In the end, that day's meeting fell through.
As I felt dizzy and collapsed inside the carriage, Ena, who was riding with me, was startled and ordered the carriage to return to the Count's residence. I sent a letter apologizing for not being able to keep our promise due to my poor health, but Pedro didn't even send a reply wishing me well.
'He's been cheating on me for two years?'
The panel that appeared before my eyes didn't seem to disappear unless I confirmed all the contents. It hovered beside me for quite some time, finally vanishing after I read the last line of dialogue.
Calming my mind, I slowly read through it, piecing together the information left by the gods. As a result, I discovered that Pedro had been cheating on me since he was fifteen. Coincidentally, that was also around the time he started concealing his hostile attitude towards me.
"Hahahaha..."
I let out a hollow laugh and buried my face in my palms. But no tears came. It wasn't because I felt detached from reality. It was simply because the despair had ended, and I was now in the stage of anger.
"Pedro... F*ck-Pedro..."
Being a god, he even had a well-chosen name. His betrayal was something I couldn't bear without wanting to beat him to a pulp.
The Estarote County was wealthy and powerful, but they weren't tyrants enough to force an engagement. It happened because I was the one who insisted, but the Saxen side could have refused at any time.
I skimmed through the documents handed to me by my father's aide. They detailed the benefits Saxen had gained from my engagement.
"It's a relief that no dowry was directly exchanged before the marriage."
If we had married, the property to be given as dowry would have been considerable. Two diamond mines and one gold mine. Also, three villas in different provinces and an island I owned in the south. And a townhouse in the imperial capital under my name, which the Saxen lord's family currently used whenever they came to the capital. Besides that, the value of the wedding gifts alone exceeded 100 million gold.
The townhouse could be taken back once I kicked them out, so I hadn't really lost anything there.
The benefit the Saxen side had gained during the seven years of our engagement was the business income they earned by leeching off the Estarote family's ventures. Whenever they received recommendations for promising businesses from the County, they would invest a pittance and receive several times their investment in dividends. They pocketed at least five to ten times their initial investment... The County didn't even need their meager investment, but they included them out of consideration for my pride.
'And they even received lavish gifts every year on the Saxen family's birthdays.'
This year, I was planning to gift Pedro a Namcelbian warhorse for his birthday. Even though the breed was rarely leaked to the outside due to its use as a warhorse, I had gone to great lengths and paid extra to acquire one because Pedro wanted it...
"He doesn't even know his place..."
Even a donkey was too good for F*ck-Pedro. I couldn't cancel the order since it was already on its way, so I would receive it, but it would never end up in F*ck-Pedro's hands.
"Ha..."
Going through each detail like this made me realize anew just how blindly foolish I had been.
Come to think of it, Pedro was handsome, but he wasn't on the level of a god of beauty. When we were young, he was cute before his baby fat disappeared, and since my life had always been easy, he was the first person to treat me casually, which made me even more eager to please him.
However, now that the rose-tinted glasses were off, he was just a fool who only knew how to flaunt his looks and couldn't grasp his own insignificance.
'They wouldn't be making false prophecies to mock me, especially since they don't know I'm eavesdropping.'
It said five until the year 225. So, how many would there be in the current year, 220? I was curious, but as an ordinary noble lady without any personal network, there was no way for me to know. The panel showing the gods' conversation didn't provide that much detail either...
"In the end, this is the only way."
I got up from my desk and went outside. I wondered who was home right now.
'Not Mother or Father. Both of them would make sure everything was over before I could even lay a finger on Pedro. Not the youngest either. He's still too young.'
After eliminating them one by one, only two remained. I was pondering which of the two would be better when it happened.
"Lovie."
"Ugh, get off me."
Despite my refusal, I was suddenly lifted into the air, and my face was showered with wet kisses. The person who had picked me up was my family's second son, the idiot. I wasn't particularly small, but my idiot second brother worked in a physically demanding profession, so his build was twice my size, allowing him to lift me like a paper doll.
This affection wasn't unpleasant, but it was a bit much to be treated like this when I would be an adult next year.
'Ah...'
The thought of becoming an adult made me feel bad again. If it hadn't been for the prophecy, I would have married F*ck-Pedro next spring, wouldn't I? The gods truly blessed me.
Our second brother, though an idiot, was smart when it came to me and quickly noticed that I was upset.
"Our little darling, what's wrong?"
His eyes drooped instantly as he studied my expression. He must have been very worried since I had collapsed and been brought home recently.
I wrapped my arms around my second brother's neck. He leaned back slightly to make it easier for me to cling to him, and I whispered in his ear.
"Brother, I have a favor to ask."
"A favor? What is it?"
"I'll tell you if you promise not to get angry."
"Why would I get angry at anything our little darling says?"
His grinning face looked harmless, unlike his massive physique. However, I knew he would definitely get angry if I mentioned Pedro, so I repeatedly urged him.
"You can't tell anyone what I'm going to ask, okay?"
"Anyone? Not even Mom, Dad, or Hyung?"
"Yeah. It's our secret."
My second brother's face brightened at the words "our secret." He promised he would, of course, and I told him to take me somewhere quiet where there were no people. He would definitely shout when he heard, even though he said he wouldn't get angry.
Fortunately, there was no one in the spacious backyard we arrived at. My second brother's eyes sparkled as if urging me to speak quickly. I whispered to him.
"I want you to lend me some people."
"People? What for?"
"I want to dig into F*ck-Pe... I mean, Pedro's background."
My second brother was shocked at my words. He looked as if his precious younger sister had gone crazy with love and was now trying to find out every little thing about her fiancé.
As he stared at me with trembling eyes, pondering how to persuade me otherwise, I whispered again.
"I think Pedro has a child."
"What!"
He had said he wouldn't get angry, but he roared, looking thoroughly enraged. I knew his anger wasn't directed at me, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it before I had solid evidence, so I quickly covered my second brother's mouth with my hand.
My second brother, unable to shake off my hand, huffed and puffed with a flushed face, then soon regained his composure. He put me down on the ground and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"To kill him."
His tone was as casual as if he were saying he was going for a walk, but his eyes were wild. Our second brother was an idiot and had a gentle personality that didn't match his size, but he was a man of action. I quickly grabbed him.
"We're not even sure!"
"Given your personality, you wouldn't suddenly come up with such an idea and make things up. Something must have felt off."
"That's... true, but still!"
"Our little darling. You don't have to dirty your hands. I'll just wipe him out as if he never existed in the first place."
"No! Wait a minute!"
As I whined and clung to his arm, the body that had been dragging me along suddenly stopped. My second brother looked at me with a bewildered, or perhaps disbelieving, expression, his face contorted.
"Don't tell me... the reason you're stopping me is because you're still going to let that bastard off the hook?"
Perhaps the me before encountering the gods' words might have.
Because I was the real fiancée. The woman was just a fleeting encounter, not someone he shared deep feelings with. I would have convinced myself of that and endured it.
Because of the affection and guilt I felt for Pedro, and because I didn't want to tell my family that the engagement I had pushed so hard for had failed. I would have pretended everything was fine and moved on.
But realizing that he had been deceiving me for a long time, that he intended to continue doing so, and that the reason he had been kind to me wasn't out of affection but to cover up his own faults, the feelings I had for him vanished in an instant.
All that remained now was the desire to take back the benefits and advantages they had gained because of me.
'Because that alone will be enough to bring them down.'
Without me having to lift a finger.
The townhouse that the Saxen family was currently using as a villa was mine, and all of Pedro's knighthood positions had been granted by our family.
They wouldn't know what they were missing if they had never had it in the first place, but the sense of loss from having something taken away would lead to despair. Especially since all of it was beyond their capabilities...
"He's my prey."
I said, looking directly at my second brother. No matter what, I would be the one to drag Pedro down into the mud. Even though my second brother was a beloved family member, I couldn't give up the chance for revenge that I had to take myself.
My second brother studied my face, and seeing no lingering affection for Pedro, he seemed to understand. Still, he was clearly angry about the bastard's infidelity, as he bit his lip and roughly scratched his head several times before letting out a deep sigh.
"Haaah. I don't want to make our little darling do anything so unpleasant... but I guess there's no choice. Alright."
In the end, my second brother raised both hands in surrender. I smiled brightly and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? This Brother can pluck the stars and the moon, and even that bastard's head, for our little darling."
"I don't really want his head... but if Brother gives it to me, I guess I'll have to accept it..."
My second brother and I exchanged jokes and giggled.
A few days later, a person working for my second brother came with information.
F*ck-Pedro's son was clearly guilty.