After I died, Everything Changed - Chapter 38

“Chloe.”

The day she entered this house.
Father’s death.
The medicine Irene had been forced to take.
The blood they drained from her veins.

“Was it Chloe?”

At my question, Great-Aunt Cornelia turned away from the grave to face me.

“Why didn’t anyone…”

“Why didn’t anyone stop it, you mean?” she said softly.
“It was, without a doubt, an act that defied fate.
But Irene lived, didn’t she? Could I have told her to die instead?
Could you have?”

“…”

So, she had known—and yet she chose not to interfere.

“Why did Chloe want to save Irene?”

“She must’ve needed her power.”

Everything was beginning to click into place.

Chloe and Irene had a wretched relationship—
But ironically, that very relationship had kept Irene alive.

“Then why didn’t Mergen do the same? If Chloe could, why not the family?”

As if the family had just quietly given up on her.

“Because the powerful often fail to even imagine shaping fate by their own hands,” Cornelia replied bitterly.
“When you’re born grasping everything, you never learn how to reach.”

“That’s the real curse, then.”

No wonder Mergen crumbled.

I couldn’t manage my expression.

The family that should’ve protected Irene had turned their back on her.
The stepmother I had once believed was poisoning her had actually been the one to keep her alive.

Everything I had believed in was being shattered under my feet.

“In the end,” Cornelia said quietly, “maybe it was just that she lived too close to death.”

A life too close to death…

‘You and I live in different hells!’

I had once shouted that to her.
Looking back, I never had the right.

“I’ve seen people scream from a splinter beneath their nail,” she murmured, “and others who quietly endure a nail driven through their heart.
Irene, poor child, was the latter.”

“She shouldn’t have endured it. She should have cried out. Grabbed someone—anyone—and begged to live.”

At that, Cornelia gave a faint, sorrowful smile.

The wind stirred.

The wound beneath my bandages pulsed.

But I had no right to call this pain suffering.

“Something must have happened,” she continued. “Something changed.
Perhaps your old powers began to awaken—
Irene must have searched for a way,
and in the end, she found one way to save at least one of you.”

“Just one of us…”

“If fate was split between the two of you,” she said, “then she sought to make it whole again.
Clever girl.”

My soul in Irene’s body. Hers gone.

It was a cruel method. One would live. One would vanish.

“Why me, though?”

If it had been the other way around, if she had lived and I had died,
I would never have dared to resent her.

“Don’t try to reduce her feelings to your assumptions,” Cornelia said firmly.
“To define the meaning of her sacrifice so simply… would that not be a grave discourtesy?”

“…Yes.”

“Take your whole life to reflect on it, Deborah.
Some days, it may feel like a punishment.
Other days, it may feel like peace.”

I couldn’t call it cruel.
Not when I’d lived such a cold life toward her.

“This is my punishment, then.”

At my words, Cornelia shook her head—slowly, gravely.

“You think this is the end?”

Her voice was suddenly sharp and cold, like the edge of a winter wind.

“This confusion is only the beginning. A great calamity is coming.”

A calamity.

Why would she say something like that now?

I never got the explanation.

Because my grandfather summoned me urgently.

There were so many things I still wanted to ask,
but I had to settle myself—
Tell myself there would be time.

Calamity… calamity…

It echoed in my mind like a storm cloud.

I’m not good at comforting people.

And clearly, I’m not good at comforting myself either.

Even as I moved down the corridor, the word consumed my thoughts.

“It’s Irene,” I announced.

“Come in.”

My grandfather’s face looked years older than it had the day before.

“Has something happened?”

“Last night… Vermont died.”

“Oh dear.”

The moment my grandfather said it, a wave of disappointment washed over me.

It felt like I’d lost the initiative.

Vermont was a key card I needed to hold.
I was planning to start by seizing his business, then expose the abuse he’d inflicted on me—
Use it to trap Roosevelt… and ultimately, Chloe.

He was a crucial link to everything that came next.

And now he was dead.

In this moment, more than anyone, I was the one who should be mourning the most.

“I can’t believe Chloe cut him off so cleanly.”

Guessing the culprit wasn’t hard.

What surprised me was the swiftness—and mercilessness—with which Chloe had disposed of him.

Had she always been this bold and decisive?

Could it be she sensed the trap I’d been preparing?

If so, that wasn’t like her.

“The Mergen household is just one misfortune after another, isn’t it.”

Thanks to this mess, all the political capital I’d earned with the successful rain ritual might be swept away in a blink.

“I suppose there’ll be a funeral.”

How many more deaths will this house see before it finds peace?

That thought passed through my mind like a chill.

A life so close to death.

Maybe that curse wasn’t just Irene’s to bear anymore—
Maybe it had started spreading to the entire Mergen family.

“Even with the success of the ritual,” Grandfather said, “the retainers won’t be eager to support you.”

“Because of Vermont’s death?”

“He’s the one who attacked you, wasn’t he?”

“He was.”

So, Grandfather knew what had happened that day.

Was he doubting me?

“Do you think I killed him?”

“You’re not the type to make careless mistakes.”
“But truth holds no power. What matters now are circumstances… and suspicion.”

“…”

So we’re not even pretending to care about justice anymore.

“Do you want me to look for the real killer?”

We both knew the answer.

Whoever did this probably left no trace— And if Chloe made the call, then she surely had a long-term plan already in motion.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “But I want you to hand over Vermont’s business to me.”

“The other retainers will push back.”

“Then consider it my reward for the rain.
Let’s not make noise during a period of mourning, shall we?”

If I had to give up my shot at exposing Chloe because someone beat me to it,
the least they could do was give me the business.

I had sacrificed plenty.

It was only fair Grandfather met me halfway.

“Very well.”

A whole life risked, and all I got was this.

Still—this had been my plan all along.

No point in reaching for more than I could hold.

But why does this victory feel so hollow?

Things had gone sideways, yes. But the outcome still favored me.

And yet, this uneasy feeling kept crawling up my spine.

There wasn’t even time to savor the win— not even for a moment.

* * *

“How could this be?! The young miss nearly bled to death performing that ritual, and now this is the mood in the estate?!”

Karlin was fuming as she dressed me in mourning clothes for Vermont’s funeral.

“That cursed bastard! You didn’t even get to break him with your own hands!”

“I never planned to break anyone with my own hands,” I replied dryly.

“That disgusting voice, calling people ‘this girl’ and ‘that wretch’—I’ll never forget it. I should’ve ripped her mouth open when I had the chance!”

“If you had done that… it would’ve been an unpleasant sight.”

“And even in death, she’s still making trouble for you! I want to crack open that coffin and grab her by the collar!”

“You really have a strong stomach.”

Karlin had been there with me when things nearly went south. She had every right to be furious.

“It’s over now. We’ve got too much ahead to stay stuck on that. But, Karlin… I do have a stab wound, you know…”

Karlin flinched. Her hands had pulled a little too roughly on my clothes, aggravating my injured side.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry! I got so worked up, I wasn’t paying attention…”

“It’s alright. I think we’re good here.”
I stepped out and joined Elliot.

“Has the business handover gone through?” I asked.

“All set. Everything’s been prepared.”

“It’s a well-managed business, so it shouldn’t take much to keep it running.”

Elliot studied my face closely. “But something else is on your mind, isn’t it?”

That sharp eye of his—always catching things I don’t say aloud.

I sighed.

“I’ve been wondering… who am I, really? One of those deep, personal identity crises.”

“Since when were you into philosophy?” Elliot asked dryly.

“Let’s not go spreading rumors like that,” I shot back.

Elliot gave a sheepish grin and closed his mouth.

“Anyway, now that this business is in my hands, it’s time to move on to the next step.”

“What’s next? You’ve already taken the mines, and now the shipping… don’t tell me…”

“I want control of the personnel. The appointments, the positions—they should come through me.”

Elliot looked like I had just dropped a thunderbolt.

“That’s quite a jump, isn’t it? Honestly, it might be harder than becoming the heir. Even the Lord himself—wait, do you already have a plan?”

I nodded, calm and confident.

“My job is to come up with the ideas. Your job, Elliot, is to figure out how to make them happen.”

“…Seriously?”

Elliot was speechless. Karlin, who had been standing nearby, leaned in and whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

“That might be the most shameless thing I’ve ever heard.”

She was practically hiding her face, whispering like I’d just embarrassed her in public.

“Really? Then let’s go find the next treasure.”

“A jewelry shop?” Karlin’s eyes lit up. She had been looking forward to picking out a new hair ornament all morning.

“If you were hoping for that, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.”

I smiled, just a little apologetically.

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