“Erina, th-that is…”

Romdrik stammered, unable to answer properly.

Erina deliberately approached the wagons, opening each door and inspecting the contents.

The contents were so diverse that anyone else would have been astonished.

There were paintings, pottery, jewels, and even jewel-encrusted horse saddles.

“It seems you’ve stripped the mansion bare to pack this much.”

Romdrik shrank, lowering his head as Erina hit the nail on the head.

He had indeed thoroughly emptied even the underground storage that only the head of the family could access.

“W-well…”

The busy maids and servants paused their actions, watching the situation carefully.

Erina glanced at them briefly before ordering.

“Put everything back in its place.”

At Erina’s quiet command, they fidgeted, looking uncertainly at Romdrik and Camille.

Erina deliberately sighed loudly so that the two could hear.

“Hah, I said put everything back in its place.”

“Y-yes! Do as she says! Quickly, return these items to their proper places!”

The maids and servants couldn’t hide their bewildered expressions at Romdrik’s order to return the items, when just moments ago he had been urging them to pack.

“I wonder if they know the master of Medelia is still their uncle?”

“Of course not! I said move quickly!”

From the beginning, Romdrik had never once acknowledged the fact that he was being driven out of Medelia.

Would such a Romdrik have ever told the mansion’s staff that the master was changing?

Absolutely not.

The surprised expressions of the staff said it all.

At Romdrik’s continued shouting, the staff moved with displeased faces.

Erina faced Romdrik and Camille, who stood with their heads bowed low, Viana, who glared menacingly, and Terik, whose expression was unreadable, as the staff bustled behind her.

“It seems you wanted to empty the mansion early, before I arrived.”

“O-of course! Since it’s becoming an earl’s residence today instead of a viscount’s, we wanted to clear out quickly!”

Romdrik answered obsequiously, wringing his hands.

Erina couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

Her uncle, who had always acted so oppressively, looked like a completely different person now.

“Do you feel wronged?”

At that single question, Romdrik clamped his mouth shut, and Camille suddenly lifted her bowed head.

Viana continued to glare fiercely at Erina.

“Do you feel so wronged about handing Medelia over to me?”

At Erina’s words, Camille, who had been quiet until now, suddenly stepped forward and shouted.

“Handing over? You mean stolen! You ungrateful wench!”

Erina simply smiled silently at Camille’s demonic face as she screamed.

“If you knew the grace of how we raised you, you wouldn’t be doing this!”

“The grace of how you raised me?”

“Yes! We fed you, sheltered you, and even found you a marriage prospect beyond your station, and this is how you repay us!?”

“Do you truly believe that?”

The smile disappeared from Erina’s face.

The red light of dawn breaking across the sky touched Erina’s face.

The chilling light in her unreadable expression was so eerie it felt as if one might be devoured just by looking at it.

The dark emotions contained within Erina surged up in an instant, enveloping her.

“When did you ever feed or shelter me?”

Camille had never done anything for her.

She had terribly neglected Erina as a child.

Erina had sought sleep alone in a filthy attic untouched by anyone’s gaze, and ate the food that pitying maids or servants threw to her like alms.

Camille, who had been responsible for the mansion, had truly done nothing for her.

“Did you know where I slept? Did you know what I ate?”

Erina’s low voice was filled with the resentment of her younger self from those days past.

Camille flinched, startled.

Erina struggled to calm her excitement.

These were people who didn’t understand what they had done wrong even after losing everything.

There was no need to waste such great emotional energy on them.

Especially not on this good day.

“Enough. Please leave now.”

“E-Erina!”

At the words to leave, Romdrik rushed forward in one breath and grabbed Erina.

Erina glared fiercely at Romdrik, who had roughly grabbed her wrist, but Romdrik seemed to take it as a positive sign and continued rambling.

“B-blood ties can’t just be thrown away, can they? Hmm? So, at least that carriage…”

Erina was dumbfounded by Romdrik’s actions, desperate to take even one thing with him.

It was laughable that she had once hoped this dull-witted man, who only cared about what was right in front of him, would be family.

“What can I do? His Majesty did not permit anything.”

“But if you give it to us, there won’t be any problem!”

“Why should I?”

“Well!”

“Uncle, you were the first to abandon family duty. That day when you stole the family seal from me as a child.”

At age 7, to the young her who craved love, Romdrik had cruelly whispered.

‘Your family is dead and gone, so I’m the only one qualified to have this.’

His words were right.

She no longer had a family.

“So don’t expect anything more from me and go where you need to go.”

“How can you do this! Telling us to go to that backwater with nothing!”

Romdrik abandoned his pleading attitude and expressed his anger, tightening his grip on Erina’s wrist.

“Do you know how much I’ve built up here! How dare you treat me like this!”

Erina frowned at the increasing pain when someone approached and struck Romdrik’s arm hard.

“Ugh!”

The strike was so strong that Romdrik’s grip on Erina loosened, and his stout figure staggered.

Just as Romdrik suddenly approached to scold the one who interfered, he lost his words when he faced an unexpected visage.

“That’s enough.”

Romdrik was shocked by the cold, deep voice.

“Terik, why are you…”

“Brother!”

Romdrik looked at Terik while holding his struck arm, and Viana shouted at Terik with an angry face.

“What are you doing, brother!”

“I’m drawing a clear line.”

“What?”

Viana, like Romdrik, was shocked by Terik’s cold attitude and lost her words.

Viana couldn’t understand why the person who had been with her, giving advice until just yesterday, was suddenly acting this way.

“What do you mean by drawing a line!”

“Terik, why are you suddenly acting like this, hm?”

Viana and Romdrik were busy shouting at Terik, seemingly forgetting about Erina standing quietly in front of them.

Erina couldn’t help but laugh at the scene that resembled a comedy.

“Lord Terik.”

“Yes, Countess.”

“Have you decided?”

Terik smiled, his distinctly lighter lemon-colored eyes gleaming fiercely.

“I shall follow you.”

Terik placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed his head.

Romdrik, Viana, and Camille were utterly shocked by Terik’s gesture, one typically shown only to one’s superior or lord.

Erina recalled memories of Terik and past days as she saw the navy hair softly falling before her eyes.

He was the only one who showed even a thread of interest to Erina, who was thoroughly alone in the Medelia mansion.

Of course, it was barely enough to be called interest, but to Erina, it was like a lifeline.

Terik, who approached her as she cried silently after being rejected by her uncle and aunt when seeking love, always threw advice that was close to admonishment.

‘Don’t hope, you’re alone anyway. You must stand up alone. Don’t trust anyone and don’t act stupidly.’

To the young her at the time, his words felt too heartless.

But he knew, he said it because he knew Erina’s situation better than anyone else.

She realized this after Erina received her middle name from Enzo at the Founding Day celebration, when Terik came to her alone and spoke.

Terik, who came quietly, suddenly pleaded with Erina to accept him, saying he would be willing to give up everything he had.

Before Erina could ask why, he explained everything.

Terik said he was the adopted son of Romdrik and Camille and told his past.

When Romdrik and Camille couldn’t have a child for a long time after marriage, they adopted a boy with similar hair and eye color.

But strangely, shortly after adopting Terik, they became pregnant with Viana.

The rest was a predictable story.

Due to the eyes of others, he avoided being treated like leftovers, but he had to grow up in severe neglect.

Terik projected his own childhood onto Erina, who was withering alone in the Medelia mansion.

Out of pity, he sometimes shared part of his meals and gave advice.

But that was all.

Terik knew better than anyone that in any situation, if you don’t stand up alone, you’re bound to fall again.

Terik grew up as the eldest son of Romdrik and Camille, but there was nothing he could do as the eldest son.

Everything was Viana first, and since Viana was the legitimate bloodline of the family, the two made sure Terik couldn’t desire anything from the family.

So when Terik became old enough to stand alone, he left the mansion.

Nevertheless, Terik was a being who couldn’t escape from Zillon, from Medelia.

Then, at the Founding Day banquet, he saw Erina become the owner of the magic stone mine and receive her middle name.

Terik felt elation at the sight of Erina shining beautifully.

He had lived believing that he couldn’t abandon the unfair things surrounding him alone.

The world had made it so, and he had grown up being trampled like that.

But it wasn’t true.

The child who had been smaller and weaker than him had abandoned everything on her own, broke free, and blossomed beautifully.

Terik felt many things from her.

So he went to Erina without thinking and begged.

He asked her to allow him to work by her side, to learn her strong and beautiful heart, even if it meant giving up everything he had.