CH 119

After hearing all the explanations, Olivia remained calm. Everyone, who was glancing at her, rolled their eyes away in a hurry as she uttered with a slight smile this time.

“Okay, I’ll give you a chance.”

“Yes?”

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“I am waiting patiently now.”

“What?”

“Please quickly confess that this was all a surprise and a prank to tease me.”

Olivia let out a snort with blazing eyes.

“I’ll just get a little angry if you say that all of this was a joke. Though if you hold out any longer, know that it won’t be fun.”

“…Aunt.”

Kallaudin sighed.

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“It’s no joke. I bet Icard’s castle.”

“Have you seen such a madman?!”

At those words, Olivia stood up and gave Kallaudin a hard smack on the back.

“What? You’re going to bring Matilda back to life with black magic? Are you insane? Black magic, you shouldn’t have thought of that even as a joke…!”

A parrot crowed behind her as she screamed.

“Help me. This warlock turned me into a parrot.”

Then, Olivia took off her slippers and hit her nephew hard. She hadn’t beaten him even when he was young, and Evan sat frozen in terror in the chaotic scene.

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Kallaudin had said everything, that he has been studying black magic since Matilda’s death to bring her back to life as he wanted to summon demons by unlocking the seal of black magic based on the approval of the nobles and the Imperial Family.

According to his studies, Matilda must have been reincarnated in another world, but he could bring her soul back.

He planned to turn back time and change the cause of Matilda’s death to bring her back to life.

In the process, seven years ago, he accepted the terminally ill Laria, as his daughter-in-law. But somehow, Laria seemed to know of all his plans. It seemed that the attending physician was also on the same side as her…

“So, what did Laria do?! You said she ran away!”

Amid the chaos of the flying parrot, Olivia yelled.

“Did she ruin our family by digging up secrets? Did she start a public opinion war and accuse us? Or did he steal all your possessions?”

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“Do you think Laria is like aunt?”

With Kallaudin’s words, she jumped up and down more.

“If it were me, I wouldn’t have left this place alone! You brought her to be the daughter-in-law knowing that she is going to die and then not even mentioning that?”

As horrible as she could have imagined, she smacked Kallaudin in the back once more as her screams continued, “If it were me, I would have laid a curse upon curse to ruin this goddamn family! What are you going to do?! Icard is over! Over…!”

“Laria is rather…”

Kallaudin, who hadn’t even flinched despite being hit, muttered in a deep voice.

“She told me she’s going to fulfill my will.”

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“…What?”

Olivia blinked her eyes in disbelief.

“She was going to disappear, so I should marry Evan and Princess Elanie to unlock the black magic and revive Matilda… The last greeting and the last letter…”

“Ha.”

Olivia flopped down, and she started to get angry again.

“No, why is my goddaughter such a fool! She should have finished Icard! Why does her brain work so well that she draws such kind-hearted conclusions?”

Evan, who hadn’t said anything, opened his mouth slowly.

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“Father.”

Kallaudin spoke first, sighing as if he knew what Evan was going to say.

“It was just a plan seven years ago. When I brought Laria without even knowing her face.”

“If father wants me, I will rebel and ascend to the throne to obtain the black magic approval.”

Evan’s voice was cold and calm, calmer than ever as he went on.

“So, I will never marry Princess Elanie. My wife is only Laria.”

Saying so, his expression was very terrifying so Olivia kept her mouth shut.

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“Even if the black magic succeeds, even time returns and disappears… That is non-negotiable.”

The reason why no one could answer Evan’s words wasn’t because they agreed with him. It was only because they had the feeling that no matter what they said, it would not reach him now.

“Do you remember what I said earlier? Strange luck seems to be hanging over Duchy Icard.”

“…Yes.”

“Come to think of it, I think Laria was always in the middle of it.”

The reason Duke Icard found out about young Evan being abused by Ludva was because Laria asked him to go see his son. He was also awarded the Medal of Honor because Laria was coughing and accidentally found the old book. In addition, he was able to figure out Rosalyn’s scheme, and the conflict with the Emperor over the iron ore mine was all over.

Perhaps it was thanks to Laria that Duke Orlando, whom he regarded as his greatest enemy, collapsed so easily that it was absurd.

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“Father, don’t eat that! That guy is a bit suspicious! As far as I know, he’s from Duke Orlando!”

Considering that she immediately recognized it was Duke Orlando’s person, whom even Kallaudin did not recognize, there was a high possibility. Rather, he was the one who had to get on his knees and thank Laria.

As Kallaudin was lost in thought, Evan spoke again.

“I need to meet Laria.”

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The one who responded to those words was Olivia.

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“How are you going to meet the child who was determined to hide away?”

She managed to grab the parrot and spoke in a pitiful tone.

“…She’s more of a trickster than Kallaudin, so how do you find her?”

“I will find her.”

Evan responded coldly.

“What are you going to do if you found her?”

Olivia asked as she snorted.

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“If I were Laria, just hearing the word Icard would make me gnash my teeth!”

“I should find her and have a calm conversation.”

“Conversation? What are you going to say in a catastrophe like this…?”

A note was clutched in Evan’s hand together with a large bill of money written by Lord Gerdy that Laria delivered. To be honest, this was not a big deal, but it seemed to symbolize Laria’s heart.

“…I really don’t want to leave him alone. I can’t forgive anyone who hurt you in the slightest bit.”

If she really hated Icard, why did she do that? The note became his last hope and pounded his heart.

“What conversation? Do you want to ask why she did that?”

Evan didn’t respond to that. He only turned his gaze to Kallaudin.

“Father, thank you for making Laria my wife, whatever your intentions were. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have lived without even knowing that she existed.”

It was very rare for him to speak at such length, so both Kallaudin and Olivia kept their mouths shut and only looked at his emotionless face as Evan persisted.

“And finally, thank you for calling all the doctors on the continent and asking to save Laria. Had it not been for those words, I think it would have been difficult for me to bear to see father’s face.”

“Say what you want to say. Looking at your expression, it doesn’t look like you’re going to end up saying only good things.”

“But…”

Kallaudin’s judgment was correct.

His son continued with an expressionless face.

“I will start looking for Laria now. I will never let her go like this.”

“….”

“I won’t even do the Duchy’s work from this moment on, so I hope that father would neither put your hands into this matter nor hinders me. If until now it was father and Laria’s psychological battle…”

He got up slowly.

Neither Olivia nor Kallaudin could guess that Evan would be able to talk for that long.

“…From now on, it’s me and Laria’s.”

After he left, Olivia smacked Kallaudin in the back once more.

“So, so…!”

She clicked her tongue pathetically.

“If it were your original plan, Laria would have died by now?”

“….”

“Then, how are you going to handle Evan?! Didn’t you know that child’s eyes would turn like that, huh? Have you not lost Matilda? Are you really his parent, Kallaudin? How could you do that to your child? What were you thinking?”

“…Because it was a pain I knew, I lost my mind at some point.”

Kallaudin grabbed his hair and let out a sigh.

“No way… I couldn’t even tell Evan. How do I say that Laria will die soon?”

“Ha…”

“So, I drank without realizing it. I didn’t drink even when Matilda left…”

Olivia tried to smack his back once more, but she sighed and powerlessly lowered her hand.

“Aunt, to be honest, I—”

Kallaudin muttered in a hushed voice.

[ I can’t die in time, but instead, I’ll leave far away. Please don’t find and kill me. I’ll be really quiet and live as if I’m dead. ]

After reading Laria’s letter, he got a little hope.

“…Regardless, the fact that Laria is still alive is a good thing.”

Seeing that expression, Olivia thought she had no choice but to believe that Kallaudin had been insane for a very long time.