Chapter 158: Decision
Paul was shocked. He had believed that Fiona Heilon would be restless and yield to him as soon as she lost her power. Most noblewomen he had encountered were like that: demure and easygoing. So, naturally, he couldn’t conceive of any other outcome. He assumed she would be terrified and trembling, obediently following his commands in this situation. When the empress gave him the order, he thought it would be like the other times and that it wouldn’t be difficult. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘I have to create a plausible scene before people come in.’
He only needed to create witnesses, and the rumors would start themselves. The love scandal of a noble lady was always a hot topic. The truth didn’t matter.
However, the plant backfired, causing Paul to grow increasingly nervous.
Fiona understood her opponent’s plan. She had to push him away and leave the restroom quickly. If only she could get rid of the man blocking the door. She hadn’t expected him to turn into a melee fighter.
‘You overestimated yourself, Fiona.’
She smiled bitterly, criticizing herself. But she couldn’t dwell on that annoying feeling. She quickly picked up a book that had been scattered on the floor. While it wasn’t ideal to be caught off guard, it wasn’t entirely bad. In the end, she was more familiar with fighting than her opponent.
Fiona quickly stepped forward and threw the book in Paul’s face.
“ARGH!!”
As the fluttering pages blocked his view, Fiona kicked him hard in the stomach.
Paul stumbled, losing the dagger he had been holding.
Fiona quickly reached for the weapon. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“NO!”
Paul stretched out his hand, but Fiona was slightly faster.
Furious that he had lost his weapon, Paul grabbed Fiona’s shoulder and pushed her.
Thud!
Fiona’s back hit the wall hard. She winced in pain but didn’t let go of the dagger.
It wasn’t over yet.
“Now that it’s come to this, losing my life wouldn’t be so bad. All for Her Majesty’s sake…”
It became clear that her opponent was unhinged. His hand tightened around Fiona’s throat as he gloomily murmured.
Fiona met his gaze, refusing to lose her composure.
“The one who will lose their life… is you!”
With that, she slashed the dagger across Paul’s arm.
Red blood splattered as Paul’s body flew back. In an instant, the pressure on her neck vanished. However, Fiona was left dumbfounded, staring at the tumbling Paul. How could he have been thrown away? It was so sudden that she struggled to grasp the situation. Fiona looked at Paul, bewildered.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, the door shattered, and familiar faces appeared before her. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“Sigren…”
Paul hadn’t been thrown by her but had been pushed away by Sigren’s power. Then, someone grasped her shoulders. When she turned her head, she saw Abel, his expression fierce.
Abel scrutinized Fiona, his expression darkening as he noticed the bruises spreading around her neck.
“I must kill that bastard.”
“It’s a must.”
Fiona immediately felt a wave of relief wash over her at the sight of these familiar faces. While she had fought without feeling nervous, now that she was out of danger, her body began to feel cold.
“I’m sorry,” Fiona muttered, leaning against Abel and slowly clenching her fists.
“What do you mean?”
“If only I had been a little more careful… this situation could have been avoided.”
She realized that she had become too arrogant because everything had been going well lately. She truly regretted it. She thought that since she always used her power as easily as breathing, it could always be relied upon. It turned out she had been overly confident.
Abel wrapped his arms around his adopted daughter’s shoulders, speaking as softly as he could. “Even if today hadn’t happened, he would have found other ways to threaten you.”
Then, Abel turned his gaze to Sigren. Unlike the way he spoke to Fiona, his tone was now cold. “Sigren, did you expect things would turn out like this?”
Meanwhile, Sigren, who had knocked Paul out, bowed his head. “I… don’t know.” It was true that he hadn’t known anything about this situation. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
Now that things had turned out this way, Abel felt he had no choice but to ask. “You wanted to hide this from Fiona, so I tried not to inquire as much as possible. Everyone has things they don’t want anyone to see.”
His low voice was far more threatening than usual, causing Fiona, who was in his arms, to shrink her shoulders.
“But now that it has come to this, you must tell her everything.”
“….”
Silence fell between the two men.
Then someone appeared in front of the broken lounge door. “I hope you don’t blame His Highness too much, Duke. I’m the reason for everything.”
It was Carli, the songstress.
Abel frowned at her, displeased by her presence. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“So please, give me a chance to explain, Duke.”
Abel finally replied, looking at Carli indifferently. “Well, good.”
He then approached the unconscious Paul and kicked him in the stomach.
“Argh!!”
“First of all, take care of this bastard who dared to touch my daughter.”
“What are you going to do?” Fiona asked.
Abel looked at her and smiled slightly, but his next words were far from soft.
“I’ll have to chop him.”
“…”
Fiona couldn’t bear to ask which part he intended to chop off. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
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