Episode 8. Part 2. Change (2)
Yuriel smiled gently as she spoke.
It was just a simple greeting, but every word carried confidence and strength.
It wasn’t because of her fancy clothes.
She was shining brighter than anyone.
“…What are you up to?”
The Count, who had been frozen, finally opened his mouth.
His face looked quite worn. He had been struggling ever since Akron cut off his funds.
“Father, shouldn’t you greet the Grand Duke? He came here today for me, after all.”
Yuriel didn’t answer his question. Instead, she calmly pointed out his rudeness.
The Count’s face twisted in anger. But he couldn’t ignore proper manners.
All members of the Count’s family bowed and showed their respects to the Grand Duke.
“I see. Life must be treating you well. You look quite confident,”
Akron replied arrogantly, lifting his chin slightly.
The Count clenched his fists. He wanted to punch that smug face right now. But he couldn’t.
“…It’s all thanks to the Grand Duke,” he said through gritted teeth.
He was trying to hold onto his pride, but the family’s finances were on the brink.
It was all because of the Grand Duke’s interference.
At this rate, he’d have to marry off his daughter into a fruitless marriage.
He was the father. The one with the final say.
It was natural for the child to follow the parent’s decision.
But Yuriel wasn’t saying what she was supposed to say.
“I’ll stay by his side as the Grand Duchess.”
“What did you just say!?”
The Count couldn’t hold back anymore and tried to approach her.
But the Grand Duke’s knights quickly blocked his path.
This time, Yuriel’s mother raised her voice.
“Your father is right! Yuriel, are you out of your mind? Do you think we’ll let you go?”
Of course, she knew they wouldn’t.
They were the ones who even stopped her from going to the academy she desperately wanted.
So Yuriel made up her mind—to threaten her family.
“…How long do you think I’ve been managing the family’s finances?”
Since awakening her gift with numbers, Yuriel had been in charge of the family’s finances for five years.
It was supposed to be the lady of the house’s job, but her mother stopped helping after teaching her a little.
Her father even let her handle part of the Count’s merchant business.
They said women shouldn’t learn too much, yet still gave her all the important work.
“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
The room fell silent.
Yuriel saw the flicker of panic in her father’s eyes and smiled softly.
“I’m talking about the Riot Merchant Group.”
Riot was a large trading company supported by the Count’s family.
They had a deep connection—more than any other noble house.
After taking large bribes, they helped the group hide the taxes it owed to the state.
Tax evasion was a crime, and the nobles who helped hide it were punished even more harshly.
The Count’s family had covered up at least eight years’ worth of taxes.
They could even be dragged into a royal trial.
“…Are you threatening your father right now?”
No one else understood what Yuriel was talking about.
But the Count—Baumtid—knew exactly what she meant. Because he was guilty.
“I don’t see why not,” she said calmly.
The Grand Duke had the right to investigate noble houses.
With just one informant, he could search a mansion without needing royal approval.
Baumtid finally realized why soldiers had surrounded the mansion.
“You’ve gone mad.”
“Just let me go. If you do, at least you’ll still get to keep your title as Count.”
This was no longer just about money.
If all their crimes were exposed, the family could be completely ruined.
Yuriel looked at her father’s stiff face and let out a bitter smile.
“I’ll never come back here again. So you don’t need to worry.”
She looked at each of her family members.
Her father was cold even as his daughter said goodbye.
Her mother was only shocked and confused.
Her younger sister and her fiancé just rolled their eyes like they didn’t care.
Yuriel left behind all the responsibilities she had carried as the eldest daughter.
Even if she divorced Akron three years from now, she would never return.
“…Fine. I allow marriage.”
Her father spoke the words like he was spitting them out.
One of Akron’s knights came forward with a paper and pen.
The Count glared at it like he wanted to rip it up, but in the end, he signed it and stamped it with the family’s seal.
It was the official permission for Yuriel’s marriage.
“Thank you.”
Yuriel took the paper. The Count’s seal was marked on it.
As she looked it over, Fiona stepped forward, forcing a smile.
“Uh… sister? You’re joking about not coming back, right?”
Fiona even acted like the baby inside her was scared, begging her not to say such scary things.
But to Yuriel, her little sister looked utterly pathetic.
“Fiona.”
“Y-yes, sister?”
“I heard something interesting.”
Fiona tilted her head like she didn’t understand.
That innocent face used to seem angelic. But not anymore.
“I heard a certain mercenary bragging about getting a noble lady pregnant…”
Yuriel didn’t even have to say more. Fiona’s face instantly turned pale.
“…W-what are you saying, sister?”
“I just heard it. They say the lady even paid him hush money.
But I guess it wasn’t enough, because he started talking anyway.”
Yuriel’s voice trembled slightly as if she were truly worried.
“I was too concerned to ignore it.”
She gestured gently. A knight bowed and left the room.
Moments later, he returned—dragging a man in chains into the center of the room.
“Mmgh…!”
The large man, covered in muscles and bearded, looked terrified.
His body was full of cuts and burns.
“Mmmph! Mmm!!”
When he met Fiona’s eyes, he started thrashing wildly.
But tied up like that, it just looked like a bug squirming on the floor.
“He seems to be suffering. Help him speak.”
The knight roughly pulled out the gag from the man’s mouth.
“P-please! Spare me, please…!”
The moment he could talk, the man began to beg for his life.
The Count’s family looked confused and disgusted.
But Fiona—she had turned ghostly pale, trembling in fear.
She recognized him. He was the mercenary she had slept with last year.
“I was just worried he might say something bad about you.
As your sister, I must protect you,” Yuriel said kindly.
But her violet eyes were ice cold.
“Th-that’s nonsense! Sister!”
“Really? Then let’s hear it from the baby’s father himself.”
She spoke calmly.
At her words, the knight kicked the mercenary, forcing him to speak.
Gasping for breath, the man said,
“I-I met Lady Fiona at a… a sinful party… and… and we spent the night together…”
“Lies! Shut up!!”
Fiona screamed, cutting him off.
Everyone stared at her.
She was trembling so hard, she had to step back to avoid their eyes.
“…Sister, I… I don’t understand what you’re saying…”
“Then learn. Take responsibility for what you’ve done.”
Yuriel’s voice was cold.
Fiona had been sneaking into strange, indecent parties.
Nights full of alcohol and sin, ignoring class and dignity.
One of those nights, drunk, she made a mistake and ended up pregnant.
“…Even so…”
Yuriel remembered the way Fiona had looked so curious when she learned Yuriel and Evan were in love.
She must’ve already been pregnant then.
Too scared to get rid of the child, yet bold enough to steal her sister’s lover and pretend he was the baby’s father.
Yuriel truly wanted to know what went on inside her sister’s head.
“F-Fiona, what is she talking about? And who is that disgusting man…?”
Her mother grabbed Fiona’s shoulder, looking completely shocked.
“It’s not true! I would never…!”
Fiona cried, her face pale and stiff.
“…Fiona said it was my child.”
Evan also stepped forward, trembling.
The reason Baumtid allowed Evan, the son of a Viscount, to marry Fiona was because she was pregnant.
But what if that child wasn’t Evan’s?
“Then he’ll never inherit the title.”
Yuriel looked at Evan with no expression.
There was a time when she believed his kindness was love.
Now she felt nothing for him.
She lowered her eyes and said softly,
“What a shame, Evan.
If you don’t marry Fiona, you’ll never pay off your gambling debt.”
“…!”
Evan’s face turned completely pale.
He had huge gambling debts.
His family had already given up on him.
So he made a deal with his lenders—
Once he became Count, he would pay them triple the original amount.
He had hidden it well. But not better than Akron’s network could uncover.
“You… you! Count! You don’t believe her, do you?!”
Pathetically, Evan pleaded not with Fiona, but with her father, Count Baumtid.
But doubt was already thick in the Count’s eyes.
‘It’s over.’
Fiona, who stole Yuriel’s lover.
The mercenary, who got her pregnant, refused to take responsibility.
Evan, who tried to marry for power.
They would all pay for what they had done.
The Count’s estate had turned into utter chaos.
Yuriel stepped back as if she had no more interest in the scene.
“I’ll be going now. Please, stay healthy.”
She curtsied politely, gathering her dress.
It was her final goodbye to her family.
But no one returned it.
Turning her back on the madness, she boarded the carriage with Akron’s help.
The carriage began to move—taking them far from this place, never to return.
Yuriel leaned against the seat and stared blankly into space.
The graceful, cold face she had shown earlier was gone.
“Why are you making that face?”
Akron gently touched her cheek. His hand was warm and kind.
Feeling his warmth, Yuriel turned her eyes toward him.
“…What kind of face am I making?”
She truly didn’t know.
Her body had no strength.
Her mind felt empty like a storm had swept through and taken everything.
“Like you’re about to cry.”
Akron kissed her eyelid.
That seemed to unlock something.
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
Yuriel blinked slowly, feeling the wetness.
Only then did she realize she was crying.
“You don’t have to hide it,” he whispered.
His hand softly stroked her back, offering comfort and warmth.
Her tears flowed more freely, soaking his shirt like rain.
“Do you regret it?”
Akron’s question carried many meanings.
Regret for choosing him.
For hurting her family.
Even for the child inside her.
Yuriel gently laid her hand on her stomach.
The baby moved as if it felt her tears.
“…No. Never.”
It hurt to return the pain she received.
But she didn’t regret the past.
Not now. Not ever.
She had made her choice.
