IDED | Chapter 112

Episode 112

Returning to the Marco estate, Lydia furiously threw her bag at a maid.

“Who does she think she is, telling me to take care of the family?”

She had turned her back on the family ages ago, and now she wanted to act like a proper older sister?

“What right does she have to tell me to care about my brother? Do I look that idle to her?”

Lydia grumbled as she carelessly tossed aside her accessories and sank into the steaming bathwater.

“Lydia!”

“Huh? You’re home already?”

Dabbing at her damp hair with a towel, Lydia turned her gaze toward the voice calling her name. She heard the sound of hurried footsteps ascending the stairs and couldn’t help but smile.

‘Does he miss me that much?’

Feeling generous, she was about to rise and greet him when Marco suddenly burst through the door.

“There you are.”

“You’re back? I know you miss me, but if you move around so carelessly, you might get—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Marco grabbed her shoulders and asked urgently,

“Where is your brother?”

Why is everyone so obsessed with Tyler today?

The excitement that had bubbled up at the thought of Marker rushing to see her instantly deflated. Though annoyed, Lydia answered her husband’s question diligently.

“He should be at Vincent Castle.”

“He wasn’t there.”

“Then maybe a gambling den… or a café…?”

“Is that all you know about your brother? I need a real hideout, not some random spot!”

“Why—why are you yelling all of a sudden?”

Shocked by his outburst, Lydia forgot to mask her irritation and snapped back.

They had never once raised their voices at each other since their marriage, so the fact that they were arguing over Tyler was hard to believe.

But when she saw the sharp intensity in Marco’s eyes, she realized something was very wrong. A sudden memory of her conversation with Serena flashed through her mind.

— Do you even know what Tyler has been up to lately?

— Why should I care about what that man does?

— You should. Trust me.

“Don’t tell me Tyler got himself into trouble…?”

Serena’s warning suddenly carried a heavy weight, and a creeping unease made Lydia’s lips tremble.

Moments later, Marco bellowed,

“Your brother took out a loan using my business as collateral and ran away!”

***

Serena sighed, as if she had expected this outcome.

“So it finally happened.”

She had warned Lydia just this afternoon, and yet Tyler had already made his escape. He fled even faster than she had anticipated.

‘I hope Lydia doesn’t think I had anything to do with this…’

Knowing Lydia’s personality, Serena felt a chill down her spine.

The truth was, she had always known that Tyler would eventually steal money and flee with Colin.

Colin, who was desperate for cash, had been enticing Tyler with business ideas. Most likely, he had convinced him to start a new venture in a faraway kingdom.

‘Tyler, with his vanity, is an easy target for con artists.’

In a past life, Tyler had fallen for a scam and caused immense damage to the family.

Back then, the Vincent estate had been stable enough to recover, but now?

‘They rely on the duke to stay afloat. They can’t ask him for help again.’

Perhaps, in exchange for aid, the duke would swallow up the entire Vincent family. Although, considering its value, that might not even be worth it.

Just then, Azaid spoke in a soft voice, delivering a cold truth.

“Colin was probably planning to kill Tyler the moment they arrived in Pion Kingdom.”

“To avoid any loose ends? And take all the money for himself?”

“Exactly. He must have thought his plan was flawless, never suspecting we were tracking him. That made our ambush easy.”

“Did you let Tyler escape on purpose?”

Azaid gave a brief nod.

“Our real target was Colin. Tyler has lost everything, so he’s powerless now.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“For now. We have someone tailing him. We’ll grab him when necessary.”

Azaid spoke nonchalantly. In truth, they had already discovered Colin’s hideout during Lydia’s wedding. Tyler getting involved with Colin had just been unfortunate.

Tyler must have realized too late that Colin had tricked him when he failed to show up at their meeting spot.

Serina shook her head at his sheer thoughtlessness.

“This is why easy money is so dangerous.”

“Oh, by the way, while tracking Colin, we found a passage leading to the lab. Things are shaping up well.”

“That’s good. But even with the entrance, getting inside won’t be easy.”

“Colin mentioned that his biometric access was revoked. So, we’ll have to make contact with a lab employee who knows him.”

“And Colin is just going to let that happen?”

“He doesn’t have a choice. If he resists, he dies.”

“So, you threatened him.”

Serena narrowed her eyes, and Ajade smirked.

“Let’s call it an interrogation.”

It was shameless, but she understood. Hardened criminals rarely talked otherwise.

Ajade continued,

“Once we make contact, Lucy will mimic the employee’s appearance and infiltrate the lab.”

“Lucy is proving to be quite the secret weapon. We also need to seize those blue and red vials we found earlier.”

If they could secure samples, they could finally analyze their connection to the perfume and mana supplements they had obtained.

Serena was already filled with anticipation. That was when Azaid suddenly leaned in and lowered his voice.

“Speaking of which, Serena, I need you to do something right now.”

“What is it?”

Sensing the secrecy, she tensed and leaned in—

A warm breath tickled her ear, and Azaid whispered,

“A kiss.”

“…….”

“Won’t you give me one?”

The sudden shift in tone was absurd.

Serina instinctively leaned away, but Azaid immediately followed.

“Your Majesty, is this really the time?”

“If not now, then when?”

Unbothered, he targeted her weak spots, making her heart race.

“Come on.”

Despite his insistence, his voice was gentle. His eyes gleamed with amusement, and his lips parted slightly as he gazed at her.

The deep blue of his irises darkened, drawing her in. Serena found herself unable to refuse.

The Vincent household had descended into chaos.

Tyler had disappeared, leaving behind only a letter—and the estate’s deed and family seal were missing.

— I’ll return with ten times the amount, Father.

“That bastard! If he ever comes back, I’ll—!”

Baron Vincent, though generally more lenient with his son than his daughter, made an exception when it came to family ruin.

Even after screaming for someone to find Tyler, his fury didn’t subside. He downed a glass of ice-cold water, but it did little to cool his rage.

An investigation revealed that Tyler had hastily taken out a loan with the castle as collateral.

He hadn’t mentioned where he was going or what he was doing, leaving his father in a state of burning frustration.

‘I should never have given him the seal!’

Recently overwhelmed by imperial affairs, the Baron had handed it over to Tyler, thinking he had finally matured.

But it had all been a deception.

“That wretched son of mine…!”

His face reddened with fury, veins bulging on his forehead.

Just then, Lydia stormed into the castle, having heard the news.

“Father!”

He had instructed the servants not to inform her, yet someone had defied him.

Seeing her rush in, he thought bitterly,

‘At least she still worries for me.’

“Lydia, a married woman shouldn’t be running back to her family home like this.”

While trying to hide his inner delight, he was about to rebuke her when Lydia suddenly interrupted and shouted.

“Where did Tyler go?! Why didn’t Father stop my brother? Do you have any idea how much trouble this has caused me?!”

“You…!”

The Baron realized that his daughter hadn’t come to console him but to interrogate him, and his face turned blank with disbelief. However, Lydia was too preoccupied with her own predicament.

“Tell them to bring everything back immediately! Mr. Marco says he’ll file for divorce if it’s not returned right away!”

“What?! Divorce over something like this?! Marriage isn’t some child’s play!”

The Baron shot up from his seat, shouting in outrage, but Lydia yelled back.

“What kind of father-in-law in the world takes his son-in-law’s business as collateral to gather money?!”

“H-Huh…?”

To think that bastard Tyler had even touched his sister’s husband’s money!

The Baron was so dumbfounded that he struggled to breathe, forcing himself to take deep breaths.

But Lydia didn’t care whether her father was on the verge of collapsing; she kept whining.

“Get Tyler back before he spends all the money—”

“Ugh!”

The Baron, whose blood pressure had been skyrocketing for a while, finally groaned and collapsed backward.

“F-Father!”

Lydia hurriedly caught him in a panic, but she couldn’t support his weight, and they both toppled over.

“Tyler, that bastard…!”

The Baron couldn’t even finish his curse before he completely lost consciousness. The scene was utter chaos.

Meanwhile, Tyler was hiding in a shantytown, pretending to be a homeless man to avoid being seen. Since he had entrusted all his money and travel funds to Colin, he was now penniless.

‘I’ve been deceived.’

Only now did Tyler realize that Colin had tricked him, but with all his money gone, he couldn’t return empty-handed.

So, he desperately searched for people to borrow money from, using whatever connections he had. That was when he heard a shocking piece of news from a friend.

Rumors were already spreading in high society that Baron, the young Baron, had swindled not only his own family’s money but also his sister’s husband’s fortune before fleeing.

From then on, Tyler became a true fugitive, hiding in the shantytown.

How had his life fallen to such disgrace?!

Of course, the reason Tyler’s situation had spiraled out of control was because of Gordon Trading Company’s scheme.

Azaid had deliberately spread rumors about Tyler to divert attention, ensuring that the Duke wouldn’t notice Colin’s disappearance.

It was a strategy that took advantage of the fact that people didn’t know Tyler had been scammed by Colin.

Since Tyler, having lost all his money, wouldn’t return to the castle anytime soon, they planned to carry out their scheme in the meantime.

Unaware of these hidden motives, Tyler could only lament his misfortune. And so, all attention remained fixed solely on him as the situation unfolded.