Chapter 49

Leon did not take his gaze off the icy blue eyes.

"I was wondering why Daisy called me a piglet. I'm not even fat."

It was meant to make her laugh, but 'Daisy' did not laugh.

"But it only occurred to me yesterday when I heard you call me that. The rebels call the royalists that."

"......"

"Filthy piglet of the monarchy."

Blue eyes, chestnut hair, and a bold temperament.

He believed that such a rare combination could not have appeared coincidentally in a different person. Therefore, there was only one conclusion.

Sally Bristol is Daisy.

I thought she was hiding the fact that she was Daisy because of some secret. But I never imagined that the secret was related to her father's death.

'How foolish I was.'

I acted like a blind man in front of the obvious. Perhaps deep down, I refused to connect my first love with a terrible crime because I still had lingering feelings for her.

Leon grabbed the fox's hair, which had blinded him twice. The woman, whose neck was bent back, groaned as she was forced to look at him.

"You played with me that day, even though you knew your mother was going to kill my father. What a devilish act, even a demon would stick out its tongue."

"No."

As the woman denied, Leon tightened his grip on her hair.

"Everything you said cutely was a lie, right? You were a prostitute who would kiss anyone for your scheme."

The first love was all a lie. He might have been able to foresee and prevent his father's death. But he lost the chance, deceived by a mere young girl, and now he resented himself even more.

"Wasn't your mission to scout the villa? When I sensed something suspicious, you pretended to have a personal interest in me to distract me, right?"

"I didn't know you were Winston. I didn't know you were going to kill my father."

"Don't expect me to be fooled again. I now know you're a heartless killer."

Deep in Grace's subconscious, there was still a sense of guilt towards the young Leon. He had unknowingly and very effectively stimulated it.

"I didn't mean to kill him! It was an accident!"

And ultimately, because of that guilt, Grace made a slip of the tongue.

"Ha... You knew so much, even the details. But what don't you know?"

The hand that had grabbed her hair now grabbed her chin and forced her mouth open. At the same time, the holster on Winston's waist was unfastened, and a loaded pistol was pushed into Grace's mouth.

"Were you there when my father died?"

"No. No, I wasn't."

"Did you try to kill me too?"

"I didn't want to kill you. But my mind has changed."

Winston laughed.

"That sounds honest."

"At that time, I only lied about my name."

Would he know that she had intended to be honest with him even about that in the end?

"You might want to believe that, but I have no responsibility for your father's death."

"Then who is responsible? Don't think a woman who doesn't weigh 50 kg could do it alone."

It was a demand for the names of others.

"Please... Don't do this, black... black."

Winston played along with the threat. When the frightened act seemed sufficient, Grace began to name names. If she had spilled them immediately upon request, Winston would never have believed her.

"Jonathan, Ridley."

When she called her father's name, Winston, who had been calling the name of a dead puppy, pressed her tongue with the gun barrel, asking if she was joking.

"Patrick Fulman."

Only then did the man put away the gun and pull out a notebook from his jacket pocket. Seeing him seriously writing down the names, it seemed he didn't know Patrick Fulman was dead.

When he found out, Grace hoped she would be out of his clutches.

Winston stopped writing and glared at her, demanding more names. Grace deliberately sniffled and shook her head.

"Only three, including my mother."

In fact, there was one more person, and they were still alive. But Grace was not a traitor like Fred.

"You're an accomplice for keeping quiet all this time."

Winston glared at her with a resentful look, further stimulating her guilt.

"I was a child back then, and now we are enemies."

Grace steadied herself.

This is war. Sacrifices are inevitable in war. Why should I feel guilty when they have killed countless of us without remorse?

"What do you want to hear from me? Do you expect an apology?"

"An apology?"

Winston sneered.

"I don't need that. I hope you didn't expect a tearful and touching reunion."

The man's hand grabbed Grace's neck again, and she had no choice but to stand up as he pulled her.

"I planned to break Daisy's neck when I met her again. But now that I know Daisy is you, I don't want to give you a quick death."

"Ugh..."

"I just want to see you suffer for a long, very long time."

Winston suddenly let go of Grace, who stumbled and steadied herself on the table.

He won't give me a quick death. Winston's chilling words were not surprising. From the moment she was captured, this was her fate. A quick death was a luxury if she wasn't rescued.

'You can torture me however you want, just please let me out of here.'

While Grace was catching her breath anxiously, Winston moved a chair in front of her and sat down. On his crossed legs lay a file. It was the document Campbell had prepared in the morning.

"Hmm..."

The man who had been enraged a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. Winston, with a frighteningly calm demeanor, flipped through the pages, muttering to himself.

"There's a physical examination procedure left."

Thud. Closing the file and throwing it on the table, he ordered.

"Take it off."

A master of torture that destroys both body and mind. Knowing how to humiliate the proud Grace, Winston chose to have her undress herself rather than undressing her himself.

Grace stood straight, determined not to show any sign of shame, and began to undress confidently.

When she took off her cardigan, Winston, with his arms crossed, chuckled. His gaze was fixed on Grace's chest, specifically on the nipples that were prominently protruding under the thin fabric.

"Ah!"

The tip of the riding crop in Winston's hand poked her nipple.

"This is just a physical examination. What were you expecting by standing there? Or do you have a fetish for getting excited while undressing in front of the enemy? Either way, it's utterly despicable."

'This is because you tortured me too much yesterday.'

She couldn't say that. Winston clearly knew it but was trying to label her as a prostitute.

This was a tactic to make her admit to the humiliation she suffered yesterday, leading to even greater humiliation.

Grace gritted her teeth and endured. She didn't want to give the monster any satisfaction by reacting.

As expected, the whip that had been ruthlessly pressing her flesh soon retreated.

"Continue."

Winston returned to his calm demeanor. As Grace undressed piece by piece, he only watched expressionlessly, resting his chin on his hand holding the riding crop.

Even when her breasts were exposed as she took off her bra, he didn't pounce like he did yesterday. Even after she took off her stockings and bloomers, becoming completely naked, Winston showed no reaction.

"Whore of Blanchard. I had high expectations from the rumors... but you're not impressive at all."

Was that the truth? There was no lust or any emotion in the man's eyes as he looked at Grace's body.

I wish that was the truth.

He's not undressing her to pounce like he did yesterday. It's purely to humiliate her. That's why he looks at her like a piece of meat. Grace tried to believe that.

If that was his intention, Winston had already succeeded brilliantly.

Her reddened nipples visibly trembled. They would be clearly visible to him. Grace crossed her legs to hide her private parts and cautiously covered her chest with her arms. But she couldn't hide all the marks from the previous night.

Certainly, the despicable 'transaction' of last night was done by both of them.

The man sitting there, now impeccably dressed, and the woman standing naked, with clear marks of their encounter. Both of them.

The man who was not human last night now wore a neatly buttoned officer's uniform, a cold and rational mind, and looked at her like an uncivilized animal.

The humiliation that followed the despicable transaction was solely Grace's burden.