Riley was so surprised that she hiccupped. In response, Givean slowly swept his hand over her back.

“Suddenly? They are meeting again?”

“It seems so.”

“But why…?”

“I don’t know. Still, it’s not going to be a favorable encounter for my sister and me.”

“…I can’t understand.”

“To be honest, it’s a situation I can’t comprehend either.”

Their ill-fated connection had ended.

Hadn’t they become entangled in an irreparable relationship since the moment of their divorce? Ryan had suffered a backlash from Count Ermenz and, due to the memory of the insults, had been embarrassed until recently.

That day had become an unforgettable shame in front of his step-uncle.

“Could Count Ermenz be harboring a grudge against my step-uncle and trying to take revenge?”

“No, if that were the case, he would have done it back then.”

“…”

“Why did he only kidnap my sister in the first place? Besides, even if he’s not in his right mind, he wouldn’t be so oblivious as to stir up trouble in a situation where he’s held accountable. Or is that old man really senile now?”

“Could he still harbor resentment against you and me?”

“He might. That old man is like a corpse without his pride.”

Riley, whether due to the revived old memories or for another reason, shivered and wrapped her shoulders with both hands. The feeling of warmth from Givean’s body rapidly disappeared, giving way to a sensation of rapid cooling.

Moreover, not only fear but also betrayal made her teeth chatter.

‘Disgusting…’

It couldn’t be anything other than an audacious move, considering that the person who handed her a contract, even after venting the long-suppressed emotions, had secretly contacted Count Ermenz. Whatever the reasons were, from Riley’s perspective, it was an utterly incomprehensible situation.

When she thought about why he took such a foolish action, the answer quickly came.

He had feared retaliation from the moment he handed over the contract.

Perhaps he was still uneasy. The deep-seated emotions and the twisted relationship had not improved at all. He probably continued to feel a sense of crisis.

‘My step-uncle must see Givean and me as enemies who should eventually be eliminated.’

It’s regrettable.

Despite still disliking and finding them repulsive, Riley never had any intention of seeking personal revenge.

Retribution? No, even the emotional investment for that was too much. Just living without interacting with them was enough.

Of course, she would definitely expose the “legal family relationship,” but she had never considered doing more than that.

“What should we do?”

“I’d say it’s better this way.”

“…Why?”

“Two heads that don’t work well together will only end up digging their own graves. It’s better if I purposefully cause an accident. It will be good for me. It gives a reason to drive away the Marquis and his minions, and it might be helpful in the future for the custody lawsuit.”

Givean seemed indifferent, but Riley was secretly anxious.
“Even if my step-uncle is foolish… he is not the type to act without any thought. Especially, if he’s secretly colluding again with the deeply resented Count Ermenz… there must be something.”

Viscount Ryan was someone who was adept at taking advantage of others.

While maintaining a reputation as a philanthropist in public, he was the kind of person who privately seized all funds obtained by selling sympathy and lived alone.

Always scheming on how to pull money from other people’s pockets and astutely devising ways to do so, he was a man who, from Givean’s perspective, might seem like a pitiful fool. However, he was not someone who would recklessly engage in actions without any thought, and that was a cause for concern.

Despite allowing the marriage, he had even compelled the creation of an absurd revenge prohibition contract.

Step-uncle was meticulous and thoughtful to that extent. A person like that wouldn’t foolishly act without thinking.

‘I underestimated him too much…’

Continuously making excuses, he rejected meetings with his step-uncle and discarded letters from his stepmother as if throwing them into the trash.

Claire was out of the question.

He didn’t want to face or exchange letters with people who only schemed to find a way to exploit them.

Also, being engrossed in academic life and perhaps this attitude might have heightened his step-uncle’s anxiety.

Even though he had come to try something, there was nothing properly working, and not even meeting each other. It must have been unsettling for him.

“I should interact more with my family. I’ve been too neglectful of my step-uncle while focusing too much on my academic life. Maybe I acted too emotionally.”

“Isn’t it a bit too serious? You don’t have to force yourself to do something you don’t want to do.”

“No, I realized it was something I had to do anyway. Living like an ordinary person with my step-uncle is impossible. Unless I sever this relationship completely and don’t trample on them… symbiosis won’t work.”

Givean showed interest in Riley’s words.

“Are you going to interact with them to trample on them?”