"So this is the reason why you disappeared from the ball, My fair Lady Gabriella."

My eyes went to my opened window when I heard a voice. I glared at the familiar man as I hushed him while patting the back of my adopted son, Lulu.

The blue-haired man with an eyeglass shrugs his shoulder as he went down from the window. The man smiled at me. He suddenly opened the glass door of the veranda before signaling his hand for me to follow him.

A frown appeared on my face as I followed him to the veranda. I glanced back at Lulu for the last time before going to the veranda. As soon as I entered, I immediately saw the man sitting on a chair while crossing both his legs.

"What's with the sudden bullsh*t, Leonardo?" I asked while crossing my arms. "You almost woke up my little baby child, don't you know how hard to make a child asleep?"

The Master of Merchants, named Leonardo, smiled at me.

"Haven't you missed this loyal merchant of yours? I've been staying in your father's domain, but I never had a chance to talk to you yet," Leonardo replied.

"So you resort to sneaking into another person's room?" I asked while staring at him with a scary smile on my face.

"Well, you used to do that to me when we were younger. You used to sneak up into my room when we run away from my Mother when you wanted to go to the city," Leonardo chuckled while reminiscing the past. "You even taught me how to jump on our house's veranda when we escape. We used to be naughty children, haven't we?"

Darn it, yeah, I remember all of that.

"Tch, yeah, I remember..." I said in an annoyed tone. "So what do you want? How's your business? Why are you here instead of partying? Do you have any problems? I am sure that my brother will solve it all."

Leonardo adjusted his eyeglasses.

"Have you ever heard what happened to the mystical forest?" Leonardo asked. His tone suddenly lowered as he glanced at the night sky. "The place where the previous king was imprisoned?"

I immediately halted when Leonardo opened the topic.

I was suddenly reminded of Duk--- I mean, Evan's face when he told me that he'll be gone for months.

"I do," I replied as I sat in front of him. "The Duke told me, in fact, the king decided to send him to the border in order to fix the problems," My charcoal eyes stared at the man in front of me. "What do you want to talk about the mystical forest?"

Leonardo remained silent.

I leaned to my body on the table as I lowered my gaze. My eyes observed the serious look on Leonardo's face.

I took a deep sigh.

From the look on his face, the things that he wanted to talk to me is not just about the mystical forest.

"I see, it's not just about the mystical forest," I mumbled while nodding my head. "Are you worried that the Previous King would escape from his prison? You might be worrying for nothing, the Previous King is completely sealed."

My brows raised when the original plot suddenly entered my mind.

In the novel, the Previous King of the Ibanez kingdom who made the real Gabriella his concubine never escape from his prison. He'll forever stay in that place according to the novel.

But...

This isn't a novel...

Anything can happen since everything is far from the original novel...

Perhaps Evan, Maria Eleonora's father, might not raise a rebellion this time.

And maybe... The Previous King could really escape.

If Leonardo is worrying about the Previous King, then I think that it is only logical. No matter how small a crack in the mystical forest is, there is now a probability that the motherf*cker previous king could escape.

It'll be a big problem if that happened...

After all, there is a reason why they can only imprison the previous king, instead of killing him.

The previous king, the descendant of the Golden Dragon, is a person who is almost an because of his enormous mana. He can't be killed easily, when they planned to take away his throne away from him, they only barely won.

That man is a dangerous person. No one would deny that the tyrant is an intelligent person despite being lecherous and greedy.

Just remembering the fact that I almost became his Concubine is terrifying.

If he ever escapes...

If that man ever escapes...

My eyes became cold when I suddenly remembered someone.

My fist suddenly clenched when I remembered one of my memories that I had almost forgotten throughout the years that I choose to spend in a happy life.

If the Previous King ever escapes...

I'll kill him.

A memory of an angelic beautiful woman with a dazzling chocolate hair and a golden eyes appeared in my memories.

The woman had a captivating and warm smile on her face as she welcomed a little girl running into her arms.

The woman who was accused of a false adultery.

The late Duchess of Velasquez family.

My mother.

"Your eyes are forever terrifying for me, Gabriella," I suddenly heard a voice. I woke from my thoughts as I glanced at Leonardo. "Your friends always cling to you because of your warm and captivating smile, but they've never seen your eyes full of resentment."

"What are your thoughts, Gabriella?" Leonardo asked.

Eyes full of resentment?

Are you kidding me?

The serious expression on my face suddenly cracked as I made an ugly face. "The heck are you talking about?" I asked. "Nothing such as resentment exists in my life, it's actually the opposite of that."

"Are you sure?" Leonardo asked. "I've been staying in this manor for days, although we haven't talked for the past few days, I've seen a glimpse of resentment in your eyes when you look at your father."

"I know that you are genuinely happy, Gabriella, but I've known the real history of your family for years," Leonardo paused before looking intently into my eyes. "Have you ever forgiven your father for being a coward?"

When he asked that question.

I became silent.

Forgive? Coward? Resentment?

I stared coldly at Leonardo using my dull orbs that were reflected in the shining moon. A few laughs escaped from my lips as I brushed my hair in frustration.

This damned merchant.

Congrats for digging that memory. Congrats for revealing it.

"Did you know where my name came from?" I asked Leonardo.

"It's a name of an angel," Leonardo replied as if not bothered by the cold looks that I am throwing at him.

"Correct," I answered. "My father was the person who named me 'Gabriella'. They said that the name suits me because I looked like an Angel, but my father actually named me Gabriella because my mother's name is ''."

"My father loved my mother so much, that's why I was disappointed in him for believing in such lies and abandoning my mother," I mumbled with a cold tone. "He was an intelligent man, but for such lies, he acted stupidly."

Disappointed?

No, I hated him.

I hated my father when he abandoned my mother.

And when I learned the truth behind his actions, I hated him even more.

I hate him for being a coward.

"Sometimes, I feel guilty," I snickered. "Because there were times when I wanted to curse at Gabriel because he looks like our father. His traits are like fathers, and when he said he wanted to marry Maria, I remembered our father."

Gabriel resembled our Father when we are still a happy family.

I don't want him to end up like his father, that's I am doing my best to help him with Maria Eleonor. I don't want Gabriel to end up as a coward.

"If this is the resentment that you are talking about, then maybe you won, merchant."

Leonardo took a deep sigh. "Did I cross the line?" he asked.

Isn't it bizarre to be asked such questions when you really planned to cross the line? That's a Leonardo for you.

You're lucky you're not a stranger, Leonardo.

I remained silent as my eyes went to the sky. I placed my hand to cover my face as I tried to regain my original expression.

This is not me, I am trying to forgive my father. I want a peaceful life with no resentment toward anyone. The reason I came back here isn't only for Gabriel's sake.

Mama would never want me to hate Papa.

All of it wasn't entirely my father's fault. He was also a victim.

There was a reason why the real 'Gabriella' became the Previous King's concubine in the story of 'You Shall Pay'.

It's not just because the Previous king is a lecherous and perverted man or a tyrant with a pedophilic taste.

It is because I am the daughter of the late Duchess Riella.

Riella... The Previous King's most desired woman.

"So what do you want to talk about the Previous King, Leonardo?"

••••••••••

Lucius who was now inside of the room was listening to the conversation of Leonardo, the master of merchants, and Gabriela, the witch, covered his red eyes as he covered himself with a blanket.

The red jewel in his forehead glowed as he closed his eyes.

Gabriella holds a grudge against her father.

When Gabriella is younger, whenever Gabriella would hear Marquis Mikhail's name mentioned, she will secretly grip her hands tightly around the 'Medallion' in her hands.

Isn't it the reason why Lulu called Gabriella 'Mama' when Gabriella suspected Lulu as her Father's secret child?

"I shouldn't have listened," He mumbled as he covered his ears. "I'm not going to listen anymore, I'm not in the Medallion anymore, lalalalala~."

That's right, Gabriella is scary when she's angry, but she sounds scarier if her anger is fueled by resentment and pure hatred. It's a good thing that she didn't end up too angry today, or else, Lucian will run away.

Just like when Gabriella avenged her brother in the past.

Lucius could remember the day when someone threatened Leonardo's family and broke Gabriel's arm. It was terrifying to see how her playful eyes turned dull when she saw what happened to them.

When Gabriella told the Duke that she just turned those people into slaves and sold them to an evil master, that was just the half of the story.

Lulu who was in the 'Medallion' at that time managed to witness the whole story.

Destroying their business, destroying their lives, destroying their minds.

She never killed anyone, but with her cold eyes full of hatred, she played their lives like a devil.

Lucius took a deep sigh while blocking his ears. "We should've stayed at the banquet," he mumbled in a daze.

•••••••