Chapter 163: A Patroclus Morning
“…Byron.”
The blue storm swept through the courtroom, and Acrea, dropping Eren to the ground, turned to Sue. Sue stared at him, his platinum eyes filled with a desperate longing, her gaze uncomprehending.
“Woo.”
A voice finally emerged from the silent judges’ seats. Acrea looked up at the sound of his name. And there he saw his “master,” smiling gently.
“Woo Acrea Ire, you have brought shame upon your family with your arrogant behavior.”
Reeves stood up and turned to the gallery.
“My brother’s actions were all due to my negligence. So please blame me, esteemed citizens of Atlantis.”
No one dared to criticize him, as the Grand Duke himself apologized.
He then turned back to Sue and smiled faintly.
“Now, shall we continue with the trial?”
“Reeves, you…”
Antique’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at his unexpected actions, but Reeves ignored him and took control of the trial.
“We’ve heard everything, and I’ve felt both Lady Sue Byron’s remorse and Viscount Eren’s sincerity. Ah, why don’t we proceed with my brother’s trial as well? He’s guilty of the same crime of violence, isn’t he?”
A few chuckles erupted from the gallery at his words, treating his own brother like a bonus item at the market.
But there were those who couldn’t even chuckle, who just rubbed their faces, and they were the ones who understood the true nature of this trial.
‘This is a farce.’
It was a violation of the basic principles of a trial. To have the judge’s brother, Grand Duke Reeves, suddenly become a defendant in the same trial… It would never have been tolerated in an Imperial Court.
But this was the academy’s “Student Tribunal,” and the judges weren’t appointed by the Imperial Family, they were the three Grand Dukes.
The powerless witnesses and spectators could do nothing.
Reeves thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to put on this farce for his brother, just this once.
He smirked at the bloodshot eyes staring at him from the highest point of the courtroom.
“Now, what shall we do with you?”
***
Day 1, morning.
The train was quiet. Sue stared out the window, her head resting on her hand. Acrea, sitting across from her, was quietly reading a book. They hadn’t spoken a word, spending their time in silence in the servantless compartment.
‘Patroclus…’
Sue repeated the train’s destination.
Her sentence, which could have been death, had been finalized as a 30-day exile from the capital and community service in a monster-infested region.
It was a lenient sentence, but no one had submitted a petition to increase the sentence to the academy office, because Acrea’s punishment had been included in a hasty manner.
Sue, relieved that her sentence had been reduced, was overjoyed, but at the same time, she couldn’t stop wondering about Reeves’s intentions.
Acrea’s outburst aside, the place she was being sent for community service was the Perlman Private Hospital in Patroclus. And Perlman was her aunt’s husband’s last name. In fact, the Perlman Private Hospital was owned by him.
In other words, she was being exiled to her aunt’s house for a month.
‘This can’t be a coincidence.’
Had Eren told him something?
Or was Reeves being considerate of her? But there was no reason for Reeves to be considerate of her.
‘Then could it be…’
Sue glanced at Acrea, who was still absorbed in his book. A white magic theory book, as expected of Acrea.
‘Seriously, this is just paranoia. I need to stop this.’
Sue cleared her mind of the tangled questions.
Acrea’s attack on Eren in the courtroom must have been an act. He had never done anything like that in the novel. He had always maintained his composure, even in front of Halo, whom he had loved.
So it had been an act. A calculated move, part of the scenario.
Three days had passed since they had boarded the magic train.
Sue, lying in bed on the first night of the train ride, had calmly reviewed everything that had happened.
She had realized that her body and mind had started to crumble after Enzhe had been heartbroken.
Delusions of persecution, unnecessary resignation, and finally, attempted murder.
She might have actually killed someone if Azette hadn’t stopped her.
So that night, watching the shooting stars streak across the sky outside the window, she had made a firm resolution to stop living like that.
She was still constantly clutching her waist, afraid of the curse triggering, but fortunately, Enzhe had been merciful to her during the three days on the train.
‘It wasn’t mercy, she had just gone back to being apathetic and powerless after losing interest…’
But she decided to think positively. She could focus on her community service for the next month without any worries.
“We’re here.”
Acrea closed his book as the scenery outside the window changed. The colorful landscape of rivers, seas, mountains, and forests was replaced by a dull, colorless city.
‘It’s definitely worthy of being called a monster-infested region.’
A monster-infested region was an area located right in front of the empire’s barrier defense line. It was a region where monster subjugation teams were constantly fighting monsters to prevent them from invading the barrier.
The area outside the barrier defense line wasn’t part of the empire’s territory, so it was literally a lawless zone. It was fundamentally different from the wasteland, which was technically part of the empire but had been created due to a loophole in the barrier system.
It was a city where injuries were common, and many young people left to escape the danger.
Sue’s uncle, Perlman, was a virtuous man with a strong sense of service, so he had built a hospital there to care for the patients. He wasn’t called the only conscience of the Byron family for nothing.
“Byron, let’s get ready to disembark.”
“Yes.”
Sue went back to her room to pack her belongings at Acrea’s words.
Their first-class compartment had separate rooms, so they hadn’t been uncomfortable.
But both Sue and Acrea, without a word, had spent their time in the compartment lounge after breakfast every morning.
There were no days when they had a real conversation. Sue would look out the window or occasionally scribble the formulas from the theory book Jean had given her, and Acrea would be engrossed in his books.
As she finished packing and left the room, she heard the horn announcing their arrival.
Sue dragged her suitcase, which was as big as her body, out of the compartment.
“Here, let me carry it for you.”
Acrea offered his hand, but Sue shook her head.
“It’s okay.”
She struggled to get off the train, and Acrea awkwardly clenched his empty hand.
“Sue!”
The Perlman couple were waiting for them at the station. They had received the letter sent by high-speed carriage and were ready to welcome Sue and Acrea’s second son.
“Oh my, you’ve lost so much weight…”
Elizabeth rushed over and hugged her niece tightly. It was already summer, but Sue relaxed in her warmth.
“Hello, Young Master Woo Acrea. I’m Kailo Perlman, the director of the Perlman Private Hospital. Welcome, even though it’s not for a good reason.”
Perlman, dressed in a suit for once, awkwardly greeted him.
“Just call me Woo. It’s not for a good reason, after all.”
Acrea replied casually, unlike his usual self. Perlman, relieved, finally smiled.
The carriage owned by the Perlman Hospital was much smaller and smellier than the ones Sue and Acrea were used to, but neither of them complained.
“Sue, you must have… been through so much.”
Elizabeth kept wiping away her tears, looking at Sue’s haggard face.
“Professor Perlman, what kind of work will we be doing at the hospital?”
Acrea asked, watching them.
“You won’t have any specialized medical knowledge, so you’ll just be running errands. Your family specializes in white magic, right? Being an Acrea.”
Perlman asked, his eyes filled with expectation. Acrea smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yes, I have a basic understanding of medicine, so feel free to give me any tasks you need help with.”
“Hahaha, this is… putting the cart before the horse, isn’t it?”
Perlman spent the rest of the ride explaining the precautions for caring for patients. Sue, who had been comforting Elizabeth, also listened attentively.
Perlman’s house wasn’t big enough to be called a “mansion,” but it was large enough to have plenty of guest rooms. He had expanded the house because patients without homes would sometimes stay at the hospital.
“Sister!”
“Sister!”
Lapis and Razli, who had been waiting for Sue, dashed out like kittens as soon as the door opened.
“It’s been a while, Lapis, Razli.”
Sue patted their heads, pretending to be a good sister.
‘No, I should be a good sister now.’
She patted Razli’s head more vigorously, her newfound resolve taking over. Razli yelped, “Ow!”
‘Maybe not?’
Lapis pointed at the stranger standing next to Sue.
“Who’s that?”
“Lapis! Dad told us this morning!”
Razli was about to scold him when Acrea quickly intervened.
“I’m Woo Acrea. I’m going to be helping your mom and dad for a month.”
“Then you’re a good person?”
“I’d be happy if you thought so.”
While Perlman was tending to the children, Sue and Acrea headed for their rooms. The guest rooms were on the third floor, the top floor.
Acrea offered his hand again as Sue tried to lift her suitcase.
“You should let me carry it this time.”
As if to prove him right, the staircase seemed to stretch endlessly upwards. Sue chuckled at his smug expression and held out her hands.
“Please, Master Acrea.”
“Okay.”
He smiled faintly.
Was he showing a hint of emotion?