I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

༺ 𓆩  Chapter 20 — Gamble  𓆪 ༻

「Translator — Creator」

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The Second Invasion had finally come to an end.

But for the people of the North, despair did not vanish so easily.

The scars left behind were deep, and the wounds had yet to heal.

Yet, ironically, this suffering did not extend to the elite — the nobles and high-ranking officials of the North.

For damage that couldn't destroy the system only affected those without power, not those who held it.

The powerless suffered the greatest losses, while the powerful classes continued living much as they had before, having only lost some property.

Thus, there had been no problems, and none were expected.

However, things began to take a strange turn due to a rumor spread by a young girl in the village.

— A big brother came from outside and brought warmth with him! When he raised his hand, flowers bloomed, and the snow stopped falling!

The man who brought warmth.

At first, the Northern people assumed she was talking about Dale, the hero who had led them to victory in the Second Invasion.

But that theory quickly fell apart.

The timing didn’t match.

The warmth had arrived at a completely different time than Dale’s visit.

And more importantly—

The girl had specifically said that the man wasn’t Dale.

With that, suspicion shifted to another name.

Damian.

Unlike Dale, not only did the timing of the warmth's arrival match perfectly,

There were also rumors that snow began falling in the North after his departure, making him the only suitable candidate.

"W-We must bring him back at once!"

"Yes! If we don’t, we’ll all freeze to death!"

"Mama, I'm hungry... sob"

Harsh hunger and cold had long since stripped away reason and patience.

Too many had died.

Too much had been lost.

All that remained was resentment — a boiling fury mixed with despair.

It was perhaps natural that many Northerners would head to House Wintraven to protest.

𓇘

"…Pathetic scum, throwing a tantrum like this."

Elysia bit back her words, silently swallowing the disgust that rose in her throat.

She had overheard a nearby noble’s sneering remark, but commenting now would only entangle her in political trouble.

So she feigned indifference, keeping her gaze fixed on the conference hall, lost in thought.

'What would be the best course of action?'

They were expressing their anger, demanding the return of the warmth Damian had brought as if it had been theirs to begin with; though it made no logical sense, reason wouldn't work with them in their current state, making such logic meaningless.

"What would you have us do, then? Should we send the troops to drive them out?"

It would be the fastest way to silence the commotion.

But—

Rebellion breeds in resentment.

The resulting 'backlash' would be severe — though things might quiet down immediately, they would flare up even more intensely afterward.

That backlash could come in the form of violence—or something even worse.

And given the North’s already weakened state, any upheaval could shatter its fragile stability.

Since the North couldn't afford the damage that would result from destabilizing its system, force had to be avoided if possible.

... Hence this meeting was called.

Most of those present cared little for the future of the North — they were here to protect their own fortunes and their own positions.

They possessed plenty, yet refused to sacrifice anything.

Instead, they sat in their seats, glaring at one another, paranoid that someone might take what was theirs.

'Disgusting.'

This was the true problem of the North.

For all its tight-knit unity, when an internal crisis arose, that same unity turned poisonous.

The tension in the hall grew, voices clashing as accusations were tossed about.

Then—

"If Damian truly brought warmth to the North, isn't this the fault of Grand Duchess Elysia who broke off the engagement?"

It was the knight commander, a staunch supporter of the firstborn heir, who turned the attention onto her.

Elysia narrowed her eyes.

He spoke as if conveniently forgetting the role his own faction had played in this mess.

Her voice was cool, almost lethally so, as she countered,

"How strange. As I recall, the decisive reason Damian declared the engagement void was because the Knight Commander blamed him for the rift."

To this, the Knight Commander smiled coldly and spoke nonchalantly:

"Grand Duchess, you should be careful with your words. That was simply a logical deduction—and, as you recall, a matter that was agreed upon by all."

A murmur swept through the room.

The truth no longer mattered.

What mattered was who would take the fall.

The nobles shifted uncomfortably, clearing their throats, averting their gazes, pretending they hadn’t heard anything.

Cowards.

Elysia clenched her jaw, her grip tightening.

‘No matter what I say, it won’t change anything.’

They didn’t need the truth — 

They needed a scapegoat.

And they had chosen her.

Perhaps she, who should have been driven from the Family Head competition long ago due to her engagement to Damian,

Had become problematic by building her power independently instead of being used as a mere pawn for southern expansion.

The way the key figures in the room avoided meeting her eyes made it painfully obvious —

The decision had already been made, long before this meeting.

‘If I resist, they’ll only find more reasons to bring me down.’

There was no clear way out of this situation.

Yet, paradoxically—

There was already an answer.

A simple, brutally effective answer.

One that would not only turn the tables on her enemies, but also resolve the larger crisis looming over the North.

All she had to do—

Was annul the annulment.

And bring Damian back to the North.

'...It'll be difficult, but possible.'

For reasons she couldn’t fully understand, Damian had once been blindly devoted to her.

If she played this right, even if he had been the one to call off the engagement—

He would have no choice but to accept the reversal.

And so—

She set the bait.

"Then if we undo the annulment, all our problems disappear, don’t they?"

While this should have been a welcome declaration for any Northerner,

Most of them tried to hide their expressions, showing reluctant reactions.

There were two reasons they didn't object —

First, they had no legitimate grounds to refuse.

Second, if this declaration failed, she would have to bear even greater responsibility than before — making it a risky but worthwhile gamble from their perspective.

Once their judgment was made, she briefly addressed them.

"However, if I bring Damian back, I will have him directly involved in territory administration. Please understand this is to use the warmth Damian creates more efficiently."

While she had previously only hinted at indirect participation in the Family Head competition,

She now looked around as she declared her full-fledged entry through this opportunity.

'Though the possibility of becoming Family Head is still extremely low.'

Using Damian, who had become the North's lifeline, she could expand her influence within the family without much difficulty.

Thinking she must annul the engagement's annulment and bring Damian back by any means necessary, she fell into contemplation about how to accomplish this.

𓇘

"You didn’t hear from the butler? The North has sent word—they wish to annul the annulment."

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity — these same people who had forced the engagement's annulment and desperately tried to drive me from the North were now asking to restore it.

My lips curled into a humorless smirk, but my expression soon hardened.

The Head of House Carsaril watched me carefully, his gaze unreadable.

Then, in a calm, measured tone, he asked,

"So what do you think?"

"... I believe there's no need to rekindle something that's already ended."

"Is that so? I'll respect your decision."

"Thank you."

He didn’t ask why I refused.

He didn’t ask for my reasoning or try to convince me otherwise.

Which meant—

He already knew.

The investigation into what had transpired in the North must have been complete.

Though he rarely showed emotion, his choice of words made something clear—

This was his way of saying, ‘I am always on your side.’

A truth that didn’t need to be spoken aloud.

Then, he shifted the conversation.

"Then why have you come at this late hour?"

Ah.

I had momentarily forgotten due to the shocking news I'd just heard.

Gathering my thoughts, I took out the documents from my possession and handed them to the Patriarch while speaking.

"I discovered the dark mages' plans."

The details were in the document anyway, so there was no need to explain further. At times like this, it was better to be concise, so I handed it over without additional explanation.

The Patriarch's expression grew grave as he read the document.

Perhaps due to the shocking and extreme nature of the plans written within, he spent a long time reading and examining it before

Deciding he wanted to verify its authenticity, he rang for the Head Butler.

"You called for me, my lord?"

"Verify the authenticity of this document. Investigate discreetly."

"Understood. I will report back as soon as I have confirmed the details."

When the Patriarch nodded, the Head Butler gave a respectful bow and left the office.

Seeing this, I breathed an internal sigh of relief, glad that he was taking it seriously.

‘If he had brushed it off—if he had dismissed it as nonsense—this situation would have become far more complicated.’

Of course, this didn’t mean the assassination threat was completely resolved.

But at the very least, the family would take extra precautions to protect Lilia.

Meaning the immediate danger had significantly decreased.

'Moreover, now that the Patriarch knows about the dark mages.'

That alone changed everything.

If handled correctly, this could prevent the large-scale dark mages catastrophe that would one day lead to House Carsaril’s downfall.

Handing over that document had undoubtedly altered the course of history for House Carsaril; the impact of this moment would ripple far beyond what I could yet see.

"You’ve done well."

"Yes."

"For now, get some rest. We'll discuss your reward later."

With nothing more to be done here, I gave a polite bow before turning to leave.

I needed a bath — then sleep.

𓇘

After washing up and preparing for bed, I returned to my room.

That was when I noticed it.

The sun spirit was glowing more than usual.

It flickered erratically, pulsing between bright and dim—

Like a faulty light bulb turning on and off.

I furrowed my brows.

Something felt off.

"Myuung, myuung."

The spirit chirped, its expression calm—even cheerful—

As if completely unaware of its strange condition.

'Why is it acting like this?'

It didn’t look sick.

But the difference from its usual state was too noticeable to ignore.

I gently turned it over, checking for any visible changes—

Nothing seemed wrong.

Still, concern prickled at the back of my mind.

Then—

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

Could it be…

… Perhaps it was about to evolve soon.

END of CHAPTER

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