C143
Isaac's horse headed towards a mansion located near the capital.
"Uncle, where are we?"
"The house where I stay these days. I borrowed it."
Liena dismounted the horse and carefully surveyed the well-organized mansion.
It was far from the Cassius residence or Mikhail's palace, but it wasn't bad.
"Well, I'm not in a position to complain right now."
"What?"
"No. Thank you for your invitation."
"...Fine, let's go in quickly."
Isaac led Liena inside the mansion and handed her some hot tea.
Liena's heart, which had been in hell a moment ago, melted at the warm hospitality.
"Ah."
Then the tears started to well up again.
The stern faces and cold tone of the three, father and sons, she found in the house bothered Liena.
"What's wrong, my niece? Tell me everything."
While Isaac gently grunted, Liena told him everything she had experienced as if a dam had broken.
Of course, without mentioning black magic, she excused the interception of the adoption site, saying it was a trap.
"That's too much! How could your father and brothers do that? You must feel very sad and wronged."
How many years had they been a family, but how could they change in an instant?
She had known for a long time that the blessing she had granted them was faltering, but it was a great shock to meet those who had changed their minds.
"It's okay, Liena. How much your family loves you."
Isaac smiled and reassured her.
"Even if they may have been deceived by that ridiculous slander at the moment, they will soon come to their senses and come to apologize to you."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course! I can guarantee it since I've seen your family's solid relationship from the outside."
That comfort seeped into Liena's heart.
"Yes, my father and brothers are probably doing this because they are in shock right now."
The truth about the adoption revealed by Ethel will be quite shocking, but as time passes, they will come to their senses and regret trying to lock her up in a hospital.
Above all, she believed that her father and brothers' blessing from the goddess was just a slight reinforcement.
Because there is genuine affection between her and her family that goes beyond blessings.
As evidence, unlike Roland, they cared for Liena until the end.
Isaac also gave confidence to Liena.
"If you wait here for a while, your father and brothers will soon come to apologize to you."
"But what if they send me to the hospital again?"
"If that happens, don't worry, I will protect you no matter what."
"As I said before, thank you very much, Uncle."
She felt at ease because Isaac was truly a man who would use any means possible.
Liena, who had been busy for a while, was worried about other problems.
"But why do I keep getting into trouble with blessings?"
At first, she thought it was because of the Cassius blood, but when even Mikhail's condition seemed strange, the possibility that the cause was elsewhere arose.
There is definitely something there. While Liena thought about what it could be, the person who had been causing a rift between her and her family a moment ago came to mind.
"Ethel."
Could it be that Ethel also has a mysterious ability like her blessing?
What if different people receive different blessings from the goddess?
For Liena for the past ten years, the goddess's blessing was like the power to be loved, so naturally, she couldn't think of other possibilities.
The pride of being the only one chosen by the Goddess further solidified her complacency.
Therefore, she thought that the reason Ethel suddenly found memories of her past life must have been the Goddess's mistake, a mistake of the world, or something like that.
"But was Ethel also chosen by the goddess?"
It was an assumption she really wanted to deny, but she couldn't think of any other possibility.
Now that she thought about it, the moment Ethel found her memories and the moment there was a problem with Liena's blessing were similar.
She should check this. Let's check and see if this is really Ethel's plan.
"I won't let you go!"
"What? Don't you want to take your family with you? You even dragged Angela and stabbed me shamelessly in the back."
First of all, the cause of the problem was that she thought Angela would continue living hidden and stopped paying attention. She turned a blind eye because of the old times.
Liena stood up, trembling with anger.
"What's happening, Liena?"
"I need to go somewhere. I have something to find out."
"It's dangerous. If your family finds you now, they might force you to go to the hospital."
"It's okay. I'll walk without getting caught."
"No, you must stay here, safe."
"Uncle, don't worry. It's really fine! I just have to disguise myself."
Liena smiled cheerfully, happy that Isaac was extremely concerned about her.
"You can't go out, Liena."
As if in response, Isaac also displayed a charming smile, and for some reason, a strange feeling of pressure took hold of Liena.
"...Uncle?"
Unconsciously, Liena took a step back.
Upon closer inspection, she saw that Isaac's blue eyes were not smiling at all.
"I'll bring you all your meals. The bathroom is inside, and there are plenty of books on the shelves, so you won't get bored."
"What do you mean?!"
Isaac walked briskly towards the door.
Liena quickly followed, but the door closed with a loud sound in front of her.
Then, with a strong thud, the door was locked.
"Wait a moment, uncle! Uncle!"
Liena called to the door until her hands hurt, but instead of the door opening, she only heard Isaac's voice.
"Don't worry, our little bunny. I said I would definitely protect you."
"Open the door! What is this? Are you locking me up now?"
"If I lock it with a key, it's a protected area, protected."
"This is not the time to joke! I have something to do quickly!"
"I'm serious. Baby rabbits are so fragile that if you let them out, they will quickly become prey for predators. It's okay to protect it this way."
While Liena was left speechless by that absurd logic, Isaac ended the conversation on his own.
"Wait here. I'll release you when your father and brothers come to you after reflecting. Then I'll come back later for dinner."
"Uncle? Wait, where are you going? Open the door! Uncle! Come back!"
However, the sound of Isaac's footsteps heard beyond the thick door became distant.
"Uncle! Where did you go? If you come back now and open the door, I'll forgive you."
Liena couldn't accept her situation for a while and called out to Isaac.
"Is anyone there? A person is trapped inside! Please open the door!"
However, when Isaac did not return, she panicked and looked for a mansion employee.
But no one responded to her cries.
Looking back, until she entered this room, Liena had not seen anyone else in the mansion besides Isaac.
Liena looked around the room in fear.
Because it was inside the mansion, there were no windows in the room.
Apart from the door, there was no other exit in sight.
In other words, Liena was completely trapped.
Something was terribly wrong.
* * *
"What are you planning?"
As soon as I saw Isaac, I immediately asked.
The location is Roland Cassius's safe house, where Isaac was summoned with Roland in the past.
This time too, the eccentric old man was sitting next to me, looking at his younger son.
"Hey bastard, this is suspicious. Aren't you possessed by the witch again?"
"My mind is fine."
Isaac shrugged and answered my question.
"What is my intention? I want to make sure to deal with the resentful and scandalous matter that has been affecting me for over ten years."
Roland widened his eyes.
"Have you killed her already?"
"I haven't killed her. Does my father think I'm that cruel?"
"Yes."
"Am I my father? I locked her up. If I handle it myself in the first place, I'm sure my brother will resent me, but I won't do something like that."
Isaac took a sip of the drink in his glass.
"For starters, Edman can't be a tough person. That's why, when he took the Duchy from my father, he left him with quite a bit of wealth and followers."
Roland groaned but couldn't refute.
He seemed very aware that Duke Cassius had been lenient with him.
Originally, regardless of time and place, power struggles often involved parents and children.
Isaac laughed.
"If I were my older brother, I would have at least imprisoned my father in the tower to avoid regrets."
"Bastard!"
"Enough."
I stopped the two before they started arguing.
"So, what do you plan to do with Liena?"
"That's..."
Isaac revealed the ending he had in mind for Liena.
"If that's the case, my brother will have no choice but to accept it, and Viscountess Lucibiu, who has a more general sense of morality than us, agrees, right?"
I thought for a moment and then nodded.
Roland didn't seem very satisfied, but he didn't openly oppose.
"Then there's something the Viscountess Lucibiu must do."
I responded before Isaac could finish speaking.
"Free others whom Liena has brainwashed."
"That's right. While I detain Liena. That way, even if it means sacrificing their own lives, the fools protecting that woman will disappear. Please help us."
To ensure that Liena rots in prison forever, that ending was omitted.