She Is Not a Witch

After signing her name, the contract paper emitted a faint glow, and then delicate, light-colored floral patterns appeared across the entire sheet, obscuring the writing but not hindering readability. This meant that the document could no longer be altered; any additions or deletions would destroy these intricate floral patterns.

Afterward, while still lucid, Angus began to relay various matters: which people in the association could be trusted, who had ability but lacked character, and so on.

After finishing his instructions, his symptoms of coughing blood became increasingly severe. It was clear he didn’t have much time left.

“May I ask you one last question?” Loranhil looked at the dying father.

“Please do.”

“Why do you trust me so much? We’ve only met once before. What if I were an assassin?” Loranhil voiced her doubt.

“Haha… cough cough…” He spat out some blood, then raised his head.

“Trusting someone after a long acquaintance—that, I think, would be foolish.”

“Rather than trust in friendship or family ties, I believe more in long-term, reliable benefits.”

“People’s hearts can change. Perhaps they swear loyalty today, but tomorrow they might betray you.”

“I’m a merchant. I value benefits. My opponents are also merchants, and they value benefits even more than I do.”

“I don’t mean to look down on them, but if they could afford an assassin like you, I’d admit defeat without complaint.”

“But would those people hire an assassin like you? No, they wouldn’t. I’ve traveled far and wide, seen all sorts of people, but someone like you, with both your appearance and knowledge, is exceptionally rare. It’s like two thugs fighting—would one of them hire the king’s daughter as a hitman? If they could afford that, they wouldn’t be fighting each other in the first place.”

“So, I believe you have no connection to them, and I trust you’ll keep your promise to protect my remaining child.”

The girl still found it hard to believe. Did he trust his own judgment of people that much? She didn’t even believe herself to be so formidable.

“Alright, after this crisis passes and your child grows up, I’ll transfer the association’s assets to him.”

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary,” Angus said, surprisingly unconcerned about whether the property would return to his descendant’s hands.

“My child is only 10 years old, and I don’t know what kind of person he’ll grow up to be. If he turns out to be incompetent, giving him such a large fortune would only harm him. It would make him a target, and if he lacks ability, he could easily fall into others’ traps, ruining his life. I just want him to grow up peacefully, live, marry, and have children—not end up like me.”

“What if he grows into a very capable person?” the girl asked curiously.

“Then there’s even less to worry about. He’ll gain everything through his own abilities. Although it might be a bit troublesome at first, the satisfaction, pride, and sense of achievement that comes with success is irreplaceable. It will stay with him for life.”

“So you only need to protect him until he starts his own family. As for the property under my name, you can dispose of it as you see fit.”

“Ceres, Chelsea, thank you both for your hard work over the years. I must trouble you to assist this respected young lady in the future.”

“We will, sir. Please rest assured,” the butler and head maid promised sorrowfully, looking at the rapidly fading Angus.

“I have several properties in Hoplanor. Could you give one to each of these loyal servants?” Angus looked up at Loranhil pleadingly.

“Of course. After all, it was all originally yours,” the girl agreed without hesitation, thinking they could even be given more.

“Thank you.” Angus handed over his tokens, will, and other valuable items to Loranhil, then asked the two servants to step away, as he had some words to speak privately with Loranhil.

After the butler and head maid left, Loranhil sat down on a rock beside Angus, looking at this man on the brink of death.

“Is there anything else you want to say?”

Angus leaned against the boulder, his gaze fixed on the clouds in the sky. “I never imagined I would end my life here.”

“Would you like to hear the story of this failure?”

“Yes.”

“Long ago, I grew up in the Western Wind Kingdom. Relying on my father’s status as a baron, I caused trouble everywhere. I was a bastard of a boy,” he began.

“Then one day, I met Eileen’s mother. She was a young lady from a declining noble family. They had lost their estate, and the whole family was living in poverty.”

“At that time, I mocked her parents for trying to keep up appearances despite their embarrassing situation. I thought she would be angry, but she ignored me.”

Angus’s eyes seemed to drift into the past. “So I teased her, calling her ugly and trying to scare her with insects.”

“But she remained unmoved, still sitting under the tree reading. Her calm demeanor suddenly touched my heart.”

“I was curious why she wasn’t angry. What did she have to be proud of?”

“I inquired about her family from people around. They were actually very poor. Her mother was a vain person who often lost her temper because she couldn’t get what she wanted, and frequently took it out on her at home.”

“Normally, children in such situations would become timid, withdrawn, and eccentric.”

“But she wasn’t. I was puzzled and finally ran over to ask her one day.”

“She answered me. Her mother was the unwelcome fourth daughter in her family, so she was particularly concerned about appearances because it had wounded her heart, leaving a void she desperately wanted to fill.”

“‘But doesn’t your heart hurt when your mother beats and scolds you?’ I asked curiously.”

“‘It does. I feel sad and want to cry, but I don’t want to become that kind of person.’ At that moment, she sat by the window, as if light was shining upon her.”

“From that moment on, I fell in love with her.”

“I pursued her fervently, confessed my love, wanted her promise, but she didn’t accept me.”

“I didn’t understand and asked why. She said she didn’t want to marry a spoiled young master. I told her I loved her more than anything.”

“But she still refused me. Why, I asked again. She said even if my love was genuine, it wasn’t enough, because people change, especially noble sons like me who rely on their families.”

“Everything I had came from my family; I had no real abilities of my own. If we married hastily, the elders and relatives in the family would gossip and constantly interfere, and I wouldn’t be able to refute or resist their influence because I still relied on the family for my livelihood. This relationship couldn’t be severed, so I would have no say in matters.”

“Even if we married, life would be very tiring, and sooner or later, we would both grow weary and change our hearts.”

“At that time, I couldn’t refute her. So I desperately tried to find ways to make money.”

“A person with no experience suddenly wanting to make big money—the result was that I failed miserably and was confined by my father for a month.”

“After that, I tried to earn some small money on my own, without relying on the family.”

“I was good at arithmetic, so I helped merchants with their accounts. Then one day, I heard that her mother was planning to marry her off for money.”

“I couldn’t bear it. I ran to her house, met her secretly, and proposed again. By then, I was no longer favored by my family and had been cold-shouldered. I didn’t have much hope.”

“But to my surprise, this time she agreed. She said at least now I was a person who could live independently.”

“So she married me, a scoundrel in others’ eyes, without hesitation. She claimed to be pregnant already, forcing her mother to agree, because if she wasn’t a virgin, other great noble families wouldn’t marry her.”

“After giving birth to our daughter, her health deteriorated greatly, and she left this world a few years later. Later, I was framed by my brothers in their fight for family property and had to flee to a distant land, temporarily leaving Eileen with a friend.”

“There’s not much to tell after that. This scoundrel had a bit of luck, made some money, and was preparing to take his daughter back to live together. Then this farce came to an abrupt end on the way home.”