Three knocks on the door. Tirel Keira was looking out the window. The morning Blanche glowed white. The limestone buildings caught the morning sun, their color peaceful and unchanging as far as the eye could see. Since her confinement began, she had watched this view every morning. The unchanging face of the city only made the gap between it and her current situation stand out more sharply. For the past few days, she had barely opened the window. Last night, two letters slipped under her door still rested against her chest. She had read them again before sleep, pressed them to her heart, and slept. *Lies will always be exposed*, Rion had written. Rosette had spoken of Mint. Foolishly, those two lines had never left her mind. Again. Knock, knock, knock. Not the maid bringing meals. Not at this hour. Tirel Keira stood and opened the door. A tall man stood in the hallway. Silver hair, calm and composed. Pale blue eyes, gentle and shallow. Still in white traveling clothes, hat in hand, looking straight at Keira. His posture was upright, his stance as quiet as always—but his face was different. His eyes froze, just slightly, the moment they met hers. Count Tirel Claude. Keira's father. "[surprised]...Father" "[gentle]Keira" That was all. Claude looked at Keira's face for a while. The swelling around her eyes, the slight hollowness of her cheeks, the traces of last night's tears still lingering—his father's gaze read all of it correctly. Something shifted quietly beneath his calm expression. "[serious]Who did this to you" His voice was low. This was what a voice sounded like when anger was pressed down. Not loud. Just something heavy at its core. Keira couldn't speak for a moment. —And then she cried. Tears came without sound. She pressed her face against her father's dusty shoulder—he had driven his carriage hard to reach Blanche—and sobbed. In her past life, when Kira had been an idol, she had developed a habit of crying alone in the green room. Any tears shown to others were fan service or performance. She had never buried her face in someone's chest and cried like this—at least not since coming to this world. Claude said nothing. He simply wrapped his large hand around Keira's head and stroked it slowly, gently. --- After a while, the two sat facing each other in chairs in the room. Keira told him everything. The day Maris transferred. Choosing a dress at the market. Thinking she was a friend. Being chosen by Rion at the ball, and how the looks changed the next morning. The ransacked greenhouse, the folded threat letter. Being called to the headmaster's office and shown a forged letter in handwriting like hers. Rion had come to help, but it backfired. And how Maris—smiled while lying. A week of confinement. Seats avoided in the dining hall. Eating alone. Until last night, she had been tired of it all. Throughout, Claude never interrupted. He simply listened quietly, watching Keira's face. After she finished, the room was silent for a while. "[sad]...I want to quit the academy" The moment she said it, she felt ashamed. But it was true. She knew it was pathetic to give up before fighting, but her body was exhausted. Claude didn't answer immediately. He folded his hands, placed them on the table, and seemed to think. Then he slowly stood and placed his hand on Keira's head again. "[gentle]If that is what you wish, I will take you home now. That is true" Then, after a pause, "[serious]...But I must ask you one thing. In the previous world too—did you want to run away? Or did you simply not know how to fight?" Keira froze. The previous world. Claude shouldn't know about that. She had told no one about her reincarnation, about having memories of her past life. So this was—just a coincidental choice of words. He meant her previous environment, her previous school, something like that. But in Keira's chest, those words struck with perfect accuracy. Did Kira want to run away? —No. She didn't want to run away. She didn't know how to fight. Even when she spoke up, no one listened. Her groupmates smiled at the camera and lied, the agency people looked the other way, the fans only knew her public face—Kira had been alone. She had no allies to fight with. Now. Keira approached the bed. She slipped her hand under the mattress. She pulled out the two letters she had received last night and hidden there. She held them out to Claude. "[serious]...I have evidence. Father, I will fight" Her voice was calmer than she expected. Claude took the letters and unfolded them. One, then the other. When he finished reading, he slowly looked up. His eyes were slightly softer. "[gentle]That is worthy of a Tirel daughter" Keira turned her face away. Praise made her embarrassed, for some reason. Despite how much praise she had received in her past life, her father's single word was something she couldn't face directly. Claude murmured as if to himself. "[sarcastic]...As a father, I would take you home at once, but as a count, I must gather evidence first—how frustrating" Keira, her eyes still wet with tears, laughed a little. --- The two headed toward the greenhouse garden. The greenhouse stood in the depths of the Etreille Academy grounds, slightly removed from the white marble school buildings. The glass structure caught the morning sun and glowed. Inside, the blue scent of plants and slightly humid warm air greeted them. Rosette was just rearranging herb pots on a shelf at the back. The fifty-year-old former pharmacist turned to see the two, her eyes widened for just a moment, then returned to her calm expression. Her gaze on Keira was quiet and warm. "[gentle]Miss" "[gentle]Rosette, I've come" "Of course" Rosette bowed to Claude as well, then slowly began to speak. It was several nights after the ball. She had come to the greenhouse for the evening watering when she saw the lights on. Looking inside, Maris was sitting on a bench. Keira's textbooks were spread on the table, and she was copying the characters one by one. Beside them, several sheets of paper were laid out. Like drafts, the same text was written over and over. The rough drafts of the forged letters. Rosette had started to call out, then stopped. Maris's expression was not normal. Her eyes weren't smiling. She was simply focused on copying the characters accurately. In the light of the greenhouse lamp, her face had looked slightly frightening to Rosette. The next morning, word spread among the maids that Keira's room had been ransacked. That was when Rosette became certain. "[serious]...Can that serve as testimony?" "[serious]I will state what I saw, exactly as it was" There was no hesitation. When Claude asked if Rosette could speak as a formal witness before the headmaster, Rosette looked at Keira. "[gentle]If Miss stands up, it is only natural" Keira bowed her head. "[gentle]...Thank you" No other words came. Rosette said nothing and began preparing mint tea for three. She took out the teapot, measured the leaves, poured the water. With the same quiet, practiced movements as always. As Claude accepted a cup, he looked around and said, "[sarcastic]...The greenhouse seems more comfortable than a confined daughter's room" Keira gave a wry smile. She saw Rosette smile faintly. --- As they left the greenhouse and approached the courtyard, Keira stopped. Rion was alone. Black hair with red streaks. A thin scar mark above his left eyebrow. In the morning light, he stood with his back against the stone wall of the courtyard. He held an envelope in his hand. When he saw Keira and Claude emerge, he pushed off from the wall. Claude looked at Rion. Rion looked at Claude. Keira, caught between them, hesitated which way to look. Rion moved first. He turned to face Claude directly. Respectfully, but without deference. "[serious]Count. I have gathered materials to prove Keira's innocence" He held out the envelope to Claude. Claude took it and opened it. Several documents. Good quality paper. They had the form of official documents. The contents were as follows—a report prepared by a document examiner employed at the Blanche public notary office, analyzing the handwriting of the forged letter. The characters in the forged letter were an imitation of Keira's handwriting through practice, but the fine quirks in the ending strokes of certain characters did not match Keira's writing style. The conclusion stated that this letter was not written by Keira Tirel herself—it was recorded. An analysis by a neutral expert outside the academy. Claude read the documents in silence for a while. Then he looked up at Rion. Rion did not avert his gaze. His gray eyes quietly received Claude's look. Claude slowly bowed his head. "[gentle]...I thank you for acting on my daughter's behalf" Rion's eyes shifted slightly. His usually calculating expression wavered, just barely. "[cold]If Keira had judged that she did not wish it, I would not have acted. That is all" Keira glanced at Rion's profile. *(If someone like this had existed in my past life...)* The thought came, and she immediately shook her head. It didn't matter now. Claude watched the exchange between the two from a slight distance. Silently, he took out his fan and covered his mouth. He said only "Hmm." His eyes, pale blue and calm, were observing something precisely. A father's eyes, Keira thought. He said nothing, yet saw everything. Keira cleared her throat. "[serious]...Let's go to the headmaster's office" --- Claude knocked on the headmaster's door three times. Guillaume Duval—the headmaster of Etreille Academy, a sixty-seven-year-old white-haired scholar—narrowed his eyes behind his round glasses at the three who had suddenly arrived. He couldn't hide his confusion, but he let them in nonetheless. Keira had thought him a gentle person, but she also knew his strength in protecting the academy's independence. Keira spoke first. "[serious]I request a retrial" Duval's eyebrows moved. Claude continued. His voice calm, but unwavering. "[serious]Based on Article Seventeen of the Fertina Code—when new evidence is discovered, the parties may request a retrial—I formally demand the establishment of an investigative committee" Duval was silent for a while. Then he spoke in a straightforward voice. "[serious]External pressure—" Keira stepped forward to the desk. She quietly placed two documents on it. The testimony Rosette had written. And the handwriting analysis report Rion had arranged. Duval reached out. He took the first sheet and read it. He took the second sheet and read it. The room was silent. Outside the window, a bird in Blanche sang. Duval's round glasses moved slowly over the documents. A long silence. Then Duval looked up. "[serious]...I will permit a reinvestigation. The retrial will be held in the great hall the day after tomorrow" Keira bowed. "[serious]Understood" --- In the hallway outside the headmaster's office, it was quiet. The three walked a little. No one spoke. Only footsteps echoed in the morning hallway. Through the windows, the green of the courtyard was visible. Claude spoke first. "[gentle]Keira. You are stronger now than in your previous world" Keira made a slightly troubled face. "[sarcastic]...Well, the retrial is still ahead" Claude laughed. Out loud, low and warm. It was rare. Rion, walking beside them, said quietly, "[gentle]...Finally, I can see your true face" Keira felt her face grow warm. "[surprised]Then what were you looking at until now?" Rion didn't answer. Only the corner of his mouth moved slightly. Whether he had smiled or not was hard to judge—just a faint change. He stepped forward and continued walking. Keira looked at his back for just a moment, then turned her gaze forward again. —The retrial is the day after tomorrow. The great hall. A formal place, formal procedures. Rosette's testimony, the handwriting analysis