When My Enemies Began to Regret

“Countess.”

Now, it wasn’t a matter of going against Hanar’s feelings or not. Fanora called by her title and expressed her thoughts.

“Think about it properly. There’s no way I can take Purson’s place. I have no intention of becoming a successor, and even if I had the intention…”

“…”

“You know better than anyone else that I’m the b*stard in this family, so why did you need to hate me? Is it really just because I’m a hindrance to the family’s reputation?”

She’s been agonizing for a long time. Why on earth is her mother so anxious about not being able to kill her? At first, she thought it was because she overheard one night that ‘my daughter also has the right to succession,’ but the more she thought about it, the more she wasn’t convinced.

That’s why Fanora added to herself the reason why Hanar hates her. She guessed Hanar didn’t like her because she looked ugly and became the flaw of Celsius. Then she guessed she hated her just because she lacked manners.

“Why did you hate a child with no power like me so much? Countess.”

Now Fanora wanted to hear a definite reason.

“…”

As she pushed for a long time, Fanora’s enemy slowly turned away. Hanar’s face, which had been filled with embarrassment, became closer to regret as the question continued.

“…Fanora.”

After a moment of silence, Hanar finally answered her daughter’s question. However, her first words were shocking.

“I didn’t actually want to hate you.” Hanar’s calm voice rings in the quiet library.

With her wheat-colored hair, the woman neatly covered the book she had taken from her daughter and continued to speak. “Do you remember, Fanora? Not long after, you lost your biological mother. It wasn’t until you and I first said greetings.”

“…”

“I planned to raise you as my daughter at that time. Yes… No matter how bad my relationship with the former countess was, I wondered what was wrong with raising her child.”

It was the first time She heard of Hanar. However, a memory vaguely came to mind when she explored the past here.

It was her childhood. When she first met Hanar, the new Countess greeted Fanora with a smile. On their first meal together, she even fed her like her own daughter. With her anticipation growing, she thought that this person would really be her mother

“But… It’s changed.”

But her kindness didn’t last long. Is that why she feels betrayed?

Fanora tilted her head and faced Hanar. There was no more feeling of anger in her eyes.

“Because I have a reason why I can’t help but hate you.”

“What is that?”

“…”

Hanar struggled with her eyes closed for a while, eventually revealing why she changed her mind. “Bael… It’s because of him.”

“…!”

“He tried to betray me and my son. I had no choice but to survive.”

Bael Celsius? Why did that name appear here? Fanora looked at her with a face she didn’t understand, and Hanar added her explanation.

“…I guess Bael informed me of this so I wouldn’t ignore you.”

“What…”

“The Count truly intended to appoint you as his successor.”

Bael Celsius was trying to appoint his first daughter, whom he hated so much, as his successor. It made no sense from beginning to end.

“Didn’t I just tell you that’s not possible? Why did he let go of Purson, whom he had cherished since childhood, and appointed his daughter, whom he doubted was even his child…!”

But it seemed that Hanar no longer wanted to talk about the subject. She turned her head with a grimace. The book she was holding in her hand had already been put down on a nearby table.

“I have nothing more to say. If you’re that curious, why not go to your father and ask him directly?”

“Hanar!”

“Now I am tired of what the Count is doing.”

As soon as Hanar finished the conversation, she left the library. Watching her walk away, Fanora briefly thought about grabbing her, but she quickly decided against it.

“You were going to hand me over the family?”

There was a more obvious way than to catch and dig out from Hanar. No, in fact, she had to meet Bael right now to relieve this anger.

“Who does he think he is to me!”

If Hanar’s words were true, she couldn’t say that Bael wasn’t responsible for the poisoning she suffered in the past.

Not long after Hanar entered this mansion, she was accused of being a prostitute who bewitched the man she met, making her position somewhat unstable. She must have thought she had finally found a place in society. Of course, she would shudder if her husband were to throw away their son and make his dead wife’s daughter his successor.

However, Fanora couldn’t understand the fact that Bael was involved in all of this. He ignored her in her whole life. No matter how hard she tried before she regressed, he had no interest in her. But now he’s going to make her as his successor?

Fanora was shocked by the unexpected reason. So she moved her body first without even thinking. Somehow, right now, she wanted to hear the whole story from Bael.

“Butler! Where is my father now? Please guide me right away!”

“Do you mean the Count? If it’s Count…”

Fanora went straight to Bael after that. It was so cold that there was ice everywhere, but she didn’t even bother to wear a coat because she felt boiled for the first time in a while.

* * *

Count Bael Celsius, the master of the family, was a man who was difficult to meet in the mansion because he usually went out. Her father went out again today. So Fanora got into an argument with the butler, demanding to know where his father was. However, the butler didn’t readily reveal the location for some reason.

Fanora looked through the place where she arrived and twisted her mouth in a way that made her laughable.

The building where she arrived was none other than a gambling house. It wasn’t a serious level of gambling but a place where nobles gathered to play poker just for fun.

But the problem was next.

“I’m sorry, Lady. You are not allowed inside.”

“I beg your pardon?”

As she tried to enter the building, the security guards at the entrance blocked her. They explained that only noblemen were allowed to enter, so they couldn’t let her in.

“I’m the daughter of Count Celsius. Can’t you see? It’s urgent. My father is in there, right?”

“It’s not possible. Please follow the procedures.”

The guards at the entrance were stubborn. They told her that if she wanted to call Bael, she could come with a good reason and a male servant from the family.

There are many ladies-only gatherings at Kasius, so she could understand the entry conditions. However, she got angry when she came a long way and was stopped by this unexpected reason.

Fanora stood near the entrance and thought for a moment. The distance from here to Count’s Mansion was a problem in order to call a servant from the Celsius Mansion.

“…”

Then should she bring someone else?

A male noble from a high-ranking family who could come running immediately after hearing a single word from her. She wondered if someone had such conditions, but luckily, there was one.

“Aah!”

This is a street corner near the town square. That was to say that Marchioness Andras’ mansion was within walking distance.

“Wait a minute!”

Carl Andras. Fanora, who remembered his face, headed straight to Marchioness Andras’s mansion. She felt ashamed that she had sought his help so quickly when she thought she would never seek his help. However, as soon as Carl saw her at his mansion, he smiled brightly and welcomed her. He willingly accompanied her to the gambling house.

“It-it’s here.”

After running until she was out of breath, she arrived at the gambling house. Fanora pointed to the wooden building ahead. Carl nodded his head as if he understood.

“But Carl, do you know how to play poker?”

“I only knew people who’s good at cards…”

They tried to enter once again after a brief conversation. This time, the guards reacted differently. Although he was dressed in shabby clothes, they couldn’t refuse his entry because Carl was a member of the Andras family.

“They said I can come in. Then, I just have to go find Lady Fanora’s father inside, right?”

“His name is Bael Celsius. He had light wheat-colored hair and golden eyes… Ah, he’s a tall man with a tough look.”

“Even if you don’t say so, I’ve already seen him. Thank you for letting me know his name.”

Carl went into the building to call her father. In a relatively short period of time, he met Bael Celsius, who was playing poker inside the gambling house and made it clear that his daughter wanted to meet him for urgent business.

Thanks to that, Fanora was able to talk to her father soon.

* * *

A few minutes later, at the back door of the gambling house. Fanora waited for her father in a quiet alley nearby. While waiting for Bael to come out, she also organized what to say to him.

She climbed up and down the nearby stone steps to calm her anger. It was when she repeated the stairs three times like that.

“!”

The back door of the gambling hall opened with a squeak and old sound. When she turned her head in a hurry, she saw a familiar face. A middle-aged man with a height like Fanora appeared. It was Bael Celsius.

“Count.”

“What are you doing?”

Bael was suddenly called out just when things were going well, so he was in a very upset mood. Even so, he agreed to the conversation, showing off his annoyance.

“I heard something strange from mother, and it seems to me like a lie, so I’m going to check with Count myself.”

“Strange sound?”

“I heard that Count has been trying to make me your successor for a long time. What does this mean?”

Bael Celsius, who had been annoyed all along, also changed his complexion as soon as this word came out of Fanora’s mouth. He muttered, sweeping his beard. It was a small voice, but the alley was quiet, so she could hear the contents clearly. “Did Hanar say that?” said Bael.

“T-then you really want me to be your successor… leaving Purson behind?”

“…”

“Why on earth? It doesn’t make sense. You…”

Fanora spoke in a trembling voice of incredible facts. She brought out the words like a dagger herself. “You don’t think of me as your daughter. But you wanted to pass on the family name to a dirty, out-of-wedlock child like me?”

She wanted at least the whole thing to be right. She hoped that Hanar’s hatred wasn’t due to luck, like a coin toss, but to some unavoidable circumstance.

“…”

What does Bael Celsius think of Fanora’s desperation?

He began to speak to Fanora in a dry voice. “I haven’t thought that way for a while now.”

“What?”

At first, it was a vague answer. Fanora urged him to tell her what he meant properly, and Bael looked at her subtly.

“It’s all in the past. Do you really need to hear it?”

“Yes. I can’t move one step from here until you give me a satisfactory explanation.”

Bael seemed reluctant to reveal the details of this matter. However, the woman in front of him was his daughter, who, not long ago, was on the verge of death after drinking deadly poison.

When she showed a determination not to back down, Bael eventually gave up on her stubbornness. If she stayed like this, her body would get cold from the wind outside. He was now quite concerned about Fanora’s health.

“…At some point, I realized that I had made a mistake.”

Because his thoughts changed from the past.