C130
So, Roland's armed men surrounded Isaac.
Isaac whistled.
"This is incredible. I can't believe my father would do something like this..."
He was relaxed even though a sharp sword was pointed at his neck. Indeed, he was not an ordinary person.
He rolled his snake-like eyes and scanned Roland's and my faces.
"It seems that the reason my father is with this woman is not just because he wants the magic stones from Lucibiu mine. Isn't that right?"
"O-Of course not! I'm not interested in magic stones!"
Roland shouted as if it were absurd, but it actually seemed suspicious to me.
"That old man is definitely interested."
No wonder. Even though he considers me a benefactor who freed him from dark magic, he is strangely friendly with me.
Little did I know that I would soon receive a letter from Roland Cassius asking me to sell him magic stones.
Isaac finally sat obediently in the seat in front of me.
"I'm intrigued. Let's hear what you have to say."
I looked at Isaac and slowly opened my mouth.
"Do you like Liena?"
"Don't even mention her. That girl is the light of my life."
"Have you ever thought that was strange? Are you the type of person who needs light in your life?"
"...I wondered what you were going to say."
Isaac's smile took on a suspicious aura.
"Do you want to drive a wedge between Liena and me? I'm disappointed."
"I'm not joking; I'm just asking a question. About you."
"It seems you know me well."
"I know you. The thing is, Isaac Cassius wasn't very sad when his older brother died when he was young."
He raised his eyes and looked at Roland, who was sitting next to him.
"Did you even say that?"
"Noisy. Listen quietly."
"It's a waste of time. I'll get up."
For a man who was calm even when his father pointed a sword at him, it was an exaggerated reaction.
It was a natural result since my divine power had flowed into him before, conflicting with Liena's power originally in his body.
"I can't let you leave here."
Roland snapped his fingers, and all his men attacked Isaac.
As Isaac couldn't move due to the sudden attack, someone came with a rope and tied him up.
"Now, let's continue the story."
"Shut up! I won't let you get away with this!"
When Isaac yelled at me with bloodshot eyes, Roland suddenly hit his son on the back of the head.
"You're crazy! You can't watch what you say!"
... No, if this continues, he'll hold a grudge against us, not Liena, old man.
So began the one-sided conversation between Isaac Cassius and me.
I managed to continue the conversation while dealing with Isaac, who refused to listen, and stopping Roland, who frequently tried to hit his son.
After three hours, Isaac's rejection finally completely ceased.
"...Yes, you're right."
He spoke in an attitude that didn't make it clear whether he was empty or relieved.
"Why did I like that cheeky girl?"
As soon as the blessing was lifted, he was just like his father, criticizing Liena for everything.
"When I first saw her, it seemed like she acted innocently, but her way of speaking and acting was strangely intelligent."
He recalled the past with a confused expression.
"But as I kept looking at her, I started feeling affection for some reason, and she reminded me of a bunny..."
"Me too!"
Roland jumped up and agreed with his son.
"At first, when I heard that an orphan plebeian adopted by Edman came to see me, I was surprised and asked to see her face, but the more I looked at her, the more I laughed and wanted to see her. See!"
"My father? Just hearing it gives me goosebumps."
Listening to their conversation, I thought about the time it took for Isaac's blessing to be lifted.
"Three hours."
In the case of Isaac and Roland, there was no element that could resonate in the heart like Duke Cassius or Cecil, so the blessing was given solely through an ignorant conversation.
Considering that it took a whole night for Roland to come to his senses again, it was a significant breakthrough.
I felt proud because I felt that my special training with divine power every night was paying off.
At that moment, Isaac, who had been listening to Roland's general explanation of the situation for a while, opened his mouth.
"So, to summarize, Liena is a witch, and my family, including my father and me, have been contaminated with dark magic."
"Yes."
Roland agreed, and I kept my mouth shut.
There was no need to reveal the truth about the goddess's blessing.
"That's really amusing."
Isaac smiled at the corners of his mouth, but his blue eyes were not smiling at all.
"I've been that girl's puppet for so long, doing improper things. What can I say, this is the first time I've felt like this."
"......"
Regardless of the fact that these two were wicked, their anger was justified.
Perhaps Liena just wanted to be loved, but in their situation, haven't they been forced to love someone they don't love for over ten years?
If I hadn't been a transmigrator blessed by the Goddess, I would have lived the same life as them.
A life in which I am happy simply by being next to my lovely sister-in-law, regardless of whether I am away from my husband or my in-laws.
How would you feel if suddenly you returned to normalcy after living like this?
It was difficult for me to imagine now.
Isaac remained silent for a moment, perhaps to quell his anger, but then he said.
"All right. I will also cooperate to get rid of that witch. However..."
He looked at the rope that bound his body.
"Can you please let me go? My arms and legs are starting to feel numb."
Honestly, I thought he would be fine, but Roland shook his head firmly.
"No. I'll have to wait and see how things progress. Maybe you're just pretending that the dark magic has been released."
Even towards his son, his eyes were filled with distrust.
"I'm thirsty and hungry."
"Keep waiting."
For your information, Roland and I were having tea with snacks.
Isaac looked at me enviously.
Reluctantly, I took the tea cup I had prepared for Isaac and approached him.
Roland showed no signs of doing so, and his subordinates clearly seemed intimidated as they had heard many harsh words during the process of tying up Isaac.
"If it's okay, would you like to drink this?"
"Fine. Ah."
I gave Isaac, who opened his mouth like an obedient child, a bit of cold tea to drink.
After feeding him some snacks, I was about to return to my seat.
"You two look good together."
Roland, who was watching us, suddenly said something.
If I were drinking tea, I would say something that would have made me spit the tea out.
"... What? I beg your pardon?"
"You look good together. Both of you are handsome."
"What do you mean?"
"In that sense, what do you think of Isaac? He looks like me, so he's the best of my sons."
Could that be possible? I don't know if it's the other way around.
"Hey. Maybe you forgot, but I divorced your grandson a few months ago."
"Oh, what does it matter? There is no law in the empire that prohibits meeting the uncle of your ex-husband."
"No, I don't want to!"
"Don't reject it so quickly. He was born late, so there isn't much age difference. He's still in his twenties."
"Father, I turned 30 last year."
"Oh, right."
"Well, as long as she's pretty, it doesn't matter if she's younger or older or the ex-wife of my nephew."
I shouted at Isaac, who was smiling innocently.
"Of course, it matters!"
He was a rich man without any common sense.
After that, Roland continued to make absurd suggestions, saying that if Isaac didn't like him, how about Leandro's cousin, but he barely stopped talking when my eyes turned cold.
Although he said it was because he liked her a lot, it was clear that he had impure intentions.
"Do you really want the highest quality magic stones?"
"Oh, no! It's a misunderstanding!"
And what he said was shocking.
"I'm sorry. Aren't we allies?"
"... Allies?"
"Yes! I only suggested this to strengthen the alliance!"
What? I think I heard something about alliances from Terence before.
I came to the new conclusion that even if similar words are said, they can have different meanings depending on the person who says them.
Roland cleared his throat and shifted the topic to his son.
"But what is the purpose of that witch? Why did she suddenly invite everyone together?"
"Well. I met her yesterday, but she said she would tell me the details once everyone is together."
But it's not that Isaac didn't hear anything.
"This is what she told me. There is a project that she is planning, and with that project, the Asteroth Empire will advance to the next level."
Roland snorted, wondering what kind of nonsense that would be, but I had an idea.
That night, I sat at my desk, flipped through the calendar, and lost myself in thought.
Isaac said he would stay by Liena's side for now and act as a spy.
But I couldn't wait until I found out Liena's exact purpose.
After Liena's planned project started, it would already be too late.
Besides, I have some free time now, and three days later, a new month would begin.
The 1st of every month. This day has a quite important meaning.
"What are you thinking?"
At that moment, Terence entered the room, knocking on the slightly open door of my office.
"You didn't even hear the knock."
"Terence."
Without answering the question, I got up and walked towards him.
"Yes, please tell me."
"How's your schedule these days? If you have two days off, why don't we go somewhere together?"
"Is there any problem?"
"There is a person I would like to have on my side. I want to meet with him."
"With whom?"
"His real name is Kais.
And his nickname is 'The Eccentric Inventor.'"
---