Find the One Who Abandoned Me - Chapter 37

“…….”

“…….”

“Did you… see that?”

“It was… truly impressive.”

“Thank you.”

“…Make sure you return the items he left behind.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

Calliope’s ears burned red with embarrassment.
She quickly sent Susan to gather the scattered documents and pen, then hurried back to her room.

Circe watched her retreating figure for a moment before turning her head away.

Circe was one of the few who hoped Calliope’s engagement with the Glayderth family would not happen.
If House Anastas truly wanted to be recognized as loyal to the royal faction, they needed to avoid entangling themselves with Glayderth.
Circe had only pretended to be passing by — she had come to the garden on purpose, to make sure things didn’t go well.

“No need to worry, it seems,” she murmured, heading back to her office.

Circe decided she would move up the date of Calliope’s engagement plans.
Whatever Duke Glayderth was thinking, they couldn’t afford to be swayed by him.

Meanwhile, Otis had stormed back to his room and was now barricading himself inside —
a silent protest to make it absolutely clear that he would never agree to this engagement.

The Duke, visibly flustered (which was rare for him), asked what was wrong,
but Otis refused to explain in detail.

“How can you expect me to marry a crazy woman like that?!” he cried.

“A crazy woman?” came a voice from the doorway.

It wasn’t the Duke — it was the Duchess, Sophia, who stepped into the room.
Her rich brown hair was pinned up neatly, and she wore a soft indoor gown.

Otis, who had been glaring at the door expecting his father, relaxed slightly and let out a deep sigh.

Sophia gave a small, awkward smile and made a gesture to her maid, Dolly, to leave them.

She walked over and sat gently at the edge of his bed, where Otis had burrowed himself under the blankets.

“Your father insisted she was a fine young lady, so I stayed silent.
But what happened?” she asked gently.

“A fine young lady? Absolutely not!” Otis huffed.

“Your father usually has a good eye for people,” she said, still trying to soothe him.

“I agree he’s usually right about people,” Otis admitted through gritted teeth,
“but this time, he’s definitely made a huge mistake!”

And with that, he launched into a dramatic retelling —
detailing every insane moment he’d endured, from her asking for his waist size to her desperate, terrifying stare.

By the time he finished, he was staring at his mother, waiting for a reaction.

Sophia pressed a hand lightly to her cheek, smiling helplessly.
It was clear her husband’s antics had once again traumatized their poor son — especially since Otis had always been uncomfortable around young ladies.

“It sounds like she liked you very much.”
Sophia chuckled softly.

“That doesn’t make it any better!”

“Well, if you dislike her that much, there’s no reason to proceed with this engagement.
Honestly, I never thought it was a good match either.”

Otis sat up from under the blankets, staring at her with wide, hopeful eyes.

“Mother, please convince Father!
Once he sets his mind on something, you know how stubborn he can be!”

“You’re right, of course… but hearing my fifteen-year-old son talk like this makes me feel strange,”
Sophia said, amused.

Still, she nodded.

If Otis hated it this much, there was no point forcing it.
Besides, she hadn’t been too thrilled about tying themselves to House Anastas anyway.

“All right. Rest for today. But come out for dinner, okay?
I’ll have a talk with your father,” she promised.

“Thank you, Mother.”

After seeing Sophia out, Otis let out another long sigh.

He hadn’t planned to bolt and cause such a scene…
It wasn’t even about hurting the lady’s feelings it was about preserving what little dignity he had left.

Rubbing his hair roughly, Otis sat down at his desk.

In the rush to escape, he had left behind the documents he had brought to the meeting.
Fortunately, none of them were critical to the dukedom just minor paperwork related to the rural estates.

“Send a message to retrieve the papers I left behind,” he instructed Marcus.

“Yes, my lord.”

And like a true workaholic, Otis dove right back into work, clearing nearly a hundred documents by dinner time.

He was rubbing his sore eyes and stretching when someone knocked on his door.

“Come in,” he called.

A servant entered hesitantly.

“My lord… the papers have arrived.”

“Already?”

Otis tilted his head in confusion.

The papers he’d left behind were from distant estates.
He had expected it to take at least a week to retrieve them, not a few hours.

Seeing his confusion, the servant quickly explained:

“No, my lord. These are from the Marquess Anastas’s household.”

“From House Anastas?” Otis frowned.

Otis frowned openly, his forehead creasing deeply.
Even as he made a face of pure disgust, he waved his hand for the servant to bring the documents over.

Disliking something was one thing — handling business was another.
Work was work, and personal feelings couldn’t interfere.
At least, he thought, this way both he and the local lords would be spared the extra trouble.

Otis had absolutely no desire to cross paths with Calliope Anastas ever again.
He hoped that, with the return of these documents, he would never have to see her face again.

“Hmm?”

But as he skimmed through the stack to check if anything was missing, his eyebrows lifted slightly.

In several documents — especially those where it was unclear whether to approve or reject, or where approval required revisions —
neat, concise annotations had been added in careful handwriting.

One, in particular, caught his eye.
On a document he had already signed, a note was written:

“My lord, you must not approve this.”

At first, irritation flared up — but underneath, a short explanation made his frown deepen.

“Are there more monster sightings in Dorota these days?” Otis asked sharply.

“Yes, my lord,” his attendant answered.
“There have been reports across the Empire of increasing monster activity. Dorota is near the mountains, so it would be more vulnerable.”

“Look into it immediately.”

The paper he was holding was a festival budget request from Dorota’s lord — an annual event held every fall.
Otis had signed it without thinking, assuming it was routine.

But if monsters were increasing nearby, then approving a festival would be reckless.
The funds should go to strengthening the town’s defenses and repairing the walls instead.

Otis started reviewing the other documents carefully.

The suggestions matched his own thoughts — or pointed out issues he hadn’t considered.

Honestly…
he had to admit, whoever wrote them was sharp.

“Hmph…”

For a moment, Otis wondered if maybe someone other than the Marquess’s daughter had written these notes.

But who else would dare call him “my lord” in writing?
It couldn’t be the nine-year-old younger daughter. It had to be her — Calliope Anastas.

He scratched his cheek awkwardly, inwardly admitting the truth:

She might be insane — but she was also smart.

Now he understood why his father had liked her.

His father appreciated capable people — just like he did.

“Still… I don’t want to marry her,” Otis muttered.

From the side, Marcus, who had been silently observing him, spoke carefully:

“Just because it’s a man and a woman… doesn’t mean you have to marry, my lord.
You could simply become friends…”

“Friends, huh? Sounds nice. Too bad she’s already way too obsessed with me.”

Marcus smiled awkwardly, standing up straighter behind him.

‘He’s just liked the Duke… he really does love competent people.’

Despite running away earlier in pure panic,
here he was, already thinking it over carefully.

Otis brooded.
Was it really impossible for him to have a normal female friend?

His thoughts only grew heavier.

Meanwhile, at House Anastas: Dealing with Ditron’s relentless nagging about how things went with Lord Glayderth was manageable for Calliope.
Most of Ditron’s body was paralyzed now, and he couldn’t even get out of bed properly.
But it was as if he refused to accept his condition, trying to move anyway —
only to collapse again within a few steps.

Calliope gently tucked him back under the covers, patting the blanket lightly alongside Deyloren.

“It’ll all be fine,” she whispered reassuringly.

It was like magic.

In truth, it was just the sleeping draught taking effect — but Ditron mistook it for trust and comfort, falling into a deep sleep.

Calliope and Deyloren quietly exited the room, their conversation hushed so no one else could hear.

“What about what I asked you to prepare?”

“It’s ready, my lady. Just as you ordered, it’s been dried out until it crumbles at a touch.”

“Good,” Calliope smiled softly.

“It’s almost time to use it.” At her words, Deyloren swallowed dryly, nervously glancing at her.

Calliope calmly instructed her to keep everything ready —then returned to her room.

Sending the documents back to Otis, along with added advice — was a tiny apology for her earlier performance.
Even if it was meddlesome.

Strictly speaking, touching another house’s documents was a breach of manners.

But honestly… she didn’t really care if Otis disliked it.

‘Still… it would be better if he took the advice seriously.’

The number of monsters would only keep growing — and Dorota, nestled against the mountains, would suffer great losses if left unprotected.

Calliope sat on her bed, lost in thought.

‘I still don’t know why House Glayderth sent a marriage proposal to me.
But now that another engagement proposal is moving forward,
the Marquess household will probably push the original plan faster.’

Just as she finished that thought, a knock sounded at her door.

“Come in,” she said.

A familiar maid entered, one of the Marchioness’s personal attendants, who bowed respectfully.

“The Marchioness is asking for you, my lady.”

“I’ll go right away.”

As she expected,the Marchioness — Circe — spoke of an engagement to the Esteban family.

Calliope let out a small breath of relief. But Circe, perhaps misinterpreting the sigh, spoke in a soft, almost comforting voice:  “This was the match you were always meant for, child.
The marriage proposal from House Glayderth caught us off guard too.”

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