Chapter 114 Chapter 114: Petty Schemes
\[Lilia\]
Her brows lifted high, her gaze sharp, while her foot tapped on the floor, awaiting an explanation. I wanted to laugh, but I suspected she wouldn't hesitate to bludgeon me if I did. Instead, I teased her, stifling my laughter. “I am sorry, Mother.”
She breathed out loudly, biting her lip and staring at me with annoyance before rolling her eyes. Aya sat beside me and captured my wrists, examining the pinkish trails of nail marks.
“Lilia,” she sighed, her expression softening. “I know you want to train, but please be careful.”
I smiled, taking her hands in mine and squeezing them lightly. “I am careful,” I said. My smile faded as I recalled the woman who had given me these marks. “It’s just that your master’s fiancé enjoys catfights as a form of exercise. She pulled my hair and scratched my wrists.”
I told her everything—the training, the little charade Val and I performed to make Kael jealous, and the resulting skirmish. She was ecstatic to hear that the jealousy plot had worked.
“Did you get her?” Aya blurted out suddenly.
I raised a brow, casting her a long, sideways glance in utter bemusement. “I thought you were going to admonish me for fighting?”
“Only if you tell me you didn't get her back,” she shrugged nonchalantly, wiggling her brows for more details.
I laughed at her antics and filled her in. “I was going to kick her ass, but Kael and Val stepped in.”
“Well, then get her next time,” she grunted in an emboldening tone, totally consenting to my actions.
“Are you encouraging me to get into another catfight?”
“I couldn’t say I’m not.”
I looked at her in disbelief, amusement dancing in my eyes. “You’re crazy,” I giggled, chugging the water she had set out for me.
“You’re rubbing off on me.”
Aya and I spent nearly two hours laughing about yesterday while she tended to my scratches and applied salve to my healing bruises.
“Alright, I still have chores to attend to, and I don't want to be on the matron’s bad side,” she said, cutting our giddy conversation short. She began loading the dirty dishes back onto the cart.
I remembered that I had nothing to do for the rest of the day, and the thought of staying in my room was unappealing. I couldn't even ride Copper, as Mikanor was busy grooming the horses and changing their shoes.
“Wait!” I exclaimed, stopping Aya before she could reach the door. “Can I help?”
“What?” She turned around, gaping at me.
“I don't have anything to do, and I can't spend the day mulling things over in here. Boredom will kill me. I can help you with your chores, and we can talk until our ears fall off.” I clasped my palms against my chest and batted my lashes. “Please?”
Aya contemplated the request, biting her lip. Finally, she conceded. “Alright, come on then.”
“Great! Let me just get ready!”
We headed downstairs and made ourselves useful. I washed dishes in the kitchen while Aya mopped the floor. Next, we moved to the hallways, dusting paintings that were already spotless. Eventually, we reached the living room. I was vacuuming the carpet while Aya wiped ornaments and decorative porcelain vases. As promised, we talked nonstop.
That was until an unwanted presence walked in, turning my mirthful expression sour.
“This kind of job suits you. Perhaps I should suggest to Kael that he transfer you to the maid quarters.”
My ears began to ring the moment I heard her voice and the obnoxious pounding of her heels on the marble floor.
“What do you want, Sabina?” I turned off the vacuum and shifted my attention to her. She was holding a glass of red wine, sauntering into the room as though she already owned it. I noticed a long, pinkish scratch on the side of her face. It wasn't deep, but it was visible. A smile threatened to break across my face as I realized I had left my mark on her yesterday.
“Nothing. I was merely walking around, enjoying my wine, and happened to end up here,” she replied, swirling the liquid in her glass.
“Well, go on then. Enjoy your stroll and leave us,” I stated blankly. “We don't want any trouble.”
I took the vacuum hose, ready to turn it back on before some devil possessed me to hurl her into a garbage bag.
“Oh, why? The fun hasn’t even started yet,” she jeered, a lopsided smirk stretching across her lips.
“Just leave,” I said sternly, trying to calm my nerves. Aya stood by the shelves, watching me. I knew what her look meant; she was waiting to see if I’d use the "ammunition" from our conversation earlier.
“You really think highly of yourself, don't you?” Sabina snickered. She took a sip of her wine, looking at me through the rim of the glass. “You know, when Kael and I are married, there will be no use for you. I will be the one warming his bed.”
My eyes twitched. The thought of them together on a honeymoon added fuel to my anger. If I weren't worried about the valuable breakables in the room—or the trouble it would bring Aya—I would have dragged her down by her hair already. This woman was fueled by jealousy, and I realized I had the perfect way to piss her off. I looked her straight in the eye and put on a sweet, fake smile.
“Let me ask you this, Sabina. Has Kael taken you to bed yet?”
Her smug expression immediately faded. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. I took a step toward her, my own expression turning smug.
“You are his fiancé, and you are so proud of it. I'm sure you aren't a woman of such great virtue that you're waiting for marriage. So, I wonder... why did Kael spend his night in my bed when he could have shared yours? Do you not satisfy him?”
Sabina’s nose flared with rage. Her face turned crimson, and her knuckles whitened around her glass. Kael hadn't touched her yet. My smile broadened as I inched closer until we were face-to-face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aya’s face light up with interest.
“Let me give you a heads-up on what it’s like to be with him,” I went on, taking a handful of her hair and twirling it around my fingers. “He likes to be in control. He likes to take you from behind and pound so hard you feel your innards. He likes to squeeze that pretty little neck of yours, choking the breath out of you while he rames every inch of himself into you. I even bleed sometimes. He'll pull your hair while you're on all fours.”
I was exaggerating to terrorize her, but I also couldn't help remembering the actual fire Kael and I had shared. Just saying it aloud made me feel his phantom touch, sending a swirl of heat through my belly.
“He’s rough,” I said, trailing my index finger down to her chest. “I often wake up with bruises and walk bow-legged. Even bite marks.”
I saw a bead of sweat roll down the side of her head. Her chest heaved, and her eyes went wide.
“Why have you gone so pale? I thought you were ready to warm his bed?” I derided her, stepping back. She began to hyperventilate, her face twisting in disgust.
“Damn you, whore!” she fumed, her eyes shooting daggers. “You wanted to clean, right? Make yourself useful.”
Sabina tipped her glass and poured the red wine onto the carpet, staining it a deep crimson. She sneered at me and then dropped the glass, letting it shatter on the floor. Aya yelped at the sudden crash, though fortunately, the shards missed us. Sabina gave me one last hateful look and turned on her heel, the staccato of her heels echoing off the walls as she stormed away.
“That witch,” I hissed, staring at the mess on the carpet. I was so busy muttering curses and wondering how to clean the wine and glass that I failed to notice a new presence in the room.
I froze instantly when Aya whispered the name.
“M-Master Kael.”