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Chapter 82
Emily enjoyed a long-overdue reunion with Grandma Juliet, catching up after quite some time apart.
“You look thinner than the last time I saw you… You don’t seem to be doing all that well, do you?”
“How did you know?”
At Juliet’s sharp observation, Emily laughed it off with a light joke.
“And you, Grandma? Have you been well?”
“Me? I’m always the same.”
The old woman chatted about the recent happenings, including news from Toto’s shop.
“Louis, Baron Roman’s son, is getting engaged this year.”
“Really? That’s wonderful.”
“Yes, to the youngest daughter of a Count’s family—though I can’t quite recall which one.”
On top of that, Louis had officially begun his career as a painter and had even won an award at a competition hosted by the imperial family, making his name known far and wide.
“I guess it’ll be hard to see him now.”
“Most likely.”
Both Emily and Juliet smiled warmly.
“Oh, by the way.”
Juliet suddenly clapped her hands as if she’d just remembered something.
“Tell me, has your husband been making carrot soup for you?”
“…What?”
Carrot soup? Out of nowhere?
“Well… yes, I’ve eaten it.”
Now that she thought about it, at least twice a week carrot soup appeared on the breakfast table.
And when she didn’t eat much and left it behind, the recipe had suddenly been changed to make it sweeter. After that, she finished it every time.
At Emily’s words, Juliet snorted and muttered under her breath.
“Hmph. Pretended like he wouldn’t, but it looks like he did keep his promise.”
Emily’s eyes widened even more.
“Wait—Grandma, you told him to make it?”
“Of course. I told him he had to make sure you ate it, for your health.”
Emily couldn’t understand why Grandma Juliet was so fixated on carrot soup.
And the idea that Killian had gone out of his way to make it for her just because Grandma had asked—she could hardly believe it.
He was the last person who belonged in a kitchen. Did he really cook it himself?
‘No way. That can’t be.’
Seeing Emily’s puzzled expression, Juliet finally moved on to the true reason she had come.
“Emily, is there another reason your husband didn’t come with you to the territory?”
Emily looked at her in surprise, as though caught.
“Did he… say he wanted to separate from you?”
Of course Juliet’s intuition was sharp. At her question, Emily slowly nodded.
“I see.”
Emily couldn’t tell what her grandmother was thinking.
“Honestly, that’s for the best.”
Emily pouted, unconvinced.
“You think my divorce is a good thing?”
“Yes. You and that man aren’t compatible at all.”
She then told Emily the very same thing she had once told Killian.
“If you want to live a long and healthy life, you should forget him and find another man.”
“What do you mean, ‘not compatible’?”
“I mean that your husband isn’t able to control your magic at all.”
The more Juliet spoke, the less Emily understood. Had anything like this been in the original story?
“Magic is something each person controls themselves. Besides, my magic isn’t even that strong—it doesn’t need controlling.”
Her magic had recently been measured as B-rank, higher than before, but hardly extraordinary.
Just as Juliet was about to say more, the butler’s loud voice rang from outside.
Curious about the sudden commotion, Emily peeked out the window.
Nox and Ivan were being scolded fiercely by the butler. They had started a chopping contest with firewood, leaving the garden trees hacked and ruined.
The maids who had been ogling their bare torsos had scattered long ago the moment the butler appeared.
“Good grief…”
Shaking her head at the scene, Emily returned to Juliet on the sofa.
“I’m sorry, but I should go now.”
Suddenly, Juliet gathered her bag and stood, as if something urgent had come up.
“You’re leaving already? You haven’t finished explaining about my magic…”
“There’s no need for you to know everything. Your father, the Count, didn’t want that either.”
Her eyes showed regret, as if she’d already said too much. Since she was leaving, Emily couldn’t very well cling and demand more answers.
She had no choice but to see her grandmother off, but resolved that she would find another opportunity to talk about it again.
No sooner had Juliet left than Ivan and Nox trudged back inside.
They looked completely worn out from both their impromptu firewood contest and the butler’s lengthy scolding.
“By heavens, I’ve never met anyone who nags worse than Alvin.”
Nox’s ears were still ringing.
Emily laughed and apologized on their behalf.
“The butler is very particular about the garden.”
Ivan collapsed face-first onto the lobby sofa.
“Oh dear, are you alright?”
“When I’m with Nox, I end up acting childish too. I swear, I’m never doing another stupid contest like that again.”
“Ha! Look who’s talking.”
The two started bickering again, making Emily burst into laughter.
At the sound of her laughter, Ivan and Nox stopped quarreling and looked at her. It had been a long time since they’d seen Emily truly happy.
It felt as if a heavy weight lifted from their hearts.
“Sorry, I laughed too much, didn’t I?”
Feeling their gazes, Emily sheepishly wiped tears from her eyes.
“No. It’s fine.”
All they wished was for things to improve quickly—so her smile could stay.
Meanwhile, though they had struck the slave market, the Giuliano organization hadn’t reacted at all. So, the three allied families gathered again.
“For them to be this quiet… they must be pretty shaken,” Andymion said first.
“Exactly. I even made it obvious it was me, but they’ve stayed silent.”
Messina leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. She had even sent a chilling warning, telling them, ‘If you use me again, I won’t let it slide.’
And yet, they hadn’t so much as responded, let alone fought back.
“Shall we just move on to the next plan then? I heard they’re holding a drug party at their club in District 7 in a few days.”
Since the drugs were supplied by the Gotio family, the intel was reliable.
“District 7 is in the city center. They care about that area a lot. If we ruin it for them, they’ll be furious.”
Messina chuckled, but Killian’s expression remained grim.
“Why the long face? Trouble with the divorce?” she teased.
Killian shook his head.
He had already arranged the assets to transfer to Emily and sent the divorce papers to the Sinope territory. Once Emily signed and returned them, he would submit them to the imperial family immediately.
“Then why do you look like you’re chewing nails?”
Before Killian could answer, Pete Donahue, the consigliere of the Star organization, spoke up.
“After the slave market incident, we’ve been watching Giuliano’s movements. It looks like they’re targeting our families now.”
“So they’re not complete fools. If they’ve already realized we’ve joined forces…”
This time, Michael, underboss of the Gotio family, turned to Pete.
“What exactly are they doing?”
“Groups of unfamiliar faces have been roaming District 3. They turned out to be Giuliano’s low-ranking members.”
“Did they cause trouble?”
Pete shook his head.
“No, but the residents were uneasy, so we drove them out.”
“That does sound suspicious.”
“Ugh, I hate those snake-like bastards. What are they plotting?” Messina muttered.
Andymion and Michael immediately shot her sharp looks.
“Snake family—that’s our name. Are you insulting us?”
“Oh—oops.”
Messina laughed awkwardly and looked away.
“In any case, before we move on District 7, we should figure out what Giuliano is really planning.”
No sooner had Pete said this than there came a loud, urgent pounding on the door.
“Damn it, who is it now?!” Messina snapped.
Her consigliere, Solio, went to check.
Outside stood a silver-haired man, panting heavily.
“Painless?”
He had even lost his usual monocle. At the sight of him, Pete shot to his feet and hurried over.
“What happened?”
“Giuliano’s Nigel led capos to attack the asylum.”
“What?!”
Pete’s face twisted in anger.
“Why would they storm there?”
“And… they took Laminis.”
Laminis, incompetent and all but abandoned by their world, had been useless. Why on earth would they bother to extract him now? It made no sense.
“Damn it.”
Suddenly, Killian cursed and shot to his feet.
“What is it, Killian?”
Messina and Andymion stood too, confusion on their faces.
Killian quickly grabbed his coat and hat, striding for the door.
“Emily is in danger.”
