Chapter Thirty-Two: A Flower Blooming with Dignity

Since he was a knight, I knew Lord William was strong, but I never thought he was this strong! My apologies for the mundane impression, but that was all I could think of.

In one fell swoop, the enemies were knocked down. As a side note, the duke was also fighting hard. Nevertheless, even I, who didn’t know much about swordsmanship, could tell that something was fundamentally different between them.

I was hiding in the shadow of the closet so as not to get in the way of their fight. The duke volunteered to be the shield in front of me, while on the other side, Lord William played the role of a sword.

The enemies bled and groaned, terrifying me. However, Sandra, who kept her eyes trained on me, was a hundred time scarier.

Sandra was smiling as usual, with a dagger in hand. Not even once did she look away from me.

“Aah, I knew it.”

“Guh!”

I heard a carefree voice, and at the same time, the duke collapsed. As he held his arm, blood seeped through his fingers.

“Your Grace!” I screamed.

After punching the last enemy, Lord William tried to rush over to me. He stopped when he saw the man standing in front of the duke.

The man was tall and slender, and very handsome.

He had long, jet-black hair tied up behind his neck. His pale skin, highlighted by the candlelight, was pale. The man looked down at the duke, blood dripping from the tip of his thin sword. Suddenly, he raised his head.

His eyes, darker than the night, caught mine, widening ever so slightly.

“What a surprise. There’s a goddess here.”

“Who are you?”

Lord William brandished his sword and slowly approached, wary of the man.

“Who am I? Well… everyone can call me whatever they want. My comrades call me ‘Aqrab’ or ‘Leader.’ Still, you’re so much more ravishing than I imagined.”

There was a clang of footsteps, and Aqrab tried to come over to me, glancing at the duke.

However, the duke grabbed Acqrab’s arm with his blood-stained hand. In that split second, Lord William turned his back on me and slid in.

Clank! Clank!

Aqrab shook off the duke’s arm, leaping back with his sword at the ready.

“She’s my wife. Don’t come near her, you bastard.”

“Haha, Hero. A man’s jealousy is ugly, you know?”

Aqrab tapped his own shoulder with his sword and said in amusement.

“So what? When it comes to her, I can’t afford to be generous. Even a Hero can’t let his guard down when it comes to keeping a Goddess.”

“William, go brag somewhere else.”

The duke staggered as he retrieved his fallen sword and readied himself.

“Your Grace…”

“It’s okay, it’s not a mortal injury.”

The duke turned around, smiled gently, and faced forward again.

I had no choice but to take his words for it.

“Hey, Aqrab, I’ll hand you the Hero, so bring that girl to me.”

Sandra gently placed her hand on Aqrab’s arm and looked up at him.

“That’s a tall order. I simply came to say goodbye to the Hero.”

“Sandra, just stop…”

The duke continued to shield me with his arm. He clung to the sword he’d impaled on the ground, desperately trying to keep standing.

“If I stop now, all that awaits me is the guillotine. I know that much.”

“…If you understand, then stop. You do are aware that Lady Liliana and Lady Catherine completely different people, aren’t you?”

Sandra glanced at me briefly, then looked up at the ceiling.

“Yes, I knew that for a long time. But… I can’t forgive her.”

Sandra closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and turned to face me with a sweet smile.

Then, just as she’d done when she had slowly taken out the knife, she reached for a hidden pocket under her frills. Afterward, she took out a small vial of clear liquid.

“This is the same liquid that was poured on your wound?”

Her words made me instinctively reach for my solar plexus. I looked up at her, pressing my hand against my dress.

“But isn’t that strange?”

“What is?”

“Why? Why does only that child get saved? Even when I cried and screamed, no one… no one saved me.”

For just a fleeting moment, Sandra’s smile seemed sad and lonely.

But when I tried to look at her again, her sweet smile had returned.

“I can’t go back now that I’ve come this far. No, I don’t want to go back.”

“L-Lady Sandra.”

I slowly stood up and stared straight at Sandra.

For a moment, I thought my eyes met with Lord Wililam’s, but I took a deep breath and focused on Sandra.

“I have no sympathy for the pain and sorrow you felt. I don’t want you to understand the pain and fear you’ve caused me.”

I somehow managed to hold onto the necklace and endure my shaking body as I spoke.

“But if… if you have even the slightest feelings for Cedric, please stop for the sake of that boy.”

I felt her hazel eyes wavered slightly.

“Isn’t he the child of my father and you?”

“Yes, that’s right. Cedric is my and Ramos’ child, but he doesn’t resemble any of us at all. Instead, he took after his grandfather, which is frustrating. He’s like a doll that never smiles or cries, and it’s difficult to tell if he has emotions or not.”

My chest throbbed.

The Cedric I knew was an emotional boy who cried and laughed—a sweet and obedient child. The word “doll” didn’t really fit him. He was such an adorable boy!

But in front of Sandra, Cedric must’ve masking his emotions like a doll. By doing so, that small child must’ve been protecting his heart form his parents’ indifference.

“I…”

My heart was pounding so hard, I felt like it was going to jump out of my mouth.

“I hate you.”

It was the first time I’d ever said those words to someone else.

A sense of anxiety passed through my chest, as if I’d pointed a knife at her.

“Oh, then we’re on the same page. I hate you, too. I really like it when you were scared of me and cried.”

A soft, joyous chuckle erupted.

I bowed deeply to her. I could definitely hear her gasp in surprise.

“But I’m truly grateful that you gave birth to Cedric.”

After a few beats, I slowly rose to my feet.

Then, I smiled as gently as I could to her.

“I forgive you for everything. All that remains of you mean nothing to me.”

For the first time, her smile disappeared. The dagger fell from her hand onto the dirty carpet. “Sandra,” the duke called out to her, but her hazel eyes stared at me without blinking.

“Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable!”

Her face contorted hideously. She uncorked the vial and held it above her head. A short distance away, I could hear a particularly high-pitched clang.

“I won’t forgive you for taking my beloved away from me!!”

From then on, it was as if time had slowed down.

The duke grabbed my dress and forced me to duck. He held me tight, shielding me with his body.

“Milady!” “Master!”

I could hear Elsa and Frederick screaming.

Nevertheless, no one could stop the contents of the bottle from spilling.

However, not a drop of the contents landed on me or the duke, and the person standing in front of him caught it all.

The bottle rolled onto the carpet. Even Sandra widened her eyes at the person who shielded us—William.

“…What the hell… are you going to do to my wife…”

“Lord William!”

I screamed from inside the duke’s arms. The liquid must’ve spilled over his shoulder and chest, as Lord William clutched them. He grimaced in pain and fell to his knees. At the same time, Elsa, Frederick, and James all stormed into the room.

Sandra stepped back in shock, and then bumped into Aqrab. His cheeks were swollen, while blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

Then, her expression stiffened.

“See, I told you. You’re better off not laying your hands on her. Unlike you, Lady Liliana is loved.”

“What are you doing… Ugh…“

Her red lips quivered in shock as something redder stained her white skin.

“Don’t look!” the duke shouted, burying my face in his shoulder so that I couldn’t see anything.

For a moment, just for a moment, I saw a tip of a silver dagger sticking out of her chest.

“You were certainly gorgeous. You were my favorite. So harsh and cruel, yet beautiful. Still, it’d be inconvenient to keep you alive as I leave this country. Farewell, Sandie.”

Clank! Thud!

The knife fell, followed by a thud.

“Don’t let them get away!” Alphonse shouted.

The sound of window glass shattering echoed across the silence.

---

***T/N: Lmao Aqrab don’t be like that. I had wanted Sandra to suffer tho.

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