ICSM 03

Chapter 03

In the end, the meeting that day was called off.

When I felt dizzy and collapsed inside the carriage, Ena, who was riding with me, was so startled that she turned the carriage back toward the Count’s estate.

I sent Pedro a letter apologizing for not being able to keep our appointment because I was not feeling well, but he did not even send a reply telling me to take care of myself.

‘He has been cheating on me since two years ago?’

The panel floating before my eyes seemed as if it would not disappear until I had checked all the information. Even after quite some time had passed, it continued floating beside me. Only after I read the final conversation did it disappear.

After calming myself down and carefully reading through everything, then putting together the information left by the gods, I learned that Pedro had been cheating on me since he was fifteen.

Coincidentally, that was when he had started hiding his hostile attitude toward me.

“Hahaha…….”

I let out an empty laugh and buried my face in my palms. But no tears came.

It was not because it did not feel real. It was simply because my despair was over, and now it was time to be angry.

“Pedro…… Jwo-pae-dro…….”

Perhaps because they were gods, they had even chosen his name well. His betrayal was so infuriating that I could not stand it without beating him up.

The Estarote Count’s family was wealthy and powerful, but they were not tyrants who could force someone into an engagement. The engagement had happened because I had begged for it, but that meant Saxen could have refused at any time.

I looked through the documents I had received from my father’s aide. They listed the benefits Saxen had gained because of my engagement.

“It’s fortunate that we aren’t married yet, so the dowry hasn’t been transferred directly.”

If we had gotten married, quite a large amount of property would have been given as my dowry.

Two diamond mines and one gold mine. Three villas in different regions, and one island I owned in the south. There was also one townhouse in my name that the Saxen family used whenever they came up to the Imperial Capital. Even if I only counted the value of the other wedding gifts that were to be given, it came to more than 100 million gold.

As for the townhouse, I could simply kick them out, so I had not really suffered any loss.

If there was anything the Saxen family had gained from our seven-year engagement, it was business profits obtained by taking advantage of the Estarote family’s businesses.

Whenever the Count’s family recommended businesses that were certain to succeed, they would put in a tiny amount of investment and receive dividends several times larger than what they had invested.

They had taken at least five to ten times their investment…… Even though the Count’s family had no need to accept such pathetic investments, they had included them simply to save my face.

‘And they even received huge gifts every year on the birthdays of the Saxen family members.’

This year, I had planned to give Pedro a fine horse from South Selvia for his birthday. Since it was a warhorse, very few of its breed were allowed to leave the country, but because Pedro wanted one, I had paid extra to obtain it for him……

“How dare he…….”

Even a donkey was too good for Jwo-pae-dro. Since I could not cancel the horse after it had already been obtained and was on its way, I would accept it, but there was no way it would end up in Jwo-pae-dro’s hands.

“Ha…….”

Looking through everything one by one made me realize once again how blindly foolish I had been.

Come to think of it, Pedro was fairly handsome, but he was nowhere near the level of a god of beauty.

When we were young, he had been cute because he had not even lost his baby fat yet. Also, since he was the first person who had treated me badly despite how easy my life had always been, I think I had become even more desperate for his attention.

But now that the love filter had been removed, he was nothing more than an idiot who thought he could act however he wanted just because he had a decent face, without even knowing his place.

‘It’s not as if he knows that I’m secretly watching all this, so the gods wouldn’t give me false prophecies just to make fun of me.’

They had said there would be five by the year 225. Then how many were there now, in the year 220?

I was curious, but as an ordinary noble young lady without any personal agents, there was no way for me to find out.

The panel showing the gods’ conversations did not give me any more details either……

“In the end, I guess this is the only way.”

I stood up from the study and went outside. Who could be home right now?

‘Mother and Father won’t do. Everything will be over before I get the chance to beat Pedro up. The youngest won’t work either. He’s still too young.’

After eliminating them one by one, only two people remained. I was wondering which of the two would be better when—

“Rubi.”

“Ugh, go away.”

Despite my refusal, my body was suddenly lifted into the air, and kisses were showered all over my face.

The person who had picked me up was my idiot second brother.

I was not particularly small, but my idiot second brother worked in a physically demanding field, and his body was nearly twice my size. So he could easily lift me up like I was a paper doll.

I did not actually dislike this kind of affection, but I would be an adult next year, so being treated like a child was becoming a little troublesome.

‘Ah…….’

Remembering that I would be an adult made me feel bad again.

If it had not been for the prophecy, wouldn’t I have married Jwo-pae-dro next spring?

The gods had truly saved me.

Though my second brother was an idiot, he was smart when it came to me. He quickly noticed that my mood had worsened.

“Our cutie, did something happen?”

The corners of his eyes immediately drooped as he examined my expression. Since I had recently gone out and even collapsed before returning home, he seemed extremely worried.

I wrapped both arms around my second brother’s neck. He leaned his body back so it would be easier for me to lean against him, and I whispered into his ear.

“Oppa. I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor? What is it?”

“I’ll tell you if you promise not to get angry.”

“Why would I get angry at anything our cutie says?”

His face broke into a silly smile, and despite his huge body, he looked harmless.

But I knew that if I brought up Pedro, he would definitely get angry, so I warned him again.

“You can’t tell anyone about what I’m going to ask you, okay?”

“Anyone? Not even our parents or our older brother?”

“Yeah. It’s our secret.”

At the words ‘our secret,’ my second brother’s face lit up.

After he promised, I told him that we should go somewhere quiet where there was no one around.

He had said he would not get angry, but I was sure he would shout.

Fortunately, there was no one in the spacious rear garden we went to.

My second brother’s eyes sparkled as if asking me to hurry up and tell him, so I whispered,

“I want you to lend me some people.”

“People? What are you going to use them for?”

“I want to investigate Jwo-pae…… I mean, Pedro.”

My words shocked my second brother.

His expression looked as if his precious little sister had gone mad with love and was now trying to find out every single thing her fiancé did.

As he stared at me with trembling eyes, wondering how he should persuade me, I whispered again.

“I think Pedro has a child.”

“What!”

He had promised not to get angry, but he suddenly shouted loudly. He seemed seriously furious.

I knew his anger was directed at someone else, not me, but I did not want to make a big fuss before I had solid evidence, so I hurriedly covered his mouth with my hand.

My second brother could not even bring himself to push my hand away. He simply breathed heavily with his face red from anger.

Soon, however, his expression became calm. He put me down on the ground and turned around, heading somewhere.

“Where are you going?”

“To kill him.”

He said it in such a calm tone that it sounded like he was saying, ‘I’m going for a walk.’

But his eyes were completely crazed.

My second brother might have been foolish and, despite his size, had a gentle personality, but when he decided to do something, he really did it.

So I hurriedly grabbed him.

“It isn’t even certain!”

“With your personality, you wouldn’t suddenly make something like this up for no reason. Something must have happened that made you suspicious.”

“That…… is true, but still!”

“Our cutie. I don’t want you to get your hands dirty. I’ll erase everything as if they never existed in this world in the first place.”

“No! Wait!”

I clung to his forearm and struggled to hold him back. His body finally came to a stop.

My second brother looked at me with a devastated, or perhaps disbelieving, expression.

“Don’t tell me…… you’re stopping me because you want to let that bastard off?”

Maybe I would have done exactly that before I learned what the gods had said.

Because I was his actual fiancée.

Because that woman was probably just someone who passed through his life, someone with whom he did not share any deep feelings.

I would have convinced myself of that and endured it.

I had loved Pedro, and I had felt guilty. And I had not wanted to tell my family that the engagement I had stubbornly pushed for had failed.

So I would have told myself that it was fine and simply let it pass.

But once I realized that he had been deceiving me for a long time, that he intended to continue doing so, and that the reason he had treated me well was not because he cared about me but because he was trying to hide his own wrongdoing, all the feelings I had for him disappeared in an instant.

All that remained was the desire to take back the benefits and advantages they had gained because of me.

‘That alone will be enough to destroy them.’

I would not even need to do anything else.

The townhouse the Saxen family was currently using like a villa belonged to me. Even Pedro’s position in the Knights was something my family had given him.

If they had never possessed those things in the first place, they might not care.

But having something taken away after receiving it would turn the sense of loss into despair.

Especially because everything they had was far beyond what they could have obtained through their own abilities……

“He’s my prey.”

I looked straight at my second brother and said it.

No matter what else happened, I would be the one to drag Pedro into the mud with my own hands.

He was my second brother’s beloved family, but I could not give him the chance to take away my revenge.

My second brother examined my face.

When he saw that there was no lingering attachment to Pedro in my expression, he seemed to understand.

Still, perhaps he was angry about Pedro’s infidelity. He bit his lip, roughly scratched his head several times, and let out a deep sigh.

“Phew. I don’t want our cutie to have to deal with something this ugly…… but I guess it can’t be helped. Fine.”

In the end, my second brother raised both hands in surrender.

I smiled brightly and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? This big brother can bring our cutie the stars and moon, and even that bastard’s head.”

“I don’t particularly want that bastard’s head…… But if you give it to me, I guess I have to accept it…….”

My second brother and I laughed together, joking with each other.

A few days later, one of the people working for my second brother came to me with information.

That Jwo-pae-dro bastard was clearly guilty.