Chapter 7
“Honestly, it was all Oppa who went around stirring things up with his business and borrowed money from the surrounding nobles. So why do I always have to bear the brunt of it?”
“Adel.”
Father called my name in a low, heavy voice. He let out a sigh, as if suppressing his anger, and spoke.
“You and your brother are different.”
“…How so?”
“He’s the firstborn son, and you’re the second. Your brother is the one who will carry on this family. If he crumbles, so does our house.”
What on earth is this…?
“And you can help us plenty with the abilities you have. You’ve always been… a reliable child.”
At that point, I was beyond dumbfounded.
Actually, even as a child, I had been subtly discriminated against compared to Adrian.
And it was still the same now, even after I’d grown up.
Up until now, I’d been a pushover—just enduring and enduring, saving even what should have gone into my own mouth, and sending money to this house.
All while losing sleep and being grilled by my professors.
The sole reason I’d never lost the top spot at the Academy and had received scholarships every single time was all because of that.
I’d sacrificed so much that I’d only managed to make one single friend I could truly open up to.
No, given how much I’d buried myself in my studies, I should consider myself lucky to have even gotten Adolf.
‘On the other hand, Adrian…’
Well, Oppa had his own struggles—he couldn’t sleep either and was constantly hounded by people.
The problem was that, unlike me, it was all because of his own irresponsible business ventures.
Yet my parents always shielded Adrian. That brother of mine who had no merits and only drained the family’s coffers.
“Adel, can’t you understand Adrian? He’s having such a hard time inwardly too.”
“…”
“Girls mature faster, they say. So you should be the one to support your brother.”
At those words, I slowly drew in a breath. I could no longer force a smile.
“So what you’re saying is, no matter how hard it gets, I should just suck it up, sacrifice myself for the family, and understand everything?”
Until now, I’d lived thinking this was only natural. But after regaining my past life’s memories, I simply couldn’t take it anymore.
At my retort, my parents’ expressions twisted slightly.
I didn’t miss the opening and continued.
“You said I’ve always been reliable? You’re right. Because I take care of things myself, because I don’t talk back or whine. That’s exactly why you’ve dumped everything on me.”
“Adel…”
“If you had even the slightest idea of what I’ve sacrificed and endured all this time, could you really have told me to understand Oppa to my face? You two never tried to understand my situation, and you’ve deliberately turned a blind eye all along.”
As the words poured out, emotions that had been quiet until now surged over me like a wave.
Of course, even amidst all this, the real culprit behind everything—that bastard—was probably still out there idly chatting away, unaware that this argument was even happening.
‘He’s probably off drinking somewhere, as usual.’
I let out a suffocated sigh and leisurely observed my parents’ flustered faces.
They looked utterly at a loss at my unexpected rebellion.
The quiet, easy child. The one who does well on her own. The family’s only hope and pillar.
They’d always propped me up with empty praise like that, and I’d followed along with everything—until now, when I’d suddenly declared I was giving up.
And right about now, my parents were surely racking their brains, with high probability, over some new way to persuade me.
‘This can’t go on.’
Averting my gaze from them, I slowly rose from my seat.
In this moment, there was no hesitation, no lingering attachment.
I’d already cut ties with the research I’d been clinging to for years just a while ago. Once is hard, but twice is nothing.
“I’ve made up my mind. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“…What?”
“You say it’s so hard, so I should at least remove one mouth to feed. From now on, the three of you can handle the household finances with Oppa.”
At my ice-cold words, my parents were struck dumb, like a mute who’d eaten honey.
‘Good. I should have done this from the very start.’
After all, to achieve what I wanted, I had to leave this house.
Only by stepping outside the fence called family could I finally move toward the rosy future I dreamed of.
“Well then, take care of yourselves from now on.”
Leaving only those words behind, I turned around.
Back in my room, I quietly packed my bag. My hands busied themselves with the task.
‘Yes. This is it. I’m really leaving this house.’
Goodbye, hellish household.
To no longer be pushed around by anyone, it was right for me to strike out on my own and become independent.
Although Adolf’s sponsorship had unfortunately fallen through, fortunately, I still had one more candidate (?) left.
The name that had been circling in my head the entire way back from the palace.
It was Heon Leonardo—the protagonist of the original story who had tried to save this world.
I knew him better than anyone. Even the secrets that even his own family kept hush-hush.
‘How I’ll use that to persuade him is something I’ll have to figure out from now on.’
With a confident smile, I picked up my bag and stepped out of the house.
Eyes that were cold—no, chillingly sharp—flicked busily over the documents.
“Hmm.”
The man, who had been flipping through the papers, soon found a familiar name among them.
[Name: Adel Catherine.
Age: 21
Affiliation: …]
“No wonder she looked familiar.”
Holding the paper with the personal details of the woman in question, Kienne let out a breathy laugh.
He’d reviewed her research reports several times before, but he’d never dreamed that this lifeless-looking face, weighed down by all the world’s worries, would belong to that woman.
Hair as black as the night sky, skin pale enough to be deathly white, and strangely captivating eyes.
‘Seems like life at the Magic Tower was quite tough. Judging by how much brighter her face looks after just a few days out.’
For this young woman to be one of the leading authorities on the research the Magic Tower was paying attention to…
Tap, tap.
The man drummed his fingers on the table, lost in thought. Soon, his eyes narrowed.
“But why on earth did she drop her research?”
It was no exaggeration to say that the new experiments and key theories in this study had largely come from her hands.
For such a talent to suddenly decide to leave the Magic Tower.
And at a time when the research was just beginning to bear fruit—right when he himself had been planning to actively push it forward.
“…Hmm.”
Kienne’s mind suddenly recalled the face of the woman who had tried so hard to force herself to be polite.
“I’d like to have a longer conversation with you next time, if the opportunity arises.”
“Yes, if you wish.”
The sight of her forcibly raised lips trembling slightly refused to fade from his memory.
Such a face that so blatantly displayed disinterest, bordering on reluctance.
Soon, the corners of his lips curved faintly.
“Well, I’ll just have to find out for myself.”
Kienne thought:
Perhaps she might prove to be quite an interesting variable in this dull, flat life.
And he was always the type to never let a good bit of entertainment pass him by.
Leaning back leisurely with a calm smile, the man let the breeze coming through the open window ruffle his pale pink hair as it passed.
Strike while the iron is hot.
The very next day, I found a small house on the outskirts of the old city quarter.
The half-collapsed fence and the broken window were rather dreary, but so what? I could just fix them up and use them.
‘Good thing I diligently saved up my living expenses just in case.’
During my time as a Magic Tower researcher, I had faithfully sent home all my money except for the bare minimum I needed to live on.
Still, because I’d been so consumed by my research, I’d barely had time to spend even that meager allowance.
‘And as it turns out, that’s now become my security deposit.’
It was definitely a good call not to hand that money over to my parents the moment I got back home this time.
I needed to buy experimental equipment, furniture—there were just endless things to spend money on.
Still, my past life memories of apartment hunting as a grad student came in surprisingly handy.
“Miss, see here? No drafts, nice and warm. Places like this save on gas bills too.”
“Make sure you check how loud the toilet flush is too. If it’s loud, the pipes are old!”
“Be sure to check damp spots like the wallpaper, furniture crevices, and around the windows, student. Places that get mold easily will make your life miserable the whole time you live there.”
