading interrogation.
A chuckle escaped them.
“Indeed, the law is flawed. So, Your Grace, your efforts are just a waste of time.”
They believed they could run away again, just like before.
“Is that so?”
“You do realize that under the current Child Protection Law, you cannot prosecute us for physical harm, right? There hasn’t even been any social uproar.”
“That was merely discipline. Your Grace, the Grand Duchess, simply hasn’t raised a child and thus cannot understand.”
Legally, their argument held some weight.
If they claimed it was discipline in court, it could potentially overturn the verdict.
That was why Iris had pondered deeply yesterday.
“Why did Luke have to quit so suddenly at this point in her previous life?”
The special Child Protection Law she remembered was clear:
Children below a certain age receive subsidies instead of laboring.
Since the subsidy was considerable, forced child labor had significantly declined after the law’s implementation.
“But there was a particular clause.”
If a guardian was present, the child could both receive the subsidy and work, provided the guardian fulfilled their protective duties.
So Luke’s parents could keep her working at Leontheim without issue.
Since they seized all her earnings, it was even more profitable for them that way.
“But Luke stopped working.”
There must have been a reason.
Thus, Iris studied the recently proposed amendments closely.
“The Empire’s laws differ slightly by region.”
At Iris’s words, the Grimoires’ faces twisted with a ‘So what?’ expression.
“For example, the special Child Protection Law recently enacted in the capital has yet to apply to Leontheim.”
Yet Iris calmly explained further, sensing these fools needed more guidance.
“Surely, if you were abusing her, you knew full well.”
Though they had heard, they maintained mocking silence.
“But here’s the thing.”
That law will no longer shield you.
“It is legislated in the capital.”
Iris dropped a single sheet of paper before them.
The document that explained why Vincent had to disappear that morning.
The paper fluttered down and landed at their feet like fate itself.
“And I am from the capital.”
“This… this is—”
Only then did Luke’s father realize the gravity of the situation. With trembling hands, he snatched up the paper.
His reddened eyes scanned the indictment heading:
[Iris Leontheim hereby indicts Angelina Grimoire and Lucenz Grimoire, parents of Luke Grimoire, for the following reasons.]
No way. Impossible.
That law was not yet—
[...Indictments under the Child Protection Law proceed based solely on physical evidence...]
It should not have applied in Leontheim yet.
[...According to the defendant’s place of birth and residence, the capital’s laws take precedence.]
“Therefore, the child’s evidence supersedes the defendant’s, and parental rights are revoked immediately upon receipt of this indictment to protect the child.”
The two pale parents stared at Iris, stunned. This could not be happening. If it did—
“For your reference, the next page contains medical evidence of your injuries: special injuries, assaults, and aggravated assaults.”
That cold smile Iris had once dismissed now appeared like the button of a guillotine hanging above their necks.
“You’re right; the law is indeed unjust.”
The woman gasped, struggling for breath at Iris’s calm words.
“But don’t put too much faith in its loopholes. Who knows—those loopholes might turn into a trap.”
At those words, the couple’s knees gave way beneath them.
Chapter 26