The Goal is to be Self-made

Isaac, who was occupying the front of the Grand Duke’s residence with a vicious force, was barely coaxed and brought into the drawing room.

“This is an abduction! Using the power of the Meritorious Retainer to force a marriage! It’s ridiculous!”

As if he couldn’t bear his anger, he shouted loudly. It felt as if his voice alone could shake the entire dukedom.

“I didn’t entrust you to the Duke of Basel in the first place! When Adeline passed away, I tried to bring you to the Hill family, but that man said that he would treat you like his own daughter ….and yet, he couldn’t even protect you.”

Isaac gritted his teeth.

The big man with dark blue hair had a very rough impression.

He had been on the battlefield all his life, so even though he was a nobleman, he had many scars on his face.

The maid who came to deliver tea shuddered in fear at the man’s harsh behavior and reckless remarks.

She signaled the maid to get out with a wink then let out a sigh.

Earl Isaac Hill was a close comrade of Violet’s biological father. So he was acquainted with Violet even before he married Lady Adeline.

This made him the closest stepfather to Violet. 

But didn’t this man marry the wife of his dead friend?

Looking back at it, it was insane.

“Let’s go to the capital right now, Violet, I’ll take you by all means. The soldiers also came with me and are outside right now. You don’t have to worry.”

Isaac took her two hands as he said seriously. His eyes were full of determination.

“Mister…”

She smiled slightly, recalling how Violet had treated him in the game.

“I’m fine. I’ll stay here.”

“What?”

Isaac, whose eyes widened in surprise, frowned. Perhaps, he did not see that coming.

“Did that wicked and insidious bastard threaten you into doing this?”

“Wicked and insidious?”

“Grand Duke Etzel, that young boy.”

You can’t judge that handsome face like this.

When she opened her mouth at the unusual evaluation, Isaac snorted as if it was something obvious.

The capital’s bad news about Sheardrick, along with the infamous story of his kidnapping her, seemed to reinforce Isaac’s conviction that she was being abused.

“Come on! Tell me everything that bastard said, Violet! I’ll teach him a lesson!”

“Well…”

SheI shrugged and told him the truth. 

“He has entrusted me with the ledger.”

“What?”

“He gave me the key to the duchy’s storage, and I can spend money as I please. Whatever I do, he doesn’t mind.”

Of course, he must be watching closely in secret.

She glanced around the quiet parlor.

It was just her and Isaac, but somewhere in the distance, there might be an agent in hiding planted by Sheardrick. Or so she thought.

“According to you, it seems…”

“I do look like I am doing well, aren’t I?”

“…”

Isaac sighed and nodded.

“No, but… you were soon to be crowned princess with a precious status…”

“I didn’t want it. The royal family is a heavy burden.”

And above anything else, she could be closer to death.

“…Adeline too.”

Isaac, who was quietly listening to her, opened his mouth with a slightly sad face.

“Adeline would have said the same. She also loved being free. She wouldn’t want you to be tied to the imperial family. I’ve forgotten about it for a moment.”

His voice was full of sorrow.

Seeing the grown adult shoulders drooped made me feel sorry for some reason.

‘You are so naive.’

When the war of succession to the throne broke out, these would probably be the words of the people involved to her. They would just think she was some young dumb girl who gave up on the right of the crown princess to go live in a remote area.

While dealing with the situation instinctively and outspokenly, they happened to fall into a trap or lose their lives because they were selected for a purge.

Isaac Hill’s ending was just like that.

In the game, Isaac was on the side supporting the Crown Prince.

In order to put the second prince Yediel on the throne, it was necessary to deprive the Crown Prince from his power, and the existence of the war hero, Isaac Hill, was burdensome.

So Violet made the man disobey the emperor’s orders.

The enraged emperor then sent Isaac to a battlefield from which he could never return alive. He eventually lost his life there.

This part was explained in just a few lines of the game’s dialogue.

As she looked at Isaac’s droopy shoulders with a complicated mind, he quickly lifted his head.

“I’ll have to see it for myself.”

“Pardon me?”

“I’ll have to check to see if this really is a decent place for you, and if he brought you here because he truly likes you.”

Isaac’s eyes began to blaze with determination. In seconds, his depression was replaced by an unknown confidence.

“His father, that is, the former Grand Duke, died because of the emperor. So maybe he took it as an opportunity to get revenge by ruining the Crown Prince’s wedding.”

Why would someone use the Meritorious Right traded by their predecessor’s sacrificed life for such a thing?

It might be possible for an immature kid, but Sheardrick wasn’t the kind of person who would do something like that.

But Isaac went on without hesitation as he thought the case he just thought of was quite credible.

“If he dares to use my daughter for something like that, I will never forgive him! At least it must be true that he brought you here because he fell in love with you.”

The words ‘my daughter’ that came out of Isaac’s mouth felt strange.

In her previous life, after learning that she had an incurable disease, her parents put her in the hospital and never once looked for her.

They turned away and ignored her, saying that there was no way that such flaws could have been born to perfect beings like them.

She didn’t remember ever hearing such sweet words as ‘my daughter’.

Only the hospital bills, which were paid properly without being pushed back, were the only proof that they were related by blood.

But the man in front of her, who did not share a single drop of blood with her, uttered ‘my daughter’ so kindly and affectionately.

“Huh? Why are you making that face? Is he really using you? Huh?”

“No. I didn’t think you would call me your daughter.”

Belatedly understood what she was saying, Isaac scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“As expected, you don’t like a father like myself, do you?”

“Pardon?”

“Well, then, Duke of Basel. Would a decent man like him be better as your father?”

“Yes?”

It was a ridiculous comparison. How could he compare himself with that middle-aged man, who slapped her in the face?

“I never once thought of him as my father. And it will never happen.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Actually, I don’t even know what a father is like…”

These were Violet’s words and also the words of ‘her’.

“I see. Because you were too young when your father passed away. You probably have no memory of your father.”

Isaac sighed and patted her head.

“If you ever need a father, I want you to remember that I am always here. Actually, I don’t know what a father is like either, but uh, I think I can do something.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to do better than anyone else.” 

“You think so?”

When she saw Isaac smiling softly, flustered by her words, she giggled.

He feels more like a friend or brother than my father.

She wondered if it was okay to feel this way about someone much older than her, but it was just the right way to express it.

“Oh. Was stroking your hair rude? You are an adult now too.”

Isaac was startled by her stare, and removed the hand that was stroking her head.

“Anyway, I will take a look for myself to see what he is up to.”

Since this marriage was a deal, for Sheardrick, there’s no such thing as ulterior motives, but…

Somehow, it was difficult to refuse Isaac.

If he gets a rough image of what he wants to see, he’ll go back in no time.

After all, he was a nobleman, so Isaac also had work to do. He wouldn’t stay for long in the Grand Duchy anyway.

“Alright, Mister. Then please take good care of me from now on.”

“Of course! You can count on me, Violet!”