Chapter 58
â Rupert , why are you back ! â Althea asked ,
Rupert had just walked into the house and immediately ran into Althea , who was heading out .
She was completely covered from head to toe , which made Rupert raise an eyebrow in curiosity .
â Why are you dressed like that ? Where are you going
Althea forced an awkward laugh , trying to think fast .
â Oh , I was just planning to take a walk and clear my head .
The sun outside is so harsh , so I thought Iâd cover up â
She had actually been planning to visit Rowena at the hospital but didnât dare tell Rupen , fearing heâd insist on going with her .
She came up with another excuse , adding .
â You know , ever since Rowena ended up in a coma and was hospitalized .
I just canât stand being in the house .
Every time I walk past her room , I feel like crying .
â
Her delicate , tearful voice echoed in the living room , but strangely , Rupert didnât respond with his usual gentle comfort .
â Rupert , whatâs wrong â Altheaâs heart sank at his prolonged silence .
Anxiety crept in as she wondered if heâd seen something incriminating in the memory livestream .
Just as her mind spiraled , Rupert finally patted her shoulder lightly and sighed , speaking in a somber tone .
â Rowena ⦠that poor girl .
I guess this is just the way things are meant to be .
Anyway , Althea stop crying .
We still have Caellan .
â
to Althea
Rupert had spent that moment of silence grappling with whether to reveal Rowenaâs misdeeds to
Seeing his gentle demeanor return .
Althea relaxed and even leaned into it , crying harder .
â How can you say that , Rupert Just because Rowena isnât your biological daughter , would you abandon her ?
Rupert , however , was reminded of how Althea had always been cold and indifferent to Elysia .
His irritation flared .
â Fine .
.
go take your walk .
I have
other matters to deal with â
The maids in this house are completely useless , he muttered as he turned and brushed past her .
Althea stood there , stunned and furious .
This wasnât the outcome she had expected .
Rupert wasnât angry with her , it had to be something
thing Rowena had done .
Watching him walk away , she stomped her foot in frustration .
Althea thought .
â Damn it , Rowena .
You better find a way to shut down that damned livestream â or deal with Elysia once and
d for all .
Otherwise , this
wonât end .
â
imped forward .
Meanwhile , in the livestream , under a flurry of audience comments , the memory skipped
Now visibly older , Elysia sat in a comer desk at the back of the classroom .
It was ninth grade , as evidenced by the workbook on her desk .
Her surroundings painted a grim picture .
Torn paper littered the floor , the desk was vandalized with hateful words .
Elysia , seemingly accustomed to such treatment , calmly packed her belongings , exposing the cruel graffiti for all to see .
As she left , she kicked the door lightly , triggering a trap .
A box filled with chalk dust tumbled down .
Elysia waited patiently for the dust to settle before stepping through ,
Outside , the hallways were dark ; it was late evening and the rest of the school had
One silent
[ Was that blatant bullying ? Those words on her desk â how could a teacher not notice ! ]
[ Thereâs no way the teacher didnât see it .
That back â corner seat was definitely intentional .
]
[ Why doesnât she fight back ! Go to the principalâs office or cause a scene ! ]
[ You donât understand .
Bullies target those who have no parents , no friends , no support .
Acting out wonât help â itâll just make things worse for her .
]
[ Yes , unless she has no intention of continuing her studies .
But what Iâm curious about is , has she never told her family about this ! After all , sheâs part of the Drayton family .
How could she have fallen to the point of being bullied by outsiders ! ]
[ What ? Whatt Elysia has family ! ]
Torin , his face still bearing fresh injuries , felt a surge of anger upon seeing this comment and wanted to punch the screen
Why the screen ! Because their earlier fight had shattered his glasses , and until his new ones arrived , they could only rely on the large display in the
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Chapter 58
Suppressing his fury , he stood up and said .
â Elysia never told me about any of this , but I deeply regret it .
If only I had paid more attention to what was happening to her at school , maybe ⦠maybe everything could have been different .
Torinâs words rang clear in everyoneâs ears .
Yet , instead of understanding or comfort , the response was a flood of seven glaring words .
There is no medicine for regret .
â
Torin choked on the words , immediately replying .
Til make it up to her .
Thereâs still time .
Elysiaâs life is only one â fifth over .
For the remaining four â fifths .
Ill take care of her .
I can spend my whole life unmarried , without starting my own family , just to be by her side , help her , and earn her forgiveness â
The more he thought about it , the more emotional he became , as though he could already imagine the moment Elysia forgave him and called him
â brother â again .
He had to .
He had to become a proper brother once more .
As everyone focused their attention on Torn , no one noticed Fenwickâs increasingly pale face .
He remained silent , his head bowed , as though he too was consumed by some inner fear .
Soon , the screen cut to a scene at honic
As Elysia returned to her room and unzipped her backpack , she let out a sharp , terrified gasp , dropping it to the ground .
Inside was a rabbit , brutally gutted , its insides spilled out around it .
Blood stained the backpackâs interior , and scattered among the mess were pieces of white paper , each covered in blood â red characters spelling out The word â DEATH â .
Elysiaâs eyes widened , her hands trembling as fear gripped her heart
Just then , a small snake slithered out from the backpack .
Upon closer inspection , it was familiar â it was Greenie , the snake she had recently released .
It flicked its tongue as if trying to communicate .
Elysia said .
â I know , I know it wasnât you .
Greenie .
Come here .
â
Elysia quickly extended her hand , leiting the snake climb onto her before retreating to a corner with it .
The livestream audience was stunned .
[ Classic Elysia â terrified of a dead rabbit but fine with a live snake I
[ Whatâs really scary are those death notes .
Thatâs just insane
[ This scene is too â artistic : I hate snakes ! ]
Meanwhile , Fenwick grew even paler , sweat dripping down his forehead .
Bowing his head further , he seemed to be suppressing his own terror .
As Elysia finally gathered her courage to remove the rabbit from her backpack , she discovered a pile of colorful photos â and black â and â white ones -beneath its body .
Every single one of them was of her doused in water , covered in chalk dust , hit by textbooks .
They captured various moments of humiliation , with her face in full view
What made the photos even more horrifying was that her facial features had been punctured with tiny holes , making them look grotesque and
ge warmth in the cold â blooded creature .
Greenie nudged Elysiaâs cheek with its cold head .
At that moment , everyone saw a strange
Yet , in this house teeming with people .
Elysia had been reduced to seeking comfort from an animal ,
Thank you , Greenie .
Iâm fine .
Itâs my own fault for being too naive â¦
â Naive to think that telling my teachers and even the principal , or even writing to the pri
principal would do anything
â I once believed that if I just avoided their pranks and stayed out of their way , my life would settle down
She had tried everything , but all she received in return were worse forms of bullying .
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Chapter 58
Every time she escaped , it only brought nastier insults , cruel graffiti on her desk , red ink stains on her chair , flying basketballs during gym class , and relentless rumors â¦
Elysiaâs once dim eyes suddenly hit up .
She looked down and gently tapped the snakeâs head , saying , â No , Greenie .
If you bite them , youâll get caught too .
I canât lose you as well .
â Youâre right .
This canât go on .
The placement test is coming up .
If they pull something on that day ⦠I wonât allow it.
Iâll have to try my last option .
Is she really talking to a snake ? This world is insane .
It feels like Iâm watching some fantasy drama â healing with snake venom , and now beast taming .
Elysia , are you maxed out on cheats ? ]
[ Honestly , if I were Elysia , Fd let Greenie bite every one of those bullies to death .
Seriously .
.
canât stand it anymore .
[ Could it be sheâs not taming the snake but simply understands it ? Theyâre obviously friends .
Damn , I canât believe Iâm saying this â it sounds so absurd I
[ Am I the only one curious about her last option ? Since Torin doesnât know , it must mean the rest of the family doesnât either .
Could it be sheâs planning to confront those bullies head â on ! I want to see Elysia fight ! ]
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