Chapter 223: She Was Like A Cockroach

~Aveline~

Everyone has a reason for committing the evil they do. A motive, as many people would call it.

And I'd come to discover that, for Maribel Briar, her motive had been one of the most stupid and shallow ones I'd ever known.

Love.

That had been her motive.

She wanted to be loved, to stand at the center of everyone's attention and have their eyes on her, feeding on their affection and validation. And when she didn't have that, she'd go to any length to obtain it—to steal it from the person who had it.

Considering everything she'd done to me, everything she'd made me lose, such a shallow motivation felt like an insult in itself.

But watching her stare up at me with the realization that everything she'd wanted, everything she'd schemed so desperately to obtain, had just been pulled from beneath her feet by me...

It felt like a small balm to that insult.

"N-no."

Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"You're lying. It can't have happened the way you're saying," she said, but her voice sounded more like she was desperately trying to convince herself than me.

"You can't..."

The rest of her words trailed off as her gaze met mine once again, and the realization that I wasn't lying slowly sank in.

Within seconds, I watched her eyes go completely lifeless.

In ordinary circumstances, the sight might have drawn pity from anyone watching.

But for me, it stirred nothing but satisfaction.

Four months.

I'd planned everything carefully for the past four months and survived every unforeseen event my new choices had caused, all to reach this moment.

To see her in the same position she'd once reduced me to, and it was satisfying.

"Why?" she asked weakly, sounding almost like the victim. "Why would you do this to me? Why wouldn't you just let me have everything that belonged to me?!"

Her voice climbed higher with each word, tears beginning to trail down her face.

"I was born for this life. This was my destiny."

She carried on while I remained silent, her voice growing almost frantic.

"So why... why must you do this?" she asked, glaring up at me. "Why must you ruin all my hard work, Aveline Odeliah Thorne?!"

For a moment, silence lingered in the cell, the only sound being her ragged breathing.

I stared down at her for a long second before I finally spoke.

"Because someone like you was never meant to have everything you believed belonged to you."

Her expression fell completely and a smile slowly crept onto my lips as I added, "Surely you're not stupid to the extent that you don't understand that. Are you?"

Anger flashed across her face, and the tears spilling down her cheeks now came with fury.

Her entire body trembled.

"I'll make you pay for this," she muttered.

Then, in the blink of an eye, she surged to her feet and charged toward me.

From beneath the sleeve of her gown, she pulled out a pen.

"Go to hell, you bitch!"

She shrieked and brought the pen down with startling speed, aiming directly for my throat.

I was caught off guard for a fraction of a second before instinct took over. My hand shot up to block the strike.

Considering the protective bracelet Rhaedon had given me, the damage wouldn't be fatal. If anything, the wound would heal easily.

But what happened next occurred so quickly that I barely had time to comprehend it.

The sharp sound of the pen piercing flesh filled the cell.

I waited for the pain, but it never came. Instead, my eyes widened slightly as I stared at the back now standing between Maribel and me.

Rowan.

When did he get here?

Only moments ago, I'd been certain I'd sensed him behind me.

But now he was here, his body shielding mine, and—

A soft, wet sound interrupted my thoughts as something pittered against the stone floor.

My gaze dropped, landing on several drops of blood that had splattered across the ground.

Rowan's blood.

"Let go!" Maribel screamed, struggling violently in his grasp. "Let me go, you beast!"

Rowan didn't even flinch. Instead, his gaze shifted toward me.

"Are you unharmed, Luna Aveline?"

I stared at him, momentarily caught off guard as my gaze drifted to his hand and my stomach dropped before I could stop it.

The pen Maribel had swung at me had pierced his palm, the tip protruding from the other side. Blood ran down his hand from the wound, dripping at his feet.

Yet even then, he didn't seem affected by it.

That same injured hand remained firmly wrapped around Maribel's wrist, keeping her in place despite her frantic struggles.

I didn't even bother speaking because I knew, in that moment, words wouldn't have come out.

I could only stare at the man who'd played a part in my demise in my last life, yet in this one, had just put himself in danger without a moment's hesitation.

For me.

"Your Highness!"

As if drawn by the sudden commotion, the guards rushed over. I heard them gasp behind me before they hurried forward.

Within seconds, Maribel's arm was seized from both sides. One of the guards struck the back of her knees, forcing her legs to buckle until her knees hit the stone floor with enough force to leave debris embedded in her skin.

"Get your hands off me! I said, get your hands off me!" She screamed, thrashing violently, but her protests fell on deaf ears.

"We apologize for our incompetence, Your Highness," one of the guards said. "We were certain we'd made sure she had no objects on her when she was admitted."

"Yet this happened," I said sharply, my gaze cutting toward them. "Your incompetence is not forgiven."

They flinched slightly and exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing more.

My gaze returned to Rowan.

His face didn't betray the slightest sign of pain, yet the way he kept his injured hand stiffly at his side told me enough.

He was hurting.

My teeth clenched unconsciously and I turned my attention back to Maribel, who had finally been subdued and was now glaring at me.

She was like a fucking cockroach. She simply refused to die.

The thought came with absolute disgust, and almost as though pleased by the expression on my face, Maribel smiled, revealing teeth that looked yellow from days of neglect.

"Don't look so baffled, Sister," she spat, emphasizing the title. "There's more where that came from. And it's not going to stop coming until one of us dies."

Her shoulders shook after she said it, as though she found the threat amusing.

I simply stared at her—one thought occupying my mind.

Ah…

Her voice was fucking irritating.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the pouch.

"You want to apologize for your incompetence, right?" I asked the guards.

They exchanged glances before nodding eagerly.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Then here." I opened the pouch, retrieved the two vials, and held them out, meeting their gaze with absolute authority.

"Make sure she drinks every last drop without spilling a single thing.’