Chapter 49
After meeting Diane, I immediately went to find Jed. I needed to understand exactly who was involved with that mine.
The Rust family was mixed up in this. Count Donau was disgusting, but he wasn’t a fool. Someone had to be backing him. And that was something I couldn’t easily uncover on my own.
A piano melody rang clearly through the old room.
Even to my ears, accustomed to the finest pianists, it was beautiful. Like a soft spring serenade, whispering in harmony.
I half-closed my eyes, listening quietly until the piece ended.
The fingers on the keys had strength but never too much. They played like a butterfly dancing, like a voice singing. It was a joyful performance—one that didn’t quite match the performer himself.
Clap, clap, clap.
A small round of applause came from within the dusty director’s office of this humble little art gallery. Through the clear windows, sunlight streamed in, making dust particles float like feathers.
“Impressive. I didn’t expect you to have such talent.”
I gave a light compliment before getting straight to the point.
“Anyway, what I want to know is—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Jed started playing again.
This time, it was Refusal, a short piece by the famous composer Theano.
A silent message.
I found it both amusing and frustrating. If this continued, I’d end up spending the entire day at a private piano recital instead of getting my answers.
“Really… You must be quite a headache for those around you.”
He was the type to stubbornly refuse to hear things he didn’t want to, no matter what. It was unexpectedly troublesome.
Still, I didn’t lose my patience.
‘He’s pretending not to listen, but he hasn’t left.’
That meant he found the price worth considering. He wasn’t happy about this, but he wasn’t rejecting it outright either.
“Fine. I never intended to ask for free help. I just thought you’d want to hear me out first before deciding on a price.”
My father always said, “The worst kind of person is the one who makes you name the price first.”
By my father’s philosophy, Jed was one of those terrible people.
Since my plan to let him state his price first had failed, I started considering what I could offer him.
Honestly, there were many things I could do. But they were all things Jed could likely obtain on his own.
That made it difficult.
Of course, anything that could harm my family was out of the question. That was absolute.
Just as I was about to make an offer, Jed looked at me and said:
“Raina’s death.”
His tone was flat as if he were commenting on the weather.
I froze in shock.
“To be precise, I want you to not care whether Raina lives or dies. Can you do that?”
It was an easy question, asked as casually as if he were suggesting a lunch menu.
Perhaps because of that, I felt a flicker of temptation deep inside me. But I quickly suppressed it.
That wasn’t my role to play. More than that, it was too easy.
Killing Raina was simpler than breaking a butterfly’s wings, which was precisely why it was meaningless.
She had to pay her price there.
That was the only reason I had treated her kindly—the woman who had killed my child. The only reason I had tolerated Bern, the man who killed his child.
Otherwise, how could I have stood being kind to my enemies?
How could a mother who lost her child do that?
A cold stillness settled in my heart, and my face went blank.
I forced myself to move my lips into a soft smile.
“No. That woman cannot die so easily. If you touch her, I won’t stand by.”
The paper in my hand crumpled under the pressure of my grip.
“If you do this, you’ll make an enemy of Bern, and you’ll turn the entire Armen family against you.”
Even if that harmed my family, I didn’t care.
The only way I could bring myself to love my parents again was if they helped me exact my revenge.
I had not yet forgiven them. I had not yet let go. I could not let go.
‘Because on that day, I died.’
On that cold stone-paved street, watching red spiderweb cracks spread through the ground, drowning in despair—I had died.
A tree stretches its branches toward the sun when bathed in light.
But when the wind blows fiercely, it bends in the direction of the wind.
So which affects the tree more—the sunlight it desires or the wind that torments it?
The answer is the wind. A tree reacts more to hardship than to blessings.
‘And people are like trees.’
It is unfortunate, but suffering leaves a deeper mark on living things than happiness does.
That was true for me as well.
“If I were to slam my head onto this table right now, or grab your sword and stab myself, that would be a huge problem for you, wouldn’t it?”
Jed’s brow furrowed, and he muttered irritably in a cold voice.
“Don’t assume I’ll keep tolerating you forever. I’m not putting up with you because I have no choice. I’m putting up with you because dealing with the aftermath would be annoying.”
There was a faint hint of killing intent in his words.
But instead of being afraid, I laughed. I seized on his words.
“So you admit that killing me would be a hassle?”
Jed let out a deep sigh.
I could practically see his face screaming, How did I end up dealing with this crazy woman?
“Think about it logically. Is it more of a hassle to dig up the small bit of information I asked for, or to kill the Armen family’s only daughter and cover it up? You do the math.”
I calmly met his gaze as he stared at me.
Finally, Jed gave in.
“Fine. I’ll drop it. But in return, you have to meet Raina. I won’t budge on that.”
He shrugged.
“Technically, this doesn’t break your condition, right? Raina has to be alive for you to meet her.”
I frowned.
“Why on earth would that be your price…?”
Jed just shrugged again.
“I don’t owe you an explanation. Just tell me—yes or no?”
I thought for a moment before answering carefully.
“Fine. But I’ll bring a maid and a knight with me. We’ll meet in a public space, and I’ll choose the location if we need to move. If any of those conditions aren’t met, the meeting is off.”
That way, they wouldn’t be able to pull anything. The more witnesses there were, the harder it would be to harm me.
“And it has to be during a busy time. I’ll also inform my family that I’m meeting Raina.”
Jed smirked.
“You’re overly cautious. Fine. Deal. Of course, we won’t be stupid enough to put it in writing. Whoever breaks the agreement will deal with the consequences.”
Then he added with a grin.
“No one has ever gotten away with cheating me. Not even those who used to be part of my family.”
I shuddered inwardly.
‘Used to be’ part of his family… So the people who died in the Lachen incident…
Shaking my head, I responded.
“As long as my safety is ensured, I don’t care. Oh, and you cannot kidnap or harm Raina before bringing her to me.”
Jed considered it for a moment before nodding.
“Fine. She’ll come willingly. No threats, no coercion. I promise to treat her like a princess.”
I frowned.
What could he possibly gain from this meeting?
A bad feeling crept into my heart.
