Chapter: 05
“Give me back all the money I spent on you.”
“Ha!”
Cedric let out a disbelieving laugh.
“So you were that materialistic all along?”
He looked at her with open contempt.
“Materialistic?”
Emilia was momentarily speechless at the absurd accusation.
“That’s right. I am materialistic. So give me my money back.”
She stubbornly held out her hand.
“Since it seems you never even thought of me as your fiancée, I should at least be paid for all the work I did for your family.”
Of course, that wasn’t why she had done those things in the first place.
But now that it had come to this, she figured she might as well get some money out of it.
“W-What are you talking about?!”
Cedric fumed as she refused to back down.
But Emilia had no intention of wasting another word on him.
“If you’re not going to hand it over yourself, then move.”
Carrying her trunk, she walked inside.
“Hey!”
Cedric, who had been leaning against the doorway, was knocked off balance by the trunk and stumbled to the floor.
Inside stood Reina, staring in shock.
Emilia glanced at her briefly before walking deeper into the house.
She flung open the doors of an expensive display cabinet and laid her trunk open on the floor.
Clatter!
Without the slightest hesitation, Emilia swept everything valuable from the cabinet into the trunk.
Several ornaments fell to the floor and rolled away.
Just then, Cedric stormed into the room.
“Hey!”
“I’m busy. Don’t talk to me.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Cedric grabbed Emilia’s arm roughly and yanked her to her feet.
Crash!
Something hit the floor, and the sound of shattering glass echoed through the room.
“What? What’s your problem? Since you won’t give me what I’m owed, I’m taking it myself.”
Emilia jerked her arm free from his grip.
Then she looked into the display cabinet, and a wave of bitterness washed over her.
The truth was, there were plenty of valuable possessions in this house.
Even after the family had gone bankrupt, they had treated them like priceless heirlooms and refused to sell them.
Instead, they had no problem spending her money.
“You’ve completely lost your mind! You’re nothing but a thief!”
Smack!
Unable to control his anger, Cedric slapped Emilia across the face with all his strength.
“Ugh!”
Her head snapped to the side, and she collapsed onto the floor.
Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Romans rushed out of her room.
“What is all this chaos?!”
She gasped in horror at the mess before hurrying over to the display cabinet.
“Oh no! These precious things!”
She stared helplessly at the shattered ornaments.
“Reina.”
“Y-Yes?”
At Emilia’s call, Reina, who had been standing there in stunned silence, flinched.
“Do you think you’ll be alright from now on?”
Emilia looked at her quietly.
“With a man who hits women whenever he’s angry… and a mother-in-law who doesn’t even care whether her son beats women or not.”
“I… I…”
“You’re going to regret it.”
At those words, Reina’s eyes wavered uneasily.
But Emilia soon looked away from her.
She steadied herself and rose to her feet, wincing as her cheek throbbed.
He really hit me hard…
Even though she had spoken confidently, she had never imagined Cedric would actually strike her.
They had argued from time to time, but he had never once laid a hand on her.
I’ve certainly learned a lot of new things over the past few days.
A bitter smile crossed Emilia’s face.
At that moment, Mrs. Romans spun around.
Crunch.
The shattered pieces of the ornaments crunched beneath her feet.
“Emilia! What did you just say?!”
Apparently, hearing Emilia insult both her and Cedric had finally pushed her over the edge.
But Emilia completely ignored her.
Instead, she shut the now-full trunk and locked it.
Click.
“Are you ignoring me?!”
“No. I heard you perfectly.”
Emilia turned toward her.
“But it seemed like you heard me perfectly well too, so I don’t see any reason to repeat myself.”
“W-What?! You little—!”
Mrs. Romans stormed toward Emilia, but the moment she stepped on the broken fragments, she slipped.
“Oh my!”
“Mother!”
“Ma’am! Are you alright?”
Cedric and Reina hurried over to help her up.
Watching the scene indifferently, Emilia spoke to Reina once more.
“It must be exhausting taking care of this family while you’re pregnant.”
…And thank you. Thanks to you, I won’t have to become part of a family like this.
“W-What?”
Mrs. Romans was too stunned by Emilia’s audacity to process what she had just heard.
Meanwhile, Emilia walked out of the house without a single regret.
The wheels of her trunk rattled loudly as they bumped over the doorstep.
“That little wretch! What nonsense is she spouting now?!”
Mrs. Romans screamed as she grabbed whatever she could find and hurled it after Emilia.
But none of the objects even came close to reaching her feet.
After Emilia left…
“Ha! Honestly!”
Mrs. Romans spun around in exasperation. The sight of the wrecked house only made her angrier.
“Cedric! Did you hear the way that girl talked? How can she be so arrogant?!”
“Exactly. She acted like she was better than everyone else until the very end.”
“I must have been out of my mind to think about making someone like that my daughter-in-law.”
In truth, it had been Mrs. Romans who had paired Emilia with Cedric.
Ever since Cedric had reached marriageable age, she had been constantly worried.
After the family went bankrupt, no noble lady was willing to marry into their household.
So she had matched Cedric with Emilia, who was said to be the prettiest and smartest girl in the village.
Of course, she had never truly been satisfied.
Naturally.
No matter how pretty or clever Emilia was, she was still nothing more than a commoner girl with no parents.
Why did I ever do that?
If she had known Cedric would eventually bring home such a perfect bride on his own, she never would have rushed into arranging that engagement.
Still, it’s for the best that she left of her own accord.
Even if she had completely turned both the family and the household upside down before leaving.
Mrs. Romans looked at Reina with quiet satisfaction.
As expected of a count’s daughter, she carried herself with grace.
Simply standing there made her seem elegant and refined.
She was fundamentally different from someone like Emilia.
She’s exactly the kind of woman my son deserves.
Wiping the vicious expression from her face, Mrs. Romans spoke gently.
“I’m so grateful a girl like you came to our Cedric. We almost let someone as wicked as that girl into our family.”
“Y-Yes…”
“And you’ve even brought us a child. How wonderful.”
But Mrs. Romans failed to notice that Reina’s expression was no longer the same as before.
“You’ll regret it.”
Reina’s hand trembled as she clutched her clothes tightly.
The image of the woman walking away with such a relieved expression lingered vividly before her eyes.
And those words…
They had sounded far too certain to be dismissed as nothing more than a curse.
