The Villain Family Opposes Independence (13 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16

[House Angelos Suddenly Announces Withdrawal from Arms Manufacturing!] [They’ve put their mana crystal mines up for sale, but no one’s buying…] [The mines across the Bruman region fall into Ferdia’s grasp!]

Imperial newspapers competed to report on House Angelos’s sudden change of heart.

Simultaneously, they lavishly covered Ferdia’s acquisition of the Bruman mines.

Though not overtly stated, the articles subtly praised Ferdia while mocking Angelos.

It was a flawless victory for Ferdia.

“That guy must be furious right about now.”

In the original story, Duke Angelos appeared as the father of the villainess Dorothea Angelos.

As far as I remember, he was a greedy man who constantly obstructed and checked House Ferdia.

We never had any contact, so I’d never spoken to him before, but he always looked quite proper and gentlemanly on the surface.

Normally, news like this wouldn’t have surfaced until much later, but my interference resolved everything almost instantly.

“Well, it’s better this way.”

After all, this is my way of repaying the debt for raising me all these years.

Flipping through the Twanette Weekly, I desperately searched for any opportunity to earn money, but soon realized once again that I simply lacked the capital to start any business.

“I’ll just have to make an antidote instead.”

Last time I tried, the First Prince arrived just as I was about to start, forcing me to abandon my work and head straight to the banquet hall.

Back at my desk, I scanned the row of poison vials before me.

Something felt off.

“Why do they seem… fewer?”

I hadn’t counted them precisely, so I couldn’t be certain—but the feeling was unmistakable.

I’d have to ask the Duchess about it later.

Just as I picked up one of the vials, a knock sounded at the door.

At that moment, I knew.

“Another day, another disappointment…”

Another day I wouldn’t be able to brew a single antidote.

At my permission, the stern-faced butler entered.

“His Grace has summoned you. Please hurry, my lady.”

“Me? Why?”

“I wouldn’t presume to guess my lord’s intentions, but it may concern the recent matter involving House Angelos.”

Given Duke Ferdia’s character, he undoubtedly wanted to reward me—just as he had after I uncovered the advisor’s treachery.

But this time, the solution had actually been stolen straight from Yansi’s future plan, so claiming credit would be deeply awkward.

Still, what choice did I have? If summoned, I must go.

Moments later, I stepped into the Duke’s study—and was instantly bewildered.

Having entrusted the resolution of this matter to his two sons, I’d expected Yansi and Carlot to be present. Instead, it was just the Duke and me alone.

As I shuffled nervously toward him, the Duke lifted his gaze from the newspaper on his desk.

His piercing golden eyes fixed on me.

“Relax. I won’t eat you.”

“…!”

That was clearly meant as a joke to ease my tension—but my heart only clenched tighter.

“You don’t look even remotely joking when you say that with such a serious face.”

Seeing my lingering unease, the Duke suddenly chuckled.

Almost as if I were… adorable.

“Don’t be absurd. There’s no way he finds me cute.”

Don’t get carried away, Elodie! Stay alert!

“Sit.”

At the Duke’s command, I glanced at the paper he’d been reading—it was the very same Twanette Weekly I’d skimmed earlier, trumpeting Angelos’s defeat and Ferdia’s triumph.

Noticing my attention, the Duke leaned back against the sofa and drawled lazily,

“Their editor-in-chief is quite perceptive.”

“Surely you didn’t pressure the newspaper…”

“I wouldn’t call it pressure.”

Of course you did.

Just sitting there with that face and aura was intimidation enough.

After all, he *was* Sylvester Ferdia, head of House Ferdia.

His very presence was a weapon.

Thus, being alone with the Duke in his study made me just as uneasy as it would anyone else.

Desperate to return to my room as soon as possible, I spoke first.

“Why did you summon me?”

Instead of answering, the Duke simply stared at me.

“Why do you—”

“Did you not want to come?”

He interrupted me with an utterly unexpected question.

*Did you not want to come?*

Flustered, I couldn’t utter a word.

Saying “no” would be a lie; saying “yes” might make him dislike me even more, given his already low opinion of me.

Fortunately, the Duke spoke before I could respond.

“I called you to give you a reward. Twice now, I owe you my thanks, Elodie.”

“It was just coincidence. I got lucky.”

“Luck, is it?”

What did he mean by that?

Trying to read his expression was futile—no one could decipher Duke Ferdia’s thoughts.

It had always been this way. Ever since I could remember, the Duke had watched me with an unreadable, impassive face.

But recently, his behavior had grown strange.

He summoned me for matters he’d never previously bothered with; though he once ignored everything I did, he now increased my allowance simply because I hadn’t bought anything. Even assigning one of his sons as my personal guard was uncharacteristically un-Dukelike.

He’d never shown the slightest interest in what I did or where I went.

“Maybe he kept me in the annex just to avoid seeing me—because he couldn’t stand the sight.”

But what unsettled me most was the meaningful look in his eyes every time we’d met since I’d regained my past-life memories.

It was as if… he saw someone else through me.

“Mother?”

But that question could never pass my lips. In House Ferdia, even speaking her name was forbidden.

I lifted my head.

Our eyes met—his had never left mine.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“…Why did you ask for my opinion?”

During the banquet with the First Prince, I’d maintained complete silence—an invisible presence among visible people.

After all, though I bore the name Ferdia, I was still an outsider, never truly part of the family.

Yet it was the Duke himself who’d pulled me—standing beyond that boundary—into their family conversation.

“Elodie.”

“I was curious what you thought.”

Had anyone ever truly acknowledged my presence before?

With just those words, the Duke drew me—the self-proclaimed outsider—into that conversation.

Much of the Duke’s recent behavior baffled me, but nothing more than that question.

It was so utterly unexpected that even the rest of House Ferdia would have been stunned.

After all, he’d never once asked for my opinion—not once, in my entire life.

So I needed to know—why now?

The Duke regarded me quietly before answering plainly.

“Because I believed the present you could solve it.”

“The present me?”

Compared to my former, troublesome self, perhaps.

Before I could dwell on it, he continued.

“I’ve always been watching you.”

“…!”

“Lately, you’ve changed. You seem more thoughtful—so I sought your counsel.”

He’d been watching me all along.

That was something I’d never even dreamed possible.

Because I—

“Because I was an unwanted bastard child…”

Yet his words sounded as if he’d always regarded me as his true daughter.

“I thought you had no interest in me.”

“As you know, I’m not one for showing affection. That doesn’t mean I didn’t care.”

“Oh…”

“Especially with children—they’d burst into tears at the sight of me, terrified. So I kept my distance.”

He added that almost like an apology.

“So… you stayed away from little me because you were afraid I’d be scared?”

There was no reason for the Duke to lie—so he must have meant it. Yet it still felt unreal.

Perhaps because it sounded too much like a dream.

Seeing me staring blankly at my hands, the Duke spoke again.

“Tell me what you wish for.”

I did have a wish.

More than anything, I wanted assurance I wouldn’t be killed—because above all else, I craved survival.

Even if my true parentage were exposed, I wanted just enough mercy to spare my life.

But in truth, what I truly desired was—

“Then… please praise me.”

Just once, I wanted to feel what it was like to be loved.

Even if this was the first and last time, I’d be content—just to remember, even once, that I’d been part of this family.

“Yes. That’s right. I know my place.”

Even if the Duke truly saw me as his daughter and had watched over me all along, I wasn’t his real child.

What if he discovered the truth? Would he still treat me this way?

As I struggled to steady my trembling emotions, the Duke reached out his hand.

“Come here.”

Hesitantly, I approached—and he gently patted my head.

His touch was awkward, unfamiliar.

“Well done.”

“…”

“Well done, Elodie.”

“Yes.”

Tears threatened to spill, but I held them back with all my will.

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

“Why… why now, of all times?”

Three-year-old Elodie, who had no one to talk to but Martha, the maid’s daughter; ten-year-old Elodie, who curled up crying after her little brother called her a filthy bastard; fourteen-year-old Elodie, wounded by the polite yet cold society…

No—*every* Elodie had longed for this attention.

If I’d still believed I was the Duke’s true daughter back then, wouldn’t my joy have been pure?

Yet even now—knowing the truth of my birth—his praise still warmed my heart.

Because I wanted to belong. To be acknowledged. To be loved.

“…This much is okay.”

I couldn’t shake the guilt of deceiving the Duke by pretending to be his daughter.

So once I was ready to stand on my own, I’d leave this house without a moment’s delay.

That was my only goal.

Oblivious to my thoughts, the Duke remained gently indifferent.

“But a reward alone isn’t enough.”

“It’s fine.”

“No. A father’s praise shouldn’t be treated as a reward for his daughter.”

“…”

“Think it over.”

[This is the timeline separator]

*Sob…*

The tears I’d held back burst forth the moment I left the study.

I hadn’t wanted to cry—but emotions aren’t so easily controlled.

Avoiding others, I took a deserted path—only to spot Carlot walking straight toward me.

Not wanting to engage, I tried to pass without a word, but Carlot stepped directly in front of me.

“So now you’re treating me like I don’t even—”

His sentence cut off abruptly. I felt his gaze fixed intently on my bowed head.

“…Hey. Are you crying? Why?”

Carlot looked genuinely flustered.

“Haven’t you ever seen someone cry before?”

I shot him a quick glare and tried to keep walking—but he blocked my path stubbornly.

“Did Father punish you? What did you do wrong this time?”

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Nothing? Did you go whining about breaking another engagement again?”

He’d ignored me completely lately, so this sudden nosiness was both annoying and burdensome.

“Just let me pass, Carlot. Act like you always do.”

Wiping my damp eyes with my sleeve, I lifted my head—and saw Carlot scowling at me.

For some reason, I tilted my head as I met his unwavering stare.

“What? Got something to say?”

“Well… No. Nothing.”

“Really nothing?”

“I said no! And stop wandering around crying like that—who knows who might see you? If some weird rumor starts, you’ll be the one to blame! Act like a proper Ferdia and keep up your dignity!”

“No one saw me cry except—”

“I don’t care! I’m busy. I’m leaving!”

*Sigh…*

I watched Carlot stomp away and muttered under my breath,

“Honestly. Says he’s got nothing to say, yet spills everything he wants to…”

Thanks to him, my tears vanished completely.