Chapter 61【VIP】
Raindrops tapped against the glass of the servant's room. Jian Yue sat on the oak chair by the window, her fingertips repeatedly stroking the edge of the velvet box - the macarons sent by Theodore were still lying inside, and the pink macarons were spotted by the mottled raindrops on the window.
"Is Mary really home?" she whispered to the empty room, her voice drowned out by the sound of rain.
The powder box on the corner of the table was open, and the mirror beside it reflected the red mark on her neck that had not yet faded - it was left by Henry last night, like a brand of shame, but with a certain heart-pounding warmth.
It's time to go to bed again.
Every time this happened, she felt terrified.
That feeling of coming from the unknown, having no idea when it will be torn apart and eaten.
She came to the familiar room, put on the ribbon, knocked on the door, and walked into the room after being allowed to enter.
After so many visits, she could almost walk into the room with her eyes closed. She counted her steps as she walked forward, stopping five steps away from the soft chair beside the bed, and then kneeling on the carpet.
"Your Highness, good evening." She bowed her head in greeting.
"What do you think?" a low voice asked her.
"What is your Highness referring to?"
"What do you think about the fact that Sinderel is going to be executed?"
"I don't think it's reasonable." Jian Yue said this very boldly without hesitation.
"Why."
"I'm not a devout believer—so I don't think this is a solution. If someone goes missing again, the next person to be sacrificed will be Sinderel, or even you, Your Highness."
"You're very brave."
"I think Your Highness wants to hear the truth," Jian Yue answered honestly, "You wouldn't ask me a lie."
"You are quite articulate."
“Thank you.”
The man sitting on the soft chair raised his hand, then remembered that she couldn't see him. "...Come here."
Jian Yue stood up and took two steps forward, but the man still couldn't touch her. "Come closer."
She took another step forward, as if annoyed, and the man grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.
She fell into the man's arms, just as she had fallen into Kidd's arms. She smelled a faint scent of alcohol: "Your Highness, have you been drinking?"
"Shut up." The man pecked the corner of her lips. "Just stay with me. Don't talk."
Jian Yue shut her mouth - she knew that if she didn't, the other party would physically force her to shut up.
In order to protect her own mouth, she had better be obedient.
The man buried his head in her neck and said softly, "You don't smell any better."
"I didn't put on any powder today." Jian Yue paused, "If you like, I can come with powder tomorrow."
"No need." The man bit her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. "Theodore came to me again today, and you haven't rejected him yet. I'm very angry."
Jian Yue was completely confused.
Didn’t he ask her to marry Theodore last time? Why is she angry again today?
But the pain was only momentary, and soon she realized that something was wrong.
His hands roamed over her body.
It was different from the previous caresses, but a purposeful and aggressive caress, kneading her waist.
Wherever she went, the scorching palms ignited her, burning and tormenting her.
Jian Yue felt something was wrong and subconsciously grabbed his hand, but was countered and held behind her back. "...Are you rejecting me?"
"No, no..." Jian Yue suddenly panicked and defended herself, "Your Highness, I'm just an ordinary-looking maid from a humble background. You can find someone more beautiful and graceful."
"You are enough to satisfy me." He pecked her lips again, like a beast that never knows satisfaction.
"That's not what I meant... um!" She tried her best to step back, but was easily grabbed by the back of her head and pressed back into his embrace.
Click.
With the sound of metal closing, the cold touch on her wrist made her realize what it was.
How could she not know? She knew it better than anyone else.
Her hand was forcibly hooked up by the other end - she understood that the other party had tied both herself and her up, leaving her with no room for resistance. "Your Highness, you..."
"—Don't reject me."
The kisses fell like raindrops, but she could not resist and could only struggle feebly with words.
"no!"
She finally screamed out, and he stopped kissing her: "Why."
"Because... because..." Her tears wet the silk ribbon, and she bit her swollen lips, "Because I like Theodore - um!"
"Do you really like that man?" The handcuffs were lifted, tightening her wrists until they turned red. "Do you want to agree to him?"
To protect herself, Jian Yue could only hold back her sobs and continued, "Yes, Your Highness."
"Why?"
”
"I can give it to you too."
"Your Highness, there is no freedom in the palace."
"But I need you."
"Your Highness,
, and then she was pushed onto the carpet.
"Get lost." He suppressed his anger and issued an expulsion order.
Jian Yue lay on the carpet. Although she didn't feel any pain, she still took two seconds to get up from the ground and groped her way out of the room.
After leaving the room, the man in the room closed his eyes.
I heard the footsteps going away until they disappeared. In the silent room, someone sighed deeply.
His arm was aching, and when he lifted his sleeve, he saw the bloodstain on the "YUE" still stained red.
Knock knock.
"who?"
"Sinderel, it's me."
Sinderel pulled down his sleeves and straightened his messed-up clothes. "Come in."
Henry opened the door, looked at Sindriel who had her back to him, and asked, "She didn't come tonight?"
"Besides that, do you have anything else to do?"
"No, I'm just curious. After all, you've never been interested in women, yet you're offering to help me solve my problem."
"You've been talking too much nonsense."
Xindrel turned his head and stared at Henry with cold eyes, "You came back very early today."
Henry moved his lips and lowered his eyes: "You are going to be executed. As an old friend, I naturally want to come and see how you are doing."
"Your worries are unnecessary."
"Theodore has asked me for help again. What do you think?"
Xindrel closed his mouth and remembered what Jian Yue had said just now.
She said she liked him.
She said she wanted to accept it.
"Then do it." He said, and then walked away without looking back.
"Hey, Sindriel!"
The cry was trapped inside the door. Sinderel looked at his warm palm and clenched his fist.
What cannot be grasped is like sand that is about to flow away. How can one grasp it?
But that was the sand that I had retained with so much difficulty, how could I bear to throw it away?
He doesn't want to lose it.
The next day, Jian Yue got up early as usual and walked to the window.
It is still cloudy and rainy today, but the rain is not heavy. It is drizzling and creates some rain mist.
Jian Yue closed the window, wiped her hands, and sat in front of the mirror.
Her lips were still red and swollen, so she put on some powder to cover the redness and swelling. After covering her lips, she looked at the table again, at the velvet box that Theodore had given her.
The weather is still cold, so the macarons in the box can still be kept for a few days.
She was lying about not liking sweet things; she just didn't want to owe Theodore a favor by accepting his gifts.
But there was something strange - Theodore said that if she didn't like sweet things, she could give the macarons to the prince.
She found it unreasonable that a gift given to a servant could be given back to the master because the servant did not like it.
As she looked at it, she thought of Mary again - that's how it is when you see something and think of someone.
When there was a knock on the door, Jian Yue almost instinctively stuffed the box into the drawer, "Who?"
"Yue, it's me, Theodore!"
Theodore? Jian Yue frowned.
How did he come to her place?
As a servant, she couldn't leave Theodore alone at the door, so she had to stand up and greet him.
The wooden door opened and Theodore stood at the door. A few strands of hair on his temples were wet by the rain and stuck to his face, but he did not look embarrassed. Instead, he had a kind of elegance that was washed by the rain.
He breathed slightly, his face smiling: "Yue, good morning."
The pair of eyes looking at Jian Yue were like obsidian washed by rain, with an imperceptible tenderness hidden in their silence.
Jian Yue, however, was not fooled. She frowned and asked, "How did Lord Theodore know where I live?"
"Don't be so polite. I'm your suitor. Just call me by my name." He raised his hand to tuck his wet hair behind his ear, revealing his smooth forehead. Raindrops slid down his straight nose and condensed into beads on the tip of his chin. "I heard that you accepted my proposal, so I wanted to see you as soon as possible."
"I asked the maid and found your place by groping around."
"I didn't know the way around. The palace is so huge, and I was almost chased out by the guards."
He wiped his rain-soaked hands on his body and held Jian Yue's hand with both hands sincerely: "I, Theodore Bright," he knelt on one knee, raindrops falling from his silver-gray uniform, "I ask you to be my wife."
He produced a diamond ring from his palm and carefully placed it on Jian Yue's middle finger.
He looked directly into Jian Yue's wide eyes and said, "I can't marry you as my legal wife, but I can remain single for the rest of my life and treat you as my only partner."
Theodore's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his tightened hands trembled unconsciously: "Believe me, I can be a man who stands shoulder to shoulder with you."
"But what if I tell you that I'm just using you?" Jian Yue lowered her eyes and listed her shortcomings one by one. "I just want freedom, just to find my friends."
"I don't care, Yue. I don't care at all. If I cared, I wouldn't say it out loud for you to consider."
"I'm very selfish. Maybe one day, I will leave you and you won't be able to find me."
"I'll set you free, if you really hate me, just say the word."
"But you don't know me, you don't even know where I come from."
"I'll give you time to tell me everything."
Jian Yue raised her eyes again and examined the sincere man in front of her.
She doesn't believe in love at first sight. It's just an emotion deceived by a disguised appearance.
But for a moment, she thought of Sinderel again.
She had said something similar before - when facing Kidd, she tried her best to defend him and refute Kidd's selfishness.
Perhaps the moment when Xindrell was truly moved was when she said those words.
She lowered her eyes and nodded.
"I promise you—as your wife."
Theodore was stunned and squeezed her hand ecstatically: "Really?"
"Really." Jian Yue paused, "But I need you to take me to find Mary."
She admitted that she was moved by what Theodore said.
"Okay! Then I'll go back and report to my family. Please wait for me for one day, and I'll come pick you up in person!"
Jian Yue nodded and watched his back as he left. After making sure he was far away, she took off the diamond ring.
But at the same time, she also noticed something was wrong.
Something is wrong, something is too wrong.
Just as she thought, she did not believe in love at first sight, even though she had shown kindness and her own strengths.
Perhaps she was too wary, she simply couldn't believe the sudden kindness of a strange man.
It was such a coincidence that she couldn't find any other explanation except that he approached her intentionally.
A knight, even a low-ranking noble, would have many choices, but he chose to disgrace his family's reputation and marry her, especially a maid who had apparently lost her innocence.
This is no different from marrying a woman who works as a prostitute.
Very strange.
Jian Yue returned to the table, took out the box of macarons and opened it.
She pinched one of the macarons and sniffed it. It tasted normal, with a sweet strawberry aroma.
She didn't have Mary's keen sense of smell and couldn't tell the difference between good and bad.
If Mary were here, she might have noticed something.
Thinking of this, she was depressed for a moment.
But soon, she seemed to discover something.
Jian Yue broke the macarons apart, crushed them with a hard object, collected the powder on a piece of paper, and poured it into the green soil on the table.
In an instant, the branches and leaves of the green plants were corroded by brown and black, curled up, and finally withered.
Jian Yue's eyes widened, her hands became unstable, and the powder fell to the ground.
There's poison in it!
That's why Theodore casually mentioned that if she didn't want it, she could give it to the prince. If she really gave it to him, she would be executed for murdering the royal family.
But what if she doesn't send it? Wouldn't this plan be useless?
Were they planning a rebellion? Or were they Sinderel's men, and knowing that Umbrella was about to be executed, they wanted to kill the only heir to support Sinderel's ascension?
If this is the case, then she is a scapegoat - after poisoning the prince, as the person closest to the prince, she will definitely be investigated first, and then death will be waiting for her.
As a maid, she was completely unable to investigate Theodore, a nobleman, so she only found out now.
If Theodore hadn't mentioned Mary, she would have really let down her guard against him.
But...how could Theodore hint to her and make her realize this?
Her heart felt like it was being gripped by an icy hand, and Jian Yue looked in the direction Theodore had left.
Then let’s take advantage of the situation.
She wanted to see what Theodore was going to do.
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