Earl Riea’s End (1)

After leaving Christine's side, I teleported to the other side of the city.

My destination was the place where Mia, Louise, and Claire were staying. Yes, the same place that Christine told Earl Riea.

I think it's already obvious, but the reason Christine told Earl Riea about this place was that I told her to do it. This, too, is part of my revenge.

Since the start, Earl Riea was just as much of a target of revenge as Alan.

When I appeared in front of Mia, Louise, and Claire, the three of them stood up and looked at me anxiously.

"How is it, Claus?" Louise hurriedly asked.

I nodded. "Earl Riea is coming towards here right now."

"Is it so?" Mia put on a complicated expression. "Then the plan will go through."

"It will," I said firmly.

Louise, Claire, and Mia looked at each other with confused and struggling expressions.

In the end, it was Mia who spoke up.

"… Claus, do we really have to do this?"

I did not reply immediately. Instead, I stared at them fixedly.

Then, I sighed.

"Mother-in-law, your husband is one of the people behind the death of my mother. That debt must be paid, and even if I decided to forgive him, do you think that Dina or my aunts will forgive him too?"

"T-That…"

"I'm already taking a big step back by promising you to spare his life. I'm only asking you to help me with my revenge, is that much to ask for?"

Mia fell silent and bit her lips, and Louise and Claire looked at each other with complex expressions.

"… You will spare Carlson and Al's lives if I cooperate, right?" Mia asked me in confirmation.

"I always keep my word, mother-in-law. If I promised that I will spare them, I will; just like I promised to free your family and I'm going to do that."

"… I know, but… Carlson is my husband… Even if he wronged me and made many mistakes, I still feel bad for doing this to him."

I sighed again and looked straight into her eyes. "Do you remember the bet we did before the incident of the forest of wolves? You promised me that you would owe me a favor if I was right, and I was. If you want, you can consider it as fulfilling that promise."

Mia was startled before smiling bitterly. "Were you expecting this situation when you betted with me back then?"

"Actually, I planned to use it differently, but this is a good way to use it too."

I was planning to use it to find a way to sleep with Mia, but a lot of things happened, and I never got the perfect opportunity to use it.

Using it now is not that bad, though.

Mia put on a complicated expression before nodding.

"… I see. Okay, I will cooperate."

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Mia, Louise, and Claire tensed up and looked towards the door.

"They are here," I said after using my senses to identify the people outside.

The three girls looked towards the door and bit their lips.

"I will hide now. Remember to follow the plan." I reminded them one last time before disappearing.

The mother and daughters did not move after I left. Instead, they continued looking towards the door with hesitant looks.

"Mom, big sister, are we really doing this?" Claire asked.

Louise hesitated, but then, her expression became firm.

"Father and brother have done a lot of bad things that they need to pay for. Plus, we are now Claus's women. He is already doing a lot for us by agreeing to spare them. The least we can do is accept his conditions."

Then, the blonde girl walked towards the door with a determined look.

When Louise opened the door, she found her father and her brother outside as she expected.

"Louise?" Earl Riea was surprised. "You are here too?"

Louise looked at him coldly before turning around.

"Come in first. We will talk inside."

"Y-Yeah." Earl Riea's expression was awkward as he and Al followed Louise inside the house.

When the father and son saw Claire and Mia, they became even more surprised.

"… I did not expect to meet the three of you here." Earl Riea said with a bitter smile.

Mia's expression was complicated. She looked at the gaunt expression of her husband and did not know what to say.

A few months ago, her husband was the respected Earl Carlson Riea of the empire, but now, he had been reduced to a mere fugitive.

"How have you been?" Earl Riea asked Mia. "You have not suffered in the capital, right?"

Louise snorted. "Of course not. Prince Claus treats us well. He has done a lot for us."

"Is it so?" Earl Riea sighed, but Al's face twitched in anger.

"… How do you dare to mention his name in front of us?"

"Can't I?" Louise sneered. "He is my future husband, did you forget?"

"Bitch! Can't you see what he did to our family!?"

"I can see what the two of you did to our family!" Louise's face was extremely cold. "The Riea Earldom is no more, the Hera family was destroyed, and even our lives were put at risk, everything to fulfill our father's ambitions!"

"You…" Al's face became red in fury. He was about to slap Louise's face, but Earl Riea extended his hand at that moment and stopped him.

"… Louise is right, Al. it's my fault."

"Father!"

"I was blinded by greed, Al. I can see it now. However, it's too late to fix my mistakes."

"Good that you know." Louise sneered.

"But even so, I want to make amends… I hope you can give me the opportunity."

"What do you mean?" Louise frowned.

"Come with me. We will escape this place, leave the empire, and go to a faraway place where we can forget all of this. We can start anew, like a family."

Louise was stunned, but then, she laughed sarcastically.

"I see, so this is your solution. To escape, huh."

"Louise."

"Do you even have a way to escape? The city is closed, and everybody is looking out for you! And if someone sees us with you, we will be implicated as well!"

"… I will find a way. Trust me."

"Why should I trust you? You even put my life, the life of your own daughter, in danger for your ambitions." Louise's eyes were cold as she glared at Earl Riea. "Dream on, father. I have a life here. The man that I love will marry me soon, and he loves me too. Why should I leave with you?"

Earl Riea fell silent before sighing.

"… I see. What about you, Claire?" He asked while looking at the silver-haired little girl.

Claire bit her lips with a sad expression. She looked at her father sorrowfully before looking at the ground and shaking her head.

"… I'm sorry, dad."

The earl was startled. Honestly, he was not surprised by Louise's refusal, but he expected Claire to agree.

Claire was a very kind girl, the kind to forgive anyone as soon as they apologize sincerely. He thought that she would agree to his words out of kindness.

With the last bit of hope, he turned towards his wife, Mia, but she was looking at him with a sad expression.

"Sorry, I can't do it, Carlson."

"… Why?"

"Because I agreed to hand you to the empire."

The expression of the earl stiffened.

"You…" He looked at Mia astonished, waiting for her to say that she was lying, but she just looked at him with a bitter expression.

Before he could process her words, he heard someone knocking on the door.

Stunned, he watched how Louise walked towards the door and opened it.

"It looks like you already started." My familiar voice sounded in his ears. "Long time no see you, father-in-law."

Earl Riea's face turned deadly pale.

"Claus…"