Chapter 34

“What’s going on?” Odelliana asked, her voice filled with confusion.

There was a loud commotion outside. The sound of heavy footsteps grew closer, and soon the door burst open without so much as a knock.

“You insolent wench!” a furious voice boomed.

A sharp sting flashed before her eyes, followed by a searing pain across her cheek. Odelliana blinked blankly, her vision blurred. She fixed her gaze on the panting intruder, her face contorted in pain.

“Of all the things to do, you had to go and make a knight out of some lowly trash you picked up off the street? And you dragged Blair into it? Do you think Blair is your servant?”

Odelliana, now making eye contact with Malena, who had rushed in behind her, finally grasped the situation. She spat blood onto the floor, her face a mask of defiance.

For someone so terrified of losing the heir position to Blair, the second son who was talented and well-liked, it was laughable how he pretended to care for him by storming in like this. What a touching display of brotherly love.

“I didn’t force Blair to do anything,” Odelliana replied, her voice steady. “I simply asked him for a favor, and he agreed. As far as I’m concerned, this is none of your business.”

Referring to him as “you” rather than “brother” felt more appropriate since he didn’t even acknowledge her as a sister. His face twisted into a scowl, seemingly offended by the impersonal term.

“Is it really so hard to keep your mouth shut and live quietly?” Hermann demanded, his voice a low growl.

“I’ve been locked away quietly enough, haven’t I? Except for the times I take a walk, I haven’t left this place since I got here. I’m perfectly obedient,” Odelliana replied, her voice calm but defiant.

“Don’t drag Blair into your vulgar schemes,” Hermann hissed.

“Vulgar? How is making my servant a knight a vulgar act?” Odelliana retorted, her eyes narrowing.

“It’s your intentions that are vulgar,” Hermann replied, his voice dripping with contempt.

He glared down at her, his hand hovering dangerously close to her face.

“Know your place,” he growled. “Scandalous acts are best enjoyed by scandalous people. A knight? Are you hoping that once your lowly servant becomes a knight, he’ll pledge his sword to you? Not that I believe that filthy commoner would even pass the exam, but even if he does, he’ll abandon you and run. That’s how success works—when circumstances improve, people seek better company.”

“Do I look like someone who’s afraid Matthias will run off with me once he becomes a knight?” Odelliana asked.

“The only place for someone like you is here,” Hermann replied, his voice cold and unforgiving. “If your existence were exposed, our family would face a great scandal.”

“So you do know it was wrong to hide the birth of your own child,” Odelliana said, her voice rising.

At her audacious remark, Hermann raised his hand again, but this time, he couldn’t strike her. He was stopped by a larger body that had suddenly shielded her.

“Please, speak with words, Master,” a voice said.

Malena had wrapped herself protectively around Odelliana. Startled, Odelliana looked up at her, while Hermann roared furiously.

“And what right do you have to interfere? Step aside!” he bellowed.

“It is my duty to protect the young lady. She is a fragile patient. So… please, refrain from using violence and settle this matter peacefully,” Malena responded calmly.

Furious, Hermann kicked at Malena, who remained steadfast in her protection of Odelliana. He ranted like a madman, issuing threats about punishing all the servants in the annex for daring to serve such a fool and their master’s transgressions.

“Stop it, you filthy bastard,” Odelliana shouted.

It was Odelliana who finally brought the chaos to an end. She hurled an ink bottle at Hermann, drenching him in ink.

“You crazy wench…” he sputtered.

“Get out. Leave. Now,” Odelliana demanded.

At Odelliana’s command, Hermann smirked and flicked his fingers at the knights. They forcibly pulled Malena away from Odelliana. Hermann crouched down to meet Odelliana’s gaze and grabbed a fistful of her hair.

“If you hadn’t acted so foolishly, I wouldn’t have had to set such an example,” he sneered. “Do I need to take the life of that boy you coddle to make you understand?

“…You bastard,” Odelliana replied, her voice filled with contempt.

“No one is coming to save you, so stop living in your delusions. Be grateful you’re still alive. No knight on a white horse is going to help a cripple like that. Imagine thinking you could make a knight out of a lowly insect. There are limits to how far madness should go,” Hermann taunted.

His words echoed like a death knell, a stinging rebuke that implied she should abandon hope, accept her fate, and remain silent, broken, and worthless. No knight in shining armor would come to her rescue, no fairy-tale ending awaited her.

Perhaps he was right. In her past life, she had experienced a tragic ending. Betrayed by the man she had believed to be her knight, she had died a queen, a sword piercing her heart.

“You must fear that Matthias will return as a knight in shining armor,” she said. Hermann remained silent.

She hesitated, then admitted, “Perhaps I do. I’ve placed my faith in that boy, and yes, I am hoping for salvation. But what’s wrong with that? I’m simply playing the cards I’ve been dealt, doing what I can with what I have.”

Damn you all for cutting off my limbs—this is the only way I can fight. Odelliana scoffed. Influence, noble bloodlines—none of that matters. Am I supposed to crawl on the ground, looking up at the sky, simply because I was born broken? Live a pathetic life, trampled underfoot, never knowing when it will end?

“I will not live like a worm,” she declared.

“Your scheming and seduction are the actions of a worm,” he spat.

“Perhaps I learned from my family of worms,” she retorted, her voice laced with bitterness. “They discarded their child simply because she was born with a disability.”

“You still do not understand your place,” he snarled.

His patience snapped at her insult. With a swift, brutal move, he hurled her to the ground, pinning her with his foot. He gloated over her, expecting her to cower in fear. Instead, she met his gaze with a defiant laugh, surprising him.

“I have never waited idly for a knight or prince to rescue me,” she declared. “And I never will.”

“What?” he scoffed, disbelief evident in his tone.

“I will choose my knight, and I will make him,” she replied, her determination unwavering.

“You insolent—!” he roared, anger fueling his rage. He kicked her and yanked her up by the collar, but even as she dangled from his grip, she remained unyielding. Enraged, he raised his fist to strike her.

Just as his hand was about to connect, something intervened. A dull thud echoed through the room as a young boy stepped between them.

Everyone froze—Hermann, the knights, even Odelliana. The boy had moved with astonishing speed, shielding her from the blow.

“Why are you hitting someone who has done nothing wrong?” Odelliana bellowed. She hurled a perfume bottle at Hermann. It shattered with a loud crash, soaking him in fragrant oil. Without hesitation, she grabbed a nearby candle.

“Leave. Now. This is your final warning,” she hissed, her voice laced with a chilling threat. “If you cause any more trouble, I will set your body on fire.”

The lethal intent in her voice made Hermann hesitate. Her cold, murderous gaze sent him stumbling backward. One spark, and the oil would ignite. Fear overcame him, and he quickly retreated behind the knights.

He remembered Adella, who had been carried out with her mouth split open. Crazy women do crazy things. Realizing she was serious about setting him ablaze, he turned and fled the annex in a hurry.

The room was a chaotic aftermath of the storm. The servants, sensing the tension, quietly began to gather the broken glass shards before discreetly leaving. Odelliana, still clutching the candle, threw it to the ground in frustration.

She then turned to Matthias and Malena, who had both taken blows for her, her voice rising with anger.

“Why did you intervene and risk your own safety?” she demanded.