Chapter 33: Heilon (1)
There was a reason why I went around in circles trying to remove myself from the family register. I really wanted to leave the Green family before the drug business went public and implicated me. However, to be removed from the family register, I needed permission from either the head of the family or the temporary head. The current head, Count Green, was bedridden, so either Caindel or Jen had to become the temporary head and grant the permission. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
At my unexpected request, Jen looked puzzled. He must have thought it strange that I was making a request that seemed unbeneficial to me.
“Why do you want that?”
From here on, I needed to use more in-depth acting skills.
“Actually, I… I originally came home for this.”
I tried to shed tears but couldn’t manage it, so I settled for a sad smile. If Sigren and Abel saw this, they would have laughed.
“Everyone misunderstood that I am here to seek wealth, but that’s not true at all. I just came here to see my family’s faces.”
I took a deep breath.
“To be honest, I’m tired of being seen as an illegitimate child and constantly being misunderstood by the family. Besides… I’m… I’m always causing trouble just by being here, aren’t I? I cherished my family in my own way, but I felt constantly sad in this position.”
It was likely a request Jen secretly welcomed. When someone was removed from the family register, their inheritance was automatically relinquished. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
I spoke with the wistfulness of a girl who had dreams that would never come true.
“Moreover, since this is the first time I’ve come back to my hometown in a while, I really want to go out and do many things. But I can’t be the illegitimate child of this family for the rest of my life.”
Hearing my words, Jen responded with a sad expression. “I understand, Fiona. You must have had a really hard time. When I become the head of the family, I will definitely set you free.”
What utter nonsense. He, too, had no objections to sending me to the battlefield. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Now, tell me the names of the people who took the drugs from the eldest brother’s room.”
“That…”
At Jen’s urging, I pretended to hesitate before giving the names of the maids I had prearranged for testimony.
After listening, Jen nodded, looking as if he had solved a major problem.
“Okay. Thank you, Fiona. With this testimony, I’ll be able to inherit the family.”
I smiled in satisfaction and whispered sweetly, “Congratulations in advance, brother.”
***
Everything was going as planned. The story that the maids accidentally discovered the drug? That was a lie. To be precise, I had bribed some of the servants and had them rummage through Caindel’s room. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. Their testimonies had been thoroughly secured. The maids would testify that they ‘accidentally’ found the drug while cleaning Caindel’s room and were ‘accidentally’ caught by Lady Fiona.
Furthermore, the only information Jen had was that Caindel had touched the drug; he didn’t know that Count Green and Caindel had accumulated wealth through direct involvement in the drug business. I had no intention of revealing this to Jen—I planned to save this card for later. If I was going to stir up this family, I needed to do it properly.
I’m the type of person who, once I’ve decided to do something, will see it through to the end.
Now that I had ignited Jen, all I had to do was wait for it to burn.
As for Caindel, there was no need for me to do anything. He had always hated me anyway, and addressing him directly, like Jen, would only cause problems for me. Besides, with Caindel’s fiery personality and his strong sense of inferiority towards Jen, it was enough that Jen took action. As Jen moved forward, Caindel’s animosity would only increase. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“It’s you who doesn’t deserve it!”
“No, it’s you, older brother. You’re not talented enough!”
Since then, the Green brothers had been fighting over the inheritance day by day. It wasn’t too bad at first, but as time went on, the conflict grew more intense. Recently, not only had their voices risen, but the sound of breaking objects had also become frequent. The Countess, who had tried to intervene a few times initially, seemed exhausted and eventually stopped interfering. She was hardly even in the mansion anymore, apparently spending her time with her young lover.
Great, now I didn’t have to do anything directly. They were destroying each other with their own greed.
The people of the Green family were so greedy that they couldn’t tolerate even the slightest loss and always viewed others’ faults as significant while minimizing their own. Their selfishness was evident when they sent a powerless thirteen-year-old girl to the battlefield five years ago. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘If there had been even one wise person in the family, my plan might have failed.’
With that in mind, more time passed.
Jen, being more intelligent than Caindel, took advantage of the situation. While Caindel let his emotions drive him wild, Jen bribed the household staff and further exaggerated Caindel’s faults, spreading damaging rumors. The Countess, happy to maintain her current lifestyle, stayed out of the brothers’ fight. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Rumors spread like wildfire—partly fueled by my own efforts—which led the lateral branches of the family to question Caindel’s qualifications. Jen did not disappoint. He leveraged his debt further, buying off collateral relatives, believing he could repay it all once he inherited the family estate.
Eventually, the long-standing brotherly conflict reached its climax. Caindel was expelled from the family, and I was genuinely pleased to hear the news. I had grown weary of waiting for the outcome of their dispute.
Now, it was time for me to remove the last block and bring down the entire tower. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
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