Ch.1414. Broken Engagement (Part 2)

Until the word “alimony” came out of Erick’s mouth, Ember had not let go of her thread of hope.

She hadn’t expected him to be compassionate. Nor had she expected him to feel pity seeing her haggard appearance.

Erick had consistently maintained a repulsive attitude throughout their engagement period.

“You don’t need to visit often, Ember. We don’t have anything to talk about anyway, right?”

“Why are you so curious about whether I’m Expert Advanced or Expert Superior… Ah, I think I get it without you saying. But the ranks within Expert aren’t clearly distinguished. It’s difficult to explain, so just accept it.”

“Wouldn’t you be better off at a salon than being with me?”

Erick’s sarcastic tone remained vivid in her memory. Of course, Ember had brought this upon herself.

However, he hadn’t been cold from the beginning.

Before the Cordana prices surged, they actually seemed to get along well. When planning their future together, she even found it somewhat enjoyable.

Erick’s attitude turned cold after the Cordana prices rose, after Ember belatedly began to “try” to become closer to him.

When she wore pretty clothes, asked for dates that couples typically go on, and hinted that she might allow intimacy, Erick sneered as if he could see right through her intentions. This only made Ember more desperate.

‘If only I had maintained my original sincerity.’

Perhaps she could have avoided the current catastrophe. This thought crossed Ember’s mind as she blankly stared at Erick presenting her with the alimony claim.

Regardless, Erick just kept looking back and forth between the Hyde father and daughter, urging them.

“Please review it. The amount has been calculated on reasonable grounds.”

A man wealthy enough to purchase a castle if he wanted was demanding alimony for a broken engagement. Even her father, who had worked as a prosecutor for over 20 years, seemed bewildered, his mouth agape.

Ember was the one barely holding onto her senses.

“Erick, what on earth are you… doing? It was the Captain who disciplined you.”

“I plan to negotiate with him separately. And I’m not making unreasonable demands, Miss Ember. I don’t know if you remember, but early in our engagement, we talked a lot about my career path. If the engagement had continued, it might have become ‘our’ path. But that’s long over now.”

“But Erick. You’ve been speaking formally to me this whole time.”

She tried to change the subject with a forced smile, but Erick ignored her.

He simply continued reciting the basis for the alimony calculation with a slight smile.

“I am twenty-five years old. Of course, reaching this level at such a young age doesn’t guarantee becoming a Master. There are plenty of knights who fail to break through from Expert Superior even after 10 or 15 years and face decline.”

“……”

“But if I had remained a knight and smoothly risen to Master? I would have been practically guaranteed the Captain position. I would have certainly received a title too. Not just a nominal title, but a fief where I could collect taxes.”

“Um, Erick? If you reach the level of Master later, you could still—”

“Do you think that would be easy? Without opportunities to spar with knights of similar skill, without chances to gain practical experience? The world doesn’t revolve around Miss Ember’s delusions. Master isn’t just some neighborhood dog’s name.”

Dog’s name. He even stared intently at Ember and her father while saying this.

“So, you want us to pay you alimony?”

“Yes. If it weren’t for the High Prosecutor’s disciplinary recommendation, I wouldn’t have had to leave the Order or become a has-been in my prime. I think it’s only fair that you compensate me somewhat for the damage I’ve suffered.”

“…Hah.”

By now, Ember’s father had barely regained his composure and picked up the document detailing the alimony calculation with trembling hands.

Ember also read the contents with a dazed look. It seemed less painful than making eye contact with Erick.

However, contrary to her expectations, the alimony amount felt like it was tearing at her heart.

Was it because the amount was too large?

No, that wasn’t it.

He wasn’t demanding decades’ worth of a knight’s salary, nor was he asking for compensation for the psychological shock of losing the opportunity to become Captain of the Royal Order as a commoner.

What Erick demanded was a subtly realistic amount.

“Fifty million. If you give me that, I’ll withdraw cleanly.”

An amount more than twice her father’s annual salary as a High Prosecutor.

Of course, they didn’t have that much in cash, but it was an amount they could somehow scrape together if they worked themselves to death. The calculation basis was even recorded in detail, enough to show that he had received expert help.

Factors for calculating alimony, such as age and engagement ceremony costs, seemed relatively reasonable even to Ember, who was unfamiliar with such matters.

‘Could Dad perhaps refute this…?’

She turned to her father with hope, but unfortunately, he too was visibly flustered.

Despite having worked as a prosecutor for 20 years and seeing all sorts of unsavory situations, even he seemed to find it difficult to refuse Erick’s demand. If they fought to the end, it would eventually involve the Captain of the Royal Order, who stood at the pinnacle of power.

The fact that Erick wasn’t afraid of that meant he had calculated something.

After contemplating for a while, the emotion that finally appeared on his face was resignation.

“What do you think, Prosecutor?”

“…I understand. You’re saying if we don’t agree to the broken engagement, you’ll claim this alimony.”

Gregory, already defeated, responded in a shrinking voice.

Though he had interrogated countless criminals, right now he looked pitiful, like a suspect caught in a trap rather than a prosecutor.

Erick clicked his tongue as if regretful, but he didn’t seem willing to let them off.

“You misunderstand. The broken engagement is one thing, and the alimony is separate. There’s no correlation between the two.”

“……”

“And listening to you, something sounds… strange. Not agreeing to the broken engagement? Do you mean you thought there was a possibility the engagement could continue? You make your daughter’s fiancé lose his job but expect the wedding to proceed as planned? That’s absurd.”

“No, I just thought I should at least apologize and explain—”

“I’ll accept the apology, but I don’t want to hear the explanation. I already know what you’re going to say. Just make your decision.”

What will you do?

At Erick’s demand for a decision, the father and daughter stared at each other blankly, as if they had planned it beforehand.

They didn’t engage in any desperate conversation. It would be pointless to speak now, as they would only sound pathetic. Just by looking at her father’s wavering eyes, Ember could tell what he wanted to say.

‘Know your place.’

‘I don’t have the power to protect you.’

The words her father used to say habitually echoed in her ears.

Place, circumstances, position.

When Ember wanted to attend social gatherings of noble young ladies, or when she wanted to go to the Academy, her father always tried to persuade her with similar words. Ember always rebelled because she couldn’t agree.

But this time, Ember silently acquiesced to her father’s words.

Though she hated to admit it—

Her relationship with Erick was already in ruins. Just looking at that stubborn expression, she could tell Erick had no room for leniency. Even if Ember shed tears and begged right here, he wouldn’t care.

“Erick.”

Ember forced herself to speak instead of her already drained father.

In truth, her spirit had been broken for a while too. To be honest, she was currently forcing back tears that threatened to fall. No, her eyes were already moist. She was just somehow managing to prevent those tears from streaming down.

‘But I can’t let Father be destroyed too.’

Ember decided to take on the most shameful role herself.

***

In the end, it was Ember who waved the white flag.

The sight of her desperately swallowing tears and biting her lips. She probably thought she was making a big decision for her father’s sake.

It wasn’t that I had any special ability to see into people’s hearts; that’s just how people like her typically think.

Considering the trouble Ember had caused her father, and would continue to cause in the future, bowing her head once was nothing.

Though it’s not my concern, Ember had already passed the most marketable age in the marriage market. She was a few years younger than me, still in her early twenties, but that wasn’t exactly young anymore.

Of course, if she were an Academy graduate elite, finding a match in her late twenties would be common, but Ember was just an unemployed person who had only graduated from public school and stayed at home.

Her appearance was exceptionally beautiful, so she wouldn’t have trouble finding a match even as an unemployed person, but it would be difficult to find a match that met her standards. Unless she was prepared to become someone’s concubine, that is.

‘She’ll probably live off her father’s back from now on.’

Thinking about that, bowing her head to me once was nothing.

“…Erick. I’ll break off the engagement.”

“You’ve made a wise decision.”

“I won’t ask for your apology, so I’ll stop. …But I have one last request. I don’t mind if you think I’m being spoiled. May I speak?”

“Go ahead. I can’t promise I’ll grant it, though.”

“The alimony, if possible, could you adjust it a little? It might be an insignificant amount to you, but… we don’t have that much money.”

The look on her face suggested she might cry. I could see her hands, tightly clenched on her knees, trembling.

How much must she have hesitated to say that? Considering Ember’s personality, she was probably waging a war within herself.

I decided to show exceptional mercy and grant Ember this final kindness. If I didn’t accept even this, the father and daughter might cling to me like leeches. I was already busy spending money, and it would be annoying if my former fiancée and her family kept hanging around.

“Alright. I’ll reduce it.”

I generously decided to cut fifteen million.

However, there were two conditions.

First, they would report the broken engagement to the authorities today, and second, Ember’s family would announce that they had requested the broken engagement first. It would be troublesome if rumors spread that I had dumped my fiancée right after making a fortune. I could only show mercy if they did at least this much.

“…Yes. I accept.”

At this answer, I nodded readily and stood up.

“You can discuss the rest with my lawyer.”

Having finished my business, there was no reason to keep the father and daughter in my house any longer. Ember and her father left my house with slumped shoulders. Ember looked back several times, but I thoroughly ignored her.