Chapter 7 (Part 5)

When she went down to the drawing room, her father was meticulously examining his surroundings. His eyes gleamed with greed, as if every object intrigued him.  

When she approached, her father flinched in surprise and turned around.  

“You could at least make your presence known. Why are you sneaking up like this?”  

His sudden outburst made her frown. Her father clicked his tongue as he looked at her face.  

“Is that the face you show when your father comes to visit? Sit down.”  

He gestured toward a chair as if he owned the place. Though it annoyed her, she sat in a nearby chair. As soon as she sat, her father began to speak.  

“Won’t you even serve tea?”  

“I heard you came to apologize.”  

He laughed incredulously.  

“Yes, I came to apologize, but still, I’m your father. You could at least treat me better.”  

“Considering what you’ve done to me, you should be grateful I’m even letting you in quietly.”  

“What?”  

“You lived lavishly with money you obtained through fraud, leaving me to be chased by creditors and barely survive with no money.”  

“I struggled at first too. Do you know how hard I worked for two years to avoid getting caught?”  

“Then you should have just been caught and paid the price for your crimes.”  

“What?”  

“If you’ve done something wrong, it’s only right to face the consequences.”  

“Brienne, your words have become sharp.”  

Her father’s face twisted oddly. He frowned, glaring at her with piercing eyes.  

“When I was a child, you were my only family, and I had nowhere else to go, so I lived obediently. But now, I don’t need to do that anymore.”  

Back then, it really was the best she could do. Even while attending Stern Academy, she stayed in the dormitory as much as possible to avoid seeing her father. While other friends went home every weekend, she often didn’t go home at all.  

Her father let out a bitter laugh. Crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair, he stared at her.  

“So now you’ve become the Lady Messerode, is that it?”  

When she silently held his gaze, her father laughed and continued.  

“I’m glad for that. Thanks to you, I’m still alive.”  

Her mouth tasted bitter, likely because of Cardin’s influence.  

“Since things have come to this, you’ll have to help me even more.”  

Her father’s attitude was triumphant. His face was constantly smiling, as if everything was going his way. He looked entirely different from when she had met him at the hotel.  

His demeanor irritated her, and she spoke up.  

“You said you came to apologize.”  

“Yes, I came to apologize, but…”  

She stood up.  

“It doesn’t seem like you’re here to apologize, so I’ll go upstairs now. And don’t ever appear in front of me again.”  

She truly didn’t want to see his face anymore. As she walked past him, a sharp voice rang out.  

“Don’t you feel sorry for your father?”  

She turned around, dumbfounded. Her father glared at her with a deeply furrowed brow.  

“Thanks to your husband, I’m barely surviving, and you can’t even say a kind word to spare me the humiliation?”  

“If you came to apologize, then just apologize.”  

“I’m sorry!”  

His voice was loud, as if he had no other choice, filled with resentment. She let out a hollow laugh. 

Why had I foolishly repaid my father’s debts all this time?  

All those debts were his, and they had nothing to do with her. Even after repaying them, her father didn’t feel grateful and only sought to take more from her, thinking of this situation as a stroke of luck for himself.  

Her father glared at her with blazing eyes.  

“Is that enough for you?”  

“It doesn’t sound like a real apology, so I’m even more upset.”  

“What?”  

“You dug your own grave.”  

For a moment, his eyebrows twisted. Without saying anything further, she left the drawing room. On her way out, she encountered Melin, who was coming down the stairs.  

“Melin, tell Cardin to ensure my father never appears before me again. Also, let him know that I hope my father pays for his crimes.”  

“I’ll do that. Is there anything else you’d like me to say?”  

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke.  

“Tell him I’m grateful he didn’t kill my father outright. At the very least, my father should pay for his sins before he goes.”  

Melin nodded. Then, as if remembering something, she spoke quickly.  

“Madam, we’ve already informed Peroy in advance, so they’ll be expecting you there. And everything is ready for your departure to Peroy.”  

At that moment, a loud voice echoed.  

“Brienne! You’re a shameless child who doesn’t even recognize her parents! How dare you say such things to your father?”  

She turned to look down the stairs. Her father glared at her with bloodshot eyes. In the past, she had been scared of that look and had quietly obeyed him.  

Strangely, now it didn’t seem so frightening. Instead, it looked pathetic. He didn’t even realize what he had done wrong and only shouted, unaware of his own situation.  

“You’re the shameless one, Father. How could you treat your child like this? You’ve already pushed me into a pit once, and now you want to use me again.”  

“I raised you! Can’t I at least ask for that much? Especially since you married into one of the most prominent families in this kingdom!”  

“But you’ve done so much wrong. How can you not see that?”  

“Still, you…”  

She turned to Melin and said,  

“Get my father out of here.”  

Melin quickly tried to grab her father, but he forcefully shook her off. Even the servants standing nearby couldn’t stop him.  

Her father strode toward her with menacing energy that sent chills down her spine.  

“Brienne, have you forgotten all I’ve done to raise you? I even sent you to the Academy…”  

“I attended the Academy on a scholarship because of my good grades.”  

“Even so, if I had told you not to go, you wouldn’t have been able to attend.”  

“You’ve done nothing for me, so why do you expect so much?”  

Now, she was filled with resentment. Her father bit his lip and glared at her. He raised his hand to point at her, about to say something when a knight entered and grabbed his arm.  

Her father was helplessly dragged away by the knight.  

“Let go! Let me go!”

No matter how much he stomped his feet and swung his arms, the knights didn’t budge. Calmly, they dragged her father out the door. Meanwhile, he screamed and shouted at the top of his lungs.  

“I won’t let you get away with this!”  

Brienne stared blankly at her father’s retreating figure. She was tired of seeing such a disgraceful sight. No matter how much he cursed, she felt nothing.  

At that moment, Melin approached her.  

“Madam, would you like to take one last look around this mansion before leaving?”  

Brienne shook her head. The preparations for departure were already complete, and she didn’t want to linger any longer.  

As she stepped outside, her father’s voice echoed loudly. It was as if he were trying to wake everyone in the wealthy district with his racket.  

However, it didn’t last long. Whatever the knight had said to him, her father suddenly quieted down, and the surroundings became as calm as if nothing had happened.  

Just then, the coachman spoke cautiously.  

“Madam, the carriage is ready.”  

Brienne turned briefly to look at the mansion. It felt like just yesterday when she had arrived here, smiling alongside Cardin. Tears threatened to fall, but she held them back and climbed into the carriage.  

***

The road to Peroy was rough. Being a mountainous village, the path was winding, and they had to stop several times to give the horses water and feed.  

Since it was a remote area far from Devok, the journey took nearly five hours to complete. This was only possible because Cardin had worked to improve the surrounding roads, shortening the travel time.  

As she gazed at the countless trees, Brienne felt both excitement and worry. 

Was it truly the right decision to leave like this?  

But there was no other choice. Staying by his side wouldn’t help him. That thought alone made her sigh.  

Even though she tried not to dwell on it, she couldn’t forget how Cardin had pretended to be fine.  

The carriage suddenly came to a stop. Curious, she looked out the window, and the middle door opened.  

“Madam, it seems there’s an issue with the carriage wheel. Please allow us some time to repair it. My apologies.”  

“It’s fine. How long will it take?”  

“We’ll need to assess the damage, but it could take up to an hour.”  

Looking outside, she saw that the road was a wide forest path, unlikely to intersect with other carriages. Feeling restless about waiting inside, she stepped out of the carriage.  

The air was fresh, being deep in the mountains. Unlike the stifling air of Devok, the air here was crisp and refreshing.  

As she took a deep breath, the sound of hooves echoed, followed by a stranger’s voice.  

“Did the wheel break?”  

Turning around instinctively, she saw a man in a casual shirt speaking to the coachman. The coachman looked up and greeted him warmly.  

“Yes, I thought I had fixed it before, but the rough road seems to have caused another problem.”  

The man leaned against the carriage and smiled.  

“This road is always rough. If you don’t mind, I have some tools that are perfect for this terrain. Would you like to borrow them?”  

“Ah, that would be a great help. Thank you.”  

The man cheerfully stepped away and glanced in Brienne’s direction. Their eyes met unexpectedly, and she belatedly offered a polite nod. After all, he was helping the coachman, which indirectly helped her as well.