I Won't Go Back To My Family Who Abandon Me

**

The next day, as soon as Marquis Leroy checked his mail, he threw it away violently. Not only were the miners even more distracted, but they were also nervous; about their collapsing co-workers, and also about the back pay they were owed.

Still, he had quite a lot of money he'd earned from the Velvet Rose, so he could repay it right away. There was a separate problem bothering him.

"The woman who you faced off against in the finals for the Swordsmanship tournament. Have you ever met her before?"

Marquis Leroy had seemed more unusual lately, so being called upon so suddenly made Xavier's mouth dry.

"We've met several times by chance."

"What did she look like?"

"It was a blonde woman with bright red eyes."

"Are you sure it was a woman?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

That's why he couldn't find her.

Marquis Leroy clenched his teeth and drew in a ragged breath. It was a big mistake to assume it was a man, just because a child from that destroyed family was still alive. The Marquis wiped his face in irritation and spoke in a low voice.

"Do you know anything else? Anything is fine."

"I don't know..."

Xavier was searching his memory with a troubled expression, then he exclaimed as something came to mind.

"She looked like she was close with my eldest sister."

"Leticia...?"

Marquis Leroy frowned slightly at this unexpected news. It was hard to believe that the two were related.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, she talked with my eldest sister every time."

He added that the two of them didn't seem to simply know each other either.

Marquis Leroy was quietly listening to the story, nodded lightly, then motioned that he could leave. As soon as Xavier left the office, he sat down.

"They looked exceptionally friendly..."

There was no way to know why the two had become closer. However, thanks to that, he was relieved to find a way to escape the cliff's edge and breathe again.

As expected, God hadn't abandoned him yet.

***

"Is that true?"

Upon arriving at the Achilles Mansion, Leticia told Elle what Keena had said.

The nobles who suddenly collapsed at the party and the fact that the miners suddenly fainted at the Rose Velvet mine. It was difficult to say whether it was a simple coincidence because both parties suffered from a high fever as well.

"No matter how much I think about it, I don't think it's a coincidence."

Come to think of it, Keena had never lied to her, she just had a lot to hide. It was just that there was always something she couldn't explain.

"I'll look into it."

"You will, Elle?"

"Yes, it's because I want to find out."

Unlike her easy smile, Elle was gritting her teeth fiercely as she said this. Apparently, she'd heard about the rumors blaming the fainting on the wishing bracelets.

"What are you planning to do if it's true?"

lan had been quietly listening to Leticia and Elle's conversation and asked.

Leticia, who had not thought that far ahead, closed her mouth. Then she eventually replied with a calm expression.

"We have to reveal the truth."

"Will that be okay?"

lan was worried because they'd once been family. Leticia smiled gently, showing that it was okay.

"My family is here."

"Sister..."

Elle was touched by her words, and hugged Leticia around her shoulders. Her twinkling eyes showed how moved she was.

It was then that they heard the sound of someone outside. The three of them, who were sitting side by side in the drawing room, jumped up from their seats.

As soon as Enoch entered the room, Elle approached him as if she'd been waiting.

"Why were you so late yesterday? I was waiting for a long time."

"Everything is fine."

Elle was being accusatory, but her eyes looked worried. So Enoch smiled gently and patted her head reassuringly.

The expression on Leticia's face, who had been watching the scene from behind Elle, gradually darkened.

It was recognized that the sudden collapse of the nobles was not the fault of the Achilles family, but it seemed that rumors had swelled and the suspicion seemed to have not been completely cleared. 'If it's really because of my father's mine...'

She clasped his hands together and vowed she would never let it go.

Enoch, who had been watching Leticia, spoke carefully.

"Since I have paid vacation, I'm thinking of going down to the family territory."

"What?"

Paid vacation?

It was so sudden that her eyes opened wide in surprise, but somehow she could guess what was going on. It was obvious that he was being blocked from entering the palace by giving him paid leave. There was no way that he didn't know that, but Enoch was using this time to check the condition of his territory and the damage the drought had done.

Leticia quietly grabbed Enoch's arm, while biting her lip. She knew it was unavoidable, but she was really worried about letting him go alone like this. All of this was due to the fact that he still hadn't been able to solve the suspicions surrounding the family properly.

'Elle said she'd look into it.'

Then what could she do? She wanted to help Enoch in any way that she could.

At that moment, something came to mind.

"If you don't mind, can I join you?"

"What?"

Enoch blinked in surprise, because he thought he'd heard wrong. He smiled gently and shook his head.

"It might be hard."

"However... I still want to help.”

She'd forgotten for a moment. Her ability could cause good things to happen to the people around her.

If it's true, she suddenly thought that it might help with this drought.

"I know it might be too much..."

"Absolutely not."

Leticia clenched her hands with an expression telling him to trust her. Ian, who was watching, intervened between the two with a worried look.

"We'll protect the house, so don't worry about going, brother."

"Yes, sister has something in mind, so you have to take her with you."

Elle and lan stood side by side and nodded firmly, as if he had to trust them.

Even though he liked the idea, Enoch sighed quietly and asked Leticia again. "Will it be okay?"

"Yes, I'll really be fine."

She thought it wouldn't be bad to take this opportunity to test out her ability.

Leticia's expression also glistened no differently from the twins. Only then did Enoch realize that she wouldn't back down easily.

"Okay, but if it's too hard we can quickly return home."

"Yes."

As soon as the permission was granted, Leticia smiled brightly and nodded.

She knew he was saying this because he was worried about her, but she never thought he'd agree so quickly.

***

As expected, the reason Enoch was going down to his territory was because of the drought. She was touched by his upright attitude, how serious he was about it, and how he wanted to see the damage with his own eyes.

'I guess we can expect a little bit...'

Even though his barely elevated reputation had collapsed in an instant, Enoch showed no sign of distress. Rather, Leticia enjoyed seeing his attitude of working the best he could.

"?"

As they went down to the family's territory in a carriage, she felt Enoch looked at her with an unusual expression. Leticia stared up at him, wondering why, then belatedly realized that she had been squeezing Enoch's hand without even knowing it.

"No, that's what I... It's been a while since we've been alone together like this."

While talking, she bowed her head deeply and only touched Enoch's hand.

Enoch was quietly looking down at Leticia, who was squeezing his hand like she was kneading dough, and said.

"Thank you for coming with me, but why are you going through the trouble of coming down with me?"

Even though he was chastising her, his eyes were kind, and it made Leticia smile brightly.

"So you don't like it?"

แ

11

Instead of answering, Enoch sighed loudly, and covered his face with one hand.

Leticia looked surprised for a moment, worried that he was angry, until she noticed his reddened cheeks between his long fingers.

"Your face just turned red."

"It's not."

"Your ears are definitely red too."

"Never."

She thought it was cute that Enoch couldn't even look straight at her, even as he denied that his face was red.

"I think I know why Enoch teases me all the time."

"Is it that fun?"

"Can't you tell?"

The situation seems to have been reversed. Not that long ago, he was the one teasing Leticia about her shyness, but now the situation was completely turned around. This feeling wasn't so bad either.

'What would it have been like if he'd come alone?'

Enoch smiled without realizing it, and felt lighter because Leticia was with him.

"Are you trying to use your skill?"

Enoch barely managed to calm his expression, and brought up a question he'd wanted to ask since last night.

Leticia was surprised by the unexpected question and unknowingly lowered her eyes. She hadn't said anything about her ability, and hadn't expected Enoch to notice so soon.

"Actually, I don't even know how to use my ability."

All she could do was hope that good things would happen to the people around her, and that they'd be happy.

She was going to do what she could until the end.

Seios said that Leticia's ability would bring good luck to those around her, but not to herself.

However, Leticia had a different idea.

"Like Enoch is trying his best right now."

Her luck was Enoch, who she miraculously encountered on a particularly windy afternoon.

"It's worse that I thought."

It was the evening when they arrived at the village that they'd planned to stay in for a while. Leticia froze, the first thing she saw was a field where you could see the dryness of the field at a glance, even in the

dark.

Enoch also had a dark expression from what he'd seen. As soon as they made eye contact, he wrapped his arm around Leticia's shoulder to comfort her.

"Let's rest for tonight, and have a better look tomorrow.

"Yes, I think that's for the best."

Leticia sighed, the situation was more serious than she'd expected.

'It needs to rain as soon as possible.'

Leaving behind her mixed feelings, Leticia followed Enoch into the inn. The exterior was shabby, so she didn't expect much, but the interior was neater than she thought.

"Do you have two single rooms?"

Enoch asked as soon as he made eye contact with the innkeeper, who was cleaning the entranceway, but the innkeeper answered as if he was at a loss.

"I'm sorry, but there's only one room left."

"What?"

"Huh?"

Leticia and Enoch couldn't hide their embarrassed expressions and raised their voices at the same time.

In the Helios Empire, a man and woman sleeping in the same room before marriage was a matter of intense scrutiny. Leticia's head was already spinning just thinking about what rumors would spread if Enoch

was discovered to be a duke.

"You look like a married couple, can't you use the same room?”

แ

It was neither true, or untrue.

When they failed to answer quickly enough, the innkeeper looked at the two suspiciously. Leticia unconsciously answered him firmly.

"We're a married couple!"

"....!"

"Oh, so I..."

Leticia belatedly realized what she said, she bit her lip and nodded. All she could do was grip her skirt strongly.

"Because we're a married couple, give me that room."