138: Leticia’s [Speech]
“I was born in the ‘back alley’ and lived there with my mother. We moved around a lot. After my mother died… I was alone.”
Leticia began to talk about her time in the “back alley.”
“The old house where I lived… Most of the buildings in the ‘back alley’ are like that, practically ruins. We’d pile sandbags in the fireplace, board it up, stuff rags in the cracks… to keep out the wind. The windows were also boarded up and covered with rags, so even when morning came, it was still dark…”
I swallowed hard.
…I realized the crowd had fallen silent.
Who among them knew…
Who among the nobility… knew…
An elderly woman from the crowd slowly approached the platform.
She looked up at my sister, standing on the raised platform.
“…Leticia? Is that really you, Miss Leticia?”
“Yes, Hilda. It’s Leticia. I used to work at your bakery.”
She smiled and nodded.
“How have you been? I heard you found your sister…”
“Yes… I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. But I’ve been well.”
A murmur went through the crowd.
Why was this girl, from the “back alley,” standing here, dressed like this?
And the name she had given…
Someone murmured,
“[Vanderwaals… the ‘Coldhearted Vanderwaals’…]”
That line was from the scenario.
But it made my blood run cold.
The name of the family I led… was spoken with fear.
Even if it was according to the script.
It didn’t help, not now.
“…After my mother died… I thought I was all alone… but I had a sister. My older half-sister. She’s the head of the Vanderwaals family.”
The scene from the day we first met flashed through my mind.
An encounter I had known about. A predetermined encounter.
But she had called me ‘Big Sister.’
Those were her words, not in the script, not an [Official Line].
“That room… was cold. We couldn’t afford firewood. Even wrapped in blankets, the air was cold, so I couldn’t get warm. And I was always hungry, so the cold seeped into my bones… I felt like I was constantly freezing…”
I looked down.
…I hadn’t helped her.
Even though I knew.
Even though I knew she lived in a room without a fireplace or glass windows.
The attic room I had given Leticia didn’t have a fireplace.
Because I had been afraid.
Afraid of changing the scenario.
Using the excuse of… not wanting to alter fate…
I hadn’t understood her suffering—
“…But Elder Sister was helping me… even before we met.”
I looked up sharply.
“They didn’t mention her name… But the blankets and food that have been distributed for the past four years… are funded by the Vanderwaals’ personal wealth. This country… might not be entirely just. It’s natural for those of us in the ‘back alley’ to think of nobles… to think of you… as cold, heartless people who don’t understand us… who don’t understand our lives.”
It was natural—they had every right to resent us, the ruling class.
“…But if it weren’t for that extra blanket… I probably would have… died from that cold…”
She had caught a cold when she was alone.
…She had said she spent three days in bed with nothing but water and recovered.
Had fate… helped her?
――Had it kept Leticia alive… to ensure the story unfolded as planned?
…For some reason, I couldn’t believe that anymore.
“Nobles have a lot of responsibilities… Perhaps we… weren’t aware. The ‘front’… takes precedence.”
It was the ‘front’ that supported the nation.
The “back alley,” where tax collection was difficult, contributed nothing to the country… it was easy to dismiss them that way.
Even though… we were the ones who had done it. This country.
“But since last year… I think there have been more blankets and food. Of course, it’s still not enough, and what we really want isn’t charity, but proper jobs so we can afford firewood and food for the winter… houses with fireplaces and glass windows…”
…A past that was merely a ‘setting’ for the unseen playwright.
But her life wasn’t just the glamorous part that began with [Moonlight Liberium].
I looked around, and the knights surrounding the square, along with their Commander, the prince, and the Chief Physician, had all lowered their heads.
They hadn’t known.
About the “back alley,” where the girl they were trying to win over had lived.
They had each heard bits and pieces of Leticia’s story.
As the prince, the Knight Commander, and the Chief Physician, they might have received reports from their subordinates.
I didn’t know about Konrad, but a few of Felix’s knights and soldiers were from the “back alley,” and the Medical Corps sometimes treated those from the “back alley.”
――But that was just a superficial glimpse, an outsider’s perspective.
Just like me.
“—But there are those who gave us money. Your Highness, Knight Commander Felix, Chief Physician Louis, the royal guards, members of the Knights and the Medical Corps…”
They all looked up sharply.
And then they exchanged glances.
…So that was it.
I… the Vanderwaals family… had simply helped establish and fund the civic groups; I hadn’t been involved beyond that.
For me, supporting the “back alley” after Leticia’s arrival had been more of an obligation.
“People who wouldn’t gain anything from improving the lives of those in the ‘back alley’… used their own money… showed us through their actions… that they cared.”
A voice from the crowd shouted,
“What do they know?! We don’t want handouts!”
“Taking what you can get is the ironclad rule of the ‘back alley’!”
Leticia dismissed the shout with a surprisingly… pragmatic… retort.
Then, lowering her voice, she looked around and said,
“…Even the royal guards, the Knights, the physicians… they don’t have easy lives. But when I told them, they helped.”
I suspected it was partly because she was young and cute.
…Honestly, I had been wondering what my sister, with her ‘freedom of action,’ had been doing.
Because she didn’t seem to be… pursuing any of the [Capture Targets].
But she had been talking to people from different walks of life, broadening her horizons, deepening her knowledge, building connections, trying to do what she could for the “back alley”—for this country.
“Many might not know about us… the people of the ‘back alley’… but there are those who do. And there’s medicine… it’s being prepared.”
The conversation, which had seemed to be going off-script, was back on track.
“[There’s enough medicine for everyone. Enough for all the citizens.]”
While the words leading up to this point were different, this was crucial information.
…But would it reach these people, who had suffered so much, in their current state?
This country had… tolerated the existence of the “back alley”… the slums.
It took time and money to eradicate them… and having a lower class, a group that everyone could look down on and say, ‘At least we’re better off than them’… was convenient.
――Even though we knew that their resentment would eventually bring calamity to this country.
This country had… abandoned them.
“…But the nobles will get it first, won’t they?! If we had fireplaces and glass windows, if we had enough food, maybe we wouldn’t be dying like this! …We’ll always be last in line… won’t we?!”
It was a cry of anguish.
The [Official] speech was supposed to be more… formal. My sister’s lines were simply displayed in the text box.
What should she say?
We had prepared enough for everyone… that was all I could do.
The rest was the Medical Corps’ responsibility, and I could only hope the Chief Physician would handle it effectively.
If it turned into a riot, it would be the Knights’ problem… The Vanderwaals family had no reason to intervene.
What would she say?
We all waited, holding our breath.
“No. You will be the priority—no one will be left behind. I won’t allow it.”
She declared firmly.
Silence fell.
I, too, couldn’t speak.
…Was this the power of fate?
Or… Leticia’s…?
Leticia held up a small glass bottle filled with the Yamaidome medicine.
The glass bottle glinted, reflecting the sunlight filtering through the clouds.
“[This medicine was created with the combined efforts of the Vanderwaals family.] There is only one condition for providing it to the nation. His Highness and His Majesty have agreed.”
I was bewildered; she had just revealed information I, the head of the family, wasn’t aware of.
“The order in which the medicine is distributed will be determined solely by the severity of the illness, not by social standing.”
My eyes widened.
…They had agreed to that?
She had managed to… negotiate that?
Did she… have that much power?
“Chief Physician Louis, and the Royal Medical Corps, will make those decisions. Temporary clinics will be set up throughout the city. Due to the emergency, there will be no charge.”
If this epidemic wasn’t contained, the nation would collapse.
I knew that.
That’s why I had prepared for the creation of the cure.
“The Knights, led by Knight Commander Felix, will handle any potential unrest.”
…But Leticia was trying to make it available to everyone.
Without conflict, without struggle—not based on social standing, not enforced by the sword, not seized in a riot.
“I, too, contracted this disease. If it weren’t for this medicine… I might have died.”
Everyone listened in silence.
The atmosphere was changing.
“Even though it’s contagious, Elder Sister took care of me. She held my hand, said kind words, and encouraged me.”
Wasn’t it the maids who took care of her?
Since I couldn’t afford to get sick, all I had done was visit occasionally, hold her hand, and offer words of encouragement, as she said.
“This epidemic is an enemy of the Vanderwaals. An enemy of this nation.”
The “Coldhearted Vanderwaals.”
A name feared, its true nature unknown—or rather, its reputation amplified by the very lack of concrete information.
But at the same time… it also meant… a certain level of ‘trust.’
The Vanderwaals didn’t hesitate to use any means necessary… among commoners, and even among nobles, the rumors were… exaggerated, making us more feared than we actually were.
However, one thing was accurately understood: the Vanderwaals only used such methods against those who threatened the nation.
“Like what Elder Sister did for me, I want to do everything I can… If everyone does what they can… then someday, we can look back and say, ‘That was a difficult time’… I believe that.”
Sunlight streamed through the clouds.
Illuminating the area… around Leticia.
Was this also… fate’s doing?
I didn’t know, but Leticia seized the opportunity.
The glass bottle she held aloft gleamed, reflecting the light.
It was a clichéd scene. Like sunlight glinting off a raised sword.
Sometimes, they even used mirrors.
Even so, to my jaded eyes, it seemed like a beacon of hope.
“[This nation will leave no one behind.]”
The final line, just like in the scenario.
But the speech that led to it was completely different.
These were Leticia’s words.
…Naive words.
――A naive ideal.
But the reason it sounded so… right… was because it was an ideal.
If only…
If everyone were equal, if everyone envisioned the same peaceful future… a family like the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals” wouldn’t exist.
In fact, there would be no need for nobles, or even a royal family.
But that wasn’t reality.
There was no equality in this world, no perfection.
This world, this country… wasn’t like that.
…Ah, but even so… let’s believe.
Let’s believe in such a thing.
Because my adorable little sister said so.
My sister, who was born and raised in the “back alley,” the lowest rung of this country…
Who was welcomed into the noble class, into the “Coldhearted Vanderwaals”…
…who, knowing both perspectives, still held onto such ideals…
…was dazzling, precious.
I realized I was smiling.
――More people would die.
Not from the epidemic, but by human hands.
Some, in the name of Vanderwaals.
――By my order.
I would clear the path.
She could walk the path of ideals.
As long as she remained unbroken, untainted, her words painting a kinder world, that was enough.
Duty and loyalty.
Peace for Eustasia.
The Vanderwaals’ only purpose was the survival of this nation.
My only desire was my sister’s happiness.
As long as those two didn’t conflict…
I could use everything I had to achieve them.
Perhaps this was what my life was for.
A hesitant applause, clap, clap… started.
…I didn’t know if it was one of the Vanderwaals’ agents, or a genuine citizen, who started it.
But the applause gradually grew louder.
While it was partly due to the atmosphere, it also meant that, for a brief moment, the hearts of most of those present were united.
My sister’s speech was met with thunderous applause.
I, too, began to clap.
The resounding applause, despite the grim circumstances, lifted my spirits, and I felt a growing sense of… something… My sister was more impressive than I had imagined.
Surely, everything would be alright.
It was almost over.
My [Guillotine]… was almost here.
