Inside the dressing room.

Leciel looked at the employee with an attitude as crooked as her voice.

The employee, who was helping Leciel change clothes, looked at her with a puzzled expression, trying to read her mood.

But Leciel only looked at the employee with a face that said that she was aware of her crime.

She seemed quite angry.

It was at that moment.

Kael, who had heard Leciel’s voice from outside, knocked on the dressing room door and asked.

“What’s going on?”

“This person is cheating me.”

“… cheating you?”

Kael furrowed his brows, not understanding the term.

It was an expression one wouldn’t expect from a child who had been living in the monster forest.

“May I come in?”

Kael asked, thinking it would be better to talk face-to-face.

“Just a moment. I’ll come out.”

After all, she had already changed into the dress.

With those words, Leciel opened the door and came out. The employee followed her out of the dressing room.

Kael, who had been waiting for Leciel to come out, stared at her for a moment.

He had chosen the bright yellow dress thinking it would suit her like a chick, and it matched her better than he had imagined.

He thought she might even be mistaken for a chick and taken away to be raised if she ran around in it.

Of course, he was already raising her.

In any case, Leciel looked charming and lovely in the properly fitting dress, a far cry from the shabby clothes she usually wore.

He even felt like buying her dresses more often just to see her like this.

Such a cute child would look good in anything.

But then he remembered what he was originally going to say to Leciel and opened his mouth.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“That person is trying to steal my precious retirement fund.”

The most attractive feature of this dress was the jewels, and she was trying to take those important things away.

Even if it was just a few small gems, Leciel had no intention of letting it go.

“This is ridiculous….”

“You say it’s ridiculous, yet you’re stealing my precious jewels from the dress. That’s what’s ridiculous.”

Leciel said sharply, ignoring the employee’s feigned ignorance.

“You saw that? You’re making such absurd claims without even seeing it.”

The employee was surprised but tried to deny Leciel’s claim, thinking she wouldn’t get caught.

She had been an excellent pickpocket before.

And she had also stolen money bags right under the noses of the famed knights.

She took pride in her thieving skills.

Having stolen the jewels while pretending to assist, she doubted an eight-year-old could have noticed.

Still, she wondered how the child knew but assumed it was just sharp observation.

“Yes, I saw it. Clearly with my own eyes.”

“You saw something I didn’t even do?”

“I saw you pretending to adjust the dress while slipping a jewel into your pocket. Are you saying you didn’t do that?”

“… no, I did not.”

“Oh really? Then how about we search you, and for each jewel we find, you get ten cat punches? I remember the number and shape of each jewel.”

Having her precious retirement fund stolen and being falsely accused of lying angered Leciel.

Leciel had no intention of letting things end smoothly.

“If you say so, it seems we should check.”

“That, that’s….”

The employee was flustered, not expecting things to escalate like this.

At best, it was a child’s absurd claim. So, no one would believe it and search her pockets.

Therefore, it was difficult for the child to prove anything.

However, she didn’t expect the shop owner to side with the customer, Kael, and allow a search to avoid further trouble.

“What kind of jewels were they?”

Kael asked Leciel, not because he doubted her, but to remove any possibility of denial from the employee once the jewels were found.

If the jewels matched Leciel’s description, the employee wouldn’t be able to claim they were hers.

“There’s one round transparent jewel about 1 cm in size, one star-shaped blue jewel, and one heart-shaped pink jewel.”

Leciel accurately described the stolen jewels, even remembering their positions on the dress.

She had memorized them while changing to ensure none fell off, which was now helping in another way.

Kael was impressed by her detailed description, whether it was due to her obsession with jewels or good memory.

Most wouldn’t remember the jewels on a dress so precisely.

Thanks to this, the situation was easily resolved.

When the employee’s clothes were searched, the jewels matching Leciel’s description were found in her pocket.

“This, this is….”

The employee despaired, unable to deny it any longer.

She had been working there for almost a year.

In the meantime, she had been secretly stealing jewels from dresses without getting caught.

She never thought she’d be caught by an eight-year-old.

However…

The employee looked at Kael desperately, hoping for mercy.

He was a nobleman.

She feared severe punishment beyond just losing her job.

“I, I did wrong. Please forgive me.”

She knelt, begging pathetically after deciding that sticking out to her reasons any longer would be of no use.

“You’re apologizing to the wrong person.”

Kael looked down at her coldly without showing even the slightest sympathy.

‘How dare she.’

He was angry, not because of the jewels but because she stole from a dress meant for his future daughter-in-law.

Moreover, her audacity in denying her actions was infuriating.

She didn’t even know who to apologize to properly.

At Kael’s words, the employee turned to Leciel, seeking forgiveness, hoping to evoke sympathy from the child.

“Sorry, no.”

“… what?”

“I don’t believe you’re really sorry because you’re doing something wrong. You’re just trying to avoid punishment.”

“No, I truly regret my actions. It’s just… I had no choice.”

“Oh, do your hands and head act separately? Do they move on their own?”

Leciel was firm, implying that <no choice> was not an excuse.

“… I have a sick mother and young siblings. My earnings here aren’t enough to buy proper food for them, so….”

The employee shed tears, hoping to evoke sympathy.

The shop owner looked sympathetic at the pitiful sight, but Leciel’s expressions didn’t change. It was the same for Kael and Callen.

To Kael and Callen, such excuses were just excuses to justify bad actions.

It was also a poor attempt.

Kael disliked people like the employee, who blamed their misdeeds on their circumstances.

He believed the employee stole out of greed and to make things easier for herself.

But she put such a grand reason for the sake of her family to justify the misdeed.

There were many people in this world who were worse off than the employee, and not all of them were tempted to commit a crime like she did.

So, he had no intention of letting it go.

But before deciding her fate, he wanted to hear Leciel’s opinion.

He was curious about her reaction.

“Is that so.”

Leciel nodded disinterestedly, causing the employee to feel desperate.

She thought playing the sympathy card would work on a child, but Leciel’s reaction was contrary to her expectations.

However, the employee tried to keep her expression in check and clung to Leciel in an even more servile and pitiful manner.

As if she could give up her pride and be humble for her family.

It wasn’t to avoid punishment, because she did it out of concern for her family.

“Please… have mercy. If I go to jail, my younger siblings and my sick mother will starve to death without anyone caring for them properly.”

“That’s a sad story, but… no.”

“… what?”

“Do you think I’d fall for that obvious lie? If you call that acting, then you need more practice.”

Leciel sneered coldly.

Had she simply admitted her wrongs, maybe she would have shown a bit of mercy.

A very, tiny bit of mercy.

But the lies and attempts to evade responsibility only made her angrier.

“… lie?”

“Yes. Your wandering eyes, trembling pupils, fidgeting hands, and sweat on your forehead all show you’re lying.”

Above all, contrary to her earnest words, the employee’s face showed no signs of sincerity.

The employee didn’t seem genuinely worried about her family’s demise, just putting on an act to avoid punishment.

If that were the case, then she wouldn’t cling like that.

Therefore, Leciel was convinced that everything the employee said was a lie.

This meant that there was no reason to overlook her mistakes.

“That said, uncle, send her to jail for theft and fraud!”