CH 132

“That’s fine, Lydia. We can all die together,” Elena replied. Hoping her younger siblings had escaped through the back door of the kitchen, Elena quickly tightened her grasp on the dagger to slit Lydia’s neck, but she was interrupted by the red-haired woman grabbing her wrists with both hands.

“You’re the one who will die, Elena!” Lydia screamed, suddenly escaping from Elena’s grip. Lydia then lunged toward Elena, and the two tussled on the floor. The soldiers also tried to attack Elena to protect Lydia, but they felt the ground waver beneath them every time they moved. They wobbled and stumbled from blurry vision, all the while their stomachs turned upside down, making them nauseous. As if they were drunk, they couldn’t do anything but stay still.

Elena pinned down Lydia to the ground and pulled the woman’s red hair with all her might. She had accidentally let go of the dagger when Lydia had lunged toward her, so she used her hands instead to punch Lydia’s face.

“I’ll kill you first before I die, Lydia,” Elena muttered under her breath.

Lydia could not think clearly. The Elena on top of her now was not the same woman she knew. She had never pictured Elena as a violent woman who would seek vengeance in such a way.

“No one will help you, Lydia. You know why?” Elena ridiculed the other as she quickly looked around her surroundings. She could see that the fly mushroom extract had finally taken effect as the soldiers were kicking and punching the air. “It’s because you’re a lowly wench who looks down on others and only cares about yourself.” Elena’s hands throbbed, and it felt as if her knuckles were breaking into pieces, but she did not stop. One hand had a vice grip on the other’s red hair, and the other pummeled Lydia’s face ferociously. Elena had suffered so much because of this woman. One fervent desire filled her mind: she wanted to kill Lydia.

At that moment, someone grabbed Elena’s shoulder from behind, peeling her off of Lydia. Elena was thrown to the ground, causing terrible pain to reverberate throughout her frail body, which had not recovered yet from the miscarriage. Elena felt as if her body was screaming for help, but she raised herself with a relentless will.

‘I won’t die in front of my sisters or Gareth. They are waiting for me,’ she reminded herself.

Elena quickly rolled over, narrowly avoiding the sword that flew toward her. Her skills were evidence that Gareth had taught her to fight properly. He had taught her to protect herself and the skills she had learned were saving her life. Suddenly, Rowena and Lenoa ran out from the kitchen, screaming with wooden clubs in their hands. Lenoa had shouted to the soldiers several times to stop, but no one had listened to her, prompting her to take such measures.

While Lenoa and Rowena dealt with the soldiers, Elena tried to prevent Lydia from escaping. The task wasn’t easy since the soldiers stood in her way multiple times. Despite the effect of the fly mushroom extract, they were men who had been trained to become soldiers. Elena could tell that she, as well as Lenoa and her sisters, would have already died if it weren’t for the extract.

Elena narrowly escaped the zombie-like soldiers several times. Legs trembling and vision blurry, she used all her mental strength to chase Lydia, who was now running out of the hall. As Elena made chase, someone suddenly grabbed her hair from behind; she fell to the floor with a thud. The soldier from behind aimed his sharp sword at her trembling body. As shrill screams knocked on her eardrums, Elena closed her eyes in fear.

Clang!

Elena managed to open her eyes.

“Lady Elena!”

“Madam!”

‘Ah…’ Collapsed on the floor, Elena burst into tears when she realized that William and Hansen had protected her.

“We’ll take over from here,” the two men said.

Death swept over the hall. In tears, Elena watched the soldiers being slaughtered, realizing that Gareth had sent his men for her. He only had 11 men with him, yet he had sent them for her. Rowena, Marina, and Lenoa belatedly came to Elena’s side and hugged her tightly as she cried. Elena hugged them as well and continued to sob, emptying her heart from the sorrows, worries, and fears she had suppressed deep inside her. They had survived.