Sold to My Killer Husband: His Concubine's Dilemma
Chapter 47: There,There

Chapter 47: There,There

Beatrice’s palms were damp with sweat; her fingers were curled in a fist at her sides as she kept her head bowed. But, inside, she was seething.

That girl is troublesome! She thought while gritting her teeth,.

Hadn’t I told her to wait and greet madam? And now I’m the one taking the scolding!

For a brief moment, she stole a glance at Edgar, and sure enough, the old steward looked entirely too pleased with himself. He wasn’t even addressing the issue; his mind was elsewhere. Beatrice had served alongside him long enough to know when he was scheming, but right now,.

Before Lilian could berate her again, a voice rang from the door.

"Madam Beatrice, we have found..."

Beatrice’s head snapped up, her heart leaping with hope. Finally!

But the moment the speaker stepped into the room, dragging Mira behind her, all her hopes came crashing down.

It wasn’t Liora; instead of her, it was Mira.

Roseria, who had been curled up beside her mother, sat up abruptly, her green eyes widening at the sight of the maid and the lady brought by her. "Mira?" she whispered in confusion. As Roseria was staying with Lilian, she knew Mira, as Mira was one of the maids who served Lilian before she was assigned to Liora by Edgar. Mira knew this voice but she was not willing to look up to see the person.

Lilian’s eyes darkened; her gaze turned from the anxious maid towards Mira, who was standing obediently at her side.

Beatrice tensed, already sensing the storm brewing behind the queen dowager’s eyes.

This foolish servant, she thought, her jaw tightened

Bringing back a lady-in-waiting, when we asked for a girl?

Mira kneeled while keeping her head bowed. The polished marble beneath her felt colder than usual, but it felt warmer than Lilian’s stare.

Lilian rested against the armchair, her fingers resting against her cheek, her gaze piercing. With a slow, steady tone, Lilian finally spoke. "Mira, didn’t I send you to keep an eye on Liora?"

Mira swallowed hard when she heard Lilian’s tone. "Y-yes, Your Majesty."

"Then where is she? can you tell me bi..?", Lilian swallowed her unspoken words.

Mira hesitated; her voice was trembling as she stammered, "I... I believe she might be in the garden, madam."

A sharp click of Lilian’s tongue echoed through the teahouse.

Mira flinched at the question; her fingers were digging into the fabric of her dress. "I... I believe so, madam," she admitted weakly.

Lilian’s face turned sour; whatever this girl said would make her head blow up in anger. She was infuriated. "Youuu..", she was about to get up from her seat, but Roseria quickly held onto her mother’s arm.

"Mother, please,"

Roseria whispered while requesting her mother to calm down.

Lilian’s icy stare jerked to her daughter, annoyance flickering in the rear of her pointed green eyes. "Release, Roseria," she commanded, although she did not let go at once. Lilian looked at her daughter while pointing at Mira. "She.."

Roseria made Lilian sit on the chair again. But this sudden yowl brought Edgar snapped him from his thoughts. As he got the idea from the situation, he walked towards Mira. He smoothed the cuffs of his sleeve before clearing his throat, Mira who was still kneeling, stiffened at the sound. Her gaze darted upward just in time to see Edgar’s figure towering before her.

Mira hesitated. Then somehow gathering bits of her courage, she qivered, "Sir..." Her voice trembled as she answered the unasked question.

While they had an eye contact Edgar merely closed his eyes,before slowly reopening them, assuring Mira of the situation. Mira felt somewhat relieved; she had heard about Edgar; that he was caring for the ones he had hired, but at the same time he was strict regarding work, maybe he was helping her too.

Beatrice who stood near them, had her fingers knotted in front of her, had a frown on her face, as her eyes darted between Edgar and Mira. She did not quite understand what they said, but she did pick up on Mira’s quiver.

Beatrice had years of experience sailing through the perilous seas of servitude. She had risen from the level of a lowly maid to that of a lady-in-waiting to a caretaker, but she never forgot what it was like to be in Mira’s position. for a maid to be around Lilian was quite hard, and beatrice knew this very well, but she could not complain like that as she was hired years ago by Lilian herself ,to take care of Lucien.

For a maid, mere presence around Lilian was a test by itself. Beatrice had watched many break down under the burden of it, and she understood that one misplaced step could ruin a person’s destiny in the blink of an eye.

Her mouth compressed into a tight line as she kept her head down, waiting for whatever judgment Lilian would pass next.

Edgar turned to Lilian just to meet her furious expression. Her eyes burned with anger, not at Liora, but at Mira. He then understood this was not about Liora, maybe this was caused by presence of Mira here.

Mira was thirteen when she was sent to the palace. A child given away by her family, placed under palace’s service. Edgar had seen her grow in the palace, he was the one who appointed Mira to work at Lilian’s house but was later thrown out for a minor issue, Then he transferred her as Liora’s head maid and here she was, thrown into the fire of Lilian’s temper again.

’Poor girl’ he sighed.

But the bygones... let them be bygones. There was no point in digging up old wounds.

Instead, he did what he had always done. To calm doen the situatuion Edgar needed to bring the topic back to Liora.

Edgar gave a flick of his head in the direction of the four servants who came along with Queen Dowager’s carriage, were lining the doorway, he ordered. "Get Lady Liora."

The men stood stunned while amusement crossed their faces as they’d never laid eyes on Liora. How would they ever be able to get her? But wiser than to contradict Edgar, "Yes sir", they hung their heads and scurried off, more than likely looking for someone who had idea who Liora was. Edgar shifted his focus to Lilian,He spoke gingerly,

"Your Majesty, the girl is nothing but a maid. It could be that Lady Liora tricked her too. Perhaps she did not know..."

"No, she did not!" Mira spoke protesting Edgar’s statement. Her braids swung in air as she shook her head hard in No.

Edgar scowled. Foolish girl.

This was not what he desired, at least not now. Mira’s abrupt speech can only add fuel to the fire of Lilian’s wrath, It was about to work but Roseria held onto Lilian’s hand tighter than before, she was not willing to see Lilian punish Mira again, Roseria feared this girl would not be able to take it this time.

Edgar let out a sigh within. He needed to take charge of the situation before it spiraled out of control further,.

"Stop! Stop!" a lady cried; her heels were clackling on the floor.

Every head swiveled towards the door at the very moment that someone burst in.

Liora stood in the doorway, panting for air, her chest heaving with each breath. She looked like a mess. Her gown sleeves randomly folded up to her forearm, loose strands of hair escaping from the perfect hairstyle from morning. She resembled to nothing so much as the elegant concubine of an ex-prince.

"I am sorry...." Liora looked around but as Edgar’s tall stature was hiding Lilian from her, she could not see Lilian.

Liora stunned. "That was..." she muttered and looked at Mira, who was kneeling with her head bent. "Huh Mira..." she crouched down to look at Mira. She held Mira’s face by her chin and lifted it, just to see her teary eyes. "Why are you kneeling here...?" Roseria stood over her mother, lips pursed into a tight line. Layla, seated comfortably, now appeared amused, the edge of her lip curling as if struggling to suppress a smirk.

Edgar, for once, was speechless. His eyes swept over her tumbled looks, his mouth open. He was done now; looking at Liora made him slap himself in the face. This time he cannot try to control Lilian. A shudder crossed his face as a thought came to his mind.

’If I was revolted by this sight, then.. the..’

His head whipped round to Lilian, whose eyes were dark. "Girl,... bring the girl here," she ordered. Every one’s faces were having different expressions; some were gloomy, while others were excited to see what unfolds here.

That was when two servants out of four, were called inside by the maid, who heard Lilian’s order, and asked the servants to bring Liora. The servants marched upto Liora who was busy in wiping Mira’s tears, turned around just to see two men held her hands, Liora was baffled "Let me go.. what are you doing...Let me go?"

Layla’s face contorted into a scowl, her arms crossing tightly over her chest. She had already seen Liora’s awkward gait before, but now this? A tousled mess, sleeves rolled up like a stable boy, hair loose like a servant. Moreover Liora had not paid her respect to Lilian. This made Lilian look as a nothing. Even though there were no palace people here. But still It was an insult. And Lilian did not take insults.

Layla wondered how long Liora would be a concubine in this house, because maybe after this Liora might have a hard time. She had heard a few of Lilian’s punishments for people who disobeyed her; only people with certain status were excluded from her wrath, and maybe Liora was not anything more than that to her.

Liora was being dragged before Lilian. She was struggling against the firm grip of the servants; she was planting her feet firmly on the ground, trying to slow him down. Her heels scraped against the rough stone floor as she pushed back with all her strength. "What are you...ugh...doing?" she dug her toes, resisting it with her all.

Her legs buckled as she tried to push back, her heels skidding against the smooth surface, leaving faint streaks in her wake. They were wriggling out of their hold on her. Her dress bunched around her legs as she kicked and writhed, but her strength was no match for them. The friction burned against her skin.

Layla snorted in her heart as she saw Liora in that state; she seemed to be enjoying this, "Treats you well." While Roseria was not quiet and could not guess what would happen next.

"Make her kneel." Lilian ordered.