I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

13 – 13. Fall

The family has fallen. I stared blankly as my father’s body was laid to rest in the tomb.

However, strangely, I didn’t feel sadness. Rather, my concern was about what I would face from now on.

Father couldn’t bear the burden of a ruined family. That’s why he escaped through the exit called death.

Left behind, stripped of wealth and status, was nothing more than a green graduate, barely twenty, who had just graduated from the academy.

I didn’t shed tears. In such an extreme situation, even tears seemed to have dried up.

I smiled as I witnessed the last peaceful sight of my father lying in the coffin.

It felt absurd. What should I do alone? Was it better to die first?

Ironically, I envied my father. Considering what I would witness from now on, I thought dying would be a better option.

I knew I shouldn’t blame him, but I resented my father. In a situation where the heart felt like collapsing, it was better to blame someone.

But as the coffin covering my father’s body closed and disappeared into the ground, the feeling of blaming my father was buried along with him.

In the end, I lost someone else to blame, and my heart remained fragile.

…

The fall of Kainus, one of the families dominating the empire, didn’t simply end with losing its former glory.

Like a meteor burning up in the sky, a family that lost its past power in an instant had nothing left but to be devoured.

People scattered. I asked for help, but those who had been loyal under the name of Kainus turned away from me as if to say, “When did that ever happen?”

Not only the Imperial faction but also the noble families joined forces to attack Kainus. In a situation without a political foundation, I, who had inherited nothing more than a meager title called a barony, had no choice but to face the onslaught.

And Ariel and her spirits did not help me.

… It was natural. While facing saturation attacks from all central noble families, what benefit did they have in assisting me? Ariel and her spirits didn’t help me, calculating that they would only incur losses.

However, such things didn’t matter. In fact, there were more pressing, realistic problems.

Servants began to quit. They all said they could no longer work due to various reasons.

“I’m sorry. Due to personal circumstances, I can no longer continue working…”

I only nodded with a closed mouth. There was no one loyal to a falling family.

And eventually, faces I didn’t want to see were showing up.

“…Bel.”

She had been a maid closely connected to me since childhood. She never uttered apologies or explanations like, “I’m sorry” or “There are circumstances.”

“It turned out like this. It’s unavoidable; you’ll understand, won’t you?”

I bit my lip. Bell, who gazed at me with sad eyes, spoke, bowing deeply at the waist.

“This is the final farewell from the inadequate me, serving the Keynes family. Since there’s no other way, please.”

I opened my mouth.

“…Alright, even after quitting the job, I hope you find happiness.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

As Bell, who expressed gratitude, disappeared, the spacious mansion instantly became empty and desolate. But that wasn’t the end, decisively.

…

The Keynes family was in deep debt. Or, to be precise, they had accumulated debts to sustain their business.

At the time when borrowing money served as capital for aggressive investments, now that the Keynes family had lost their territory, there was no money left.

As a result, I had to witness representatives from the Imperial Central Bank walking into the Keynes family mansion with muddy shoes.

They entered the mansion and began taking anything of value. Jewels, decorations, furniture—everything was carried away by their hands.

The head collector from the Central Bank looked at me and said, “Unfortunately, among the Keynes estate, there seems to be nothing substantial to repay the debt. Regrettably, this action has become necessary.”

I only furrowed my brow at him.

Even so, the collectors were faithfully transporting the Keynes family’s possessions.

I gripped the cane tightly. The hand holding the cane trembled slightly.

How did it come to this?

I lived immersed in sweet dreams.

Filled with hope for the future, I enjoyed each day.

But in a single moment, the cold reality’s gust of wind woke me up.

I found myself exposed to the harsh world, bare.

“That cane in your hand seems to be quite valuable; why don’t you hand it over?”

One of the collectors said, and I grimaced at those words.

On my fourteenth birthday, it was the staff Ariel had given me.

Since receiving this staff, I had used it at the academy, or in any other situation.

Therefore, I couldn’t let go of this staff.

What I held in my hand was not just a staff; it was the embodiment of the happy moments in my life.

I couldn’t let it go.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

I said, looking at the tax collector.

“Even if I let go of everything else, I won’t let go of this.”

The tax collector glared at me. I stared back. If he tried to forcibly take the staff, I was ready to kill.

And then, the person in charge put his hand on his shoulder.

“Enough, let it go. It’s a precious memory the young master wants to leave behind.”

His words felt like mockery. I felt a sense of misery and my hands trembled.

Finally, after the tax collectors had transported everything inside the mansion, the person in charge looked at me with a smile.

“Well, then, please vacate this mansion by this date.”

Then he looked around.

“Well, there’s nothing left anyway, even if you decide to stay here….”

As he said, the Kainus mansion, the mansion I had grown up in, was now completely empty.

The tax collectors left, and I slumped to the floor of the mansion.

What can I do now?

Nothing. No clothes, no furniture, not even something to eat right away. In the hollow feeling of having nothing left, I stared blankly at the sky.

Clouds gathered in the sky, and it seemed like it could rain at any moment.

Looking at it, I went outside the mansion.

Drip, drip. Raindrops began to fall.

And the raindrops gradually became heavier and more abundant.

Getting hit by the raindrops, I thought.

Should I die?

There was nothing I could do. No, it was even stranger to be alive, having suffered the disgrace of the family’s ruin.

Rather than living in such a miserable state, I thought it would be better to face death honorably. My own voice, educated as a noble, echoed within me.

I knelt and pointed the staff at my neck.

This should do it.

With just one breath of magic, my head would disappear, and I could find rest.

From the sky, rain poured as if it sought to sweep away the entire world.

Yes, like this, closing my eyes, just once—

I tightly shut my eyes.

Death is better. Remaining alive like this would only lead to a more miserable fate. There was no hope. I tried to summon my magic.

But… my hands were trembling violently.

The staff pointed at my neck slipped from the hand that trembled so fiercely.

“I can’t do it…”

I hated it. I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live.

While my noble self spoke of death, my human self spoke of life.

“I want to live…”

I cried. Despite being in such a state, I wanted to live so desperately. Knowing I would regret not dying, I cried passionately because I wanted to live, tears streaming down.

In the situation closest to death, ironically, I found myself yearning for life.

I lowered my head in misery. My entire body soaked in the cold rain, my temperature dropping, and my kneeling pants were already dirty.

And then, at that moment.

“Edun-nim!”

Someone called me.

I raised my head. It was a carriage. The carriage was rushing towards me.

“Edun-nim!”

The door of the carriage, now in front of me, swung open. And someone descended.

“Are you okay!?”

She, who got off the carriage, embraced me.

I held onto her. Her long, abundant, orange-hued hair tickled me.

She looked at me, tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke.

“I’m relieved… we’re not too late yet.”

“…Cerise?”

I gazed at her. Cerise Derin. The one who had cut ties with me while engaged to Ariel, was now looking at me, shedding tears and embracing me.