Chapter 142
“Dad! What do you mean by that?!”
Liena jumped in shock at the Duke of Cassius’s cold demeanor.
“I heard from Angela here. The child who was originally close to my wife, Cheryl, was Idel. And you deceived me and were adopted in her place.”
The moment the truth of the past was revealed, Liena could only widen her eyes, unable to utter a word.
“Th-That’s a lie!”
Then, she burst out in a flustered cry.
“She’s lying! That woman is lying! How can you believe such nonsense?!”
“We confirmed it with the other children who were in that orphanage at the time,” the Duke replied in a grim voice.
“Most of them remembered that the child who was occasionally friendly with visiting ladies was Idel.”
“Th-They’re all lying to frame me too! You know I was ostracized at the orphanage!”
“So you’re saying Angela, the other children, and even Idel conspired against you and coordinated their stories?”
“Yes!”
“Then tell me what Cheryl said to me the night before she married me.”
“Eh?”
“If you were truly close to Cheryl, you’d know.”
“…She didn’t tell me that.”
“How strange. Idel remembered it perfectly, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“She told me just now. Cheryl recounted our courtship and told me herself.”
Liena shot me a sharp glare.
I responded to her burning gaze with a small, gentle smile.
“Now, tell me quickly.”
“M-My memory…”
Despite the Duke’s urging, Liena only chewed on her lips nervously.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Meanwhile, the pendulum of the grandfather clock on the wall moved ceaselessly.
Finally, the Duke sighed and looked at me, and I spoke.
“Don’t worry. Bad people are punished, and good people are rewarded.”
It was truly exquisite.
Originally, this was something the Duchess had said to encourage the Duke, who feared whether he could manage a family before marriage.
“You’re a good person, so you’ll be blessed.”
But in this moment, it almost sounded like a prophecy of Liena’s ruin.
“Y-Yes! Riandro must have told her! That’s why my new sister knows!”
Liena thrashed, denying the disaster that was inches away.
“No, I heard it for the first time today too.”
However, Riandro, leaning against the wall, shook his head, and the Duke agreed.
“I too have never told anyone about that day until now.”
It was true—at least until the end of the novel, before Liena’s marriage.
Before marrying Mikhail, the Duke shared his experiences with Liena to encourage her that she could manage well.
I decided to use that scene, which had shown the strong bond between father and daughter, for a different purpose.
As I said before, sometimes a little lie is necessary.
Suddenly, tears welled up in Liena’s eyes.
“W-Why is everyone doing this to me…?”
Cornered, Liena resorted to her specialty: crying.
Her tearful act, so convincingly performed, was pitiful in the extreme.
“Dad, it’s me, Liena. Your one and only daughter.”
“….”
But the Duke did not budge.
Then it was the brothers’ turn.
“Say something too! Why don’t you believe your family and only believe outsiders?”
“Liena.”
Finally, Reheim, who had been silent until now, spoke.
“Didn’t you hear what Mother told Lucivius, your husband?”
“I forgot! That was so long ago. My new sister remembered because we were close and shared everything.”
That sounded like a freshly concocted excuse from Liena, but she was digging her own grave.
“So you admit it. Idel was your friend.”
The Duke murmured.
“Then why didn’t you mention it when Riandro brought Idel to our home?”
Liena, who had been crying pitifully, froze.
“You said she was your close friend? You recognized her but didn’t even acknowledge it?”
“…I-I thought Idel didn’t recognize me. Later I learned she had lost her memory in an accident, and I didn’t want to confuse her…”
“Looking back, your behavior was clearly strange. You said you were afraid your affection would be stolen by Idel. Now I understand.”
“Dad!”
“It wasn’t originally yours, so you were afraid of losing it.”
Time seemed to stop for Liena.
“…H-Hey, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! But I couldn’t help it. I wanted parents, I wanted family so badly.”
Liena collapsed slowly to the floor and then burst into sobs like a child.
“I knew it was wrong… but I coveted Idel’s chance. The love I received from those three was so warm… I never wanted to let it go.”
Sniffling, she continued with difficulty.
“Can you forgive me just once? I’ve been your good daughter all this time. I’ll do better from now on. Please forget the past and give me a chance.”
Then she crawled toward the Duke and clung to his feet.
If one didn’t know her well, this desperate repentance might seem genuine—but I could see clearly.
It was a strategy: having no choice but to admit the truth, she now sought sympathy.
She only apologized to the Duke and her two brothers, never looking at the friend whose adoption she had stolen. That was proof.
“You should’ve confessed long ago!”
The Duke crouched, gripping his daughter’s shoulders.
“Even if you were lonely as a child, you should have reflected and told the truth afterward!”
His face was contorted with anguish.
“If you had, Idel wouldn’t have suffered in that wretched household and would have come here!”
“I was scared. I was afraid you and my brothers would abandon me if you learned the truth.”
“Did you not trust us? Did you truly consider us family?”
“Of course! What else would we be if not family?”
A faint glimmer of hope appeared on Liena’s face.
She could tell that the Duke’s pain still contained some affection for her.
“Then why did you even use black magic to make us love you?”
But the next words shattered that hope.
“Wh-What do you mean? Black… magic…?”
“Don’t try to deny it now. We discussed and concluded this among ourselves.”
“I-I don’t understand what you mean.”
“We poured excessive affection on you over the years, beyond what we could reasonably explain. I didn’t want to admit it, but your father was right. Such insidious methods can only be black magic.”
To be honest, I was somewhat surprised myself.
I had never mentioned to the Cassius family that Liena had a mysterious power to draw affection from others.
I hadn’t been certain they’d believe that.
In other words, this was the truth discovered entirely by the three Cassius men.
Roland Cassius seemed to think it was black magic, not a blessing, probably due to his influence.
‘Come to think of it, that grandfather sent hundreds of letters warning the Cassius townhouse about witches’ black magic.’
And now it was coming in handy.
“N-No!”
Pale, Liena shook her head violently.
“How could I possibly use black magic? This is ridiculous!”
“Well, we’ll need to look into it in detail from now on.”
The Duke helped Liena to her feet.
“Look into it?”
“Liena, I’ve prepared a room for you at the capital’s hospital.”
“But I’m not sick.”
“I recently became interested in that place because of the Joshua issue. They say the illnesses of the mind can take many forms.”
“…You mean there’s something wrong with my mind?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t say there isn’t,” the Duke said cautiously.
“Even at a young age, you stole things without hesitation. Every time I mentioned Cheryl, you would nod as if you understood, but that too was a lie. Your behavior exceeded what could be considered ordinary child behavior.”
“I told you! I only did it because I wanted affection!”
“Then what about all the illegal acts while running the Iver trading guild? Or using your grandfather to forcibly seize Idel’s mines?”
“…Please, stop, Dad. Please.”
“Don’t be afraid. I will stay with you until the end. Your condition is partly my fault for raising you too indulgently and neglecting guidance.”
“I know I did wrong!”
“After treatment, we’ll go to apologize sincerely to everyone you’ve wronged.”
“You’re just using treatment as an excuse to confine me!”
“To prevent creating more victims of black magic, there will inevitably be restrictions. But once I see improvement…”
“No! I’m fine! I’m fine, really!”
Liena’s resistance intensified, and Riandro and Reheim joined in to restrain her.
“Ah!”
Still, Liena bit Reheim’s arm and broke free.
She bolted through the reception room and raced to the mansion’s front entrance.
“Catch Liena!”
At the Duke’s command, the servants surrounded her—but there was a traitor among them.
“Miss! Take this chance and run!”
A knight drew his sword and cut through the encirclement.
“You bastards! If you touch my lady, you’ll have to step over my corpse first!”
…It was a shout worthy of a battlefield.
“Damn, after firing so many, there’s still more!”
While the other knights subdued the traitor, the Duke clicked his tongue and chased after Liena.
But what he saw next was completely unexpected.
“Ho!”
A man was galloping out of the townhouse, carrying Liena behind him.
It was none other than Isaac Cassius.
“Isaac! Stop!”
Despite the Duke’s shouts, Isaac disappeared with Liena into the distance.
“Uncle, faster! Faster! Run!”
Liena clung tightly to Isaac’s waist, her voice trembling.
“If they catch us, Dad will lock me in the hospital!”
Isaac soothed his niece gently.
“That won’t happen. Don’t worry, Liena. I won’t let that happen.”
“…Thank you. But how did you get here?”
“I had a bad feeling, so I followed you.”
“I’m so glad. I don’t want to go to the hospital!”
“I see. Hospital… that would be too much for you…”
The unspoken “it’s a happy ending” remained unspoken, swallowed in Isaac’s throat.
