Yubar stared blankly at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
‘Mother….’
Only now did he begin to grasp what Rodi had meant earlier.
—Have you still not figured out what your mother arranged for your father?
A quiet sigh of awe escaped him.
‘How did she foresee all of this?’
Yubar turned his head to look at Rodi.
Sensing his gaze, she shot him a puzzled look.
“What?”
Looking into her clear, light green eyes, he was at a total loss for words.
‘Should I thank her?’
…After grumbling at her the entire time, suddenly offering polite words felt a little embarrassing.
“It’s… nothing.”
“Suit yourself.”
Shrugging, Rodi turned her attention back to Noien.
Though she wore the indifferent expression befitting a villainess on the outside, she was actually thrilled beyond measure.
‘To think I’d see one of Utopia’s finest moments play out right in front of me.’
Even if she had cursed it as trash, Utopia had always been her favorite game.
Watching a scene she had only ever seen on a screen unfold in real life moved Rodi beyond words.
‘Noien and Renda really are the best pairing!’
This was the very scene she considered the crowning moment of Yubar’s route.
‘Yubar’s route placed far more emphasis on healing than the others, after all.’
A man who had chased only money reflecting on his life and feeling his late wife’s true love…
Renda whispered tenderly,
“Noien, will you grant my wish?”
“Of course… Renda. I will grant your wish, no matter what.”
‘Yes, this is the moment!’
Rodi’s heart thrilled with emotion.
“Thank you, Noien.”
Renda’s illusion slowly faded away.
Clear tears streamed down Noien’s face.
“Ah, ah….”
Thud.
He fell to his knees in the flower field, remaining there in a daze for a long time.
After about twenty minutes had passed, Noien rose to his feet with a composed expression.
Yubar cautiously stepped forward.
“Father, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
Noien looked at Rodi with a calm demeanor.
“Young lady, you have my deepest thanks.”
He bowed his head respectfully.
“Had it not been for you, I never would have found all the letters my wife left behind.”
Slowly raising his head, Noien’s voice trailed off.
“I don’t know how I can ever repay this kindness….”
“For now,”
Naturally, Rodi had no intention of turning down an offer to repay a debt.
She offered a faint smile.
“Shall we head back to the house and finish our discussion there?”
“…”
The father and son blinked at each other, then nodded.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Please, come in.”
Rodi opened the front door of the red brick villa.
“This is….”
Looking at the interior, both men’s eyes went wide.
Yubar murmured,
“This doesn’t look like an ordinary home.”
He turned to look at her.
“Incredible. Don’t tell me you foresaw everything from the very beginning?”
Rodi simply smiled without answering.
‘Just as expected of Yubar.’
With his quick wit, he seemed to have pieced the entire situation together already.
Noien, too, was unable to hide his astonishment.
“What a truly… remarkable thing.”
Standing where the entire living room was visible, Rodi beamed.
“As you might have guessed, this house,”
Extending an arm, she introduced the interior in high spirits.
“was designed to have everything Mr. Noien currently needs.”
Just as she said, the red brick villa was decorated to provide the ideal environment for raising children.
“The floors are fitted with soft padding, and every sharp corner of the furniture has been rounded off. The chairs and desks are all scaled to a child’s height as well.”
Turning her head, she asked,
“Oh, would you like to see the second floor?”
Still dazed from astonishment, the father and son nodded along as they listened.
“L-Let’s do that.”
About to follow her upstairs, Yubar rested a hand on the banister and let out an exclamation of admiration.
“You even paid attention to details like this?”
The railing, clearly newly replaced, was sturdy and closely spaced to prevent any child from falling through.
He remarked,
“I had no idea you possessed such a thoughtful side.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Yubar caught himself.
‘That sounded entirely like sarcasm.’
Speaking coldly to Rodi had become such a habit that it slipped out unconsciously…
Yet she appeared completely unfazed.
“I’m a bit more attentive than people give me credit for.”
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Yubar felt relieved, but also vaguely disappointed.
To Rodi, it seemed to make no difference whatsoever whether he was hostile or kind.
‘I just wish she’d pay me a little attention….’
Catching himself having such a thought, he recoiled in shock.
‘What on earth am I thinking?!’
Wanting that ‘Rodi’ to pay attention to him?
‘No. That’s absurd.’
Shaking his head vigorously, Yubar struggled to regain his senses.
“What are you doing?”
Having already reached the top of the stairs, Rodi peeked down at him.
“Is there something odd?”
Only then did Yubar realize he had stopped halfway up the staircase.
“N-No, it’s nothing. Just…”
He tapped his knuckles lightly against the railing.
“I was just thinking the… the banister is quite sturdy and elegantly crafted. Haha.”
It was an uncharacteristically clumsy, foolish excuse, but fortunately, Rodi took it at face value.
“If it meets your discerning eye, I suppose I hired a decent carpenter.”
She proceeded to show them the rest of the second floor.
“Now, here are the bedrooms, and this is the study….”
Much like the first floor, the second floor was laid out perfectly for accommodating multiple children.
Fresh green wallpaper, cushioned floors, low beds, and study desks…
Noien marvelled,
“You put an immense amount of effort into the interior.”
Rodi nodded.
“I meddled in just about everything, after all.”
In truth, throughout the entire renovation, she had shadowed the carpenter she hired and picked over every single detail from start to finish.
Noien asked in wonder,
“If you planned to sell it anyway, why go to such lengths?”
“Ah….”
Rodi hesitated before answering.
Back when she lived as Yunseo, home had been a place she never wanted to return to.
“I…,”
she began cautiously.
“always hated my home.”
That was why she wanted to ensure the children coming here would never feel the same way.
“It was like hell, a place I dreaded going back to.”
“…”
“I didn’t want children with nowhere else to go to feel what I felt.”
She felt Yubar’s silent gaze fixed on her from the side.
‘I know.’
She knew this answer was unlike the villainess ‘Rodi.’
‘Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be a little honest, would it?’
She didn’t want to spend her entire life suppressing her own feelings.
“I want this villa to be the kind of happy place they always look forward to coming back to.”
Noien smiled softly.
“I see.”
That was the end of that conversation.
The three of them came down from the second floor and gathered around the table.
“I’ll buy this house.”
“…!”
Rodi’s eyes widened.
She had been racking her brain trying to figure out how to persuade Noien…
‘To think he’d declare it so decisively.’
Without thinking, Rodi blurted out,
“That’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“Mr. Noien, you may be one of the richest men on the continent, but I heard you never waste a single coin on things that lack value.”
“Does this house hold no value to you, young lady?”
Looking into Noien’s gentle eyes gave her the courage to be a bit more forthright.
“Perhaps not. This is the place my biological father cast me out to, after all. I don’t have fond memories of it.”
“Young lady.”
Having listened intently to her words, Noien asked,
“Could you give me one honest answer?”
“What is it?”
“Why were you so determined to sell this place to me from the very start?”
“Because you’re filthy rich.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“You’re quite skilled at interrogations, aren’t you?”
Rodi let out a brief laugh.
“Well, fine. If I were to add a slightly more sentimental reason… I believed you could turn this place into somewhere happy. If that happens, it would mean achieving a bit of revenge for myself, too.”
Noien asked in return,
“Revenge?”
“Yes, revenge. Everyone wished for me to meet a cold, lonely death in this desolate villa.”
She looked around the room.
“Yet if this house, once thought destined to remain forever frigid, becomes brimming with warmth and laughter, and if I, who sold it, live proudly and happily—”
Rodi’s eyes flashed with bold conviction.
“wouldn’t that be the finest revenge to serve those who prayed for my misery?”
“…”
Sitting beside them, Yubar looked at Rodi with a faintly bewildered expression.
“Hahaha… I quite like you, young lady.”
Noien, on the other hand, burst into hearty laughter.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered such an exceptional individual.”
Reaching into his coat, he produced a signet ring bearing the crest of a crescent moon and offered it to her.
“If you ever require assistance in the future, use this to reach me.”
Rodi accepted the signet in a daze.
This was the mark of personal recognition from the master of the Night of Plenty.
It granted her free access to the vast resources and intelligence network of the Night of Plenty, whose branches spanned the entire continent.
‘I never dreamed I’d receive something like this.’
“Yubar.”
Noien called out to his son, who was lost in deep thought.
“Fetch a pen and paper from the carriage.”
“…Understood.”
Looking somewhat crestfallen for some reason, Yubar stepped outside.
“…?”
Rodi watched his retreating figure with a look of mild bewilderment.
