Chapter 114
Cause and Effect (3)
Dear God, thank you so much.
If I can meet Lucy and leave this place, I swear I’ll never set foot here again. Please… please, save my daughter!
Penelope whispered her desperate prayer of gratitude, convinced that not a single coin she had given to Jackal was wasted.
But once Lucy is out… where should she go?
It was too dangerous to return to the viscount’s house.
As she thought of where Lucianne could stay, an old memory surfaced—a small cabin Charles had once built long ago for their two children.
Yes, that place. No one would ever find us there.
It had been years since anyone had used it, but she could clean it up. And if Lucianne returned, they would have to leave the Empire for good, so it was best to start packing what little they had.
Feeling a surge of urgency, Penelope hurried home, her steps lighter than they’d been in years.
Three days later.
By around eight in the evening, Penelope had finished preparing to flee the Empire.
The air had turned chilly with the nightfall as she made her way toward the prison.
Entering the narrow alley where she had first met the woman and Jackal, she looked around.
They’re not here yet.
Once Jackal brought Lucy out safely, Penelope planned to head straight for the cabin.
Her money was nearly gone, but it didn’t matter—as long as her daughter didn’t have to suffer in that terrifying place, she would endure anything.
We’ll earn more later. Once we’re far away.
Just a little longer, and I’ll see Lucy again.
Penelope rubbed her hands together against the creeping cold.
Hours passed. The appointed time—eight o’clock—came and went. Soon it was nearing ten.
But no sign of Jackal appeared.
Why is he so late? Did something happen?
She waited until her fingers and toes had gone numb, her body nearly frozen stiff.
By dawn, neither of them had come.
No… this can’t be. Did they trick me?
She had spent the entire night waiting in the cold, only to find herself paralyzed by dread.
Then, mustering what little strength she had left, Penelope ran to the Paradise Club.
“Excuse me! Please—call Jackal for me!”
One of the club employees, cleaning up after the night’s business, frowned.
“Lady, the club’s closed. Come back tonight.”
“Jackal! Call him for me—please!”
“Jackal? Who’s that?”
The employee looked genuinely puzzled.
“What are you talking about? You called him for me just a few days ago!”
The worker sighed in annoyance.
“Look, lady, I think you’re still half-asleep. We don’t know anyone named Jackal, alright? Now please, move aside—I’ve got cleaning to do.”
He grumbled as he went back inside.
What…? Last time, I only mentioned his name and they called him right away.
What’s going on?
Penelope rushed inside, pushing past the closing staff.
“What are you doing, ma’am?”
She frantically looked at each face, searching for the man who had connected her to Jackal. But he wasn’t there.
“Is there anyone else working here?”
“Lady, these are all of us. Whatever this is, you need to leave.”
“No one quit recently?!”
“No. Now please go!”
Shoved out of the club, Penelope stood there in stunned silence.
Then, suddenly, she remembered the woman who had first told her about Jackal.
That woman…
She ran toward the woman’s house, heart pounding.
She said she’d be away, but don’t tell me she’s already run off?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Hey! Is anyone home? Please, open the door!”
After a long moment of pounding, a door nearby creaked open. An elderly neighbor peeked out, frowning.
“What’s all this racket so early in the morning? That house has been empty for ages!”
“E-empty? You mean they’re gone?”
“Gone? Who? That place has been empty for a year now.”
Penelope blinked, dumbfounded.
“A… a year? No, that can’t be! I was just here a few days ago—there was a woman and her daughter. The husband had died—”
The old woman paused, thinking.
“Oh, now that you mention it… maybe a week ago? Some people said they wanted to rent the place for a couple of days. They cleared everything out yesterday.”
Cleared out?
Penelope’s heart began to race.
“Do you know where they went?!”
“No idea. They paid in cash, handed back the key, and left.”
Penelope felt her mind go blank.
They scammed me…
No. No, it can’t be… That was all I had left.
Money that could have kept her safe for years in another kingdom—gone.
Money meant to save her daughter—gone.
She sank to the ground, forgetting she had ever been a viscountess, staring up at the sky in shock and despair.
Two days earlier.
“How did it go?”
At Ruan’s question, Tablo entered the study and tossed a heavy pouch onto the table.
“Of course I got every last coin. All it took was one line: ‘I don’t deal with people I don’t trust.’ She handed it over instantly. You should’ve seen my performance! Wasn’t it impressive, Lady Zelda?”
“Ugh. Don’t call me that,” Zelda grimaced. “Just Zelda. And drop that slimy tone.”
Tablo, a man who usually drew the attention of noblewomen at every ball, looked genuinely baffled.
Why doesn’t this woman fall for my charm like everyone else?
“Strange. Most ladies swoon when I talk like that. Why don’t you?”
Because every time I look at you, I still see that red-haired ‘lady’ disguise you wore.
Zelda crossed her arms.
“It’s called personal taste. And for the record, I despise men who cross-dress.”
Tablo gasped. “Cross-dress? That was a disguise! I had to sneak past people to meet Ruan. Besides, I don’t just do that—I can also disguise myself as a sexy man!”
“Sexy? The only thing you’re exuding is cringe,” Zelda shot back. “Though I’ll admit—you do make a convincing con artist.”
“Con artist? You wound me, Zelda!”
“Enough, both of you,” Ruan cut in sharply. “If you want to bicker like lovers, take it outside.”
“L-lovers?!” “Ruan, how could you say that!” they protested in unison.
Marican, watching the two argue like cats and dogs, couldn’t help but smile faintly. They actually make quite a pair.
Zelda turned to Marican. “How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That the viscountess wouldn’t recognize you. She saw your face before, didn’t she?”
Marican gave a wry smile.
“I know her too well. People like her—and her daughter—never remember the faces of servants. They only see other nobles.”
Indeed, both mother and daughter had failed to recognize servants who had worked in their house for years.
There was no chance Penelope would remember Zelda after only a couple of brief encounters.
“Still, I was nervous,” Zelda admitted. “She sat right in front of me, looking straight into my eyes. I thought she’d realize who I was.”
“She’ll be waiting all night in two days,” Ruan said calmly.
“And the club staff?”
“I replaced all of them with our people beforehand,” Marican replied. “Paid the rest enough to keep quiet.”
“Don’t you think the viscountess will realize it was a scam?” Zelda asked.
Marican’s lips curved into a faint, bitter smile.
“She won’t. Not until it’s too late. Right now, she’s too blinded by the hope of saving her daughter.”
She hadn’t planned to take everything. But when she remembered Penelope pointing at her and demanding, ‘If she’s your daughter, why wasn’t she banished from the Empire too?’, something inside her had snapped.
They had sold her off for their own convenience, erased her name from the family register when she refused to obey, and now dared to call her family again?
No. They need to feel what it’s like to lose everything.
Before confiscating the Viscount family’s property, Marican had deliberately left the jewelry box in Lucianne’s dressing room, knowing Penelope would find it.
As expected, Penelope had overheard Zelda and Tablo’s “conversation” near the prison and fallen right into the trap, handing over everything she had.
You must be so happy right now, Marican thought coldly. Dreaming of escaping the Empire with Lucianne.
But when you realize you’ve been swindled—when you learn your daughter is still behind bars and your fortune’s gone—what will you feel?
Despair? Rage? Regret?
Whatever it is, it won’t be enough to repay what you did to me.
This is a small vengeance compared to the pain you gave me.
Feel it. Feel what it’s like to have nothing. To know your beloved daughter will never be saved.
Marican looked down at the pouch of money on the table and murmured softly,
“Now you’ll finally understand, Mother.”
