Find the One Who Abandoned Me - Chapter 62

Calliope stepped into the carriage with Isaac escorting her. As he climbed in behind her, she glanced at him with half-lidded eyes.

“My man isn’t as mild as he looks.”

With a small, playful smile, she leaned naturally against his shoulder. She could feel his muscles tense the moment she touched him.

Across from them sat Count Esteban. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up.

“I know you care deeply for your fiancée, but abandoning your assigned duty mid-crisis… Are you thinking at all?”

It was a reprimand, delivered as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Calliope, eyes still closed, remained comfortably leaned against Isaac’s shoulder and then laughed aloud.

“Would you have preferred I died there instead?”

“What did you say?”

“You know very well our engagement isn’t based purely on love.”

“…”

“Father. Or should I say, Father-in-law. Isaac isn’t officially a knight yet, and saving me at that moment brought far more benefit than staying put. Especially after that sword aura display—it shocked everyone, didn’t it?”

The Count remained silent. But Calliope hadn’t been expecting an answer. Her head was already spinning from the unexpected chaos, and his nagging only added to the irritation.

“You want our relationship to be stronger, don’t you? If the Marquess’ house becomes fully aligned with the royal faction, it will strengthen your position with the King—which, as of now, hangs by a thread.”

And with that, she struck a nerve.
Yes, Count Esteban still held a prestigious position close to the King, but in these peaceful times—without war or assassination threats—the influence of a military man was steadily shrinking. Even someone as politically disinterested as him couldn’t be completely blind to it.

“I’ll be a very capable daughter-in-law for you. But in return, please don’t scold my husband in front of me. It hurts my feelings.”

Her eyes were still closed as she spoke.

“You’re already calling him your husband?”

“Why not? It’s going to happen anyway. Calling him that a bit early won’t change anything, right?”

“Hmph.”

This stiff, principled man had no chance of winning a war of words with someone as relaxed and witty as Calliope. After a pause, he spoke again—this time, with a serious tone.

“You’re planning to stay at our estate tonight, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“In Isaac’s room?”

At that, Isaac’s head snapped up.

“Father!”

“Oh, I like that idea,” Calliope added cheerfully.

“My lady!”

Isaac’s ears turned bright red.

“It’s… too soon!”

“Too soon?”

“It is too soon!”

“It’s not like I said we’d do anything.”

The Count clicked his tongue, amused. Isaac, flustered beyond belief, had just yelled at his father for the first time in his life. But surprisingly, the Count didn’t seem too offended. With a dismissive wave, he turned his head.

Calliope, still leaning on Isaac, chuckled to herself.

“You shouldn’t joke like that, my lady,” Isaac said with a sigh.

“Alright, alright.”

Though it wasn’t really a joke.
Still, seeing how flustered he was, she decided to let it go—for now.

That night, Calliope—regrettably—settled for the room next to Isaac’s. It was a bit disappointing, but she had something else to keep her entertained.

“I wonder where Kaphir is?”

A maid answered her curiously.

“You mean the eldest young master?”

“Yes. I gave him a gift last time, and he promised he’d finish it and show me.”

Her smile was so sweet and bright that the maid simply nodded and left to deliver the message.
As expected, it wasn’t long before Kaphir stormed in with a scowl on his face.

“Do you think I have nothing better to do all day?!”

“AHAHAHA!”

She teased him mercilessly before finally letting him go back to his room. In truth, it was Isaac who had heard the noise and physically dragged his brother out.

Isaac didn’t even try to smile. Brow furrowed, he led his brother away in silence.

After a satisfying laugh, Calliope flopped onto the bed, resting her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

“Why did that incident happen?”

If something as major as the collapse of the hall had occurred in her past life, she would have known about it. So, it must have happened only in this timeline.

“An assassination attempt on the King? After such a long period of peace?”

The royal family suspected assassination. But this wasn’t a typical attempt. No assassin would make such a show of it—unless they wanted it to look like an assassination.
Unless the real target… was someone else.

That thought made Calliope blink.

“If the King wasn’t the real target, and it didn’t happen in the past…”

“That means whoever the real target was… wasn’t present in the hall before.”

She suddenly sat up in bed.

There were only two people at this knighting ceremony who hadn’t been there in her past life:

“Me and Isaac.”

Her eyes glowed red in the dim room.

Why? For what reason?

Were they aiming for her? Or was Isaac the real target?

Calliope took several deep, controlled breaths, trying to steady herself.

“Isaac’s first brush with assassination in the past happened right after he revealed he could wield aura. But until today, no one knew he had that ability.”

That would mean the attack had been meant for her. But Calliope couldn’t be sure—because as far as she knew, there wasn’t anyone with a reason to target her.

“Still… I shouldn’t assume anything.”

There were always unpredictable variables. If she locked herself into one theory, she might miss something important.

With that in mind, she dropped back onto the bed and closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment to clear her head.

The afternoon passed by quietly.

Earlier that morning, Calliope had met up with Isaac for a brief, pleasant date before returning to the estate.

Thankfully, there had been no incidents since the collapse at the ceremonial hall. Calliope wasn’t foolish enough to think she could predict everything, so she let go of overthinking for now and instead enjoyed tea time with her younger siblings.

Carolie was admiring a few miniature portraits sent by Leona, while Kaphir sat with a classic novel open in front of him. He was pretending to read, but in truth, he was stealing glances at his sister—watching her carefully.

They, too, had seen it all clearly—the way the Marquess and Marchioness had only looked out for themselves when the hall fell apart. Calliope had already emotionally detached from them, so she didn’t care whether her siblings noticed or not. She simply smiled at them and carried on.

“Isaac’s been busy lately,” she said casually.

He was making up for all the training he’d missed, which kept him on a tight schedule these days. It made her wonder—had there been a change of heart in the Count?

At the moment, aside from keeping Isaac emotionally tied to her, Calliope didn’t have much else that required urgent action. So she focused on her own studies. On days without lessons like today, she spent time reading in the library or enjoying peaceful tea time with her siblings.

“Milady.”

Knock knock.

At the sound of a knock, Susan opened the door, revealing Jack, looking tousled as if he’d just woken up. In truth, he hadn’t been asleep—he just hadn’t fixed his hair. Still, the overall impression was the same. The sharp noble image he’d once had was slowly eroding.

Jack entered and leaned in close to whisper.

“There’s a visitor at the annex.”

Calliope raised a brow as she sipped her tea. Jack, as always, continued without needing a prompt.

“He’s someone who used to correspond with Elder Ditron regularly. Since the elder hasn’t been seen for a while, the man came to check on him. He said he heard the elder was ill.”

“I didn’t know there was anyone who’d care enough to visit,” Calliope replied dryly.

The implication: I thought he had no friends.

Jack nodded with a sympathetic grimace. Ditron had never been known for his charm. While he’d had political contacts, they weren’t the kind to personally check on him—especially now that he held no power in the household.

Still, Calliope stood up.

“Well, a guest is a guest. I should go greet him.”

“Where are you going?” Carolie asked, finally looking up from her portraits.

“There’s a visitor at the annex. Since Great-Uncle isn’t well, I’ll go in his place.”

Carolie pouted.

“Why do you care about someone like him?”

Even Kaphir, pretending to read, gave her a silent nod of agreement. Ditron had treated both of them coldly—and the children hadn’t forgotten it.

“Sometimes, we have to do things we don’t want to, sweetheart,” Calliope said gently, like a wise adult speaking to children. Then she left the room. Jack and Susan followed behind her.

“So, who is it, exactly?” she asked as they walked.

“Former Count Armonte.”

“Oh, him.”

So that’s where Armonte’s youngest daughter had heard the rumors.

Calliope rifled through her memory. She hadn’t had many interactions with the former Count, but she remembered enough—he wasn’t as vicious as Ditron, but he wasn’t a good person either. Arrogant. Prejudiced. The very picture of an old-fashioned nobleman.

As she arrived at the annex, Deyloren rushed out to meet her.

“Milady! The guest is inside the apothecary, looking around,” he said urgently, lowering his voice.

“Why?” Calliope asked calmly, her tone completely at odds with his panic.

“I told him the elder was too unwell to receive visitors, but he insisted. He went in and… well, he seems to have noticed something’s off about the elder’s condition.”

Calliope let out a soft, almost amused laugh.

“Oh? Does he think the old man’s been poisoned?”

“Hasn’t he…?” Deyloren asked hesitantly, clearly unsettled by her calm demeanor.

He had always assumed the herbs Calliope administered—Tulan, a known toxic plant—were some kinds of slow poison.

But Calliope shook her head.

“It’s not technically a poison.”

What was happening to Ditron was more like a complex reaction. The symptoms he suffered were from interactions between multiple medicinal compounds—a clash of effects, not poison.

She turned and walked toward the apothecary. Deyloren followed closely at her heels.

When she arrived, Calliope gently opened the door, making no noise.

Inside, the former Count Armonte was examining the drawers one by one, each filled with carefully dried herbs.

With a calm, practiced smile, Calliope stepped into the room.

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