Chapter 45

45

“Lily, I didn’t want it to come to this. Really, I didn’t.”

“……”

“But you keep avoiding me and don’t understand my sincerity. I had no choice.”

Lennon approached slowly, clasping his hands together as if appealing to my heart.

My back was blocked by the greenhouse door. I tried to push it open with force, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Lily, why are you like this? Surely you don’t think I’d rape you?”

‘……You’d do it and still have the nerve. Bastard.’

Lennon, who had stopped in front of me, sighed deeply and swept his hand across his mouth.

His eyes, which were looking at me, were filled with sticky desire.

“Lily… Before you married the Duke of Valentino, we were quite good, weren’t we?”

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. Was there ever an ‘us’? The dirty and despicable Lennon Chester was just waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of a barely adult girl.

“You had to marry the Duke of Valentino because of the circumstances at the time. But it’s different now, isn’t it? You don’t have to endure that man’s coldness anymore. I’ll treat you well, Lily. You can trust me.”

Lennon extended his hand to me. I glanced at it and then shot him a fierce look. I was so amused and angry that my lips twisted involuntarily.

How can I make this bastard pay for sure this time?

I was holding a gemstone filled with elemental power, but it wasn’t the right time to use it yet. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a moment, and then opened them, sneering as I spoke.

“About two years.”

“……?”

“Two years… It’s both short and long. Enough time for a person to change.”

Lily Everett, who had been hurt by Theodore Valentino and found solace in Charlotte Brandon, was no longer the same.

Lily of the Everett manor might have been a loner, but I am not. The days when I could only endure being alone are over. Perhaps I’m just tired and fed up with too much. Having to act meekly in front of Owen, enduring Hessen’s contempt and torment, and feeling exposed before Lennon’s dirty desires—

It’s all become unbearable.

With a body that’s already broken and a life with no future, I don’t see any reason to hold back.

I finally let out the hatred that had been building up.

“Get lost, Lennon Chester, while I’m still in a good mood.”

“……What?”

“Get out of my sight. You dirty bastard. I can’t take it anymore and might just kill you.”

Lennon blinked his eyes blankly, then began to laugh intermittently, asking,

“Lily, are you crazy?”

“Are you just now realizing I’m crazy?”

I laughed like a blooming poisonous flower. I approached him, threateningly, as if to say,

“How could I not be crazy, being tormented by scum like you and surviving in that hellish Everett manor? Did I ever seem normal? What do you see in me that you can’t get enough of? ……Ah, you just desire my shell. No one, not you, not Owen, knows what’s inside. Everyone was fooled. Even Florentine thought I was gentle and pitiful. Everyone thought I was meek and pitiful!”

Lennon stared at me dumbfounded as I screamed with a hoarse voice. His expression, one of disbelief, made me burst into laughter.

“Greedy and stupid Lennon Chester… Do you really think you can have me? A scum like you, with your low status.”

The anger I finally let out was more fierce and hot than I expected. It was a burning hatred that wouldn’t be quenched until I killed my enemy. Owen, Hessen, Lennon… I’ve suffered too long at the hands of these bastards. I’ve been in pain for too long and endured for too long.

And now there’s no reason to endure anymore.

Whether I die or escape from all this, if it’s one of these two, there’s no need to endure anything.

“I hope you die soon, Lennon. I hope you don’t rest in peace and fall into hell. Damn bastard.”

“……”

Lennon stood there, his face as if swept by shock, then gradually his expression twisted.

He grabbed my upper arm tightly, so tightly that it hurt and would surely bruise. Lennon glared at me savagely and said,

“You insolent woman… You don’t even remember the kindness I showed you….”

I laughed at him loudly. Kindness? Am I a dog or a cat? But to Lennon, there’s no difference. If a dog bites its owner, it’s natural to be furious….

“By the way, you didn’t even consummate your marriage with the Duke of Valentino, did you?”

Lennon smiled bitterly. His eyes trembled with cruel anticipation and excitement.

“So you’re still a virgin. Good. It’s perfect. I didn’t plan to do this, but you’ve crossed me first. How dare a bastard like you speak so boldly? You need to taste the bitter side of life. You need to learn to fear men, so you’ll know your place after we get married!”

Lennon pushed me back and immediately climbed on top of me. I tried to awaken the elemental power in the gemstone in my hand. Even if I burned his face or arm, it would be considered self-defense.

You’re not the only one feeling exhilaration. I’m also enjoying the thought of making you a cripple.

Just as I curled my lips in a mocking smile,

Bang!

The door suddenly opened, and someone rushed in.

He grabbed Lennon and threw him aside, then quickly turned to me. With wide eyes, he knelt in front of me and carefully examined my condition.

“Duchess of Valentino, are you alright?”

“……”

To my surprise, it was Jean de La Croix. He had been running non-stop, so his breathing was a bit rough, and his hair was tousled.

“Ugh… You damn bastard!”

Lennon, who had stood up, pointed at Jean de La Croix, blood dripping from his forehead. He must have hit something when he was thrown.

“You’re the damn one.”

Jean de La Croix helped me sit up and then turned to Lennon, his voice icy. It was strange to hear such a cold tone from someone who usually seemed so sunny.

“You bastard, do you know who I am…!”

Lennon, who had been shouting without recognizing his opponent, suddenly paused and frowned.

Gradually, confusion spread across his face. He finally recognized Jean de La Croix.

“D-Duke of de La Croix? What are you doing here….”

Lennon had reason to be shocked. After all, the Chester family was much weaker than the de La Croix family, even though the Chesters had been riding high on the back of the Everett family.

Jean de La Croix, who had been glaring at Lennon, shouted,

“I’ve heard about your reckless behavior… How could you do such a despicable thing to a noble lady!”

Jean approached Lennon without hesitation and kicked him. Lennon, hit in the stomach, fell to the ground in a sorry state.

But that wasn’t the end. Jean de La Croix continued to kick and punch Lennon.

“Worse than an animal!”

Lennon couldn’t even put up a proper fight and was beaten to a pulp.

I watched the extremely violent scene unfolding before me, realizing too late that I had missed the perfect opportunity to awaken my elemental power.

‘Just my luck….’

Thanks to Jean de La Croix, I missed the chance to give Lennon a terrible burn.

Even if he’s beaten to a pulp now, his wounds can be healed. Not so with burn scars.

“……”

I felt a deep sense of frustration.

Jean de La Croix, driven by a strong sense of justice, had come to my aid….

I wish he had lost control and completely destroyed Lennon’s wrists, shoulders, or ankle ligaments.

Then he would have to live the rest of his life as a cripple.

‘…But how did Jean de La Croix know to come to the greenhouse?’

I was very curious, but there was no immediate way to find out.

Jean de La Croix was almost in a trance, beating Lennon.

After a while, when Lennon was almost unconscious, Jean finally stopped.

Jean de La Croix, who had been kicking and punching Lennon, looked at him as if he were a piece of trash and then turned to me.

He calmed his slightly rough breathing, ran his hand through his hair, and approached me cautiously.

“Duchess of Valentino… I’m sorry to show you such a rough side. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Jean asked me in a much more polite tone than in the salon earlier.

I stared at him for a moment, then shook my head and replied calmly.

“I’m fine.”

Jean sighed in relief at my answer and threw the glove he had been wearing, which was stained with Lennon’s blood, to the side of the greenhouse.

“…I’m glad. …Please, take my hand and stand up.”

I looked at the hand he hesitantly extended and then gently took it.

His hand was very warm, perhaps from the intense punching.

Jean carefully examined me as I stood up and said,

“If you feel any discomfort, please let me know. …Ah! You must have been very frightened, so—”

“I wasn’t really scared.”

“…If that’s the case, I’m relieved, but….”

Jean seemed to think I would be very frightened and suffer great psychological trauma, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t afraid or scared. This kind of thing doesn’t hurt me. It was just a dirty experience. And I was disappointed that I couldn’t leave a terrible burn on half of Lennon’s face.

“Then, I’ll take you to a safe place first.”

“Before that….”

I was about to ask how he knew to come here when I sensed someone at the greenhouse door. I turned my head and saw a familiar face.

“……”

I was momentarily speechless.

I never imagined this person would appear here.

“……Lily.”

Theodore, who had scanned the chaotic greenhouse, fixed his gaze on me and muttered in a daze.