The Psychotic Girl’s Revenge

She had heard that a century ago, too many people had died, and those who survived after losing the battle were exiled to Wind Island. Some couldn’t survive the hardship and died, while others lived, but even if they managed to produce offspring, like Arjun, they were doomed to generations of being the lowest class of people.

“The sorrow of the era?” Jasper let out a mocking laugh. “Paige, that wasn’t the sorrow of the era. It was the ugliness and baseness of human nature.”

“…”

Paige looked up at the old man sitting at the head of the table. His aged face was filled with sorrow.

“Do you know who stormed into the Folsom family’s house that day? It was an alliance of nearly 80 families, large and small, who came together to wipe out the entire Folsom family.”

Jasper continued, “The Folsom family had nowhere to escape.”

“…”

“My father was sitting in a tree, watching it all-watching as his family members were hacked to death one by one, watching the greed and viciousness of those people as they divided up the Folsom family’s wealth. They didn’t even leave behind a single pen or chair. The bodies meant nothing to them compared to the blood-stained money they coveted.”

“…”

As Paige listened, she lost her appetite and set down her utensils.

Enrico sat there, lazily listening, his chiseled features still slightly intoxicated. It was unclear if he was paying attention.

“My father always said that the air around the Folsom family back then reeked of blood.”

Jasper went on, “They slaughtered the Folsom family for three whole days, searching the house for as long. My father passed out and woke up multiple times in that tree. When everyone finally left, he was lucky enough to escape.”

“And later, he came to River Town?” Paige guessed.

“That’s right,” Jasper nodded. “The Folsom family was so prestigious a century ago, but after that, my father was the only one left. When he arrived in River Town, his body was covered in wounds, and it was only thanks to Medicine Curse Sect’s treatment that he survived. So, he married into a local family and changed his name.”

That explained why his background seemed so clean and simple.

“The Folsom family never gave up on revenge,” Paige said calmly.

“How could they, Paige? You see the misery of the slums and want to fight for those people. What about the Folsom family? Shouldn’t their revenge be justified too?”

Jasper’s eyes reddened with age-old sorrow. “Even in his old age, my father was haunted by nightmares-nightmares that made him lose control of his body, trembling until he died. He lived a life of humiliation, just to have descendants who could carry out his revenge.”

“How much revenge has the Folsom family taken?” Paige asked.

Jasper looked at her, smiled, and said, “Paige, you’re always so sharp. Why don’t you tell me?”

“There’s no such thing as ‘how much revenge,'” Paige replied slowly. “There’s only whether or not revenge has been taken at all.”

She continued, “Your father was young when the Folsom family was massacred. He likely didn’t know exactly which 80 families were involved, but you could guess-those ruthless enough to survive the financial war were the culprits.”

“…”

Jasper listened with admiration.

“So, the Folsom family’s ultimate revenge would be to throw A Nation into another financial war, causing those families to destroy themselves in the chaos.”

Paige concluded.

“Paige, you’re truly brilliant.” Jasper nodded repeatedly. “My father’s dying wish was exactly that-to plunge A Nation into turmoil and restore the Folsom family.”

“…”

This hatred ran too deep for the Folsom family, so deep that they couldn’t rest without exacting vengeance.

Paige listened in silence.

Jasper continued, “Over the years, my father and I developed a substantial hidden network. But no matter how much we built, we couldn’t match the speed of those financial powers. It wasn’t until about thirty years ago that the Folsom family had its first chance to topple A Nation’s financial elites.”

“The Gustin family’s internal strife?” Paige pieced the timeline together quickly.

“Exactly. At that time, the Gustin family was in fierce conflict. Brothers Jeremy and Jeremiah were tearing each other apart, and the side branches of the family were full of ambition. Many forces in The Capital were also itching for an opportunity.”

Jasper said, “I arranged for my eldest daughter to marry Jeremiah, scheming to disrupt The Gustin family from within and stir up chaos in The Capital. But unexpectedly, Jeremy sought out the daughter of the now-retired Davis family-your mother-and that disrupted many of our plans.”

At this, Jasper turned his gaze toward Enrico.

Hearing about his mother, Enrico’s expression darkened, and he looked up at Jasper.

Paige placed her hand on Enrico’s knee. He glanced at her, his eyes calm.

“Later, your mother helped your father seize Jeremiah’s power. When I saw that plan had failed, we decided to set fire to the grand banquet where The Gustin family had gathered all of The Capital’s key figures.”

Jasper said.

Hearing this, Paige recalled what Kevin had uncovered. “I thought Jeremiah set that fire himself to fake his death and escape. I didn’t expect it to be orchestrated by the Folsom family.”

Burning all of The Capital’s key figures would have thrown not just The Capital, but all of A Nation into chaos.

“Unfortunately, your mother saw through our plan again. She minimized the casualties and saved many people, earning gratitude from countless others. From then on, your father’s path was smooth.”

Jasper’s tone was mocking. “It’s a shame your mother was so intelligent, yet she fell victim to love and helped a scoundrel.”

“…”

It was the truth.

Enrico didn’t even bother to argue.

“In that fire, my eldest daughter’s family was killed, except for her and Jeremiah, who managed to escape. With nowhere else to go, they came to River Town to seek refuge with me. But not long after, Jeremiah died in despair, and my daughter has been broken ever since.”

Jasper’s face darkened as he recalled his many failed schemes.

Paige spoke, “You mentioned that an outsider must have a guarantor to settle in River Town-that was you, wasn’t it?”

Some of what he’d told her was only half true.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

“Indeed. I didn’t expect you to trace things back to Jeremiah and River Town. With your ability, even if I hadn’t invited you here, it wouldn’t have been long before you found me.”

Jasper glanced at her.

Their eyes met.

One old, one young.

The bond of mentor and student, yet the opposition of enemies, lay in that gaze.

Paige looked away and stared at the flickering candle on the table. Finally, she asked about herself, “One failed plan naturally leads to waiting for the next. Three years ago, when I was captured, the Folsom family saw another opportunity.”

Three years ago, Enrico held immense power. If he had stubbornly protected someone from the slums trying to rebuild it, the financial war would have erupted in an instant.