Chapter 58: Chapter 58

DAHLIA:

I looked at Lady Livia’s pallid face as Count Jeteris helplessly dragged her away, and I was instantly reminded of the way I must have looked when papa slapped me on the wedding day. Despite what I feel towards her, I cannot ignore the tug of my heart.

“Wait one moment. I’ll just go to the powder room,” I told Tristan.

“I’ll come with you.”

“No… Please stay. I’ll be right back,” I said.

My heart still felt sore from what I had witnessed between him and Lady Livia earlier. He did not say anything else as I hurried to leave.

I went back to the house and into the front door. The pathway where I saw Count Jeteris drag his daughter could only lead back to this part of the house, so I was sure they would be there.

Even before I had reached the front door, I heard a few skirmishes.

“Where the hell did you disappear into, you rascal?!”

“I… I went with Count Abell, like you had asked,” a meek voice that I can’t believe had come from the proud Lady Livia who smirked at me when I welcomed her said.

“And? Did you find anything useful?”

“Useful?....” Her doubtful voice replied.

I walked more carefully at the edge of the front door, only to see Count Jeteris raise his hands to her daughter and slap her so hard that she fell into the ground.

“You imbecile! Didn’t I tell you to find information where that scoundrel had gotten his wealth, and who he really was?”

“F-Father… I’m trying,” she said in a whisper.

“Don’t ‘father’ me! Trying, you say?! You’ve known him before the duke’s daughter had met that scum, and you couldn’t even seduce him into telling you a single secret, you worthless thing!”

His eyes fell on the lady’s necklace. “What’s this? He even gave you this gift, but you can’t find a single lead about his business transactions? Are you joking me?!”

“Father, i-it’s a birthday gift… Please don’t take it… He will be suspicious of how you treat me.”

“Suspicious? So what! Don’t you forget - everything you have, even this body belongs to me!”

As he said this, he half choked her, trying to remove the diamond necklace Tristan had given the lady around her neck.

“Father, please… Please wait until we get home!”

“Get home? You go home to that slum you live by yourself! Until you have a clear list of useful information about that count, don’t bother coming to me!”

“But the medicine… You promised you’ll provide medicines for her!”

The monstrous count pulled hard at the lady’s hair, bringing her face closer to him. “How about you use your body and buy the medicines yourself? After all, wasn’t that what you are always good at, my sweet doll?!”

The count’s face, which was so near the lady’s own face, sneered back at her and laughed cruelly as the lady desperate flinched and struggled.

Horrified and unable to take the scene before me any longer, I stepped from the shadows, making as much noise as I could with my heels on the marbled entrance of the house.

I was prepared should the count would make an even worse scene. After all, he was known as the most violent man in the kingdom, but perhaps taken by surprise, the detestable count surprisingly ran away through the pathway he had dragged Lady Livia earlier and disappeared.

I scanned the pathway first and checked whether the count had really left before I went to Lady Livia’s side.

She was still on the floor when I came nearer, her face looking away from me.

“My lady, are you alright,” I asked. She did not answer me and avoided looking into my eyes.

I sat down next to the floor with her.

“Lady Livia, it’s me, Dahlia Hurst-Abell… You remember me from earlier, don’t you?”

“Leave me alone,” she snapped. She attempted to move away from me, but she winced as she moved her ankle.

“Oh no… Are you hurt?”

“What do you f*cking care,” she said, at which point, she turned around and faced me with hot tears streaming down her eyes.

“Lady Livia, I don’t look like it, but I know something about tending to wounds… Let me take a look at your ankle, please, or do you want to stay here until other guests arrive, so you can explain to them the situation yourself?”

Perhaps understanding the predicament she was in, Lady Livia brushed the tears on her cheeks away with the back of her arms.

She turned around to face me, her eyes still glowing with anger. “Help me this once. I’ll make sure to repay you.”

“Alright,” I said, smiling to her. I raised her skirt a bit to take a look at the injury she had incurred. As I did, I saw the shoes that she was wearing.

Instead of a nice pair of footwear that would compliment her elegant dress, I saw that she was wearing a pair of old and dilapidated boots with the front flaps bursting almost open.

Even more horrendous was the fact that there were also numerous scars at the back of her lower legs, some of them old, some of them new, but all of them absolutely ghastly.

I was surprised beyond belief to see all these things…

How can the count, who always wore flashy pieces of clothing, let his daughter dress up like this? And what on earth was he thinking inflicting those wounds on her? Just by looking at them, I know these wounds could never pass as self-inflicted or accidental injuries.

I recovered from my initial shock quickly, and I started focusing on the task at hand.

“Lady Livia, I’ll remove your shoes to see the extent of injury, alright?” As soon as I said this, I quickly moved my hand and eased the left shoe away from her feet. She winced as I did.

Just as I thought, her left ankle was starting to swell perhaps due to the fall she incurred when the duke slapped her hard into the floor.

The lady sobbed a bit as I tried to press and check for further tenderness.

“Hey,” I said, trying to distract her from the pain, “do you want to know a secret?”

“W-What,” Lady Livia said, taken aback by what I just said. Right now, she was looking at me like a helpless little girl. Despite what I had heard earlier in Tristan’s study, I can’t help but feel sorry for this person who reminded me a bit of myself…

“I will let you in on a secret right now, alright, especially since we don’t have a lot of time left…”

The fireworks in the sky were becoming sparser, and I had been absent from Tristan’s side for quite some time now… In a few minutes, either the fireworks display would probably end, enabling the guests to move back inside the house, or Tristan would come looking for me.

Either way, I don’t want Lady Livia to be put on a tight spot…

I touched her left ankle carefully before I spoke again. “I won’t tell them what happened here if you don’t tell them about this…”

My hands glowed as I touched the tender part of her skin. I channeled the power inside of me and healed Lady Livia’s ankle.

When I finished, I looked up to her face, but she was expressionless. She had returned to becoming an unreadable, slightly arrogant lady that she had been at the start of the night.

“All good now,” I said. I was about to help her put her worn out shoes back, but I frowned… The shoes were becoming more and more sordid as I looked at them.

These clearly won’t do…

“Can you stand up now, and follow me,” I said.

I stood up first and extended my hand towards her. “Come on. We don’t have much time left.” I was concerned of how the fireworks will end soon.

Lady Livia was looking at me like I had gone crazy.

I can tell by the look that she gave me that she still did not like me. To be honest, I don’t like her that much too… However, I cannot ignore a plea for help when it was needed…

“Come on. Are you going to take my hand, or are you going to sit here until everyone returns?”

“Tsk,” she only clicked her tongue loudly, but surprisingly, she extended her hand and reached for mine.