For Sale: Male Lead, Obsession Included - Chapter 22
‘But why is Father in my room?’
For a moment, I was taken aback by his sudden appearance, but then I wanted to clap my hands in delight.
‘What perfect timing!’
Moreover, seeing his tightly clenched face! He heard everything I said!
I had to bite my lower lip to keep from bursting into laughter.
“Whose mouth will reveal the truth?”
Just standing beside him made it hard to breathe. It was because of the immense pressure he exuded.
Lavelier was trembling, tears streaming down her face, unable to form a coherent thought.
I decided to strike the first blow.
“I was seven, and Sister Lavelier was eleven!”
I dropped to my knees in front of Father, tears streaming down my face.
“I was locked in that wardrobe, and I clearly heard Sister and Tony talking! I heard that Sister brought poison to use on me, but she told Tony to drink it first to see its effect!”
“…Ha.”
“I was so scared. I heard Tony collapse, and they said if I told anyone, they’d do the same to me.”
Tears dripped down, staining the floor in front of Father’s shoes.
Not bad for fake tears, right? I continued my tattling with an inward sneer.
“Now that I’m telling you this, there have been many times when my sister threatened and silenced me. Hiic.”
No one in the room dared to speak rashly.
Father’s anger was visibly at its peak. Anyone who spoke now must have had a death wish.
I slowly lifted my head to look at Father’s face. It was a mix of rage and guilt, wandering somewhere in between.
“My daughter killed the son of my dearest friend! How could this be!”
His hand trembled violently.
A thunderous rebuke followed.
“To think I raised such a thing like a cherished daughter, worse than a bastard…”
“F-Father, how can you say that…!”
Lavelier crawled to him on her knees, just like I had, and clung to his pants.
No matter how much she showed him her tear-stained face, he did not smile. It was not the face of the daughter he loved.
“Lock her up.”
“…What?”
“Lock her in the basement and do not release her until she has written down every atrocity she remembers committing.”
Lavelier shook her head violently, trembling.
“Father, it’s me, Lavelier. Your eldest daughter. How can you imprison me…?”
“Do not give her even a sip of water!”
Father shouted and then stormed out with a flushed face.
The scene of Lavelier being dragged out by the knights etched itself into my memory like a scene from a movie.
As I watched, the butler approached me quietly.
“Miss, you have a visitor.”
“What?”
Looking in the direction he indicated, I saw Ribolto leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
“Guildmaster?”
“I asked the master of the house to guide me as I have something to deliver.”
“Oh…”
Ribolto handed me a small box.
“I can understand why you said this was a matter of life and death.”
With that, Ribolto vanished, leaving a cold breeze in his wake.
Once everyone had left.
In the room, suddenly quiet as if a storm had passed, I tore open the packaging. Filled with a mix of anticipation and suspicion, I looked inside.
I felt a thud in my chest as if my heart had dropped.
“This is…”
Declan, who had approached without me noticing, completed my sentence.
“It’s an encryption-breaking magic tool. I’ve seen one before.”
Inside the box was a round stone, emitting an iridescent glow.
Yes, I knew it was an encryption-breaking magic tool.
But the problem was.
Why did Ribolto bring this to me personally?
‘How did he know I ordered this magic tool?’
My eyes darted around like a candle flickering in the wind.
At that moment, I noticed a letter that had fallen to the floor with the packaging.
It was a message from Ribolto himself.
P.S. I will take the payment for this errand in the form of a partnership once you come of age.
My hands holding the magic tool and letter trembled slightly.
…What exactly is this man’s true identity?
