Chapter 50

“Fine. It doesn’t matter because I brought it upon myself. And it’s his fault. After marrying you, he planned to embezzle the Iaron family’s assets to help his parents. While he couldn’t revive a collapsing family, he knew he had enough power to at least provide shelter for his homeless parents.”

“Who does he think he is?”

“But he didn’t stop there. He even thought about the inheritance your parents would leave behind after their deaths. So, I completely got rid of him.”

Rivera pinched Adrian’s cheeks hard.

“Should I praise you for doing well, or should I scold you for doing wrong?”

“…Just don’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

He was desperate. If Rivera truly hated him, he felt like he might cry.

Rivera spoke candidly, as if she had let everything go.

“I know I’m stupid for wanting to be with you after all this, but no matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I’ll find anyone who’ll treat me better than you. And honestly, if someone told me to meet another man now, I don’t think I could.”

Rivera grabbed Adrian’s cheeks and made him look at her. Even when she pressed his lips together to make him look like a fish, his good looks couldn’t be hidden.

“Make up for how sorry you feel toward me by treating me even better. Think about how you can treat me better every single day. That’s the punishment I’m giving you.”

***

From that day onward, Rivera began seeing Adrian even more secretly.

Now that Antonio’s weakness had been uncovered, it was time to repay him. She wanted him to suffer as much as she had suffered.

Antonio’s grudge, blaming Adrian for the downfall of his family and burning with vengeance, was nothing more than a victim complex. Adrian hadn’t even contributed to the collapse of Antonio’s family; he had simply refused to help.

While Rivera and Adrian moved forward step by step, her father’s birthday approached.

The party was grand. It was a joyous occasion, and Rivera wanted her father to be celebrated by many.

“Father, happy birthday. This isn’t much, but please accept it.”

“Thank you, my dear.”

After much deliberation, Rivera had decided to gift her father a pen recommended by Adrian.

Her father, upon receiving the gift, cautiously asked, 

“By the way, have you two… completely broken up?”

Rivera simply smiled and avoided answering.

As she failed to give a proper response, the attendees at the party, who had only read about the breakup in the newspaper, began whispering to each other, confirming that it must be true.

“It must be true that she cheated. Otherwise, why would the Duke of Bartman, who was so adamant about marrying her, call off the engagement? Right?”

“She’s really something. She must have nerves of steel.”

The reason people were talking like this was because Antonio, now a High Priest, was attending the party. He had been openly pursuing Rivera lately, and everyone knew it.

“Happy birthday.”

The Earl of Iaron couldn’t hide his discomfort at Antonio’s blessing. He remembered that Antonio had been his daughter’s first boyfriend. While Antonio’s name had changed, the Earl was now certain of his identity.

The Earl turned away from Antonio and asked Rivera, 

“Daughter, why did you send that man an invitation?”

“I didn’t send it. He must have come with the others.”

Rivera sighed deeply.

This was the problem with this country. The mere presence of a priest at a party was considered a blessing, so even if they weren’t invited, their attendance was appreciated.

“At least pretend to like him. He did save me, after all.”

“After all the trouble he caused, you still want to take his side?”

“I’m not taking his side. I’m just stating the truth. Breaking up with him was my personal issue.”

“How is it a personal issue? It’s my daughter’s business!”

The Earl of Iaron, who had been shouting, quickly lowered his voice.

“Anyway, I don’t like that man. Even if he were the Pope, I’d never allow it!”

He repeatedly emphasized that she should never see Antonio again before heading off to join his friends.

‘But he seemed to like Adrian.’

It was odd. While he had told both men that they couldn’t have his daughter, with Adrian, he just grumbled a bit. With Antonio, it felt like he might declare, “If you meet him, I’ll die.”

‘Did he like being called father-in-law?’

Rivera chuckled to herself, then glanced at Antonio and gave him a slight smile. When she smiled at him, Antonio’s face lit up.

‘Enjoy it while you can. Your time is up.’

The atmosphere quickly became lively. As everything seemed ready, Rivera stepped onto the platform and clinked her wine glass.

As everyone’s attention turned to her, she bent her knees slightly and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your enjoyment. I have something to tell you all.”

Rivera held up a newspaper for everyone to see.

“A few days ago, an article was published in the Empire’s newspaper. It said that the Duke of Bartman and the daughter of the Iaron family had broken up. Yes, it’s true.”

Her unexpected statement caused a stir among the guests. They hadn’t expected her to admit it, and they were surprised.

Antonio, who had been watching, smiled. Finally, things were going the way he wanted.

But then, Rivera raised her left hand, showing the ring on her fourth finger.

“But we’ve reconciled. We’ll be getting married soon.”

Antonio’s smiling face crumpled instantly. Rivera, who had been watching his reaction from the start, grinned triumphantly.

‘I’ve figured out all your weaknesses.’

The salt mine slaves Adrian had rescued were now being trained as Rivera’s personal soldiers, but they were also helping her in other ways.

‘So, you were living as a slave before?’

Rivera hadn’t cared about Antonio’s past life. That is, until he crossed her.

Smiling, Rivera called Antonio to the platform.

“Today, I’d like to introduce someone to you all. He saved me in a moment of danger, and he was once a noble of the Empire—High Priest Antonio. Please welcome him with applause.”

Antonio wished it were all a dream.

“Thank you so much.”

With all eyes on him, Antonio awkwardly smiled.

“Haha… I’ll just accept the sentiment. I’m not someone deserving of such congratulations. Well then….”

Antonio hurriedly tried to leave. He hadn’t expected Rivera to stab him in the back like this. Who would’ve thought she’d learn such cunning behavior from the Duke of Bartman?

As he rushed out of the party, Antonio bumped into a child clearing dishes.

Crash!

“Ahhh!”

The startled child fell backward, landing on their bottom.

“Watch where you’re going!”

Antonio didn’t check if the child was hurt. He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

He had approached nobles close to the Earl of Iaron and confessed his feelings for Rivera, but now that she had announced her engagement, he would become the laughingstock.

As he yelled at the child and tried to leave, the child looked up and grabbed Antonio’s arm.

“Brother Cedric?”

A chill ran down Antonio’s spine.

The child, with dark skin, called Antonio “Cedric.”

“Harin? Do you know this man?”

Rivera asked innocently, as if she knew nothing.

“He’s the one I used to live with!”

Antonio couldn’t hide his expression.

‘Why is this kid here…?!’

Antonio wanted to feign ignorance, but now he noticed familiar faces among the Iaron family’s servants.

“You’re him, right? Don’t you remember working in the salt mines with me?”

“…You’ve got the wrong person.”

“No, you’re definitely him!”

Why was the child’s voice so loud?

The attention of the party guests was now entirely focused on them.

“Look at this. The scar on the hand is the same.”

Antonio flinched and covered the scar on his hand. It was a large scar left by a rake used for scraping salt, and the child had recognized it immediately.

‘I can’t believe I made such a mistake.’

He had been too complacent lately. Seeing the Duke of Bartman suffer had made him let his guard down.

Rivera looked at Antonio’s hand and asked, 

“High Priest Antonio, is this true?”

“No. It’s just a coincidence.”

“But Cedric was your old name, wasn’t it?”

“That’s….”

“Or… are you denying it because you’re ashamed of being part of the fallen Denmark family?”

The moment Rivera mentioned the name he wanted to erase, someone raised their hand.

“Wait, did you just say Denmark family?”

A handsome man in his 50s, tall and well-built, examined Antonio’s face and asked Rivera, 

“Denmark family?”

“Oh my, do you know them?”

Antonio’s face turned pale.

‘Why is that man here?’

The man’s attire was clearly noble, but he was anything but. He was a back-alley loan shark.

As the atmosphere grew tense, Rivera approached Antonio and whispered in his ear.

“Do you like the special gift I prepared for you?”

“…What do you know?”

“Not much. Just that there are still plenty of people your family owes money to. When I told them you’d become a High Priest, they agreed to act like they didn’t know anything.”

He felt betrayed by someone he trusted.

“Those people already knew you were a priest but couldn’t approach you because of your powerful backers. So I told them not to worry because the Bartman family would protect them.”

She continued whispering shocking truths.

“You never went back to help the people you worked with in the salt mines, but Adrian helped people even during the war. That’s how I found out all your weaknesses.”

Rivera patted Antonio’s shoulder with a smirk before stepping back.

Then the loan shark approached.

“You’re definitely Cedric, the eldest son of the Denmark family.”

Antonio backed away. The man’s menacing aura made it clear that things were about to get ugly. For now, denying everything seemed like the best option.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Are you playing dumb? I know your mother borrowed money, and you took it.”

Antonio clenched his teeth. He had indeed taken the money but had never been able to use it. While fleeing on a ship, pirates had taken everything.

And now, that money was coming back to haunt him.

“Oh my! Antonio, is this true?”

D*mn it! Rivera!

Grinding his teeth, Antonio tried to speak quietly, but Rivera made a big fuss.