You Said You Wanted Us to Break Up - Chapter 64

The one who spoke was Rufid, a vassal who had a good relationship with Lerox.

However, the most significant feature Sioden remembered about him was not his connections but his blood relation.

The man was the father of Rhys.

That said, he wasn’t as truthful to Sioden as his son was.

Rhys’s father, Cheland, had a political stance that opposed his son’s. This meant that he occasionally expressed resentment toward him.

Sioden looked down at the man who had come to confront him this time as well.

“Is it a problem if I use the heirloom I inherited as I please?”

Cheland bowed his head and replied, “You know what I’m talking about.”

Sioden scoffed at the man’s false reverence.

Cheland was referring to the fact that he had handed over the organ to Iella. It was unnecessary interference and a clear overreach.

Sioden coldly stared at the man, who resembled his son about halfway.

“Since when have you been so interested in my private property?”

“Surely you know the intent behind the late Duchess’s decision to bequeath the organ not to Miss Merwen but to Your Excellency?”

That statement scraped against the nerves that were already on edge. Sioden muttered softly, “You claim to know my mother’s intentions.”

“……”

“I’m curious about what confidence you have to assert that, considering I, her son, have only been able to guess at it my whole life.”

“……”

“Or am I supposed to say that I was worse than others to my mother?”

It was a fact, but hearing it from someone else was a different matter.

Since Evelyn’s death, Sioden had consciously avoided thinking about her. There was one reason for this: Evelyn had escaped through death, and Sioden did not want to chase after a mother who had retreated to a place where the living could not go. In simple terms, he did not want to be tied down to the dead.

Naturally, he did not want to hear Evelyn’s name come from someone else’s lips. Feeling that he had chosen the wrong topic, Cheland bowed his head.

“That’s not what I meant…”

Sioden did not let him finish.

“If that’s not what you meant, then what is?”

“……”

“Do I have to guess the hidden meaning behind your words?”

The only person who constantly pushed him toward such uncomfortable issues was Iella.

“Why do you carry around a tongue that can’t even speak properly?”

It was then that Rhys came running toward them.

“Father!”

At his son’s shock, Cheland’s gaze turned that way. Sioden, worried that Rhys might pull out his father’s tongue, gestured to Rhys, who was now looking to him for cues.

Only then did Rhys feel relieved and grab Cheland’s arm. Sioden, having lost the will to pay attention to the situation, passed by them. He could hear Rhys shouting at his father from behind. “I told you to stop! You’re really going to get your head cut off!”

By the time the voices of the father and son were barely audible, Sioden reflected on what Cheland had said. Perhaps Iella had heard such words too, which was why she no longer played the organ.

After pausing for a moment to contemplate, he ordered the knight who was on guard.

“Bring the organ to the main building.”

When the organ was brought into the main building, Sioden called for a technician to disassemble the instrument. He planned to take it apart, replicate its structure, and then create a new one based on that. Sending someone to the capital to fetch a new organ would take too long, so this was a makeshift solution he had come up with.

The technician carefully examined the organ and expressed his concerns.

“It’s an old and delicate instrument, so once it’s taken apart, it may be difficult to reassemble it as it was before.”

Sioden, who had been silently observing the process, asked, “Will it interfere with making a new one?”

“Yes.”

In that case, it didn’t matter.

After all, the true owner of the organ, Evelyn, had passed away.

Had it not been for Iella coming to the north, the instrument, which had not been played since then, would have remained forever tucked away in the annex.

Sioden nodded to Ben, who was assisting him. Understanding his agreement, Ben signaled for the work to proceed.

With people constantly coming and going in the castle, rumors quickly spread. While detailed information did not circulate, most realized that he intended to do something with the organ.

Sioden instructed the technician, who was to make the new organ, to use valuable materials, as Evelyn’s was adorned with silver and jewels.

Having never shown interest in art throughout his life, when he even called for a sculptor, his retainers whispered behind his back that he had finally gone mad.

Sioden thought that even the hunting dogs raised by the gamekeepers in this household would have turned crazy by now. He had no hesitation in voicing his thoughts, yet no one came to directly ask him if he had truly lost his mind.

After measuring the organ’s dimensions and finishing the orders for the necessary materials, the technician asked him before starting the actual work.

“Could you please play it, just to confirm that all the sounds are working properly?”

Before he could sit at the keys in response to the request, Merwen, who had been watching the work from the side, stepped forward.

“I’ll do it. I need to check if complex pieces are played correctly.”

Unlike him, who had only taken a few lessons for a short time, Merwen had stayed with Evelyn and learned to play the organ for quite a long time. It was surprising that Evelyn had not passed the organ down to her, given the extensive training.

Merwen’s playing style resembled that of her teacher. It had been a while since Sioden had taken an interest in an organ played by anyone other than a woman, so he couldn’t focus on the performance for long. As he took his eyes off the keys, he looked around. He noticed that the door was slightly ajar.

It seemed Merwen hadn’t closed it properly when she came in.

He was about to gesture to the knight but decided to walk to the door himself. It was easier to handle such trivial matters personally than to give instructions.

As he approached the doorway, Sioden saw a familiar blonde figure beyond it. He reflexively swung the door open.

“Iella?”

The woman, who looked a bit thinner since he last saw her, observed him and the scene behind him—the organ, the technician, and Merwen—and spoke in a calm tone.

“The knight said you were here.”

She added, “He told me to accompany you when you give your statement.”

In fact, Sioden had sent a letter to the annex with such instructions. The duel incident involving the knight had already been resolved, and only minor statements were needed, but he didn’t want to leave the matter in someone else’s hands.

The path to the place where he would take Iella to write the report was quiet.

As they walked down the corridor, Sioden kept an eye on her, but Iella only looked straight ahead.

Eventually, he broke the silence first.

“The organ will no longer be needed, so I moved it to the main building.”

Upon saying it, he realized it was somewhat unfriendly.

After a brief pause, Sioden decided to speak the truth. Although it was still confidential, he thought it might be nice to inform Iella in advance and see her expected reaction.

“Actually…”

But before he could say anything, Iella shook her head.

“It’s okay.”

The woman interrupted him with a tolerant expression that could almost be perceived as kind.

“Do as you wish. It was originally yours, after all.”

Her calm voice sent a chill down his spine.

The small body that had once given a warm weight above his heart now felt unreal, replaced by a vivid coldness.

* * *

Still, he thought that if he quickly created something new, the situation would improve.

Even knowing that life’s problems couldn’t be solved so simply, Sioden held onto that hope.

It wasn’t long after Iella returned from the main building that Evelyn’s organ was damaged.

The culprit was a knight from Rowen. At this point, he couldn’t help but think that the knight order was riddled with issues, but first, the investigation of the incident had to take precedence.

The knight submitted the jewel he had gifted to Iella as evidence of his involvement. There was only one line of testimony.

“The lady requested it.”

Having chosen it carefully, Sioden recognized the jewel at first glance.

There were two ways to handle this situation.

Either interrogate Iella directly or dismiss the maid who managed the jewel.

Since he had directly infiltrated the knight into the main building, anything less than severe punishment would not suffice. If he wasn’t going to execute him, he would have to expel him from the castle.

When talking to him, Iella had been so composed that she couldn’t say a word, but now, as he mentioned dismissing the maid, she even showed tears.

Sioden was not swayed by her tears. Did that mean he would have to expel her instead of the maid?

Even if the sky were to split in two, that would not be an option.

After expelling Iella’s maid from the castle, Sioden realized that he could not change their relationship with just an organ. In the end, he ordered Ben.

“Tell him to stop the work.”

He instructed that the payment be made as promised and that the materials and the already partially completed blueprints be moved to an inconspicuous place.

Before leaving the castle, the technician came to see him and spoke cautiously.

“The organ has been restored to its previous state.”

From what he gathered, it seemed that it had been repaired to the condition it was in before the knight had damaged it.

Sioden gestured for the technician to leave, indicating that he had heard enough. The man promptly closed the door behind him.

Left alone in the room, Sioden buried his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh.

Even though Evelyn’s belongings had been restored, it provided no comfort at all.

It felt merely empty, as if he had fallen into an abyss.