Find the One Who Abandoned Me - Chapter 40

“Please promise me,” Calliope said softly.
“You must never lie to me. You must always be on my side.”

At the time, the young Calliope had been trapped in a mansion full of deceit.
Even if she hadn’t known all the truths, even if she hadn’t understood the schemes, she could still smell the stink of betrayal.

Frightened and small, she had clung to a stranger — begging for faith from a man she barely knew.

Back then, she had thought it was foolish.

But now— “No matter what happens,” she said, “never lie to me.”

“Yes,” Isaac answered quietly.

“Above everything, love me most, care for me the most,” she said.
“If you do, I will also treasure and love you above all else.”

“…Yes,” Isaac said again.

“Swear it.”

Isaac met her gaze, and as carefully as if he were holding a delicate glass, he gently took both her hands into his.

Then, solemnly, he knelt before her.

He had not yet been knighted, but even so, he offered his vow —wholly and sincerely.

“Though I do not yet have a knight’s title, I swear my loyalty to you, my lady.”

The calloused strength of his hands holding hers,
the pure white of his eyes — without a hint of deceit, the naked sincerity written across his face, looking at him, Calliope thought bitterly.

Then why, in the end… did you betray me?

“I cannot undo this unwanted engagement,” he said, his voice low and rough, “but… I will always stand beside you.”

The same scene played again. The same vow.

Calliope tightened her grip on his hands.

Why? Why did you betray me?

But she swallowed the question — because the boy kneeling before her now didn’t yet know that betrayal.

“You must,” she said firmly.

This time, I won’t lose you again.

Calliope made her own silent vow.

Not even a god will take you from me.
Anyone who tries to separate us— I will destroy them all.

Meanwhile…

Isaac thought if comforting this unwanted fiancée of his could ease her fears, if it could soothe her even a little, he would do whatever it took.

It wasn’t because he felt affection for her — not yet.
It was simply out of duty.

Responsibility.

Because she was tied to him now to the wretched, hated existence that he was —he owed her that much.

But when she smiled at him so brightly, so warmly — he felt something inside him tremble.

Sitting alone in the carriage back to House Esteban, Isaac clenched his hands into fists, trying to hold onto the memory of her warmth.

She was… oddly desperate, he thought.

He had heard before she was the daughter of the late Marchioness, and not well treated by her family.

Maybe, he guessed, she was like him — someone with nowhere to lean.

Maybe that was why she demanded so much — because even an unwanted fiancé was better than being truly alone.

Two wounded strays, licking each other’s wounds.

The thought made him chuckle bitterly to himself.

But still… Isn’t that better than nothing?

It wasn’t a bad thing — to have even one person who smiled at you.
Not for someone like him.

And he— He had never had that before.

“We’ve arrived, sir,” the coachman announced.

The carriage door opened.

Isaac’s servant didn’t even bother waiting for him — clearly not caring whether Isaac came or not.

Of course, Isaac was used to it.

He stepped down quietly on his own and made his way back to his room.

The clothes he wore today weren’t even his. They were borrowed from his older brother.

He would have to return them — even though they would surely be discarded now that he had worn them.

At least he was tall enough to fit into them.

A small blessing.

“The young master requests your presence,” a servant said.

Isaac merely nodded and changed into his own clothes.

He had no dressing room — only a narrow wardrobe filled with identical white and black shirts.

There was no need to choose. They were all the same.

He dressed neatly, careful not to give any excuse for reproach, then stood in front of Erben’s office door.

Taking a slow breath, he opened it.

After all, for once, he had done what he was supposed to today…

Thunk, crash!
As soon as the door opened, a sharp pain struck Isaac, causing him to stumble.
Something hard had hit his forehead and fallen to the floor. A strange liquid was dripping down his face.

Clutching the doorframe to keep his balance, Isaac looked down and saw an ink bottle—one Erben often used—rolling across the floor, spilling ink everywhere.
Ah, then this liquid must be ink.
Calmly, Isaac removed his hand from his forehead.
The substance in his palm was thick—and dark red mixed with black.

“I heard Lady Anastas was afraid of you,” Erben said, his voice laced with anger.

Only then did Isaac lift his head and notice the attendant who had accompanied him to the Anastas estate standing beside Erben.
Ah, it seemed every little detail had been reported.

But surely Erben wasn’t furious just because of that.
Isaac’s eyes flicked around the room and landed on a sword tossed carelessly on the office desk.
Ah, today must have been that day.

“That may be true, but…” Isaac began.

“I don’t remember telling you to open your mouth!” Erben snapped.

Though he managed the family well, Erben, ironically the son of the Royal Knights’ Commander, had no real talent for swordsmanship.
Today must have been one of those days when he trained with sons of other noble houses—and, judging by his mood, he must have been completely humiliated.
Now, he was looking for someone to take it out on.
It wasn’t the first time.
Isaac wasn’t even surprised anymore.

Even though Isaac, the second son, had inherited all their father’s talents, he still thought Erben possessed more practical skills than mere swordsmanship.
But people always seem to envy the talents they lack.

“If we don’t get a letter accepting the engagement by the end of today, it’s all your fault.
You know very well how much father cares about this engagement, don’t you?”

Isaac didn’t bother speaking and simply nodded quietly.
Luckily, from what he saw, Lady Anastas didn’t seem to want to break off the engagement, so there shouldn’t be any real problem.
Still, the ink mixed with blood kept trickling into his eyes, making them sting.

“Of course, the Duke of Glayderth proposed this engagement to the Marquis of Anastas.
There’s no way someone like you would meet their standards otherwise.”

For the first time, standing before Erben, Isaac found his mind wandering.
Could it be that the man Lady Anastas had mentioned was the Duke of Glayderth’s heir?
But he quickly shook off the thought.
She spoke as if it were a story from long ago—probably before she rejoined her family.

“If the Anastas family hadn’t decided to join the Royalist faction, they wouldn’t have chosen someone like you.
You can’t even handle a simple task, after all this?”

Erben’s sharp glare made his meaning clear.
Isaac immediately understood.

“…I’m sorry,” Isaac said.

“You’re always quick to say sorry, aren’t you? Get out. Just looking at you makes me sick.”

Despite being the one who had summoned him, Erben acted like Isaac had barged in uninvited.
Without a word, Isaac left the office.

Even though the families had reached an agreement, formal procedures had to be followed.
There was no way the engagement letter would arrive before the day was over.
Erben knew that, but he just needed an excuse to lash out.

Isaac no longer even had the strength to force a bitter smile.

That evening, the acceptance letter for the engagement arrived.

Calliope sat at her desk, writing a letter to Isaac.
Even though they had only parted a few hours ago, she couldn’t get his face out of her mind.
She thought it would be best to arrange their next meeting as soon as possible.

Right after Isaac left, she had barged into her father’s study and demanded he finalize the engagement today, refusing to leave until he agreed.
Thanks to her stubbornness, everything had gone smoothly.

The real reason she was rushing the engagement was not Isaac himself, but rather his older brother, Erben.

As she wrote “To my fiancé, Isaac Esteban,” Calliope muttered absentmindedly,

“What should I do about that bastard?”

“Excuse me, my lady? Which bastard are you talking about?”
asked Jack, who stood nearby, hands clasped behind his back.

“If you mean Ditron Anastas, isn’t he bedridden these days?”

“Not that bastard. Another one.”

“Ah, another one. I wasn’t aware,” Jack said smoothly, clearly used to Calliope’s language by now.

Beside them, Susan quietly collected the empty teacups.

“Find out everything you can about Erben Esteban,” Calliope ordered.

“Oh my, investigating your fiancé’s family right after sealing the engagement.
Exciting! But even if you find dirt on him, you won’t be able to cancel the engagement now.”

Since Jack hadn’t been at the meeting today, he clearly thought Calliope was planning to ruin this engagement like she had done before. But Calliope simply shook her head and kept writing.

“I have no intention of breaking this engagement. But I won’t stand by and watch my fiancé live like some pitiful stray dog.”

“Ah…” Jack finally understood.

Though the Esteban family tried to hide it for appearances, it was common knowledge that the second son was treated poorly.
They didn’t openly insult him in public, but it was obvious how cold the relationship was between the brothers.

“Are you planning to get rid of him?” Jack asked cautiously.

“Of course not. The current head of House Esteban barely cares about family matters.
If Erben were suddenly removed, the entire household could fall apart. And my fiancé, who’s had almost no education besides swordsmanship, isn’t ready to lead a noble house.”

“You seem to know a lot about their family, my lady,” Jack remarked.

“It just happened,” Calliope said dismissively, waving her hand for Jack to come closer.

When Jack approached, she handed him a prepared document.

“Focus your investigation on what’s written here. There’s bound to be something useful.”

Reading the document, Jack raised an eyebrow.

“I really wonder… Where do you even get information like this?”

“I have my ways,” Calliope replied coolly.

She planned to reach into every corner of Isaac’s life.
She would make sure that, in the end, the one holding Isaac’s leash would not be his family, but her.
That way, he would never be able to betray her again.
She would build him a prison— a sweet, loving prison from which he could never escape.

Support