Chapter 14
Smack!
A sharp crack tore through the air.
She hadn’t avoided it—on purpose. A single slap on the cheek was bearable.
“…What brings you here, Mother?”
Tericia straightened her head calmly as she spoke. Her cheek was already starting to burn and swell.
“What brings me here? What did you just say?!”
Lady Boren shook with rage.
“Because of you, he was driven out!”
“……”
It was all going exactly as she had expected. Tericia almost scoffed.
“You ruined everything!”
“…That kind of man…”
Finally, Tericia admitted it to herself—what filled her mother’s eyes was greed. Nowhere in that gaze was love for her daughter.
And that truth… was unbearably sad.
“All the things you’re trying to do…”
She knew she should swallow those words. She knew she was supposed to endure it.
But something surged up from deep inside, and she couldn’t hold it back.
“Is it really all that important to you?”
More important than your own daughter?
Yes, you’ve always been that way. What mattered most to you was your ambition.
“Please leave.”
Her voice was quiet, but resolute.
“What?”
“Leave, before I call someone to remove you.”
“Tericia!”
You’re the one who made me give up on you first.
“If you continue to be greedy for what should never have been yours… I won’t allow it.”
“…!”
“This is the end of my tolerance. Whatever you try next, I’ll stop you with everything I have. Now go.”
With a cold gaze, Tericia pointed toward the door.
“Leave. This is my office. You have no right to be here.”
“What? How dare you speak to me like this—!”
“Sarah!”
Tericia raised her voice sharply, and Sarah immediately entered. Beyond the open door, Mandy and the other startled servants stood frozen, visibly pale.
“My mother is returning to her quarters. Please escort her.”
“Yes, my lady!”
As Tericia turned away, Mandy rushed in to stand protectively between the two women. With so many eyes watching, Lady Boren couldn’t raise her hand again like before.
In the end, unable to control her trembling hands, she shoved Sarah aside and stormed out.
The room fell into an eerie silence.
“Would you like some tea, my lady?”
After a pause, Mandy asked gently.
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll bring it right away.”
Once she left and the door quietly closed, Tericia sank onto the sofa.
Her head ached. In her past life, things had never spiraled this far with her mother.
“I’m tired.”
I just want all of this to end.
She murmured with her eyes closed.
＊＊＊
Rashid returned to the estate late that night. The one who greeted him was the steward, Harris.
“Young master.”
“Did something happen?”
Sensing something was off, Rashid asked immediately.
“…I apologize for bringing this up the moment you return.”
Harris bowed deeply before recounting the events of the day. The more he heard, the harder Rashid’s face became.
“My sister—where is she?”
“She’s in her room.”
Before Harris could finish, Rashid was already moving. His footsteps quickened with urgency.
“Sister!”
He didn’t wait for a reply—he pushed open the door. At this hour, the room should’ve been warm, but it was oddly cold.
No… please no.
Just as his heart dropped, a voice came—not from inside, but from outside.
“I’m here.”
Tericia was leaning against the balcony railing, looking out at the quiet night.
“Sister…”
“I thought you’d be arriving tomorrow.”
“I came as quickly as I could.”
Rashid slipped off his coat as he walked toward her.
“…I’m a little late.”
Rashid draped his coat over her shoulders—she was wearing only a thin robe over her nightdress.
“There’s a scent of wind on it.”
Tericia murmured, inhaling the collar of his coat. Somehow, she looked smaller than usual tonight.
“Let’s go inside.”
“Just a little longer.”
She kept her gaze fixed on the empty, pitch-black night sky. She didn’t move.
How long had they stood like that?
At last, Tericia’s eyes turned toward him.
“You’re not leaving again, right?”
“No.”
“That’s good.”
“You won’t tell me what happened, will you?”
“Didn’t you already hear everything?”
Her smile was faint, weary. Seeing it tugged at Rashid’s heart. He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached up and gently touched her cheek.
She flinched slightly as if it still hurt.
“That time, too…”
“Hm?”
“You wore the same expression.”
The past and present overlapped. The memory washed over him, and his chest tightened.
“The day I came to you for help. The day you said you’d stand with me. Even then…”
Even then, you got hurt because of me.
Rashid’s gaze slowly dropped to her cheek. The mark glowed red against her pale skin, and it made his blood boil.
But his touch remained gentle on her face.
“It’ll leave a bruise.”
“It’s alright. It’ll fade soon.”
“Sister…”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Always the same words. And if I take my eyes off you, you’ll do something reckless again.
“I don’t know if I’m very reassuring,”
“Hmm?”
“But you have me now… I’m back.”
His hand brushed from her cheekbone down, tracing her collarbone as it lowered.
“You don’t have to carry everything alone anymore.”
“……”
She looked at Rashid as if seeing a stranger.
“Yes… now you’re here.”
Tericia smiled. How different this life had become. She never imagined she’d find comfort from him.
From barely speaking to each other to now standing as each other’s solace.
“I should sleep. You get some rest too.”
“Yes, Sister. Good night.”
Rashid watched as she lay down and closed her eyes. Only after she drifted off did he quietly turn off the lamp and step out.
The corridor was silent. The maid who had been stationed nearby was gone. Perhaps dismissed for the night.
He turned and looked at the closed door. His gaze stayed there for a long time.
“If only you had cried and clung to me.”
At last, he whispered aloud.
If you had, I wouldn’t have hesitated to destroy that woman entirely.
As Rashid turned away, his eyes shimmered—not with regret, but something softer. Faint, but aching.
＊＊＊
Lady Boren pressed her temples firmly, trying to suppress the pounding headache.
She was pretending to enjoy a quiet stroll, but her skull felt like it was about to split open.
“Whatever you try, I’ll stop you with everything I have. Get out.”
How dare you… Tericia. Her teeth clenched tightly.
The man she had taken in and used so thoroughly was now banished—utterly useless. She’d grown used to him, he’d proven quite useful. And now? He was gone.
“How could you do this to me? I gave birth to you, raised you—how do you think you live so comfortably now? Because of me!”
The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became. She drank tea to soothe her headache and calm her nerves, but it was no use.
Eventually, unable to stand it any longer, she stepped out for a walk—but that didn’t help either. Judging by the way the servants were glancing at her, word about yesterday must have spread.
“Useless fools. I should replace them all, honestly.”
“Shall I prepare a tea table in the back garden?”
It was Leah who spoke, having silently endured Lady Boren’s venting.
“Perhaps some fresh air will help you feel better.”
“…No. I should go to the Duke.”
Changing direction, Lady Boren began heading toward the main building. It was too frustrating to keep hiding in silence.
“First, I’ll have to ask for leniency for Sheffer…”
But the moment she ran into Rashid in front of the Duke’s office, she regretted her decision.
Why is that boy here…?
There was something chilling in his cold gaze.
“My lady.”
Rashid’s voice was low and smooth. It was the first time he had ever approached Lady Boren. The first time they were alone, face to face.
“I hear things got quite noisy yesterday.”
“…And what of it?”
She couldn’t hide the tremble in her voice.
It stung her pride to be shaken by someone so young—but an unfamiliar fear was rising in her chest, and her body had started to tremble.
“I was disciplining my own daughter. Is that such a terrible thing to raise such a fuss over?”
“Indeed. What is so terrible about it?”
Rashid took a step forward, and Lady Boren instinctively stepped back. His lips smiled, but his eyes did not. It was unnatural. Unsettling.
“It may not be a big deal to you.”
“……”
“But to me, it is.”
He advanced like a predator closing in on its prey.
“To me, it’s enough that I want to kill you.”
Her back hit the cold wall—there was nowhere left to retreat. Lady Boren could no longer conceal the fear rising from the pit of her stomach.
Rashid’s golden eyes burned like fire, dangerous and unblinking.
“You laid a hand on my sister.”
On the one person I don’t even dare to touch.
“Not once, but twice. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
A strangled sound escaped her lips, as if she were being choked. The air around them grew heavier, pressing down on her entire body. It felt like moving even an inch would get her killed.
Rashid’s presence was overwhelming, a suffocating force wrapping around her throat. His eyes became blades, pointed directly beneath her chin.
“Sometimes, staying alive is more painful than dying.”
“……”
She tried to say something—anything—but her voice wouldn’t come out. All she could manage were short, gasping breaths. Her face turned pale, drained by the fear of death.
“If you touch my sister again—”
Rashid spoke with a cold, expressionless face.
“I’ll make you beg me to end it.”
The heavy air suddenly lifted. At the same time, Lady Boren’s knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor.
Thud.
The breath that had been caught in her chest burst out. She gasped for air, but it wasn’t enough. Her limbs trembled uncontrollably. Tears burst from her eyes without warning.
“Don’t ignore my warning, Lady Boren.”
Rashid looked down at her, his face perfectly calm.
“In fact, why don’t you try it again?”
So, I’ll have an excuse to kill you—with pleasure.
He smiled again, his lips curving, but his dry eyes held no warmth. They were as cold as ever as he stared down at her.
Leaving the trembling Lady Boren behind, Rashid turned and walked into the Duke’s office as if nothing had happened.
