-Slap.

Father’s hand struck Rodney’s cheek harshly. No one had a chance to stop it.

I had never heard such a sharp sound in my life. When the sound of blade meeting blade echoed in the entrance hall, it felt as if time had stopped.

When I came to my senses, Rodney’s head was turned to the side. His cheek facing forward was red as if burned. His mouth twitched as if the struck area stung.

“You are the eldest son of the Marsen family, Rodney! That will not change even if you die and are reborn. You’ve grown up in prosperity thanks to the Marsen family all this time. But now that you’ve grown a bit, you’re trying to abandon the Marsen family… You’re ungrateful and only looking out for your own greed.”

Father’s voice became calmer, as if he had regained his senses after slapping once. Nevertheless, Rodney’s expression remained unchanged. Rodney rubbed his slapped cheek.

“Prosperity is important. But is that prosperity really your achievement, Father?”

“I devoted my life to the Marsen family… You have no right to judge me if you don’t understand that.”

“I too have done everything I was told for the sake of the Marsen family. I had pride in the Marsen family and actually worked hard for it. But Father, I’ve now realized that the Marsen family is no longer my pride, but my shame.”

“What are you saying?”

“Do you think I don’t know anything? How the Marsen family came to be in this position.”

Father paused for a moment, as if feeling guilty about something.

“You don’t know, Rodney. Business is originally…”

“I don’t want to hear such petty excuses. Since childhood, along with resentment towards you, I now dislike the Marsen family as well. If someone like me continues to stay here and inherit the company, what will become of the Marsen family that you claim to have devoted your life to protecting?”

Rodney knew something his siblings didn’t. I could tell it was about the numerous moral lapses entangled behind the Marsen family.

The Marsen family was only glorious on the surface. Yurik even put all members of the Marsen family on the gallows.

“Thus, the Marsen family disappeared without a trace in a single day.”

This was one of the few descriptions of the Marsen family in the original work.

I had been studying on my own all this time to prevent this fate. The problem was that while there was clearly a suspicious smell coming from the Marsen family, I didn’t know specifically where it was coming from.

But Rodney knew about it.

Rodney wanted his mother and father to divorce over this issue. Only Rodney, who knew nothing about the original work or his own fate, remained calm and composed. As for me…

My stomach churned.

“You choose, Father. Whether I ruin the Marsen family with my own hands, or you divorce cleanly to hide the shame of that noble Marsen family.”

“Rodney, that’s enough.”

As Isabel pulled on Rodney’s arm, Rodney’s lips, which had been open all along, closed in an instant. Father laughed emptily, as if finding it absurd how Rodney only obeyed Isabel’s words. It was chaos.

And scary too.

“I see. I wondered why divorce was suddenly brought up, but this was all your doing. It’s all your fault for bringing Rodney to the mansion. You turned all the children against me to get revenge for what happened ten years ago.”

Father’s arrow was aimed at Isabel.

“Say something, Isabel! This was your goal from the start, wasn’t it? You married me to ruin the Marsen family? Right. It’s my fault for not realizing you were this kind of woman from the beginning!”

“Don’t insult Mother!”

“You’re so foolish too, Rodney! I thought you were wise, but you’re still suckling at your mother’s breast, unable to leave her side. Tsk. What on earth did Isabel write to you in that letter? Huh?”

Father continued to hurl verbal abuse at Isabel and Rodney without stopping. When Rodney glared at him fiercely once, he would pause, but then pull the trigger on the vulnerable Isabel.

The other siblings remained deathly silent, as his words and language were so rough and vulgar.

“Right, you’re all on your mother’s side too! Because that’s how Isabel raised you!”

Father pointed accusingly at Isabel and then the innocent siblings. That finger started with Bernard and went through each one, finally landing on me.

“…Come to think of it, you were the source of all the problems. If only you weren’t here, if only you weren’t here!”

Father’s eyes pierced straight at me. Rodney, who had been watching the situation, stepped between me and Father.

“Lize is actually a blessing. Thanks to Lize, we learned how selfish of a person you are, Father.”

“Selfish? If anything, I was that child’s savior! I took her in even though I wasn’t sure if she was really my child!”

“Then couldn’t the Marsen family have resolved it? You must have been certain Lize was your child to bring her in!”

“I brought her in because of that woman’s mouth. Damn it! If that woman in the alley back then hadn’t been…”

Father muttered to himself before stopping, noticing everyone’s gaze. Belatedly realizing his slip of the tongue, Father grabbed his coat from the sofa.

“I can’t stand this anymore either. If you want a divorce so badly, then fine! But there will be absolutely no support from the Marsen family! I’ll also sever the alliance with the Pollon family that was formed through marriage. And there will be no custody agreement, so keep that in mind!”

Before leaving, Father looked at his children’s faces one last time.

“I intend to take all the children with me. Even Lize, who may not be my own child. She takes after her mother and is quite pretty, so won’t she make a good marriage with a man from a good family later for the sake of the Marsen family? That child would want that too.”

He was now fully prepared to become a villain, casually stabbing daggers into others’ hearts. It didn’t matter if the target was his wife or children.

“I’ll send the papers with a lawyer soon, so keep that in mind! And this mansion belongs to the Marsen family, so it would be best to move your things out within three days. Understood?”

With those final words, Father left the mansion. In the wake of the storm, only broken hearts remained.

In the place Father left, only resentment towards Rodney remained.

“How, how could you do this. Why on earth…”

Rodney was a bastard. A bastard.

As soon as I saw Rodney quietly enter my room, I punched him in the chest. Rodney, feeling guilty, just took the hit without saying anything.

My eyes hurt. The tears that had flowed down my cheeks were all dried up, and I could feel the stickiness every time my lips moved.

“We could have resolved this nicely with words…!”

I wanted to cry until I was exhausted. Until I saw the faces of my siblings peeking through the door crack. I don’t know how long they had been there, hesitating to enter the room.

“…Felicia.”

My heart plummeted to the depths.

The first person to open the door and enter was Felicia. Her expression was beyond anger, looking as if she had lost everything. The only lively thing was Felicia’s eyes, filled with accusation. At first, I thought that accusing gaze was directed at me, but it wasn’t.

“Lize is right.”

Felicia’s gaze was directed at Rodney.

“Rodney, you’re just like Father. You only think about yourself. What about the pain Mother will suffer and our pain? What are you going to do about it!”

Felicia, who had followed and liked Rodney more than anyone else, now said the most hurtful words to him.

“I’m sorry to all of you. For being an inadequate older brother. Truly. And I’ll talk to Mother separately…”

Rodney couldn’t finish his words due to the tears welling up in his eyes.

My heart softened immediately, and my siblings and I approached Rodney and hugged him. Then we cried loudly, saying things like “I hate you,” “I really hate you,” “I truly hate you” without hesitation.

“Let’s say Father and Mother are one thing. But what about us? I don’t want to part like this!”

Everyone nodded at Silke’s words.

“…Don’t worry about that. As I said earlier, we’ll all become part of the Pollon family.”

“Brother, are you sure about that?”

Bernard asked Rodney.

“If someone has abused or been violent towards their own children, they are not allowed to receive custody… With our testimony and Mother’s opinion, we will inherit the Pollon family’s first name. I’ve made preparations for that.”

Rodney spoke well even while sniffling. If someone else had said it, it might not have been believable, but it was Rodney speaking, who was thorough and meticulous in his preparation.

Seeing how smoothly he spoke, he must have already foreseen this situation and studied and looked into divorce laws.

“The only problem would be… Lize.”

Rodney looked at me. Though I don’t know much about the law, the chances of my custody being transferred to Isabel are low. Father was likely to gain rights through the fact that I am not blood-related to Isabel and that he brought me to the mansion despite my being an illegitimate child.

With luck, even if I lived with my siblings in the Pollon family, all my rights could go to Father.

“We can’t be without Lize!”

“That’s right!”

Felicia and Silke firmly grasped Rodney’s clothes. I didn’t like it either.

“Don’t worry, there’s one way.”

“…What way?”

When I asked, Rodney forced a smile as if trying to ease my concerns and worries.

“Let’s ask Grandfather for help. He’s the person Father fears most. If Grandfather and Mother take your side, Lize, it will be very easy for you to become a daughter of the Pollon family. And fortunately, Grandfather and Mother love you more than anyone else.”

Grandfather disliked me if anything, but certainly didn’t like me. I couldn’t guarantee that Isabel would bring me into the Pollon family either. I unconsciously clenched my fist, hating Rodney for saying such nonsense so shamelessly.

I didn’t believe Rodney. It was a mistake to send him a letter in the first place.

“Lize.”

“…”

I avoided Rodney’s gaze.

“Trust me. They love you. They will surely take your side.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I could see it.”

“…Rodney. I hate you the most in the world.”

“I know. But you trust me, right? Lize?”

If I didn’t believe him, there was nowhere else to turn. When I nodded, Rodney patted my head as if expressing gratitude. That gesture made me feel bad and angry, but strangely, tears came again.