Chapter 116

I had always known Linus was a monster.

In the past, when I was powerless, I only heard people praising him as great.

But I couldn’t feel it myself.

Now that I had learned a little about fighting, I realized just how impossible it was to face him.

Not only was his swordsmanship at the highest level, but he was also skilled in physical combat.

His slim but muscular body was trained with perfect efficiency, giving him both speed and power.

At least when it came to using the body as a weapon, Linus was an undeniable genius.

In hand-to-hand combat and dagger skills, Laila was just as good, though not without difficulties.

Still, among the four of us, only Laila could handle close-range fighting, so she always ended up facing Linus….

I stared blankly at Linus and Enoch as they clashed.

Enoch charged at Linus like a raging bull.

There was no other way to describe it.

Even when Linus landed two hits for every one he received, Enoch never fell—he just kept swinging his fists and kicking.

“Why is Enoch like that…? That’s not like him.”

Enoch Haines fighting like some street thug—it didn’t suit him.

He was supposed to be elegant, irritating, and pretentious….

Even in battle, his style was always to put the spirits in front while he stood safely behind, barking orders.

This was the same man who would complain about dust in a battlefield splattered with blood.

And yet, look at him now.

“Ah, Enoch’s been under a lot of stress this past week.”

“Enough stress to change him this much?”

“He’s been holding a lot in for a long time.”

Enoch had always wanted to kill Linus—though I didn’t know since when.

“But fighting like that, he won’t be able to kill him.”

“Let him fight. At least he’s buying time for people to escape.”

Keith pointed around us.

Whether this mansion collapsed or not didn’t matter, but the servants weren’t guilty.

Linus’s bedroom was already destroyed.

When the wall crumbled and the hallway was exposed, the servants rushed over.

Helen, who had fled naked earlier, was now dressed neatly and hidden among the crowd.

Behind her, a man who looked like a doctor peered anxiously into the chaos.

But no one dared step in.

With Enoch fighting with fists wrapped in wind spirits, and Linus striking with sword aura around his own fists—if anyone carelessly interfered, not even their body would remain.

Each time a stray fist smashed the floor, holes opened.

Cracks spread across the walls.

The only smart thing to do was run.

Yet Helen, worried about her master, pulled at the fleeing people, urging them to help.

“Guards! Bring the guards! Where’s Joseph?!”

“The butler said we must evacuate!”

“You’re leaving Master behind?!”

“What difference will it make if we stay?!”

Helen, who once promised to do everything Hyunji couldn’t, clearly meant she was willing to be his partner in bed as well.

I didn’t want to criticize her way of life—so long as she didn’t dream of a happy marriage while knowingly committing adultery.

But Helen had definitely deceived Hyunji, and that was shameless.

For me, though, it was useful.

I rushed straight toward her.

“Helen!”

“Florence… no, Madam….”

She looked startled, surprised to see me ‘whole’ again.

I grabbed her hand.

“You don’t need to worry just because I caught you, Helen.”

“…What?”

“I already know you were sleeping with my husband.”

Gasps filled the crowd.

Even amid the crashing noise, my voice carried clearly.

“But could you at least hold back when I’m watching? I don’t want to get beaten and trapped by that man anymore. If you’re willing to take the blows in my place, then I’d be so grateful….”

“There was… nothing like that!”

“You mean to say you’ve never spent the night with Linus? Just earlier you were naked in his bedroom.”

“That… that was…”

“Enoch saw it, and that’s why he’s furious! You’d better run. If Enoch catches you, who knows what he’ll do…. Don’t worry about me, though—I won’t care!”

At that moment, Enoch grabbed Linus by the collar and slammed him into the ground, the same move Laila often used.

Helen squirmed, trying to pull her hand from mine, but I held it tighter.

“I waited a week, trying to persuade him with words. When it didn’t work, he came here to take me instead.”

“Madam, your protector is Master!”

“I’m going to divorce him properly. Right now, I’m escaping from the husband who cheated right before my eyes, who beat me and locked me up. And you—who pretended to care about me while sharing his bed—you think you have the right to stop me?”

“I…”

Helen’s face flushed as she opened and closed her mouth.

“It’s fine. I was glad when you said you thought of me like a sister.”

“Florence, I—”

“But don’t expect me to be happy about sharing the man you used. Take him all for yourself. You’re not really my sister. You’re just a maid.”

I smiled brightly, patting Helen’s shoulder.

“Live well. Just don’t show yourself to me again.”

Then I turned to the gathered crowd.

“Run, quickly! This building will collapse soon!”

As if to prove my words, the ground shook like an earthquake.

Terrified, the people fled in panic.

I watched to see if Helen would stay loyal to her master, but after hesitating, she also vanished into the crowd.

That would only make my story more believable.

Laila muttered:

“He even cheated too?”

“They say he was with her even before the marriage.”

“He placed a maid he’d slept with right beside his wife? On purpose?”

“Bold, isn’t it?”

“That’s disgusting….”

“While I was gone, they must have started again.”

“I should’ve seen that woman’s mind break with my own eyes.”

Laila clicked her tongue in regret.

Hyunji must have fallen into hell by now.

If she had opened her eyes over there, she’d see what I had done.

I promised Laila I’d explain it all to her later, then turned back to the task at hand.

Linus was a mountain.

A wall.

A pit.

A swamp.

A demon.

But also nothing more than a selfish, foolish man.

The one who had cut off Mari’s arm—how should he be made miserable?

Destroying his reputation meant nothing to him.

When half of his loyal knights left in disappointment, he didn’t care.

When the Lindquist family abandoned him for the eldest son, he felt relieved.

Even after losing Hyunji—the one he claimed to love, the one he obsessed over—he easily replaced her.
Her body with Helen, her soul with me.

How could such a man ever be driven to despair?

He wasn’t even human to reason with.

He was just a beast, a monster.

I had stolen Hyunji’s future and hope.

But what could I steal from Linus?

Laila drew a dagger tied at her waist.

Its blade was painted black.

She twisted her wrist, gripping it firmly, and said:

“You took my revenge for me….”

“Laila?”

“This time, it’s my turn!”

Laila shouted fiercely, grabbed me by the collar, and threw me—straight between Enoch and Linus, just as they were about to collide.