The Male Lead’s Fake Sister - Chapter 62

She just said that she won’t marry him.

Herod paused for a moment because the words sounded a little too strange.

In other words, it felt like the ink bottle had closed its own lid.

Herod had a lot of things planned in his head prior to his meeting with Ravia today.

He planned to use Rette to meet Ravia and make excuses about the earring and substitute matter.

And discuss the deal with Ravia.

Naturally, there were many variables considering his opponent was Ravia Leontine, but Herod already considered every possibility. He even thought about getting slapped by Ravia.

“I apologize for withdrawing from our deal. But surely you must be able to take that much considering you’ve wronged me before.”

Ravia’s words had successfully overturned all of his calculations.

The ink bottle closed on its own, which meant he was no longer able to draw further.

Herod asked back, not realizing that he was losing control over his facial expression.

“…So suddenly? Are you saying that we should drop our marriage talks?”

“Yeah. We haven’t even written our marriage contract, and there’s nothing going on between us that could lock up the deal.”

“T-That’s a bit….baffling.”

“There’s nothing we can do. I think we both agree that we can’t expect to get informed on every matter. I never expected that my marriage partner was fooling me, either. And look what’s happened?”

Herod finally came to his senses at Ravia’s words.

‘….I almost got carried away.’

Apparently, it was Ravia who held the reins in this conversation. She made use of Herod’s mistake and turned the game around by announcing that she won’t marry him.

‘Why did you suddenly change your mind?’

Not long ago, she seemed to be trying to get away from Tidwell. It was only a few weeks ago Ravia decided she was leaving this place.

‘I don’t know if Tidwell coaxed you in between.’

If possible, he wanted to know what caused her to change and her current goal, but it was impossible right now.

Herod gritted his teeth.

‘Ravia is my only key to the spring user. I can’t lose her like this.’

Thankfully, he was experienced in dealing with capricious trading partners. And he, too, had a hidden card.

Herod calmed down and slowly opened his mouth.

“It may sound cliché, but I want to know why you’re going to withdraw first. I don’t know what kind of situation you’re in, but it’s very important to me to find a spring user.”

“I guess so. Your left shoulder looks very uncomfortable.”

“…It seems like you’re very knowledgeable about the four season abilities.”

He had no idea where she got that information from, but it was as Ravia said.

Herod’s penalty was his own ability; which is decaying things starting from its core and spreading it all around.

If he cannot control the fall ability to decompose everything, his ability ate his heart and spread little by little through his blood vessels.

He began to suffer damage from the left side, closer to his heart, and now it began to spread to his left shoulder.

A disease that couldn’t be cured by medicine. It could only be cured by a spring user, who had the ability to cure everything.

With a slight frown, Herod continued.

“You seem to be well aware of my condition, so I’ll just cut to the chase. Why did you change your mind knowing that I betrayed my business partner and offered to help you?”

“Just as I said before, I simply changed my mind. In other words, I’m not going to leave Leontine.”

“That’s what I don’t understand, Chunhee.”

My Chunhee. You should’ve stayed lost on the road so that I can keep using you.

“Why do you suddenly want to get out of the road? Was I becoming too unreliable to you because I made you meet my substitute?”

“No. It’s more about a fundamental problem. I realized that I didn’t have to go through the road I was going through.”

“I wonder what led you to that conclusion. Did Tidwell ever tell you that he loved you?”

A subtle change occurred on her face due to Herod’s sharp question.

“…I guess you already knew that he has feelings for me.”

“Haha. There’s no way I didn’t know when he’s been making it so obvious.”

When Ravia basically confirmed it, Herod laughed.

Yeah, I knew it. In the end, all of this is because of my stupid partner.

His feelings were something that everyone but he himself knew!

But it was rather good. If that was the real reason behind Ravia’s change of mind, then it’d be easier to talk to her.

Herod looked a little gloomy and opened his mouth again.

“…Then let me ask you one thing, Chunhee.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you really believe that?”

There was a slight change in Ravia’s expression again.

“By that, you mean….?”

“I’m talking about Tidwell’s love. Do you really believe that it will save you?”

In the first place, love is the most vile emotion in the long history of mankind. Even lovers who always whisper their love cannot fully trust each other, so they would always have the need to confirm their love.

How strong is your trust in his love?

“I’m not trying to deny his feelings or anything. I’m just saying that you should think more about the future. Tidwell may seem infatuated by you right now, but his feelings are going to cool one day.”

“…You have a point.”

“And I don’t know how much you know about him, but Tidwell is a cruel man by nature.”

There was no mercy in his hands; he regarded other people’s lives as mere goods, and there was not an ounce of guilt for his sins.

He was the embodiment of evil itself.

“Would such a person choose you over Leontine?”

If she really believed that, then she had the wrong idea of him.

Herod’s eloquence was outstanding thanks to years of blackmailing, slandering, or even cornering people.

Anyone who truly believed Tidwell’s love would definitely feel shaken by his words.

But that only worked if his opponent truly believed Tidwell’s love.

“Herod.”

When he turned his gaze toward the call, what Herod encountered was a sneering woman.

“You don’t seriously think that I do this because of love, do you?”

“…..I’m saying just in case. I want to make sure whether you are really hanging on to such a dubious thing.”

“I wouldn’t be here If I was hanging onto such a thing. I don’t believe in people.”

“So what do you believe in?”

“I believe in what I can do.”

Such as changing the environment or situation that can be changed.

“I’m not that strong, so I can’t roll a boulder down a slope, but I can slightly twist the trajectory of the boulder.”

Ravia took a step closer. Contrary to her thoughtful countenance, she asked in a rather airy tone.

“Let me give you an example. I know Tidwell’s real identity, but I can’t reveal it. I can’t take away Tidwell’s Dark Flower, nor can I drive him to death.”

“I know that much.”

“But what if ‘someone’ leaked Tidwell’s identity to a ‘powerful’ person, prompting that person to investigate the drug, and effectively led him to death?”

“That’s….”

“Please listen until the end. So if one day that ‘someone’ forced Tidwell to make a ‘choice.’”

I could twist the trajectory of that choice.

By the time Ravia had finished speaking, both of them faced each other without a smile.

One party looked stiff while trying to control his emotions, and the other looked sick of the situation.

With a dejected expression, Ravia scoffed.

“I know that you ratted him out to the Emperor and prompted my father to investigate Tidwell.”

“….How do you know that?”

“Well, what’s important now isn’t how I know.”

So it wasn’t really the time for Herod to ask how she knew. He should ask Ravia what she plans to do with that information.

“You were going to have my father digging into Tidwell and have Tidwell kill him before everything got revealed, but in fact, it’s going to go wrong with just one touch.”

Even before Tidwell knew that Duke Leontine had been investigating him.

If Duke Leontine woke up from the hypnosis of Dark Flower.

Even before Tidwell could use his hand, Duke Leontine will kick him out first.

Then Ravia wouldn’t need to rack her brain so hard just to run away.

Now Herod realized that he had completely played into her hand, even though he could not tell from when.

“Thank you for rolling the boulder, Herod.”

It was a voice belonging to the true winner.