Chapter 56

"Can you give that to me?"

The moment Melissa said this, Amelia instinctively clutched the pendant her mother had given her.

An overwhelming sense of regret washed over her.

(Why didn't I hide it...!!)

Given Melissa's behavior up until now, she should have known that the pendant would catch her eye.

How many things had she been taken from already?

No matter how much she blamed herself, it was too late now.

Melissa, grinning, extended her palm towards her, as if to say, "Come on, hand it over."

In reality, Amelia had given—no, had been robbed of—many things by Melissa.

Painful memories flashed back.

Every time she showed even the slightest resistance, she was made to suffer.

If she didn't hand it over now, she would suffer even more.

This fear clung to Amelia.

The thought of "I have to hand it over quickly" rose in her mind like a brainwashing mantra, and her grip on the pendant loosened—

—It suits you so well.

The voice echoed in her mind.

—It matches your beautiful red hair perfectly.

The image of Logan's smile came to mind.

(This is the first gift from Lord Logan...)

She had vowed to treasure it as a lifelong treasure, a very important pendant.

A new emotion, one she had never felt towards Melissa before, began to grow inside Amelia.

She had always done as she was told.

She had always been passive, letting things happen to her.

She had always thought she couldn't defy this person.

(But...)

She thought.

She thought strongly, very strongly.

This one thing, this pendant—

(I don't want to give it...!!)

She clenched the pendant tightly.

With trembling lips, Amelia spoke.

"...N-no..."

Her voice, smaller than she had intended, made Melissa's eyebrows twitch.

"What did you say?"

She was asked in a low voice.

Amelia, trying to overcome her fear, glared at Melissa.

This time, she said clearly.

"No...!"

Amelia's refusal made Melissa's reaction lag for a moment.

It seemed she didn't understand what she had been told.

But then, Melissa's expression quickly turned to anger.

"Whaaat!?"

A thunderous roar.

Amelia's shoulders trembled.

"Do you know what you just said?"

The threatening tone made Amelia want to step back.

But she held her ground, looking directly into Melissa's eyes and said again.

"I know! I won't give you this pendant... I absolutely won't!"

Several veins popped on Melissa's temples as she snapped.

"Just give it to me!"

If she didn't give it, she would take it by force.

She had done it before.

Melissa, losing all reason and completely consumed by anger, lunged at her.

"No... stop it!! Stop...!!"

Amelia resisted with all her might, but her malnourished, small frame was no match for Melissa's robust body.

Before she knew it, Amelia was pinned down by Melissa.

Still, she writhed and resisted.

"Don't... resist...!!"

Straddling Amelia, Melissa reached out.

If anyone from the Helenberg family saw this scene, it would be a case of disrespect.

But Melissa, with all her pent-up frustration exploding and her anger reaching a boiling point, had lost all rational judgment.

The struggle continued, but Amelia's resistance gradually weakened due to her physical disadvantage.

"Ah..."

Seizing the moment when Amelia's strength waned, Melissa grabbed the chain of the pendant.

"No... let go...!!"

"Hey! Don't move!!"

Amelia resisted with all her might as Melissa tried to remove the pendant.

This made it difficult to take off.

Frustration and impatience finally reached their breaking point.

"Stop moving, I said!!"

At that moment.

The chain of the pendant made an unpleasant sound and snapped.

"–!!"

Amelia let out a wordless scream.

"Whoa...!!"

Losing her balance, Melissa inadvertently let go of the pendant she had just grabbed.

The pendant flew through the air and fell to the ground, rolling on the stone floor with a metallic sound.

Amidst this, a different sound, like a tinkling, seemed to come from somewhere.

"Ha... ha... You really put up a fight..."

Melissa stood up and walked towards the pendant.

Amelia, shocked by the loss of her pendant, was dazed.

"Yes, this is what I wanted, this... Oh, it's beautiful..."

Melissa, entranced, picked up the pendant, already treating it as her own.

"Oh?"

Melissa examined the gemstone closely.

Amelia, weakly looking up, saw that a small part of the Crown Blood had been damaged.

"It seems to be a bit damaged, but it's not noticeable, so it's fine. Besides, it's probably just a cheap trinket you picked up somewhere."

(Cheap...!!)

Melissa, who had no idea, was talking about a gemstone that was even rarer among bloodstones, the Crown Blood.

But to Amelia, it was more than just its market value; it had a special significance.

(From Lord Logan...)

The fact that her precious gift had been taken and damaged made her heart ache with sadness and pain.

"Come on, how long are you going to lie there? Get up and show me to the mansion."

Melissa, emboldened by her theft, seemed satisfied and showed no signs of further aggression.

Amelia felt a different emotion, not relief, but something she had never felt before.

It was "anger," the first time she had openly defied someone with her own will.

Her fists trembling, Amelia sat up and glared at Melissa.

"What's with that look?"

Melissa, noticing the gaze, frowned.

"...I won't."

"Huh?"

"I will never forgive you!!"

Amelia's shout made Melissa's eyes widen in surprise.

But then, her expression twisted in disgust.

"You're a duchess, yet you still lack manners."

Before Amelia could retort, Melissa knelt down.

She grabbed Amelia's collar.

Her other hand moved towards the sky.

Past pain came flooding back, and Amelia flinched.

(Lord Logan...!!)

Just as Amelia squeezed her eyes shut—

"What are you doing!?"

The voice she most wanted to hear at that moment struck her eardrums.