Chapter 6
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 6
"That damned Duke...!"
"Dear!"
As Father's words grew harsh, Mother cautioned him once more.
"Ahem... Still, the engagement cannot be broken. I shall speak with the Duke and resolve this matter, so you need not worry about anything."
The moment Father spoke of reversing the broken engagement, my mind snapped into sharp focus.
'That absolutely cannot happen.'
After all I went through to obtain this broken engagement—and my mines...!
This matter must never be overturned, never spoken of again.
"...I don't like him anymore either."
"What?"
"What did you say?"
At my declaration of dislike, both my parents stared at me in shock.
"I don't like him anymore! For over a decade, I alone harbored affection for him, I alone yearned for him, I alone gazed upon him. But now he fancies another woman—how much longer must I endure this? When I begged for the engagement to be broken, I wept and wailed, but the Duke would not budge an inch. So I relented. I agreed to the annulment, I said I would let him go."
With that, I collapsed onto the sofa, burying my face in my hands.
And just as I had done before Cain Maxius, I secretly jabbed my eyes with my fingers like a madwoman.
'Come forth, tears...!'
Fortunately, when I pressed the spot I had irritated earlier, tears burst forth immediately.
I began to sob loudly enough for my parents to hear.
"Sob... I can't do this anymore... I'm exhausted from loving him. My heart aches so terribly it feels as though it will tear apart. I wish I had no heart at all... It's all so wretched, Mother, Father. The fact that I've lived this way, treated so cruelly by the person I've loved all this time—it's too horrible, too heartbreaking."
I delivered the lines I had so carefully prepared, pouring myself fully into the performance.
"Belita...."
At my tempestuous sobs, Mother called my name in a voice heavy with anguish.
"Don't cry, Belita...."
"My heart has crumbled to pieces. I don't wish to see him anymore."
"Belita, stop crying and rise... When you cry, it pains us so deeply."
"Mother, Father. Please tell me what I should do. What should I do? How am I to live from this moment forward? Sob...."
To show them how sorrowful, how hollow, how despairing, how anguished I felt, I wept with all my might.
Then it came.
As I continued weeping without pause, Father, who had remained silent all this while, finally spoke.
"Well done. So cease your tears now, Belita."
I lifted my tear-stained face at his words and looked toward my parents.
It was sudden praise, utterly unlike anything before.
Father's expression now bore a coldness and gravity I had never witnessed from him.
Seeing such an expression, I understood that his words were no mere utterance.
"Father...?"
"Dear?"
"I've thought for a long time that our daughter was far too good for that wretch. Well done, Belita. Now stop your tears."
'Oh....'
My father—Belita's father—was far more dependable and reassuring than I had anticipated.
Until now, I had regarded him as a man driven solely by emotion, but somehow he was beginning to reveal himself anew.
Given the circumstances, it seemed there was no further need for tears, so I raised my arm and brushed away my tears with a swift motion.
"Thank you, Father. And I'm sorry... I've been so weak, I'm sorry. I'm sorry...."
However, had my complexion brightened too suddenly, it might have aroused suspicion, so I maintained the appearance of someone devastated by the broken engagement until the very end.
"Belita."
My mother rose from her seat and came to my side, embracing me tightly.
"Mother, I'm sorry...."
I apologized to her as well.
It was to demonstrate how deeply I was experiencing despair over this broken engagement and how troubled my heart truly was.
"You have nothing to apologize for to us, Belita."
"That's right, Belita. We are your parents. We have no intention of ever forcing upon you things you do not desire. So do not apologize to us."
From the current situation, I could sense just how deeply they loved Belita.
And the more I came to understand my parents' hearts, the more my small conscience pricked me repeatedly for deceiving them.
Yet I quickly steeled my resolve, telling myself there was no need to feel such remorse.
It may be self-rationalization, but in any case, by inhabiting Belita's body, I was able to save the lives of many.
In the original story, Belita tormented Adela and attempted to kill her, only to die herself in the process, and this incident escalated into a war between houses, causing the Heitz Family to collapse overnight.
The Heitz Family was not one to be easily defeated, but when the Maxius Family and the Byon Family launched a coordinated assault, the Heitz Family had no choice but to succumb helplessly.
'Wicked people.'
While it was Belita's fault to have attempted to kill Adela, who had stolen her fiancé, honestly, even if I were Belita, I could never forgive those two.
Yet her greatest mistake was that she continued to love Cain Maxius despite his deception and broken promises.
So she left Cain completely untouched and only tormented Adela, and as a result, she was killed by Adela's younger brother.
'Come to think of it, I saved this household?'
Had I not possessed this body, the family would have ultimately faced complete annihilation, but fortunately, I prevented that catastrophe.
"The broken engagement was initiated by the Maxius Family first, correct?"
"Yes, that's right...."
"I see. Then that settles it."
From the gleam in my father's eyes as he answered, I could discern what he was thinking.
Separate from his love for his daughter, he was the head of one of the Empire's greatest houses and a nobleman through and through.
It appeared he was calculating what he could extract from the Maxius Duchy through my broken engagement.
"So, there's something more I should tell you...."
Thus, having read my father's intentions, I hastened to broach the subject of what I had gained from the broken engagement.
"What is it?"
"As compensation for the broken engagement, the Duke has agreed to provide me with damages."
"Damages are only natural, of course."
My father looked at me as though questioning why I would state something so obvious.
"Father, it's not just a matter of a few coins."
I imagined how astonished both of them would be if I told them I'd acquired a diamond mine.
I didn't hesitate and continued speaking.
"I've agreed to receive the territory where the Maxius Family's diamond mine is located."
"What did you say?"
At my words about receiving the diamond mine, Father's eyes widened in shock.
"A diamond mine? Surely you don't mean Grens?!"
Grens was the name of the territory with the diamond mine I'd secured today.
"Yes, that's right."
Father was so astonished that his gaping mouth remained open.
"Truly, truly?"
Even though the words came from my own lips, Father asked me again, as if he couldn't believe it.
"Yes, truly. It's a verbal agreement, but the Duke promised he would definitely give it to me. So once the Maxius Family prepares the documents and sends them, it should be settled."
A verbal agreement was also a valid contract.
Yet both of them continued to stare at me with eyes full of disbelief.
"My, my. For the Duke to relinquish that mine so easily..."
I certainly understood their reaction.
No matter how I thought about it, the fact that I'd received a diamond mine from Cain Maxius didn't make sense.
I had mentioned wanting a diamond mine as compensation for breaking the engagement, but I myself hadn't truly believed he would hand over the entire mine so readily.
So initially, I'd planned to make an unreasonable demand and then negotiate from there.
That was the basic principle of negotiation, after all.
But he didn't give me just a portion of the mine—he unhesitatingly transferred the entire territory to me.
'His love for Adela must run that deep.'
Rather than cause Adela suffering because of my existence, he was willing to give away a mere mine. That was the depth of his love for her.
'So the two of you should love each other for a thousand years.'
Well, after all, this novel's ending was a happy one.
Even without my unnecessary worry, those two would surely live happily together for the rest of their lives.
"Grens... Grens. Belita, you've truly accomplished something remarkable."
I snapped out of my reverie at the emotion in Father's voice.
Then I shrugged my shoulders at his praise.
After that, Father and I began discussing in more detail the alimony we would demand from the Maxius Family.
But I noticed Mother had been watching me quietly the whole time.
Her gaze bothered me, so I paused my conversation with Father and turned my attention to Mother.
"Is there something you wish to say to me, Mother?"
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