My grandfather trembled across from me. He was looking at me so closely that he found that there was no way I was lying. Not only did I look similar to my mother, but I also looked similar to... That man.

However, my grandfather did not feel warm hearted from this encounter. Instead, he felt particularly angry. He had soon forgotten that just moments before, the small girl behind me had single handedly taken down all his precious guards.

The veins on his forehead throbbed as he shouted at me, "You watch your tongue! Pah!" He threw his hands in the air angrily, "I am not your grandfather. Nor will I ever be. I dropped that worthless idiotic woman from the family tree for a reason."

My eyebrows twitched in resentment, "If anyone should watch their tongue, it is you."

He smirked when he noticed he had hit a sore spot, "What I said was not wrong. That stupid mother of yours had everything. She was high ranking noble who would have inherited the position of the Marchioness. However, she threw that all that away just to marry a low life merchant."

I forced myself to smile, "The only thing my mother was guilty of was being the daughter of such a despicable man. She merely threw away a miserable life in order to have a happier one."

He clicked his tongue, "Miserable? She had everything she could have ever wanted. Riches. Power."

"A loveless family. Controlling parents." I added to his list. I spoke sarcastically, "Yeah. She truly had everything."

"What do you even want? Why are you here?" He spoke in a mocking tone, "Perhaps you would like to meet your grandparents in hope you can reconnect with your family?"

"Hah!" I sat back laughing at his suggestion, "No. I could care less about my rich grandparents. I don't need handouts nor do I need familial love. I am content with the life I have now."

He felt irked by being disregarded. He glared at me, "Then why are you here?"

I met his glare without fear, "I am here because my mother deserves retribution."

"Hah! Retribution?! For what?"

I pressed my lips together while trying to refrain from killing the brainless old man in front of me. My fists tightened as I continued to smile thinly, "Yes. I wonder just what exactly I mean."

I watched as he paused for a moment, then continued to maintain his poker face. Noticing that he would admit nothing, I spoke in an assertive voice. "I will stop beating around the bush. I am here because you need to reinstate my mother's inheritance."

He slammed his fist into the arm of the chair. Millie's smile instantly faded as she glared at him and stepped forward in anger. I held up a hand to stop her.

He shouted, "I will never welcome your mother back into the family. She made her choice all those years ago!"

I shook my head, "I did not mean that you would let her back in to the family. There is no way I would want to force her into such a terrible fate."

"Then what do you want?"

I smiled, "That is the question, isn't it?" I chuckled, "No. I would like for you to put some of your assets in her name. That way, if anything would happen to you or the current Marchioness, she would get something."

"Why would I put someone who is no longer part of the family in my will and testament?"

"Because I said so." My tone was firm, "This is not something up for discussion."

He chuckled in a way that got under my skin, "It seems you are too ambitious, little girl."

This man is about five seconds away from being smacked into oblivion.

I took a deep breath and continued to act as if I was not actually seething with anger. "Marquis. Do you really think that the coal mine's true purpose is the only thing I know about you?"

Seeing my confident grin, he hesitated. "Oh? And what else could you possibly know?"

I chuckled, "I also know you are embezzling funds from the imperial palace. You should be using the funds to give to a village in your territory which has been recently hit by the plague. Instead, you have put the money into your own pockets."

The Marquis spoke confidently, "You have no evidence for that."

I stood up feeling as though I could no longer keep talking to such a stubborn man. "You have a few weeks. If I notice that you did not do what I asked, then I will have to take matters into my own hands. And trust me, you don't want that."

He scoffed, "I'm not scared of a little girl like you. Not even the King can do anything about me so casually. The Royals would not dare to threaten the higher ranked nobility for such a petty reason."

Being high ranked in nobility has it's perks. I am starting to understand why the Dukes, Marquis, and everything in between have such spoiled personalities. Don't you just love politics?

I paused at the door and turned to him with a smile, "The bird doesn't fear the cat when separated by a window. Yet the bird will never know when the window is gone because it could never see it to begin with."

He stood up with a frown, "I see you have resorted to speaking nonsense now."

"You are free to take it how you please. I will now see myself out. The mighty Marquis doesn't need to worry about escorting me to the door." I turned to him and bowed.

Before I left, I gave him one last smile, "Beware little birdie. The window may not be there to protect you from the merciless cat."

______

We rode back in the carriage with somber expressions. I was checking over the documents with a serious expression. Millie glanced at me, "Seri. Could you explain what that was all about?"

I looked up from the documents to see Bertram and Millie looking at me with burning curiosity. I sat the papers aside, "As you have noticed, that man is my grandfather. However, he's merely my biological grandfather. He disowned my mother when she decided to marry my father."

Millie nodded, "I did hear about that. However, I never knew that it was actually the Marquis who was your mother's father."

I seem to have a rather complicated family tree, don't I... Why can't anything be simple?

I turned to face them, "Luckily for my mother, she doesn't need to call such a despicable person her father."

Millie tilted her head, "Why did you go looking for him? I did not think you cared about your mother nor for her previous family. You did not seem curious about it before."

I spoke with a bland expression, "I still do not care about it."

"Then why did you find him today?"

"I found him on behalf of my mother."

Bertram frowned, "Your mother? Do you intend to reunite them?"

I chuckled, "Oh, hell no. I would never allow such scum to reunite with my mother."

"Then for what purpose?" Bertram furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out my plan.

I answered casually, "Revenge."

"Revenge?" Millie seemed to perk up at this word. She looked at me with hungry eyes, "Why do you seek revenge against him?"

I shook my head, "It's not my revenge. It's my mothers."

Millie nudged me, "Then why do you want to seek revenge on behalf of your mother? I always thought you did not care for her."

I nodded, "It's true that my mother and I had a complicated relationship, but she is much better now." I paused as I glanced at the documents.

In fact, I regret the actions I took against my mother when I was a child. I could not help but sympathize with her. If I had only known sooner about what she had to endure... Then maybe I could have helped her...

I shook my head and spoke in a light tone, "My mother did me a favor, so I will do her one. Whether she realizes this is what she wants or not."

Millie nodded, "So that is why you want him to write your mother into his will? So she may still inherit what was rightfully hers?"

I chuckled, "No, that's not the case either. That man will never write her in his will. He is too stubborn and proud. He will never accept defeat."

Bertram asked, "So then what will we do?"

I smiled, "We will give him until the deadline. Once the deadline comes, he will soon discover just how serious his mistake was." I pulled out the documents and smiled at them coldly. "By that time, he will have figured out that he should have listened. However, it will already be too late. I will have taken everything from him."

My voice was firm, "I will destroy everything he had ever loved. His family name. His reputation. His riches. Even his pride."

His entire family shall pay for the role they played in my mother's downfall.

I glanced out the window with a sinister expression. Millie and Bertram looked at me, unsure of just what exactly I was planning. However, they knew I wouldn't reveal any details just yet. For now, they would just have to stay in the dark.

We pulled up to the Academy and we walked back to the dorm. Millie followed me to my room where I made sure no one was listening. I held the file in my hand and thumbed it in order to soothe myself. I stared out of the window at the crescent moon.

Millie noticed something off and spoke, "Seri. What is it?"

I stopped staring into space and handed her the file. No smile could be seen on my face. I spoke in a low tone, "Millie. I need you to kidnap someone for me."

She looked at me startled once she noticed my serious expression. As she slowly opened the file, her eyes widened even more, "S-Seri... This is-"

I interrupted her, "You can't speak a word about this to anyone. No one must find out. Furthermore, this man must be kept alive. Under no circumstances can you kill him. Once you kidnap him, bring him to that dungeon of yours. Then come find me. At that time, I will explain more."

Millie smiled at the portrait which looked quite similar to someone she knew. Her voice was soft, "Very well Seri."

I added, "Don't let anyone know he was kidnapped. It must seem like he disappeared into the night."

Millie giggled and shut the file, "Do not worry Seri. That is my specialty."

I nodded and looked at the moon outside. I felt strangely peaceful even though I knew the world was way too chaotic. I clenched my fists in determination.

"Don't worry Mother. He will regret what he has done to you."