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Chapter 4
‘It’s not too late to figure out Grandpa’s true intentions later.’
But with the collateral family members now gathered, it wasn’t wise to continue butting heads with him.
Calliope quickly made a rational decision, suppressing her boiling emotions.
‘If I don’t secure the position of family head right now, someone might start doubting my status. In that case…’
Her amethyst-like violet eyes gleamed with icy sharpness.
‘That damned marriage… fine, I’ll do it.’
The decision came swiftly. It wasn’t that she couldn’t marry—it was simply that she hadn’t wanted to. But if she put her mind to it, there was no reason she couldn’t.
“Fine.”
Contrary to expectations, her cool response made Archibald’s eyes widen.
Calliope slowly turned her gaze toward Gilbert. He flinched when he caught her eyes.
“But I don’t understand why you seem so happy, Uncle.”
“What?”
“You seem to be under some kind of illusion, but the choice is mine.”
Gilbert’s face, which had been full of delight, slightly stiffened.
“I’m the one who decides whether or not to get married, and who I marry. In the end, it’s all up to me, right?”
Realistically, there was nothing Gilbert could do.
All he could do was desperately hope for a future where his niece remained unmarried.
“You will never become Count Verdi. So stop deluding yourself and wake up from your dream.”
Calliope gave a haughty smile. It was an extraordinarily beautiful smile, but her eyes were anything but joyful.
With that, she drove a firm wedge between herself and everyone present, including her grandfather.
“I’m not in the habit of letting others take what’s mine.”
Calliope swept a long finger through her hair as she exited the study, muttering to herself.
“Running into that bastard at the graduation was definitely bad luck.”
She was inwardly cursing someone who wasn’t even present when—
“Lady Calliope, did everything go well?”
Harold spoke to her.
As always, he had neatly combed back his snow-white hair, and his white mustache was trimmed and tidy.
Calliope looked at the elderly butler for a moment before speaking.
“Harold, there’s something I want to ask.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Did you know what Grandpa was planning to do?”
If he had known and said nothing, then Harold was not truly on her side.
Calliope recalled the anxious faces of the household staff as they waited for her and stared directly at him.
“Lady Calliope, I still don’t know what exactly happened. The other staff are the same,” Harold replied, shaking his head.
“But a few hours ago, the Count summoned Baron Roman. That’s when I suspected something unpleasant was coming.”
Calliope’s sharp eyes scanned Harold. His loyal and sincere gaze held only the truth.
‘Even Sir Walter, Grandpa’s personal aide, had only just seen the documents.’
So this had clearly been a secret plan her grandfather had been quietly preparing on his own.
Calliope sighed and confessed her conclusion.
“If I don’t marry within a year, he said he’ll give the title to my uncle.”
Harold’s eyes widened in shock.
“What are you saying? You are the rightful heir. How could he…?”
“Exactly. It doesn’t make any sense. And yet, that nonsensical thing just happened.”
Calliope responded with an expression that showed she wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“What will you do now?”
“What else? I’ll marry.”
There was no need to hesitate when such a simple solution existed.
And when you thought about it, the moment she married, the family head position would automatically become hers.
“I’m the one who chooses the man. As long as I marry, the family head role is mine for sure.”
Since things had come to this, she just needed to choose a man to her liking and make him a husband-in-name-only.
Calliope had everything—status, power, ability, legitimacy. There was nothing she needed from a husband.
“From now on, I’ll handle things my way.”
She smiled meaningfully.
Turning crisis into opportunity was her specialty.
“Harold, as it happens, I have something I need you to—”
Just then, the study door opened and Gilbert stepped out, interrupting her words.
“Calliope!”
Gilbert called her name in a loud voice, and her brow furrowed.
She despised interruptions. Especially from people she didn’t even want to see.
“Harold, let’s continue this in my room.”
“Yes, Lady Calliope.”
Gilbert’s face twisted as he was completely ignored.
“How dare you ignore your uncle when he’s calling you?”
“You were the one who once declared me your enemy, Uncle.”
“That was a long time ago. Are you still holding on to that? How do you expect to lead a family with such a narrow heart?”
“I’m just not forgetting a grudge.”
Calliope shut him down coldly. She had no time for a man who had done all sorts of dirty tricks to shake her place as heir.
‘If that were all, I might’ve overlooked it. But you crossed the line long ago.’
Gilbert had even used the death of her parents for his own gain.
He had secretly stolen the recording orb from the carriage accident and played it for Calliope without Archibald’s knowledge.
It was something no adult should ever do to a grieving child.
Calliope had been so traumatized that she developed selective mutism, and Archibald, upon learning of Gilbert’s actions, had flown into a rage.
As a result, Gilbert had been banned from setting foot in the Verdi estate for years.
Fortunately, Calliope had recovered her former self under her grandfather’s care.
But the trauma from that event had left an unerasable scar in her heart.
‘For Grandpa to bring that uncle into the succession fight now… whatever his reason, I can no longer trust him completely.’
Just as she turned away, colder than the wind itself—
“Don’t be so hostile. We’re going to see a lot of each other under the same roof.”
A voice she couldn’t ignore stopped her in her tracks.
“What do you mean by that?”
Gilbert gave a sly grin.
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll become the next Count too. It’s not too late—I’ll just start receiving heir training now.”
“According to who?”
“Fortunately, Father has permitted me and my family to move into the Verdi estate and live here.”
Calliope clenched her fists tightly. Her furious violet eyes first glared at the Count’s study, then turned to Gilbert again.
“Since you’re good at household management, I’ll entrust it to you for now.”
He was deliberately downplaying all the work she had done for the family. Worse, he acted as if he were bestowing authority upon her.
Her mind cooled. Calmly regaining her composure, Calliope smirked.
“Well, Uncle, given your current abilities, I doubt you’ll be able to do even the smallest household chore.”
“What… what did you say?”
“I’ll gladly prepare a few guest rooms. As the young Countess of Verdi, it’s my role to welcome guests.”
Gilbert exploded in rage at being treated like nothing more than a guest.
“Guest rooms? Are you joking?! Why would I stay in a guest room when my brother and sister-in-law’s room is available—!”
At that moment, all the lanterns lining the corridor froze over.
The air instantly turned cold and dark.
“Ugh…”
Only then did Gilbert remember—Calliope was a powerful magician. Fear silenced him.
“Baron Gilbert Roman.”
Meeting her chillingly glowing violet eyes, Gilbert’s blood ran cold.
