Secret Love Affair between a Former Saint and a Dark Hero - Chapter 77
It seemed like a fit of madness. Iora never expected Ovid to act like that. She was so taken aback by his behavior, but there was nothing she could do about it. When she returned home feeling defeated, her brother, Janus, was there, looking like he had been waiting for her.
At that point, her stress had reached its boiling point.
“Why are you bothering me again?”
She saw his lips twitch in frustration, ready to spew his regular garbage. After being quiet for a few days, he seemed to have come back to life. It was almost remarkable how he overcame her divine saint power.
Iora waved her hand as if chasing away a fly.
“Move aside, brother. I’m busy.”
After a moment’s pause, Janus, who hadn’t been struck down, yelped. A nasty habit of his reared its ugly head again.
“You fool! Is that big head of yours solely for decoration? What are you doing wandering around at this late hour?”
“Excuse me?”
It wasn’t that late, thought Iora looking at the darkening sky. Before her regression, he used to scold her for coming in late, implying that she had been using her body to seduce the prince. Was that what this was again? The same thing but with a different provocation?
Speaking in a low voice, Iora suppressed her voice like a growl. After being stabbed in the back by the man she trusted, she couldn’t tolerate anything slightly different. Trash should continue to be trash. He just had to keep being trash without showing any hesitation.
“I don’t think it’s that late.”
“Ha, it’s late enough! Considering your position as the prince’s fiancée, you should be more careful…!”
“Since when did you start caring? Why are you acting so scary?”
“….”
He glared at her and Iora wondered why his shoulders were twitching like that.
But there wasn’t much she wanted to say to him. The shifting gaze and the hesitancy were all disgusting. She didn’t want to know what was on his mind.
Wasn’t it funny that he became so cautious about what he said after just one encounter? Wasn’t the change too weighty? Like dragging a dog on a leash, it happened only now. Only after that single conversation. Then Iora’s previous life must have truly been pitiful.
‘I wonder what state I was in when I died.’
“Is that all you have to say?” Iora calmly asked, handing over her coat to the approaching maid.
“….”
“If so, then step aside.”
With his broad shoulders slumping back, he looked pitiful. Well, he was an irredeemable scoundrel.
After a triumphant snort and a contemptuous laugh, she entered the mansion. As soon as Iora stepped inside, she saw the servants looking like they didn’t quite know what to do. Normally, they would have ignored the young lady and walked past her, but the fact that they were waiting was astonishing.
Lately, her father had noticeably been avoiding Iora. Whether it was due to the shock of his once obedient daughter’s rebellion or if he was avoiding her like a dirty turd, but the mood of the manor was changing.
‘It’s not pleasant, though.’
She had no desire to become a kind saint. She didn’t need favorable rumors circulating. Iora sneered coldly, shooting them all a look. Not one of them gave her a single glance or an ounce of sympathy, and this girl had died several times under their neglect.
Glancing at the few faces that glared at her out of habit, Iora whispered softly, “You seem to keep forgetting that I am an employer who could fire you at a moment’s notice. Why are you all so short-sighted, foolish, and naive? Is that what you want? Do you want me to flaunt the dignity and authority as the daughter of your master and unceremoniously dismiss you?”
“Ah, my Lady!”
“We’re sorry! Please forgive us!”
“…You seem to apologize easily.”
The prostrate man was Hansen, the stern-faced servant who had once told a howling Iora to be quiet because he was getting tired. The woman who screamed blue in the face for fear of being fired was Ina. This maid would sometimes praise Arcanda in the past, and once deliberately ruined Iora’s dress to humiliate her.
They were all so eager. When was the last time they all showed her this kind of respect?
Iora whirled around in irritation — just in time to make eye contact with the woman on the stairs, who stared at her heartlessly. A familiar feeling of déjà vu flashed through her.
‘I’ve been in this exact same situation before.’
How she had trembled and pleaded through her tears when she returned after drinking the juice drugged by Arcanda. The stigma of taking her running through the streets while clearly under the influence was humiliating.
She appealed to her mother that it wasn’t true. She wasn’t an addict. But this was a cold place—here, no one ever listened to her.
Suddenly, her whole body grew cold, and an uncontrollable rage welled up inside her. When Iora saw her mother’s heartless eyes gazing at her softly, the anger inside her threatened to explode even more. Why was she looking at her like that? Why?
‘Even if she changes and softens up to me, I would never let my guard down unless I go insane.’
If anything, they should be the ones to lay themselves bare first. Though she smiled gently, Iora’s eyes glittered and her lips twisted fiercely. That stern face sent shivers through the faces of both Janus, who entered with the mansion, and her mother.
“Mother.”
Iora’s voice seemed to break the silence of the mansion.
Her lady mother’s eyes fluttered for a moment, But the tremor soon subsided, and the noblewoman held her head high as she looked down at her daughter.
“Why did you summon me?” her mother asked.
“I need a personal maid and a bodyguard.”
“…You’ve never asked for it before. Why now?”
“It’s becoming a hassle to travel alone. Wouldn’t my mother, who always wanted me to show a noble appearance, welcome such a request?”
Her tone was sharp, like she wanted to know if her mother would listen. Her mother’s face twisted for a moment, looking as if she were on the verge of spewing curses. She met her daughter’s frosty eyes and closed her fan with a snap.
“Fine. It’s good that you don’t walk around alone like some lowly commoner. Be a good girl and go upstairs. I’ll send them up to your room.”
“Is that your way of telling me not to cause a disturbance at home? I understand.”
“….”
However, Iora was satisfied enough not to provoke her mother any further.
She answered without much complaint, and her mother’s face quietly distorted as if there was something else she didn’t like.
Iora gracefully turned her body, lifted her skirt slightly, and walked up the stairs. She could feel the piercing eyes on her back, but unlike before, she didn’t feel bad. Those glares wouldn’t affect her anymore.
