Chapter 52.1

Chapter 52 – Part 1

“…….”

“The reason you knew but ignored and hated me was because you thought I was in league with the demons of Everett? Maybe it was simply because you hated me? Or perhaps it was both?”

“…I am…”

Theodore opened his mouth. And he said rather confusedly.

“I never hated you…”

His words sounded like a very funny joke to me. Well, there’s a difference between not liking and hating.

The latter was even worse.

And now it didn’t matter whether he didn’t like me, hated me or none of the above.

I slowly removed my hand. Then, I pushed him away and took a couple of steps back. With his eyes filled with confusion, I declared,

“I will hate you.”

I blinked slowly, and the tips of my eyelashes were wet.

“I will… resent you.”

Right now, only my true feelings would be shown.

There was a time when I wanted to be loved. And love. The trembling of my heart that I had felt for the first time in my life had been so precious.

But now, I’m about to throw it all away.

Because the love I had only gave me pain.

I didn’t want to be hurt anymore, for the time I had to live with this short life-span.

The air in the dungeon built deep underground in the kingdom’s capital was cold. There was mold growing on the walls and floors, and there was a musty smell all over.

The crude single bed was the only resting place in this cold solitary cell, but it creaked whenever it was sat down on or lay down upon.

Florentine Esner was sitting on the bed, pulling the old blanket over her. Florentine couldn’t believe that she was in a place like this.

She constantly put in efforts for the Esner household, her own family, but she could not escape from this place in the end.

‘Attempted rape and murder are felonies that will never be forgiven. If strong punishment is not imposed, social discipline will lead the accused to collapse. Similarly, the offense of being complicit in this attempted rape and murder must be taken seriously.’

One juror’s argument had a profound influence on the other jurors. In the end, the verdict was declared in the final verdict and the sentence was decided.

She was to serve six months of hard labor, followed by another six months in solitary confinement in the capital’s dungeon, for a total of twelve months.

She was subsequently given a three-year probation, although she could be released on parole.

“…Unbelievable, how could I…”

Florentine muttered blankly as she stared into space. Her inner voice scolded her for being pathetic. That’s right, she shouldn’t have been caught.

‘It was a perfect plan.’

How on earth did Zen Delacroix get involved in this? She was so shocked that she couldn’t even laugh.

Lily Everett was surprisingly lucky.

Or, maybe she just kept bewitching men wherever she went.

‘That must be why Zen Delacroix intervened. That woman bewitched even Young Duke Delacroix. Hahaha…’

She didn’t like how Lily was sired by a lowly maid, but Florentine quite liked Lily’s smooth face.

After she gets married, Owen and Lily would be part of the family anyway, so Florentine was going to treat her like a real sister. She tried to embrace Lily with such a generous heart…

‘…Dirty. That dirty Everett family!’

On the day Owen broke their engagement, Florentine found out the truth.

About how Owen really thought of Lily.

He told her that Lily was more than just a half-sister. In fact, she still couldn’t fully comprehend what Lily’s existence was to Owen. She just lost her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she felt goosebumps rising on her skin.

‘Lily Everett belongs to me. I’ll do everything to break her down and fix it again.’

From those words, Florentine felt the man’s terrible obsession. She was already aware that Owen was a control freak, but she didn’t know ‘to what extent’ it was.

But in the end, she came to a dim realization.

She knew that Owen’s desire for control was beyond her imagination.

And the target of Owen’s twisted desire that he would never let go of…

…Was none other than Lily Everett.

“Crazy. How could he do that to his half-sister?’

Dirty, dirty, dirty!

Florentine gritted her teeth as she rubbed the goosebumps on her arm. Owen’s engagement to her was some sort of test—to see if he’d be able to make Florentine a puppet that would obediently obey his will.

When she failed that test, Owen relentlessly abandoned her. When Florentine made a fuss over it, even inflicting harm upon herself in front of him, he suddenly brought up Lily Everett.

Florentine then realized the underlying meaning of Owen’s words.

At that moment, she fully understood why he had suddenly brought up the story of Lily.

“…Haha… crazy bastard…”

She was so disgusted and angry that she couldn’t stand it.

——