I Only Raised Men for Revenge - Chapter 29

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah… no. Why would I go there? My friend is you, and you’re the one I care about.”

“No, it’s okay if you go. Ian. And you don’t have to worry about me. I’m doing my job better than anyone, and there are plenty of people around me to help me. So, don’t come anymore.”

Ian seemed quite shocked by Sesenia’s firm words.

“Why are you saying that? Ah, you were upset. Right. You always get upset about strange things.”

“…”

“I understand. I’ll visit more often now. Is it because I haven’t been coming often enough?”

Sesenia slowly approached him.

“Ian.”

“Yeah. I’ll come often and hug you. Would that be enough?”

“I hate unintelligent people the most. And mediocre people too. And you fit both of those perfectly. That’s why I hate you.”

“What…?”

“I think you’re misunderstanding that I love you. I hope you don’t misunderstand that way. To me, you’re just a friend. Nothing more. So, please get out of here?”

‘Since when was it, Ian, that your heart was directed at my sister? Since when was it that you sided with my sister and told her everything about me?’

Sesenia stared intently at Ian, her longtime friend.

‘Whatever it was, in the end, you played with my heart. So, the question of when… is unnecessary.’

She had no intention of forgiving him, nor of continuing to be with him.

Just seeing him was awful, and she felt ashamed of her past.

“Sesenia.”

“Then will you leave? And should a member of the imperial family just barge into a noble lady’s room like that? What if scandalous rumors start?”

“…Why are you doing this?”

“Until now, we were friends, so I won’t spread any rumors but you should be careful from now on. We’re not friends anymore. So, will you leave?”

“…What is it that you don’t like this time that you’re doing this to me? I have a hard time dealing with you every time this happens.”

Sesenia chuckled, seeing that he still didn’t understand.

“When did I ever ask you to deal with me? You’re making such strange excuses. Please stop talking nonsense and get out of here. From now on, go play with your sister, who you’re so worried about. Well, if you’re not leaving, I’ll leave.”

Sesenia walked out without hesitation.

“Sesenia. Sesenia!!”

“Ah, and you should probably get out of the room quickly too. If it’s revealed that the noble Prince Ian was alone in a noble lady’s room, wouldn’t bad rumors spread?”

That was the end. Ian stared at Sesenia with a dumbfounded expression, and Sesenia laughed at Ian as she walked out. Ian, realizing what was happening belatedly, hurriedly chased after Sesenia, but she had already left the place long ago.

“Where did Sesenia go?”

He hurriedly asked a passing maid about Sesenia, but the maid only shook her head.

“Ha… really…”

Where could she be? Ian hurriedly looked around, but he had no idea where she might have gone. He wasn’t the one who usually did the searching. As soon as Sesenia heard that Ian had come, she would wag her tail like a puppy and come to him.

He had never even thought about looking for Sesenia.

“Damn it…”

It was the first rejection he had ever received.

Sesenia had never said she loved him, but she was always Sesenia, who looked at him with loving eyes, begging for his love. Because her family didn’t love her, didn’t cherish her, she craved Ian’s love even more.

He hated that. She was like a child. That’s why his eyes went to Elzer, who was mature and yet lovely. But, but Sesenia rejected him. That came as a great shock to him.

“No. She’s just acting like this temporarily. There’s no way Sesenia, who has been craving my affection for so long, would change.”

He tried to calm himself as he walked down the hallway, confident that Sesenia would cling to him like a dog next time. And so, he returned to the imperial palace.

**

Two days passed. As if she had been waiting for Sesenia to get up, Elzer burst into her room.

“What’s wrong? What’s with barging in so rudely?”

Sesenia, who was drinking tea as if nothing had happened, was quite pleased with her sister’s visit.

“Seeing you so calm I guess you still don’t know. Sesenia.”

“Know what?”

“Well, you’ll find out soon.”

It was the brightest smile Elzer had ever shown. Sesenia nodded slowly, looking at her sister.

“What’s going on? Is something good happening?”

“Of course. Something very good. Ah, or maybe it’s a terrible thing for you.”

Seeing Elzer smiling as if she was gloating, her intentions were very clear.

“Why are you being so coy?”

Slurp. Slurp. The sound of Sesenia drinking her tea filled the room.

“You shouldn’t be sitting around like this.”

“If I shouldn’t be sitting around like this, why don’t I go put out a fire or something?”

“Then the fire huh?”

Elzer was the one who was flustered by Sesenia’s unexpected words.

“Ah, no, that sounds too much like I’m implying who the culprit is. I’ll ask differently, Elzer. Did a fire break out in my warehouse or something?”

Elzer, who had seemed quite flustered by the first question, smiled awkwardly. She still couldn’t control her facial expressions.

‘Everything went her way, everyone loved her, so there was no need to bother controlling her expressions.’

How could someone who had lived like that suddenly learn to control her expressions?

“Why not?”

“You knew?”

“What are you asking? Are you asking if I knew there was a fire, or are you asking if I know that Elzer was the one who started it?”

Elzer’s cheeks twitched. Sesenia shifted her gaze to her teacup, seeing her sister’s face turn unusually pale.

“If you ask so suspiciously, it makes me suspect that you did it, doesn’t it?”

“N-No! I didn’t do anything like that!”

“Yeah, let’s say that’s true.”

“…Why aren’t you upset?”

Elzer frowned, looking at Sesenia, who seemed strangely fine.

“About what?”

“The warehouse with the Hepria cotton that you wanted so badly is on fire, so why are you so calm?”

“Ah, that.”

Just like Elzer had done earlier, Sesenia was just stalling. She should be flustered, she should be making a fuss. Elzer was overcome with anxiety at the sight of Sesenia, who didn’t seem worried at all.

“What are you really?”

“By the way, the warehouse with the Hepria cotton must have been quite big, so it wouldn’t have caught fire easily, would it?”

“What?”

“A vast plain. I’m asking if it wasn’t hard to set fire to that place. There must have been a lot of guards, so I’m guessing you had a hard time.”

Elzer blinked, wondering what was going on.

“Well, would you like a cup of tea? I think my speculation is going to be long.”

“Wh-What are you trying to say?”

“Listen, sister. Autumn is originally the season of dryness. So, the guards at my warehouse must have been watering the place regularly. Right?”

Sesenia put down the teacup she was drinking from. The calm tea water rippled from the impact.

“The person who received a lot of money must have become impatient. They had to start a fire somehow. They had to finish the job somehow to get the extra pay. In the end, they tried throwing arrows a few times, but when that didn’t work, they must have chosen another method.”

“…”

“In the end, the person who received the money had no choice but to get oil. It must have been quite difficult for commoners to get oil. But they had no choice. It was because they received a lot of money for a job that wasn’t difficult. How flustered and rushed they must have been.”

“What are you doing right now?”

Sesenia continued without the slightest hesitation, even at Elzer’s words.

“To start a fire with hard-to-get oil, that person must have burned their hand or something.”

“Why are you saying those things? Why are you saying them to me?”

“I’m just telling you the case report. The case report that will soon be reported to you and me.”

That’s when it happened.

The door opened with a bang. It was Rohan. Lizbeth was with him, following behind. Lizbeth smiled, as if she hadn’t tried to stop her brother from opening the door on purpose, and grabbed Rohan’s arm belatedly.

“You can’t just barge in like that when there are guests~”

Lizbeth, who belatedly scolded Rohan, smiled brightly.

“I apologize. Miss Sesenia. I didn’t mean to be rude, I thought you were alone.”

“No, it’s okay. Someone who came earlier was already being extremely rude.”

Sesenia straightened up, turning away from her sister.

“What is this right now?”

“What do you mean? I’m just speculating about who the idiot was who set fire to my warehouse. And seeing your face turn so pale, I guess I’m pretty accurate?”

“Are you suspecting me right now?”

“Even if I don’t want to suspect you, you keep making me suspect you.”

“I don’t know anything. I just, just! I just heard that your warehouse was on fire and came to tell you.”

“That’s right. It has to be right. Sister, I hope that this report that Rohan just brought doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

Sesenia smiled sweetly and carefully scanned the documents that Rohan had handed her.

“Anyway, I told you that there was a fire, so I’ll be on my way.”

“Yeah, goodbye.”

Sesenia didn’t stop Elzer from leaving. She just glanced in that direction.

“But sister.”

“Why? What? Are you trying to frame me again?”

“No. You know, you seem pretty happy that my warehouse caught fire but unfortunately, that warehousedidn’t have anything in it.”

Elzer’s steps stopped for a moment.

“What?”

“Just as I said. There’s nothing there. The goods were already sold a week ago.”

“…Are you crazy right now? Do you want to show that you didn’t lose anything by telling such lies?”

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself.”

Elzer shook her head at Sesenia’s words.

“Don’t lie. If there’s really nothing there, why did you increase the number of guards there so much!”

“You’re not the culprit, but you seem to know the situation pretty well. You seem very much like a culprit.”

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