Dennis roughly ran his hand through the back of his hair, repeatedly sitting down and standing up. His blatant attitude no longer even disappointed her. Faced with the sudden flood of truth, Cordelia rubbed her temple.

“What were you thinking when you accepted that money? Didn’t you even tell Father it was a shameful thing to do, knowing what it meant?”

“What was I supposed to say? They were the ones who offered the money first.”

“Even so, am I really your family? How could you accept money on the condition of not seeing me? And then shamelessly staying at an inn that’s beyond your means with that money!”

If she had something in her hand, she probably would have thrown it right then. As she spoke, Cordelia felt her insides burning up. It felt like all her organs were about to be incinerated.

“And after losing track of Maximilian, you still hope for forgiveness from the Atilei? How can a person be so shameless?”

“What do you mean shameless? Did you ever really think of us as family? I didn’t even know you became a magician until you came to the capital! You were the one who abandoned Father and me first, so don’t act high and mighty!”

“Father was the one who—no, fine. I get it.”

After shouting back in anger, Cordelia managed to lower her voice. She barely managed to calm her trembling hands as she spoke.

“I’m sorry I didn’t look after you when I should have. I’ll take care of Father and you now, so stop taking money from Master Atilei.”

She wanted to settle this relationship as quickly as possible, more than feeling genuinely sorry.

“Take care of us? Can you give us money then? How much?”

“…How much do you need?”

“I need at least as much as I’m getting now.”

Dennis said shamelessly.

“How much are you receiving now?”

“Fifty thousand linkit.”

“What? You received fifty thousand linkit from Master?”

“Fifty thousand every month. Sister, can you give me that much?”

It wasn’t even just once, but fifty thousand every month. That’s six hundred thousand linkit a year. The price Father received for handing Cordelia over to that hellish Abrams was five hundred thousand linkit.

She was speechless at her father’s excellent business acumen, selling his daughter twice.

When Cordelia couldn’t say anything in response to the unexpectedly large amount, Dennis continued with an ‘I thought so’ expression.

“You can’t, right? So just let it go quietly, okay? Don’t make a fuss about it.”

“……”

“By the way, sister. Did you tell Atilei the Crown Prince about my situation?”

“……”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? You didn’t say nothing, did you? I have an interrogation in two days. If I can’t explain myself properly then, I might end up in jail… Sister!”

Cordelia abruptly stood up, opened the door, and left. If she kept talking with Dennis, she feared she wouldn’t be able to handle any more truths she didn’t know about.

Dennis rushed out and grabbed Cordelia’s wrist.

“How can you just leave? You should at least answer before going.”

“What answer do you want? You chose to take Atilei’s money in exchange for not seeing me.”

“That’s different! Do you look down on me because I smiled and played nice? So, did you tell him or not?”

“Hah……”

“What will happen to the Vasquez if I go to jail? Who will carry on the Vasquez name?”

Even though they were in a corridor where people could easily pass by, Dennis didn’t lower his voice. Instead, he shook her arm more forcefully as he asked again.

Cordelia looked at her younger brother and sneered.

“I don’t know why you’re asking me about the Vasquez. Figure it out yourself. You and Father don’t even consider me a Vasquez anyway.”

“If you hate it so much, why don’t you give me that money! Isn’t it your fault for not sending a single coin since you married into the Abrams? How dare you act so righteous when you don’t even have the power to help your family? How desperate do you think Father was to accept that money?”

“Fine. Then let’s completely cut ties with that money you received. I won’t care whether you rot in jail or not!”

She shouted with sincerity. A wave of intense emotion struck Cordelia’s body hard. It felt like facing a beast wearing the shell of family.

What was she to them, anyway?

Dennis’s face turned red and blue. He raised the hand that had been gripping her wrist.

Instinctively, Cordelia cast a barrier spell. As soon as Dennis’s hand touched her cheek, he was thrown back with a thud.

Her master’s teachings finally shone through.

“Ugh!”

“Let’s never see each other again.”

Cordelia glared at her brother sprawled on the floor, then left the inn.

The carriage she had ridden from Atilei was waiting in front of the inn. The coachman quickly opened the door as Cordelia came out.

“Where shall we go?”

“Home… No, let’s go back to Atilei.”

“Yes, understood.”

Cordelia closed her eyes. Her head hurt so much it felt like it would split open. The truth that came without warning was suffocating her.

What was she to her father, anyway? Was she even a child to him? How could he think of accepting money in exchange for not seeing his daughter?

She couldn’t understand her father at all. She didn’t want to understand him either.

The despair of being abandoned felt greater than the anger towards her father.

She had always known that her father saw her as little more than a money-making hole, but still, she had comforted herself thinking that as his only daughter, there must be more to it than just that.

Even though the carriage had stopped, Cordelia couldn’t move from her seat. When the door didn’t open for a long time, a servant knocked worriedly from outside.

“Are you alright?”

Only then did Cordelia realize they had arrived at the mansion and opened the carriage door.

“Master hasn’t returned yet, has he?”

“No. He went to the palace. If it’s urgent, shall we send someone?”

“No. It’s fine.”

Even moving her feet felt difficult. Cordelia took a few steps and suddenly felt nauseous, so she ran straight to the bathroom.

The pale soup she had eaten a little in the morning came out, followed by clear gastric juices.

Leila, who had been waiting outside the bathroom, saw Cordelia come out with a pale face and stamped her feet anxiously.

“Lady Cordelia. What’s wrong? Are you ill? Shall I call for a doctor?”

“No. I want to be alone.”

She crawled halfway into bed and pulled the covers all the way up. The pillowcase became damp.

She didn’t even know why she was crying.

She thought she had no expectations for her family, but it seems a very faint lingering attachment remained.

Tears kept flowing like water. Her chest hurt so much it felt like someone was squeezing her heart with their hand.

It wasn’t this bad even when she was sold off to the Abrams. Because she had known since childhood that marriage was something decided by her father, it was painful but not something she couldn’t accept.

But this incident only showed Cordelia that she was nothing but money to her father.

After enough time had passed for the tear stains on her cheeks to dry and stick, she felt someone open the door and enter.

Footsteps drew closer.

Cordelia both didn’t want to see and wanted to see the owner of those footsteps.

“Where did you go today?”

“……”

“I told you to stay put until you go up to the Abrams.”

“……”

“Pull back the blanket. Let me see how ugly you look today.”

“……”

“Cordelia.”

Leonard never forcibly pulled back the blanket. He just called her name, almost like a sigh.

Cordelia didn’t have the courage to face him, so she spoke while still covered by the blanket.

“Fa-ahem. Did you give Father money in exchange for not meeting me?”

“Did you meet the Vasquez Crown Prince?”

“Fifty thousand linkit a month is a huge amount. Master must have spent a lot of money.”

“If not the Crown Prince, then his brother?”

“Is who told me really that important?”

Feeling like he kept deflecting, Cordelia threw off the blanket. His face was closer than she expected, and she found herself staring directly into Leonard’s purple eyes.

“Finally showing your face.”

“Why did you do it?”

“Because I could clearly see you being dragged around by your father. If you weren’t by his side in the first place, you wouldn’t be swayed.”

He answered with a cold face, without the slightest disturbance. As if he had simply done what needed to be done, without hesitation or reluctance.

She had thought he would show at least a little remorse for doing things behind her back, but not at all.

Cordelia’s voice rose slightly.

“If Master had told me not to meet Father, I would have done so. But did you have to resolve it with money? Do you have any idea how devastated I felt hearing that money was given in exchange for not meeting me?”

“Shouldn’t you be grateful to me instead?”

“What did you say?”

“Your father, the Vasquez Crown Prince, is just that kind of person. Someone who would hand over his own daughter without hesitation for a few coins. Now that you know…”

“Right. Thank you so much. For proving that I’m nothing to my father.”

Cordelia was dumbfounded by Leonard’s words. It was clear he hadn’t considered at all how she would feel when she found out the truth.

“Don’t be sarcastic. I did it all for you.”

Leonard spoke in a lowered voice, as if suppressing his anger or irritation. Cordelia threw off the blanket completely and sat up straight.

“Ha. For me? If it was for me, you should have at least asked me first.”

“Even if I asked, your answer was obvious. You would have just let it slide. You never even mentioned your father hitting you until I asked about it.”

“Why should I tell you that? Should I have told you that Father whipped me with his belt because he didn’t like my eyes? Should I also tell you that he slapped me if I talked back even a little?”

The abuse she had suffered was the shame she least wanted exposed. It was also a past she wanted to forget.

She didn’t want to pathetically tell her master, who already knew what humiliation she had endured at the Abrams, that there was an even more terrible past.