Chapter 200
“I really… to you…”
I didn’t wait to hear what the Countess Wallace had to say and climbed into the carriage.
“Idel!”
I heard her shout, but I ignored it and told the coachman our destination.
The carriage began to move, and I watched the Countess’s face slowly fade in the distance, her expression forlorn.
What on earth did she want to tell me now?
An apology for the past? Or a reproach for not helping my father and brother?
I thought for just a moment, then shook my head to scatter the thoughts.
‘What does it matter?’
My connection with the Countess Wallace was already over.
Even now, if I closed my eyes, memories of living as her daughter surfaced vividly, but any feelings of affection or resentment had long since faded.
Perhaps because so much had happened in the meantime?
In any case, I no longer had any obligation—or desire—to listen to her words.
I gazed out the window at the streets passing by before closing my eyes.
She would continue her difficult life in her own way, but it no longer concerned me.
“Welcome.”
Caden, former steward to Cassius and now president of the Lucibius Mining Company, greeted me warmly.
“Excuse me. Since moving to the capital, this is my first visit to your home.”
As I looked around the neatly kept house, he led me to the parlor.
“This way, please. It’s an honor to finally host you, Lady Idel.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“You are my benefactor.”
“Well, thanks to recent events, I haven’t been able to pay attention to the company at all. I’m grateful you’ve been managing it so well, Caden.”
“Because you set the general operating policies in the past, it hasn’t been too difficult.”
“Please continue taking care of it. Once we marry and move, we won’t be visiting the capital often, so I’ll rely on you more.”
“If you entrust it to me, I’ll do my best.”
Though he said that, I felt uneasy, as if I had just dumped all responsibility on him.
Is this complete separation of ownership and management?
If possible, I wanted to establish a branch of Lucibius Mining Company in the region we were moving to, but too many things were uncertain for now—it was only a wish.
After chatting casually with him in the parlor, my tea cup eventually emptied.
“I… apologize.”
Caden suddenly apologized, glancing nervously toward the corridor door.
“I guess he hasn’t been told yet.”
His gaze kept drifting toward the door, the one Joshua might enter through.
Actually, I had come to meet Joshua today at the home of the two men.
Two days ago, Caden had told me Joshua’s condition had improved greatly.
Since I wanted to see Joshua once before leaving the capital, we set today as the appointment.
“It’s fine, Caden. Even if he wants to meet me first, it won’t be easy for him. It’s understandable if he hesitates.”
“It’s not like we’re saying goodbye forever. I’ll come back to the capital, and we can meet again then…”
At that moment, a door to the parlor creaked open.
From beyond it, a timid voice sounded:
“Ah, hello… Lord Lucibius. I… I’m Joshua Moremo.”
A pale young man peeked into the room for the first time.
He greeted me clearly, his voice gradually becoming steadier.
“Ah, I’ve heard so much about you from my father. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”
I smiled and returned his greeting.
“Hello, I’m Idel Lucibius. Nice to meet you, Joshua.”
If there are relationships that have ended, new ones can begin.
As I went about meeting people, news of my marriage to Terrence was announced to the public.
Many commented on a prince marrying a woman with a divorce and no high noble lineage.
Some whispered that the royal family and Terrence had chosen me for access to the top-tier magic stone mines, while others believed in our genuine love.
They cited witnesses from the Miloam siege claiming that being together in danger proved our love.
Moreover, Terrence danced with me at the Emperor’s birthday celebration—long before it was known that I owned the top-grade mines—countering the rumor that the second prince was materialistic.
Still, those dissatisfied with our marriage speculated that I had been in an inappropriate relationship with Terrence even before divorcing Riandro.
Of course, as the royal family remained steadfast, such rumors were easily ignored if one didn’t pay attention.
And in a short time, even those whispers faded entirely.
Riandro and the Cassius family publicly sent their congratulations.
The Cassius family, whose fortune had recently declined, gave valuable gifts, making it more than just a formality.
“Lady Lucibius, we apologize. We always wish for your happiness. We also thank you for stopping Riena from going down a worse path.”
Reading the congratulatory gifts and the enclosed letter from my ex-husband, I felt a mix of emotions.
Well, this too was a relationship already over.
Honestly, memories from the first life, when I had been close to the Cassius family with their support, were returning, making it hard to dislike them completely.
However, I would soon leave the capital, and the Cassius family would focus solely on managing their estate after winding down previous businesses.
It seemed unlikely we’d cross paths again anytime soon.
“Well… whatever.”
I stretched and muttered.
In life, we might meet again—or never.
No one knows the future.
After storing Riandro’s letter with the others, I returned to my previous task: preparing the wedding guest list.
“Who else should I invite…”
As I pondered, tapping the desk with my pen, Terrence entered.
“Idel, is the list coming along well?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I might have missed someone—or maybe not. It feels uncertain.”
Arcia and Count Miloam were already on the list, and Kace and Cecil as well.
Roland and Isaac, the father and son in prison, and Elliot, were naturally excluded.
As I counted on my fingers, Terrence placed a steaming cup of tea before me.
“Drink while you think. Something might come to you.”
“Thank you. Oh, Terrence, your tea-making skills are improving day by day.”
“It’s worth the practice.”
While we chatted, suddenly:
“This is serious!”
Laura appeared, flustered. She looked extremely alarmed.
“Someone… wants to meet Lady Idel. They’re in the adjoining parlor…”
“Who? Name?”
“Ah! S-sorry. I was too flustered to ask their name.”
“You let them into the parlor?”
Laura was thorough and meticulous.
It seemed unlikely she would let just anyone into the secondary palace parlor.
“Well… at first, I went to see them because someone unknown came looking for Lady Idel at the palace. I wanted to at least see their face…”
“And?”
“Seeing them, I couldn’t help but believe it. They look so much like you.”
“Like me?”
“Yes! According to them, they are your birth mother!”
“What?”
I felt as if my head had been struck.
“My birth mother…?”
Long-ago memories surfaced.
The gentle hands that had held me tightly, the kind voice, the tearful face at the end.
Terrence, with a serious expression, asked me:
“Idel, would you like to meet her? Choose whichever makes you feel most comfortable.”
“I… I don’t know.”
I clasped my trembling hands together.
My thoughts were too tangled to form a single decision.
As a child, I had firmly believed my birth mother would come for me and refused adoption.
But over time, that belief faded.
In both my first and second lives, my birth mother never sought me out.
Even leaving the second and current lives aside, in my first life, I left enough clues at the orphanage for her to find me.
Yet she never came, and my first life ended because Riena manipulated time.
‘Of course, if that life had continued, she might have eventually come…’
I couldn’t be certain if the person in the parlor now was really my birth mother, or if she had come with pure intentions.
“If she came with a purpose, I’ll be deeply disappointed. Honestly, I’m scared to meet her.”
“Idel.”
“It’s strange, right? I faced life-threatening danger without hesitation, but now I shrink from this.”
Yet having failed to become family with Wallace or the Cassius family, I had every reason to be afraid. What if my birth mother hurt me?
“That’s not strange.”
Terrence gently placed his hand on my shoulder.
“I’d be afraid too. And if you don’t want to meet her, you don’t have to.”
He lowered himself to meet my gaze.
“But consider this. You said life is a series of challenges. Perhaps—just perhaps—this is a moment you need to face.”
“…Could it really be?”
“That’s only my opinion. The most important thing is your decision, Idel.”
I took a deep breath to calm my mind.
Meeting my birth mother was still frightening, but the desire to see her had also taken root.
I want to meet her. I want to know why she left me at the orphanage, why she never came for me.
I also just want to see her face. I’m curious about what she looks like.
“All right. I’ll go meet her.”
Resolving myself, I stood.
Even as I nervously headed toward the parlor, Terrence held my hand.
His warmth calmed my fear. Whatever came next, I felt I could overcome it as long as he was there.
I opened the parlor door firmly and said:
“Hello, I’m Idel. Won’t you tell me your story?”
The story of Idel, who divorced her sister-complexed ex-husband and saved the world as the goddess’s apostle, was already over.
But the story of Idel, now meeting her birth mother before her marriage, was just beginning.
My life continued onward.
<The Lady Will Divorce Her Siscon Brother — The End>
