Chapter 26
Ella's POV
Inside the West Wing manor, Ruby and I were doing servants' work.
The atmosphere in the manor had been annoyingly cheerful these past few days, filled with a celebratory air—as if everyone was anticipating some good fortune.
I carried a water bucket down the corridor and saw several guards huddled together whispering, wearing ingratiating smiles on their faces. When they noticed me passing, their smiles grew even more exaggerated, and one deliberately said loudly, "I heard the Lady is with child. The West Wing is going to have an heir!"
I pretended not to hear and kept my head down as I continued forward.
Ruby caught up and whispered in my ear, "Ella, did you know? The pack's healer announced it—Lady Victoria is pregnant. Lord Kane is going to have his own heir soon."
My water bucket lurched, water sloshing out.
"Is that so." I heard my own voice, terrifyingly calm.
Ruby glanced at me, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself, finally just patting my shoulder gently.
I kept walking, but my mind involuntarily returned to that child who had passed—mine and Kane's child. That little life he'd personally killed in my womb with wolfsbane. I remembered that night, alone in the carriage, holding that mass of flesh and blood, not knowing what to do.
"Ella?" Ruby's voice pulled me back to reality. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." I shook my head and continued working.
Just then, the steward's voice rang out from the end of the corridor: "All servants assemble! Lady Victoria wants everyone to share in the joy. There are rewards to be distributed. Everyone must attend, not a single absence!"
I stopped in my tracks.
Ruby came closer, saying quietly, "Ella, we should still go. If we don't, we'll be seen as disrespecting the Lady, and then we'll be targeted again."
"I don't want to go."
"I know." Ruby gripped my hand. "But if you openly show disrespect toward Victoria, you'll only make things harder for yourself. She's carrying Lord Kane's child now—she rules the West Wing. If you clash with her head-on, you'll only suffer."
Ruby was right. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Let's go," I said.
The front hall was packed. All the West Wing's Omegas had gathered here, arranged in several rows, waiting to receive their rewards.
Ruby and I stood at the very back of the line. Through the gaps in the crowd, I could see Kane and Victoria standing on the platform in the distance.
Victoria wore a deep red gown, her silver hair braided into an elaborate coil at the back of her head, her emerald eyes glittering with triumph. One hand rested lightly on her still-flat belly while the other was linked through Kane's arm.
Kane stood beside her in black clothing that made him look even more severe. He gazed down at Victoria with a trace of a smile—the kind of gentle smile I'd never seen him give me.
My heart felt like someone had carved into it with a knife.
"Next." The steward's voice called out.
The line moved forward slowly. Each Omega who reached the platform received a small cloth bag from Victoria herself, containing a few silver coins. After receiving their reward, the Omegas would bow respectfully and voice their thanks.
Finally it was Ruby's and my turn.
Ruby stepped forward first. Victoria glanced at her, a flash of disgust in her eyes—probably because of the felt hat Ruby wore to hide her scalp injury. But she still handed over a bag, her tone haughty: "Take it. This is Lord Kane's grace."
Ruby accepted the bag with quiet thanks, then stepped aside.
My turn.
I walked forward, head bowed, not daring to look at the two people on the platform.
"Lift your head," Victoria's voice commanded.
I slowly raised my head and met those emerald eyes.
She looked at me, a mocking smile curling her lips. "Sister Ella, you've come for a reward too? I thought you'd consider such rewards beneath you."
I clenched my jaw and said nothing.
"Why so quiet?" Victoria tilted her head. "Or are you thinking about things you shouldn't be thinking about?"
She held the bag out to me, but as I reached for it, she suddenly pulled it back. The bag fell to the ground, silver coins scattering everywhere.
"Oops, how clumsy of me." Victoria laughed. "Sister Ella, pick them up. After all, this is the West Wing's first time distributing rewards for such a joyous occasion."
I crouched down and began picking up the coins one by one.
"By the way, Sister Ella," Victoria's voice came from above. "The child in my belly—this is Lord Kane's first child, you know. Don't you think I should celebrate properly?"
My hands froze.
First child.
No. Not the first.
"Not the first," I heard myself say.
The room suddenly went quiet.
I looked up to see Victoria's face turn ashen in an instant. Kane also jerked his gaze toward me.
"What did you say?" Victoria's voice was low and dangerous.
I realized I'd misspoken.
I hurried to explain: "I mean—the West Wing distributing rewards, this isn't the first time. When Lord Kane was appointed Lord of the West Wing, rewards were distributed then too."
Victoria stared at me for several seconds, the suspicion in her eyes not entirely dissipating, but she seemed to accept this explanation.
"Ella!" Kane suddenly barked. "Mind your words in front of the Lady!"
I lowered my head, fingers gripping those few silver coins tightly.
"Forget it." Victoria waved her hand. "She's just a slave, why bother with her." She turned to Kane, her voice softening. "Darling, I'm a bit tired."
Kane immediately steadied her. "Then let's go rest."
His tone gentled, and he even reached out as if to pat my head—the way he used to in Blood River.
But I stepped back half a pace.
Kane's hand froze in midair.
"What?" His voice was quiet, but I could hear the danger in it.
"I'd rather not wear a felt hat." I lifted my head and looked him straight in the eye.
Gasps rose around us. Ruby looked at me nervously too.
Kane's expression turned ugly.
He understood perfectly what I meant—Victoria had torn Ruby's scalp off simply because he'd casually patted Ruby's head.
Victoria's face changed as well. She gripped Kane's arm tightly, her nails nearly digging into his skin.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Just then, a servant rushed in.
"Reporting to my Lord and Lady—Princess Fiona and Prince Julian have come to offer their congratulations!"
Victoria immediately put on a smiling face. "Show them in at once!"
She took Kane's arm and headed toward the door. Passing by me, she said in a low voice, "Sister Ella, you'd better be careful. Some words, when spoken wrongly, come with a price."
Kane didn't look at me, simply following Victoria out.
After the crowd dispersed, Ruby came to my side. Looking toward the doorway, she said softly, "I really envy Princess Fiona's servants. Every one of them lives with dignity. In the Silver Moon Pack, only by serving the Princess can one possibly live with any respect."
I looked at her, something stirring in my heart.
That golden-haired girl—Princess Fiona? She had protected me before.
Perhaps...
I began calculating in my mind.
Leaving this complicated environment of the West Wing—perhaps I could use Princess Fiona.
At least she was kinder than everyone else here.