Chapter 2

When I didn't argue, something unreadable flickered in Tabitha's eyes. She soon looked away and said sharply, "Since you don't want this child, then we will never have children between us again."

I said nothing and turned to walk away.

Early the next morning, before I was even fully awake, Jordan's attendant was already shouting outside my door. "We always take blood at this time. What's different about today? Can you afford the consequences if Mr. Corke doesn't get his tonic on time?"

I called my attendant over to stop him from getting into a fight and rolled up my sleeve in a practiced motion. "Go ahead."

My attendant took out the knife and bowl, but his eyes instantly reddened when he saw the dense web of scars on my arm.

He couldn't bring himself to do it, so I did it myself. If Jordan didn't get my blood that day, he would definitely throw another tantrum.

I sliced myself without hesitation. As the blood slowly dripped into the bowl, I was pulled back to the very first time this had happened.

Jordan was the son of an imperial tutor, and he'd grown up studying alongside Tabitha. The two of them could be called childhood sweethearts. But then, the Corke family was accused of a crime, and the entire clan was thrown into prison.

Tabitha was the one who'd dragged him out of death row. By then, he had been tortured within an inch of his life. A miracle physician had said that only the blood of someone with a lunar constitution could stabilize Jordan's vital energy.

Without a moment's hesitation, Tabitha had slit my wrist for my blood, even though I was seriously injured and couldn't get out of bed at the time.

Afterward, she'd explained, "My teacher entrusted Jordan to me and told me to save his life. That's the only reason I'm taking this so seriously. Did I hurt you just now? I'm sorry, Hugo. Jordan almost died, and I panicked. I just…"

I'd wanted to believe her and accept that explanation, but I couldn't lie to myself. That slash had awakened something that had been sleeping in the back of my mind all along—a system.

It had also awakened my consciousness as someone from the modern world. I'd realized that I was nothing but the villain in this story. My mission was to help the male lead, Jordan, and the female lead, Tabitha, overcome all obstacles and fall in love.

But for some reason, I only wanted to rebel. I'd been terrified that Tabitha, who once had eyes only for me, would truly fall in love with Jordan.

I'd guarded against it in every possible way. I'd even sent people to keep a discreet watch over her. Yet, at Anthony's first birthday banquet, Tabitha had suddenly vanished.

I'd followed a trail of odd clues and tracked her to a side room, where I'd heard sounds of pleasure drifting out from inside. In the dim light, Tabitha and Jordan had been tightly intertwined.

I'd lost my mind. I'd kicked the door open and charged in, fully intent on tearing Jordan to pieces. But Tabitha had immediately dropped to her knees in front of me and begged for forgiveness. "I was drugged. Jordan was only trying to save me…"

Looking at Jordan, whom she'd shielded behind her, a suffocating terror had swallowed me whole. I'd ultimately still ended up walking the exact path the system had foretold.

I had said, "If that's the case, I'll grant you your wish. I want a divorce."

Tabitha had collapsed to her knees again upon hearing that. She'd said that if I dared to leave, she wouldn't hesitate to end her life. She'd even coaxed Anthony, who was nothing but a naive child at the time, to keep calling me "Father", until the word scraped my heart raw.

During that period, even the slightest shift of my expression had been enough to make her tense up in panic. In the end, I'd compromised, and we'd gotten back together.

But soon enough, we faced another divorce. The second time was due to Jordan threatening to kill himself. Tabitha had gone along with it, insisting on giving him an official title.

"Hugo, you know how much I owe my teacher. I can't ignore that debt. If Jordan becomes a part of our family, I'll be able to take better care of him," she had said.

The third time had been when she'd wanted Jordan's name added to the imperial family tree. She'd even wanted to hold a formal wedding with him. She'd given him the wedding robes she'd personally designed for me.

Things got worse by the fourth divorce. Jordan had framed me for hiring an assassin. Tabitha had locked me up in the ancestral hall, making me kneel as punishment. I wasn't given a drop of water for three days. It was Anthony who'd sneaked in, bringing me pastries and tea.

Even in the dead of winter, seeing him had made warmth spread through me. It had enveloped me like an embrace.

But before I'd even taken a bite, Anthony had blinked innocently and asked, "Father, can you divorce Mother?"

I'd gone rigid and looked at him. He'd continued, "Jordan's birthday wish is to be the prince consort. I want to help him make that wish come true. So, Father… can you divorce Mother?"

The resentment I had been choking on the entire time instantly dispersed, and I stopped clinging obsessively to the past.

Only then did I truly begin completing my mission.