Chapter 127: A Mother’s Wrath and a Sister’s Defiance

At the monastery, Lucia and Imeline had reached a consensus. They were preparing to continue their investigation into the Crimson Family together. Meanwhile, back at the Crimson Family mansion, Julie and Lovelenica had returned, one after the other.

The moment Lovelenica stepped through the mansion gates, the sounds from outside abruptly vanished. She could vaguely discern a mature female voice within. The mansion itself was enveloped by a sound-dampening barrier, completely isolating the internal and external environments. It seemed someone was being reprimanded, the tone laced with palpable anger.

Entering the grand hall, Lovelenica confirmed the source of the commotion. Julie, who had arrived by carriage ahead of her, was now kneeling before Theresa. Her golden hair lay disheveled around her shoulders, and her head was bowed low. Her delicate hands covered her face, obscuring her expression, though her body trembled faintly. A soft, muffled sob escaped her.

It appeared that even Theresa, usually so doting towards Julie, had lost her patience this time, her countenance grim after learning what had transpired.

****

In truth, before Lovelenica and the others had even returned to the Royal City, the covert guards had already relayed intelligence. While none of the agents dispatched into the Lost City had survived, this did not account for their entire force.

They still had some personnel awaiting their return outside the city. Moreover, their trained ravens had meticulously documented everything.

Lovelenica’s earlier observation of the ravens was accurate; they were indeed the covert guards’ Puppet Familiars. Although Olivia had destroyed those ravens, they had clearly captured the scene before their demise.

They knew it was Lovelenica who had led Lucia in repelling the attackers. They also knew of Julie’s rather inappropriate remarks made in the square.

Originally, Theresa had been unaware of this incident. Logically, she should have learned of these individuals’ existence from the royal government a few days later, only then realizing that someone had secretly mobilized the family’s private army.

Theresa would inevitably discover it later, leading to even greater fury and a delay in formulating countermeasures.

Therefore, Elena had reported the matter to Theresa.

Of course, Elena had skillfully distanced herself from the situation, claiming Julie was the sole instigator of the operation. This was precisely why Julie alone knelt in the grand hall.

Julie had anticipated Theresa’s anger, but she had never imagined it would escalate to such a degree. She had thought at most she would receive a scolding.

She never expected Theresa to drag her into the hall and beat her directly. Her short golden hair was disheveled from Theresa’s grip, and her cheeks were swollen from the slaps. Her once beautiful dress was now covered in dust.

Julie had evidently failed to grasp the perilous implications of her words. Had she not deliberately flaunted her vanity, merely being discovered for an endeavor connected to Fantasy Creatures would not have linked it to the Crimson Family.

However, her ill-chosen statements were enough for any discerning individual to uncover a hint of the truth. This was the true reason for Theresa’s explosive rage.

Julie’s unauthorized deployment of covert guards for certain objectives was something Theresa could tolerate. Even their deaths or discovery could be accepted. What she could not accept was the shaking of the Crimson Family’s very foundation.

The entire family were Liliana’s dependents, cursed by Liliana’s bloodline. If this secret of the Crimson Family were ever unearthed, Theresa herself would swiftly perish from the curse’s exposure!

Thus, this time, she was truly pushed past her breaking point.

“You good-for-nothing! Are you trying to kill me?! I raised you, pampered you, only for you to repay me like this? It seems I’ve been too kind to you, haven’t I?”

Theresa shrieked, seizing Julie’s hair once more, and slapped her forcefully several times, sending her sprawling to the floor.

“You are truly useless, only capable of failure, unlike your two elder sisters! Why was I ever cursed with a fool like you? I should have offered you as a sacrifice to Lady Liliana long ago; perhaps then she would have extended my lifespan!”

“Mother… no…”

Listening to Theresa’s deeply hurtful words, Julie’s body trembled uncontrollably. Her cherry-pink lips were swollen from Theresa’s blows, a trace of crimson blood emerging from the cracked corner of her mouth. Two streams of clear tears flowed from her eyes. She lay there on the carpet, her gaze blurred as she looked up at Theresa.

She simply could not comprehend why things had come to this.

In truth, Theresa had always treated Julie rather well. However, Julie always felt that her mother didn’t care for her, the third daughter, as much as she did for her elder two sisters. Consequently, her status within the family was never particularly high.

Outwardly, both her father and mother doted on her, but in reality, they held no real expectations for her. Elena and her eldest sister only tolerated her. Just as before, when Elena had struck her, Julie hadn’t dared to tell Theresa.

In an effort to prove her parents’ love, Julie had always been mischievous. Later, she even became arrogant and began bullying others outside the home.

Although her parents always resolved her problems, a strange fear lingered deep within her heart. This time, however, Julie had truly blundered, and Theresa finally lost her temper, unleashing her fury upon her.

Theresa’s words seemed to confirm Julie’s deepest fears.

‘Indeed, was I always superfluous…’

“Hey, hey, hey… she’s still a child, not even eighteen yet. Why hit her so hard and say such cruel things?”

Theresa’s domestic abuse was even too much for Lovelenica to witness. She stepped forward, displeased, and stood between Theresa and Julie.

“You can’t just beat your child like this, simply because this world has priests and your family has Arcane Technology medical equipment… Although my original body also abused Lucia because she had self-healing abilities, that was the original body, not the current Lovelenica.”

Moreover, Lovelenica truly couldn’t stand Theresa’s words. As a mother, how could she tell her child that she regretted giving birth to her?

To even suggest sacrificing her — were these words a human being could utter? As a modern person, Lovelenica naturally found this scene unacceptable. While Julie’s earlier humiliation had been somewhat satisfying, this felt like it was going too far.

“Heh heh, Lovelenica, this is our family matter. Do you think you have the right to interfere?”

Theresa immediately adopted a frosty expression, looking at Lovelenica with disdain.

“Why shouldn’t I interfere? Do you think I can’t see through this? Those who attacked Lucia, weren’t they sent by your Crimson Family?”

“So what?”

Theresa remained completely unperturbed. Although she had never disclosed the family’s private army to Lovelenica before, Theresa knew that after this incident, Lovelenica would certainly deduce the origin of those private soldiers.

However, she showed no sign of fear, for she knew that Lovelenica was in the same predicament as them.

“What if I know? Are you going to report it to the Church? If you do, your filthy Bloodkin identity will also be exposed. Do you truly believe you can escape the Royal City then?”

“Haha.”

Lovelenica let out a cold laugh.

“I advise you not to be so confident. Don’t compare me to those inferior Bloodkin. Do you know why I am sisters with your master? I am immortal. Even if I lose most of my power, no one can kill me. What if I expose the dark side of your Crimson Family? The high-level professionals in the Royal City cannot kill me. I just need to wait for Liliana to rescue me.”

“And you will be forever branded as traitors to humanity, dying without a burial ground!”

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