Isaac, who appeared in front of me again after a few days, was in a terrible state.
He was unrecognizably shabby, his beard was unkempt, his hair was like a magpie's nest, and he smelled bad.
The soldiers guarding the main gate even though they saw the palace pass that Isaac presented, thought he was suspicious and did not let him in.
After a long commotion, a soldier who knew Isaac's face recognized him and asked my permission separately.
I wondered how much of a mess he had to be for the soldier who recognized him to come to me for permission.
When I saw it in person, it was not that it wasn't true, it was something that could be true.
Even though it had only been a few days since I last saw him, Isaac had looked noticeably thinner.
I was about to ask if he wasn't eating properly, but I gave up.
'I'll figure it out.'
He was not a child, and he was especially good at using others to fill his own stomach.
"Bridget..."
Isaac sobbed and fell to his knees in front of me.
"If you tell me the same story as last time, I will immediately kick you out of the palace. Even the Brave of Forgiveness doesn't want to hear it."
I let out a sigh.
Isaac shook his head hurriedly and took out a piece of paper from the bundle he was carrying.
"Hey, divorce papers! This is what you wanted! I'll get a divorce by mutual consent! But listen to me."
Sure enough, the divorce papers he took out had his signature on them.
As I nodded, Anna, who was next to me, brought it to me,
I carefully examined the documents because it was suspicious that Isaac was meekly agreeing to a divorce by mutual consent.
There wasn't anything that looked particularly suspicious.
"Yes. Since we're getting a divorce, I'll listen to your last words."
I offered him a seat.
Only then did Isaac stagger to his feet and sit down on the chair.
"Uh... can I get some water..."
When Anna poured him some water, Isaac drank it in gulps.
He looked like someone who had never been able to get even a glass of water.
A while ago, I heard from Cedric that Winston Manor had a new owner and Isaac had been kicked out.
My promise to Cedric was kept, and I sent Cedric a small gift along with a written farewell wish.
"So, what do you want to say?"
He was probably going to ask for money.
Because Isaac needs money more than anything right now.
But what Isaac said was unexpected.
"I was played by the Duke of Linchester, wasn't I? You knew that from the beginning, didn't you?"
"That's right."
"So, you also knew that Penelope switched babies?"
"What do you want?"
The abandoned baby had already met parents who were like a gift to her and was living each day happily, receiving lots of love.
I set the date.
"My child. Was it a son or a daughter? Did he take after me? Did you kill him?"
"Why are you curious about that now?
"...I don't know either."
Isaac dropped his head.
"You want to fill Eli's empty space with vain hopes."
I gave the answer instead.
Not revealing his daughter's existence was Isaac's punishment.
Now it was also a gift for the baby's new life.
"The baby is dead. Penelope tried to have a premature birth but it went wrong."
"Ah..."
Isaac sighed.
"Bad year."
Even after her death, Penelope was not only not remembered, but was also brutally abused by the man she believed would save her life.
"That vicious woman. That woman... Ah."
Isaac shuddered as he recalled the past when he had brought Penelope into the mansion on his own.
As long as he lives, Isaac will hate and curse Penelope.
Penelope, who is hated even after death, and Isaac, who wastes time and mind on meaningless acts of cursing the dead, have become beings that devour each other.
"I'm crazy... I'm crazy... To bring a woman like that into my house!"
I looked at Isaac indifferently.. who was pulling out his hair in regret.
"I'm sorry, Bridget. I think I lost my mind."
He even apologized.
"I was possessed by that devilish woman. She was a scary bitch. Yes, now I know why did it. That witch blinded me and controlled me!"
"..."
"Why would I leave a good woman like you. Sob, sob. If only I could turn back time. I would live happily with you."
"Shut up, Isaac."
I warned fiercely.
Isaac blinked, startled by my sharp momentum, as tears streamed down his face.
"Even if I turn back time, I would never be happy with a person like you."
Just imagining it gave me goosebumps.
I, who had actually experienced waking up in the past while traveling back in time, found Isaac's words horrifying.
"That, that's right. You will be happy with His Majesty the King..."
Isaac quickly lowered his tail.
"Now that you're done talking, you can leave. As I said last time, I'll pay you the price for the divorce agreement."
When I nodded to Anna again, Anna took the bag of silver coins and placed it in front of Isaac.
Isaac stared blankly at it, then grabbed me, who was getting up to leave the living room.
"Ha, one more! One last thing."
I stood there frowning, looking down at Isaac.
"Speak quickly."
"I'll tell you the Duke of Linchester's secret!"
"If you're trying to negotiate with me over something so trivial..."
"No, no! All I want is for the Duke of Linchester to get fucked."
Isaac ground his teeth.
"I have no power now, and I can't even fuck the Duke with this, but you can. Listen and choose for yourself. Use this secret or not."
"Good."
I sat back down.
Isaac took something out of the bundle he had brought with him.
"This is my secret ledger. I used it to help find jobs for war orphans."
Strictly speaking, it was not job placement, but human trafficking.
"I know the people who did business with me at the time. I even did some background checks on some of them just in case something happens."
Isaac pointed to a name in the ledger that appeared quite frequently.
"I saw the lover of this man named Paul at the Duke of Linchester's residence."
"Tell me more."
"Margaret Delford, now the mistress of Bruce Linchester, the Duke's third son."
"... What kind of secret is that?"
"Margaret Delford is a warlock."
"..."
Bridget paused.
"She's a crazy woman. She's a pagan, and she seems to be doing something with the kids. Paul bought the kids from me on her errands. Oh, Paul was a pagan, and Bruce Linchester seems to be a pagan too."
"What are they doing with children?"
"I don't know much about that."
Isaac quickly added, perhaps figuring that I would be disappointed.
"It seems that it has become difficult to find orphans from war these days, so they are looking for other ways to save them. They are mainly looking for young girls."
Isaac tried to get the Duke of Linchester to do something about it.
What he did was tail Margaret Delford, who was reeking of blood.
"Did you know that the bandits who recently flowed into the South due to the crackdown on bandits In the North have formed an organization? I saw Margaret Delford with that group of bandits."
I felt the puzzle pieces in my head begin to fall into place.
Isaac asked, slowly observing my expression.
"How is it... is it useful?"
I didn't answer.
Instead, I pointed to Isaac's secret ledger.
"Sell this to me."
"Why, why?"
"It has its uses."
"You can't get anything out of me even if you rip me off like this! I've already lost all my money to paying fines."
"I'm not trying to rip you off, so don't fuss. Are you going to sell it or not?"
Anna again handed Isaac the purse.
There was more money in the bag than what was received in exchange for the divorce settlement.
Isaac, who was short on money, quickly handed over his secret ledger.
"Please take revenge, Bridget! I will only trust you!"
Isaac was a man who took advantage of anyone he could.
I was dumbfounded at the sight of him trying to get revenge by using his ex-wife who was divorcing him.
Anyway, it was an unexpected harvest.
Support Novellate!
truly unexpected
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