Chapter 8

“Master Lucius, if we don’t start going after Ms. Agatha, then…” George spoke anxiously while he was standing behind Lucius. But before he could finish, Lucius vanished.

Violet was not prepared for the sudden change in the ground and thought she had stepped in a trap.

But traps typically collapsed immediately, and her upper body was still above it. She was sinking too, but not at a fast pace. It was cold, and water instantly soaked her pants and reached her waist. She was standing in mud and water.

“Oh god! It’s a swamp!”

The alarms in Violet’s head started blaring when she realized what she had gotten herself into.

Instantly, cold sweat began to roll down and coat her entire back. She struggled instinctively, but every time she moved, she sank even further. Even when she did not move, she still sank, just more slowly.

At the rate it was going, she would be completely submerged in the swamp and drown in less than thirty minutes.

Only then did Violet realize why there were no guards stationed at the castle walls and why the palace’s security was so lax.

The swamp was a natural barrier. No one was allowed in, and those who were inside could not leave.

Someone save her!

Violet’s heart began to race in fear, and she struggled once more, but the water had already reached her chest. She started to panic as she sank further. She began to move in a flurry and use her hands to pull herself up, but this only caused her to become even more trapped.

Suddenly, she noticed that someone was walking in her direction.

“Help me!” she yelled. Violet waved at the person. Her eyes welled up with tears, and her voice quivered.

However, the man came to a stop a meter from her. He never offered to lend a hand and just stood there as if he were casually watching a show.

It was Lucius.

His handsome face was expressionless.

“Save me!” she sobbed. Tears streamed down her face as she begged through choked sobs.

He still did not move.

It was clear that he wanted to watch her drown.

The water covered her shoulders and neck. Death was getting closer, and she struggled even harder.

The muddy water reached her lips and would soon cover her nose as well. She was doomed!

“Pull her up!”

Lucius finally gave an order.

Two men appeared from behind him and reached out to grab her. Violet’s breathing was labored as the swamp water had almost crushed her organs.

“Thank-”

“Throw her in!”

The man in front of her gave his men another order before she could even say thank you. She was thrown back into the swamp.

They continued throwing her around after that. She was repeatedly lifted up and then thrown back into the mud. Lucius would not allow her to drown, but he would also never let her surface.

By that time, Violet was basically half–dead.

When Lucius announced that her punishment was over, she was covered in mud, and her face was a mess. She was breathing weakly and stayed still as she lay on the ground.

Lucius slowly squatted down. He uitted her face. She noticed the taunting look on his face.

“Are you that stupid, or do you really not want to stay here even if the only other option is death?”

Violet said nothing.

“You’d best give up on those naive thoughts!”

Violet suddenly grabbed a handful of muddy grass and threw it at Lucius. “You b stard! Lunatic!

Pervert!”

Lucius was caught off guard, and the handful of muddy grass splattered all over his face. Someone let out a low gasp, and the surrounding people all gasped in shock.

Violet was not the type of person to do such a thing unless she felt cornered and desperate.

Lucius saw how stubborn she was being and removed a strand of grass from his face. “B*stard?

Lunatic? Pervert?” He repeated each of her words, which caused his eyes to grow darker and his expression to become even more icy.

With a flick of his fingers, he snapped the weed. Violet watched as it slipped from his fingers and fell without a sound. She trembled a little as she seemed to have seen her impending doom. 1 In a split second, he grabbed her chin and raised it. She could only look up at his chin because he was looking down at her.

“Everyone else can call me those things, but not you!”

Immediately after saying that, he pushed her chin away, as if continuing to touch her would make his hands dirty.

Riled up once again, Violet yelled at him, “My name is Violet Wickham, and I’ve always been called Violet Wickham. I’m not connected to Agatha River in any way! You’re free to attack me at any time if you hold any grudge toward me. If not, open your damn eyes and take a good look. I am Violet Wickham!”

She decided to throw all caution to the wind.

She even puffed her chest, then faced him square in the face and said, “Your people are the only ones who have touched my bag. So, you’re the only ones who could have changed my ID card. You better change it back!”

She was the first person to ever have the nerve to provoke Lucius in that way. Even George broke out in a cold sweat, and he was concerned for her fate.

But the punishment never came.

He only asked, “Why would we change your ID?”

“Why?” Violet was stunned by his question.

Right. Why would they do that?

He was the owner of Imperial Enterprises. With just a wave of his hand, countless women would rush to him. He did not even need to do anything.

“I’m really not Agatha River.” She could not stress this enough.

“Bring her over.”

Instead of responding to her, Lucius issued an order.