Find the One Who Abandoned Me - Chapter 51

They set aside their argument for the moment. When they arrived at the drawing room, Calliope was already seated, sipping tea with four attendants standing behind her.

“I am Calliope Anastas. It’s an honor to meet you, Count Esteban.”

The moment she saw Velta, Calliope greeted him with a proper, polite bow. Velta gave a slight nod in response and sat down first. Erben, wearing a suspicious expression, sat at a distance from him. Isaac hesitated and stood still, as though unsure what to do.

“Come, sit here.”

The moment Calliope beckoned, Isaac naturally sat beside her. When Calliope saw Velta’s brow twitch in irritation, she quickly spoke before he had the chance to.

“Forgive me for requesting this meeting so suddenly. I know Count Esteban is a very busy man, but when I heard you were home, I couldn’t miss the opportunity. After all, you are the father of my fiancé. Isn’t it only proper that we meet before the engagement ceremony?”

“Engagement ceremony?”

As expected, Velta hadn’t heard anything about it. Calliope simply nodded, concealing the fact that she had anticipated his surprise.

“We plan to keep it simple. The Anastas family will cover all the expenses, so there’s no need for you to worry.”

“No one informed me about this.”

Erben, hearing that, shot a look at his father. Velta had shown so little interest in his family that not even the announcement of Isaac’s engagement had been passed along to him. Not that he would have attended, even if he had known.

“Well, you’ve been very busy lately, haven’t you? And I heard… things haven’t been going so well, either…”

Both men’s expressions hardened instantly. But Calliope only smiled sweetly, resting her hand on her cheek with the innocence of someone unaware.

“You’re still young, Count, so I’m sure you can break your gambling habits. My great-uncle had the same issue, and he got help from a healer. Would you like me to introduce him?”

“You… you—”

Erben stuttered, unable to form a sentence. He had already settled things with Otis Glayderth before coming to the estate. If rumors of his involvement with illegal gambling were to spread through high society, his carefully built reputation would fall apart.

The idea that he had been cornered by a young girl, barely older than his younger brother, wounded his pride. Still, he felt some relief thinking the news hadn’t spread—until he remembered that Calliope had been present.

“Where did you hear that, Lady Calliope?”

“I just overheard it somewhere… I’m not sure exactly.”

She tilted her head with a puzzled look, her expression so innocent it was hard to doubt her. Erben stared her down, trying to speak.

“You—right in front of me, you dare—”

“Don’t say another word.”

“But Father! That girl is clearly doing this on purpose—!”

Bang! The teacup rattled as the table shook from the force of Velta’s hand slamming down.

“I said, shut your mouth!”

Velta’s hand trembled with anger. The fact that a fourteen-year-old girl—Isaac’s fiancée—knew about Erben’s illegal gambling meant others probably knew too.

“You told me it was all handled—what a mess!”

“Father, that’s not it! She’s deliberately provoking us!”

Calliope leaned back slightly behind Isaac’s shoulder with a frightened expression, as if trying to hide. She looked like someone who simply didn’t know what was going on. Watching it all, Erben looked like he was about to explode from frustration.

But what’s so unfair? You did gamble, didn’t you? Calliope gave him a look that clearly said so.

“Lady Calliope, let’s save the formal introductions for another time.”

“Of course… but please, at least accept the gifts I brought.”

At her signal, the four Anastas attendants stepped forward and neatly stacked the items they had brought on the table. Calliope glanced around as if reading the room, then smiled.

“I brought herbal tea, calming herbs, and a few puzzle toys.”

Smiling gently, as if she meant no harm at all, Calliope delivered the final blow.

“I heard that keeping the mind occupied can help reduce addiction symptoms. I hope these are helpful.”

That did it. Count Velta stormed out of the room with an expression like he was about to burst. Erben stood there awkwardly, unable to follow him.

Calliope, still smiling brightly, adjusted her hold on Isaac’s arm. She rested her head gently on his shoulder. Her white hair brushed softly against his black coat.

“…You manipulative little—”

“Well, maybe you should’ve listened when I warned you to stop gambling. Oh, and could you help carry the gifts?”

Calliope dismissed the attendants and continued leaning against Isaac, speaking as if nothing had happened.

“Looks like it’ll be hard for you to show your face in public for a while.”

“Do you really think I’ll just let this go?”

“Brother.”

As Erben growled at Calliope, Isaac—who had been silent all this time—finally spoke.

Calliope lifted her head and looked at him. She wanted to see the expression of the boy who had just stood up to the older brother who had always overshadowed him. His face was resolute, his eyes firm.

“Speaking to Lady Calliope like that isn’t right.”

“You’re lecturing me now? Know your place, boy.”

“You should learn to show some respect.”

“So now, you think you can say whatever you want?”

“…Please don’t treat Lady Calliope the way you treat me.”

Calliope let out a light laugh and casually nudged the table with her foot. My Isaac’s really grown up while I wasn’t looking, she thought. A sharp creak split through the tension hanging between the three of them.

Letting go of Isaac’s arm, Calliope straightened her posture and pulled a folded paper from her pocket. Erben immediately recognized what it was.

“Well, if you’re going to try something, go ahead. But you’ll probably want to deal with this first.”

“That’s just a useless scrap of paper now.”

“You clearly don’t understand why illegal loan sharks are so dangerous. The owner of that gambling den made bail the same day he was arrested. And this—” she held up the paper—“is the debt he passed on to me. Your debt.”

Erben scoffed in disbelief.
“You really think you can collect that from me?”

“Why not? Before that, of course, I’d make sure your father saw it first.”

He went silent.

“You borrowed quite a lot. Not an impossible amount for the count’s household to cover, but what do you think he’ll do when he finds out you not only gambled, but borrowed money to do it?”

Isaac glanced at his fiancée with a surprised expression, as if wondering when she had managed all this. Erben stood frozen, his face showing just how lost he was on how to deal with this relentless woman. Smiling sweetly, Calliope waved the paper between her fingers, letting it flutter mockingly.

“You borrowed two thousand gold in total. Since you’re not a stranger, and you are my future brother-in-law, I’ll give you a generous deadline. After all, you’ll need time to pay it off behind the Count’s back.”

“Wh—why should I have to—?”

“Well, if you don’t want to pay, I’ll just walk this right over to your father. I’m sure he’d pay it off instantly.”

Calliope neatly folded the debt note into the shape of a star and tucked it back into her pocket.

“So? What will you do?”

Erben racked his brain. His father had already ordered him to remain under strict supervision and publicly declared he would start bringing Isaac to official events instead. And now, with Calliope spitting out every detail in front of Velta, any further punishment was bound to be harsher.

But if the debt were revealed on top of all that? He had no options left.

“…Fine. One year.”

“No, six months. Think about it. Isn’t this better than having some lowborn moneylender show up at your mansion’s doorstep?”

Grinding his teeth, he finally gave in. Calliope spoke in a teasing tone, as if trying to soothe him.

“Oh, and don’t worry—none of the other nobles know you were caught at the illegal gambling hall. Lord Glayderth already closed the matter. Why would he want to stir up a deal he’s already profited from?”

“You talk like you know him well.”

“I know him better than you do.”

“You must be very close.”

“Well, says the man who visited the gambling den so often it could’ve passed for his honeymoon suite.”

“……”

“Seeing as we’re both exhausted from looking at each other, how about we part ways now?”

Calliope stood and gently tugged on Isaac’s arm. But for once, he didn’t immediately follow her lead. He paused.

“Lady Calliope, would it be alright if I spoke with my brother for a moment? Please wait just a little. I’ll come find you soon.”

Calliope blinked and studied his face for a moment, then nodded.

“I’ll be waiting… in your room.”

“…M-my room?”

“You’ve already been in mine—am I not allowed in yours?”

“…Fine. Wait in my room.”

“Gladly.”

With that, Calliope exited the drawing room, leaving only the two brothers behind. As Erben glared at Isaac with thinly veiled contempt, Isaac quietly sorted through the words that had been building inside him for years.

He knew how the family had crumbled after their mother died giving birth to him. Even if he hadn’t witnessed it all himself, the words of the servants, his brother, and his father had pierced him like sharp thorns, leaving their marks.

His father, Velta, had stopped caring about the household entirely—blaming him for everything. And so Isaac had endured. Endured everything, because that was the only thing he could do in this family.

“Brother.”

But then one day, a young noblewoman, linked to him through a mere political arrangement, gave him affection for the very first time. That’s when he realized: he wasn’t breathing properly. Through her gaze and her gentle touch, he learned how to breathe above the surface—not as a fish surviving underwater, but as a person who belonged on land.

“I used to think staying quiet and enduring was enough. That it was what everyone expected of me.”

“Because that’s all you’re capable of.”

“No. It’s not.”

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