Find the One Who Abandoned Me - Chapter 61

He meant that he would keep an eye on things, just in case. Since she hadn’t even debuted in society yet, Calliope agreed this arrangement was for the best. The daughter of a former wife, now watched over by the Marchioness’s maid, it wasn’t a bad image to project.

Naroa, the Marchioness’s lady-in-waiting whom she had seen once before, stood behind Calliope. Just then, Carolie lightly tapped Circe on the shoulder, as if asking to be let down. After being set on her feet, the little girl ran over to Calliope and beamed.

“Come back and tell me all about the knights you see!”

“Should I? Or maybe I won’t~”

Calliope teased playfully. Carolie immediately pouted in protest. Laughing, Calliope patted her head as if to say, Alright, alright. Then, she felt it again—a faint vibration.

That tremor. The one only she had sensed during the investiture ceremony. At the time, she had dismissed it, thinking she’d simply gotten dizzy.

“What was that?”

But this time, it wasn’t just her. People all around began glancing about in confusion. The slight tremor grew stronger, making even those in the center of the hall stumble. The same was true for Calliope and the members of the Marquis’ household.

Fortunately, the royal family had already exited. The remaining knights began escorting the nobles outside. But the shaking worsened so quickly that soon it became nearly impossible to walk properly.

“Is this… an earthquake?”

“What the hell is going on?!”

Calliope looked outside. But the trees were still—barely rustling in the breeze.

It’s only this building…

Gripping the hem of her dress, Calliope began searching for Isaac. In a place this dangerous, they needed to escape quickly. But just as she turned her head to find him, a shocking sight appeared before her eyes.

The massive chandelier above the hall was falling—straight down toward the crowd. And she was directly beneath it. A few nobles, including members of the Marquis’ family, stood nearby.

Before she could stop herself, she screamed.

“Ahhh!”

“Please remain calm!”

A knight, thinking her scream was just from the tremor, shouted over. Gasping, she looked up at the ceiling. The chandelier hadn’t fallen yet—but it was swaying violently. Then, with a series of sharp cracks, it began to fall.

The chandelier was so enormous that she froze for a moment, unable to move out of its path.

She frantically scanned the hall, looking for help. That’s when she saw a couple shielding their children in their arms.

“Ah.”

“Carolie!”

“Kaphir!”

It was Circe and Illan. For a moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion. A quiet sigh escaped Calliope’s lips. The way their hands wrapped around the children looked so desperate. So urgent. The very motion of protecting their children hit her with sudden clarity.

And then, like a flash of lightning through fog—she understood.
No—perhaps deep down, she had always known.

No matter how perfectly she acted,
No matter how well she fit the role of a noble daughter,
Even if she fulfilled every duty without flaw…

Still, she—she…

Calliope’s red eyes blurred and dimmed. Just then, her gaze met Circe’s. Whether Circe had only now remembered her, or whether their eyes met while she searched for a way out, Calliope couldn’t tell. Unconsciously, she muttered with a bitter smile.

Yes, she had never truly intended to become part of their “real” family anyway.

If I die… will I get another chance? Like before?

Just like when she once fell from the highest tower, everything now seemed agonizingly slow. Circe and Illan’s panicked expressions almost made her laugh. Even while carrying the children and fleeing from the falling chandelier, they couldn’t take their eyes off her.

And that… was funny.

Because she knew exactly what it meant.

She wasn’t “theirs.”

Then a voice broke through the chaos, desperate and loud.

“Calliope!!”

She turned toward it. Isaac was sprinting toward her from across the hall, his face flushed with panic. Thank the heavens the ceiling was high—he must have been far off helping others evacuate.

His brow was furrowed, his eyes wide, his expression stricken with fear.

Calliope suddenly smiled.

He’s coming to protect me.
He’s throwing everything else aside—just to reach me.

She didn’t even realize the expression she was making. But Isaac did. And as he looked at her, his usually pale eyes darkened.

He drew his sword.

And then—

A wave of searing white heat swept through the air as his sword slashed. Like shattered glass, the translucent, white blade energy cleaved through the falling chandelier above Calliope’s head.

Crash!
A deafening sound echoed, ringing painfully in her ears. The chandelier, now severed, slammed into the walls and windows, creating an even louder explosion. Shards of glass and ornate pieces scattered everywhere.

At last, Isaac reached her. He pushed her down to the ground and shielded her with his own body. The glass rained down, striking them both.

Beneath the weight of his dark silhouette, Calliope’s eyes flew open wide.

“Are… are you alright?”
His voice was shaky, his face shadowed with fear—as if he were about to cry.

“Aha… aha…”
Calliope let out a breathless laugh. And then—
“AHAHAHA!”

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

He had come for her. Abandoned everything—his duties, his position—to protect her. Just like before. Throwing himself between her and death.
Calliope burst into laughter, wild and unrestrained. The kind of laugh that was almost indistinguishable from a scream—mad, manic, unhinged. It echoed from her beautiful face like something torn between agony and ecstasy.

“You, my love!”

For the first time, Calliope felt like she truly had him. That he belonged to her alone. That he would look only at her, think only of her, protect only her—and never dream of leaving her side.
He was hers now.
He had taken her life once. In this life, his life was rightfully hers.

“You came to save me!”

Isaac, carrying her trembling body, began running out of the hall. Shoving people aside, searching desperately for somewhere safe. In his arms, Calliope glanced back at the Marchioness and her family. Isaac was running too fast for her to catch their expressions—but honestly, she no longer cared to see them.

“What in the world is happening?!”

Outside, the King’s furious voice echoed across the grounds. Most of the nobles had been evacuated by the knights. The members of the Duke’s household had also been guided out by the knight commander.

Soon after, the Marchioness’s family appeared as well. But Calliope remained firmly in Isaac’s arms.

Rumble—CRASH!
It sounded like thunder. The grand building, constructed specially for the knighting ceremony, was collapsing. A thick cloud of dust exploded into the sky.

“There are still people trapped inside!”

“Call the Royal Mage Corps immediately! And summon the Knight Order!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

More than half of the newly knighted soldiers were still trapped inside—they had remained behind to help escort the nobles. Count Esteban, the knight commander, had managed to get the high-ranking nobles out safely and was now standing by the King’s side as his guard.
Situations like this were often treated as assassination attempts—even if this one was on a much grander scale than usual.

The nobles who had made it outside kept their distance from the crumbling building, but they still couldn’t avoid the flying debris and dust. Calliope looked up at Isaac, who was furiously batting away the falling rubble.

A large shard had slashed across his forehead, and crimson blood streamed down from his brow to the corner of his eye.

She reached up and brushed her fingers over the trail of blood—not to wipe it away, but almost to savor it.

Only after the dust had finally settled did Isaac look down at her.

“Are you hurt… anywhere?”

“No. Thanks to you.”
She smiled.

Isaac clenched his jaw tightly. The image of her face—smiling in his arms—overlapped with the one from moments ago. The body that had clung to him, calling him with such aching affection. The voice. The eyes that, somehow, didn’t seem to be looking at him at all.

He shut his eyes tightly.

He remembered the smile she had worn while standing beneath the falling chandelier.
If he hadn’t reached her in time, she would’ve died. And yet she had smiled.

He could no longer turn away from her. She had become someone he couldn’t resist.
But what was she thinking? And more importantly…

Who was she looking at…?

Isaac had no idea.

The collapse of the ceremonial hall was swiftly managed under the King’s command. Royal mages lifted the debris with magic, pulling survivors out of the rubble.
But tragically, most of those inside had died.
The King ordered their bodies to be placed with honor into coffins and returned to their respective families.

The knights escorted the injured nobles to a nearby castle, assigning them rooms and ensuring they received treatment. Fortunately, the nobles who had escaped unscathed decided to return to their carriages.

“I’ll stay a little longer—with Isaac.”

Calliope, still covered in dust and debris, informed the Marquis’ family without emotion, then turned away, linking arms with Isaac.

Since she was with him, she naturally had to share a carriage with Count Esteban.
As they climbed aboard, whispers from those around them filled the air.

“He manifested sword energy at that age…?”
“Even Count Esteban couldn’t do that when he was that young.”
“Unlike the eldest, he must be a true prodigy in swordsmanship.”

The hall’s collapse had thrown her original plan into disarray—but the situation wasn’t entirely unfavorable.
Sword energy—at his age.

Calliope remembered from her past life that Isaac had manifested his aura at twenty. But this time… he had done it even earlier.

Fifteen.

A genius without the backing of a powerful family would always draw jealousy. That was why, the moment he reached the eligible age, he had joined the knights—revealing his sword aura two years later. Back then, Calliope had thought he had simply learned quickly thanks to formal training.

But clearly, it had been more than that.

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