Silvia lowered her eyes.
"She didn't simply leave the family. She abandoned the Graythron name and turned her back on her responsibilities as a member of one of the Five Great Houses. Such an act was considered a direct violation of the Five Great Houses' Lineage Code."
Her fingers curled faintly against the fabric of her dress.
"They eventually found her." She fell silent for a moment.
"And they executed her on the family's grounds."
Leo's eyes widened slightly.
They executed her in front of the family?
His first reaction wasn't sorrow but disbelief. Whatever Miriam had done, witnessing the execution of a family member at seven years old would have been a brutal experience.
That's one hell of a way to traumatize a child.
"The incident affected our family deeply," Silvia continued. "Miriam's actions damaged the Graythron family's reputation, and the consequences of her betrayal followed us for years. The heirs and disciples of the family all felt its effects in one way or another."
She took a slow breath.
"But what it did to you was far worse than anyone could have anticipated."
Her voice softened.
"You were only seven. You didn't understand the politics, the rivalries between the houses, or the consequences of breaking the Lineage Code. All you knew was that someone you loved had suddenly been taken away from you."
Silvia's gaze drifted into the distance.
"After that day, you changed."
"You became quieter and more withdrawn. You stopped seeking other people's company, and the cheerful boy everyone knew slowly disappeared. The servants noticed it. Your relatives noticed it. Even those who weren't particularly close to you could tell something had changed."
She paused, struggling to find the right words.
"You began keeping everything to yourself. You stopped trusting people as easily as you once had, and, over time, you started pushing away those who cared about you."
Her expression grew pained.
"Eventually, that sadness turned into anger. You became more aggressive and began taking your frustrations out on the people around you. You hurt others, sometimes without seeming to understand how much damage you were causing."
Silvia's fingers tightened against her lap.
"As your mother, I should have done something. I should have found a way to help you before things reached that point."
She swallowed, her voice growing quieter.
"But when you began distancing yourself from me, too... I didn't know how to reach you anymore."
For a brief moment, she looked away.
"The family suffered because of what Miriam did. But you were the one who carried that wound for the longest time."
Silvia looked directly into Leo's eyes.
"And perhaps that is why you eventually became the person you were before losing your memories."
Leo fell silent.
He hadn't expected the previous owner to have such a dark past.
Losing someone close to you at such a young age could certainly leave a lasting scar. He could understand how that kind of experience might change a person.
But understanding it didn't mean excusing everything that followed.
So the kid went through hell, shut himself off from everyone, and eventually turned into a bully.
I can understand how it happened. Doesn't make it right, though.
Leo let out a quiet sigh.
As unfortunate as Leonal's past was, he couldn't afford to get caught up in it right now.
He had a far more immediate problem to deal with.
"The boutique," he said, bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand. "Did I cause any trouble there?"
Silvia shook her head.
"No. You didn't cause a scene. In fact, you were unusually calm that day, which surprised everyone. Including me. You barely spoke to anyone, but you remained composed throughout the gathering."
She paused, her expression turning thoughtful.
"Then, for reasons no one could explain, you left the boutique in the middle of the event."
Leo listened without interrupting.
"Later, the guards found you near Emily's body. She's the illegitimate daughter of the Hawthorne family."
Wait a minute.
How did I end up there in the first place? And why was I near her body?
The information helped him piece together part of the incident, but the most important questions remained unanswered.
"Was there any evidence that I killed her?"
"Not really," Silvia replied. "But the patriarch of the Hawthorne family demanded an explanation. Since you were found beside her body, you naturally became a prime suspect."
She hesitated before adding, "There's something else, though. Your injuries."
Leo frowned.
"What about them?"
"Judging by the bruises and wounds on your body, it was clear that you had been involved in some kind of struggle. But no one knows who you were fighting or what happened before the guards found you."
Leo's expression sharpened.
"Wait. What about Emily? Did she have any injuries?"
"Not really."
Silvia shook her head, looking equally troubled.
"That's what makes the entire situation so confusing."
Leo fell silent.
No injuries on Emily. But I was beaten badly enough to lose consciousness.
And they found me beside her body.
He began arranging the pieces in his head.
What if I was trying to help her?
It was a possibility. Perhaps he had witnessed something suspicious and intervened. Perhaps he had confronted whoever was responsible, only to be overwhelmed in the process.
Given Leonal's weak constitution, it wasn't difficult to imagine him losing a physical confrontation.
But that was only one possible explanation.
He couldn't rule out other possibilities, either.
Still, if I was the one who killed her, why would I be the only one with injuries?
The question lingered.
And there was another detail he couldn't ignore.
According to Silvia, he had been unusually calm throughout the gathering. That was apparently so unlike the old Leonal that even his own mother had noticed.
Something had happened that day. Something significant enough to make him behave differently.
But what?
Leo tried to recall anything that might shed light on the incident.
Nothing.
His memories remained frustratingly inaccessible, offering him nothing more than a vague haze whenever he tried to look beyond the fragments he had recovered.
Yet a suspicion gradually began to take shape.
Could someone have arranged all of this?
He couldn't be certain. For all he knew, the entire incident might have been a terrible misunderstanding.
Still, the possibility that someone had deliberately orchestrated the events—and intended to frame him for Emily's death—was difficult to dismiss.
Of course, that theory was based on little more than speculation and the countless crime dramas he'd watched back on Earth.
Hardly the most reliable source of investigative knowledge.
But if someone really did try to frame me, their plan hasn't gone entirely as expected.
After all, he was still a suspect. No one had formally established that he was the killer, at least as far as Silvia had told him.
That didn't mean he was safe.
It simply meant that, for now, the truth remained uncertain.
Leo continued turning the possibilities over in his mind, but every line of thought eventually led to the same dead end.
He needed more information.
And he needed to be careful about whom he trusted.
Beside him, Silvia cleared her throat, breaking the silence and pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Don't stress yourself over this," she said reassuringly. "I've already arranged what needs to be done. You can rest without worrying about the matter for now."
Leo stared at her for a moment.
This woman is telling me to rest peacefully while I'm a murder suspect.
Well, I certainly hope she doesn't mean it literally.
Before he could respond, a sudden voice emerged from beside the bed.
"Lady Silvia."
Leo flinched.
Again?!
He turned towards the sound, only to find the same mysterious woman standing there.
Seriously, is this girl a ninja? How does she keep appearing out of nowhere?
It was beginning to feel less like living in a noble manor and more like being surrounded by characters who had skipped the laws of physics.
The woman leaned towards Silvia and whispered something into her ear.
Silvia listened, then gave a small nod.
The woman nodded in return.
The two of them continued exchanging brief nods as though they were silently conducting an entire conversation through the movement of their heads.
Leo watched them for a few seconds.
Are they having a conversation or trying to communicate with each other like a pair of goats?
He nearly sighed at his own thoughts.
Then, just as quickly, the amusement faded.
A faint wave of guilt washed over him.
Wait. Did I just compare my mother to a goat?
Technically, Silvia wasn't his biological mother.
But in this world, she was the woman who had raised Leonal, loved him, and was now doing everything she could to protect him.
And somewhere in the strange, inexplicable circumstances that had brought him here, she had become his mother, too.
At least, in a cosmic sort of way.
Well... technically, I suppose.
Leo quietly lowered his gaze, deciding that some thoughts were probably better left inside his head.