Chapter 42 - Helpless Circumstances (2)

Chapter 42 – Helpless Circumstances (2)

At the thought of having the one task that she truly wanted to fulfill unfinished, tears welled up in her eyes. And she had to wonder, just why did she not leave a message for Johannes to the art shop owner before? Why didn’t she leave a message thanking him for searching for her? Why didn’t she leave a message telling him he had become her motivation to stay alive because he had searched for her?

Her tears streamed down and soon it distorted her view of Vianut’s face. She tried clearing her vision by letting the tears roll down the side, but it flowed down too quickly and her attempt only left her cheeks wet and dirty.

Watching her, Vianut neither smiled nor frowned. However, his eyes gently quivered at the sight of her crying face. However, Gris couldn’t know this as she had her eyes closed, fervently praying the emotion in his eyes was not anger but of sympathy.

However, she wouldn’t hold her breath for mercy as she awaited the sharp edge of the knife to pierce her skin. Unexpectedly, instead of slicing through her, the sharp edge of the knife mercifully retreated from her skin. At that, she couldn’t help but let her eyes snap open in surprise.

Her shaking eyes nervously looked at Vianut. However, he had already removed her gaze and knife away from Gris and turned towards Stephan.

“She says she’s not Yuliana.”

It was what he understood from the sorrowful eyes. Could he have sense Stephan had threatened her not to say a word?

Understanding that this action meant that he wouldn’t kill her anytime soon, Gris filled her lungs with air and let out a deep breath. Before she could relax, though, Stephan’s voice rang above her head.

“Everyone cries when there’s a knife to their throat.”

He was telling Vianut to not misunderstand the simple tears as something else other than fear of a knife. Despite hearing this, Vianut just slid his knife back into the sheath at his waist.

“Your face just now.”

“……”

“Uncle Stephan should have already known it.” He said, eyes turning cold. He was staring at Stephan as if it was him who he wanted to hold the knife against, not her.

Realizing Vianut wasn’t someone he could trick easily, Stephan rubbed the middle of his forehead and thought hard. The story that came out of him after a moment was quite serious.

“To be honest… this wasn’t part of my plan.” He said, speaking as if he was confessing his fault.

But from Gris’ understanding, he wasn’t a man to confess his own crime. So, she glanced at him doubtfully.

“I noticed she wasn’t Yuliana about two weeks ago. But I saw that mother is recovering quickly with her presence.”

Stephan continued as he pounded his chest, acting in such a way to show that he too was extremely frustrated.

“Though I wanted to put everything back to the way it was, I couldn’t. So, seeing your grandmother was getting better so quickly, I decided to say nothing. Besides, if she knows this girl isn’t Yuliana, she will be shocked and her health may decline or even worsen.”

From Stephan’s explanation, he made it seem like this was all for Paola’s sake. And if people were unaware of the truth, they would believe his words and even applaud him for his thoughtfulness. However, Gris knew the truth. As such, the only thought in her head was…

How could he be so despicable and shameless?!

She was about to criticize him about how audacious and heartless he was; using all ways and means to achieve his goal, to the point, he even used his own mother to create a lie. However, afraid that her raging thoughts might really slip out, she pressed her lips harder and held it down.

And since Stephan knew Gris wasn’t going to speak much to save herself, he started to be bolder in his attempt to persuade Vianut.

“If the anchor of the family and land becomes weak, people will be in despair. Moreover, those families who were envious of ours will be cheering in their homes.” Then he levelled Vianut with a challenging stare,  “You already know that, Vianut.”

However, the latter only stared at him emotionlessly without flinching.

“So?”

There was no formality left in him as he spoke. But, Stephan was already used to this, so he just continued speaking.

“It’s important to this family to give this girl Yuliana’s role.”

Listening to Stephan’s idea, he smirked. But if one saw his eyes, they would see the icyness had still remained.

“To a prostitute?”

Since he kept his body pure and holy, it must be a disgrace for him to share the same space with a prostitute. Sensing this, Stephan thought for a moment, searching for a way to allow Gris to stay without triggering his temper.

“For a prostitute, she isn’t greedy. And that’s one of the reasons why I didn’t send her back. And she did claim the whole time she wasn’t Yuliana.”

Gris bit her lip, realizing her mistake. She should’ve been outwardly greedy; she should have claimed she was Yuliana the first time Stephan had asked her weeks before. Then, she wouldn’t be part of this mess and get kicked out of this house.

A shaky sigh escaped through her salty, dry lips. Her chance to get away now was gone.

Meanwhile, after carefully studying Vianut’s expression, Stephan confidently continued to persuade him. “The best plan right now is to keep this girl, get her married to a member of the royal family, and get all the benefits we can get. If she acts out of her line, then we can obviously kill her. But I don’t think it’ll happen since she’s smarter than she looks.”

For Paola’s health and the family’s benefit, they needed a Yuliana.

Listening to him, Vianut crossed his legs, rested his arm on the backrest, and dropped his gaze. “Smarter than she looks, huh?”

As he said that, a set of steely eyes scanned Gris from head to toe. She shuddered, feeling like a toy of a merciless beast as she sank her head deeper towards the floor. A deep voice pierced into her ears.

“Then, I wouldn’t have noticed her.”