Chapter 195 – Leticia’s crimes
Translator – Yue
Leticia’s beautiful face paled. She tightened her fist with all her strength. There was no way to deny that. She’d even publicly threatened Count Clovis’ wife… she told her, if she didn’t want to die a cruel death by poison, she’d better keep her mouth shut.
Before, she could say those words freely thanks to the Count. Count Clovis’ deeply desired her body, and she took advantage of that. Leticia thought it was a fair trade.
But one day, her world turned upside-down. She’d become a wanted criminal. These news made her burst out in fury.
“Then, what should I do?” Leticia yelled with a hoarse voice. “You mean I’ve lived my life till now for nothing? That crawling on the floor as an illegitimate child didn’t amount to anything? Even if I didn’t wish for any of these? I… I never asked for any of these!”
Her label and title of illegitimate daughter followed her everywhere since birth. Those echoes penetrated her ears since tender age, and continued to do so after she’d learnt the human language. She wasn’t the one to blame for her birth’s condition. Perhaps her father could have put an end to those rumors. Her father, noble by birth. He had wealth, power… but he barely held onto the minimum pension he received from Rihannan. He never stood up for her. Things only got worse when he started trying his luck gambling, and his debts snowballed.
“I never wanted to kill my own father, my own blood. But if you’d found out you were being sold as a slave to pay for his debts, you would have done something too, right? That’s why I killed him! I never wanted to do it! I…”
Her own blood, the father that had once promised her a new world, had threatened to sell his daughter into servitude and slavery. That was the only way he had left to pay off his growing debts. And when she found out about that, she realized she needed to put him aside in order to survive. She was all alone in this world.
She quickly bought poison. Had she poisoned him over an extended period of time, the chances of someone finding out his real cause of death were high. She needed something potent, something that killed instantly. She found it a little later. One day, her father came home drunk. In his drunkenness, she mixed the poison in his glass. Her father noticed his body was reacting strangely, but it was already too late. He tried calling for the servants, but Leticia hurried up and covered his face with a pillow till he breathed for the last time.
He didn’t breath anymore. Leticia laid him down in a blanket covered with bloodstains. She opened a bottle of pills and put it beside him. After a job well done, she rubbed her hands and instructed the servants not to disturb him, since he was deep in sleep.
Finally, the worst was over.
And just as she’d expected, when they found out about his death, his family members were ashamed of the fact that he’d committed suicide after accumulating massive debts due to gambling. They quickly covered up his cause of death.
After her father’s dead, she received one single pension, but debt collectors soon took everything away from her. On the other hand, her father’s side of the family treated Leticia as though she were a leech. At that moment, a noble lady that was walking by took pity on her and offered her a position in her home.
How about you come with me to my home and work as a maid? Since you are of half noble origin, I’ll make sure you won’t have to do any hard labor. It will be enough if you clean the office room.
Leticia’s happiness was short lived. A deep hatred towards this noble lady surged within her after hearing her words. This noble was behaving as though she was doing her some sort of huge favor. That was ridiculous. She would still work as a simple maid. Bitterness spread in her heart.
She thought of throwing poison at her face.
When the noble lady married again, this time to Viscount Olbach, Leticia realized her chance for revenge had come.
A few charming smiles later, the old foolish Viscount quickly fell in love with Leticia. His noble wife witnessed them reach climax together. Trembling with fury, he yelled at Leticia.
I was generous to a commoner like you and this is how you pay me! I let a snake into my house!
The noble lady even wondered why her husband had cheated on her like that. She was old and ugly, so he was logically lusting after a younger face. Leticia gave him just that. The noble lady used up all the power she could muster to throw Leticia out of the house, but failed. Leticia killed her. She’d killed her for insulting her. Maybe because she’d done this before, this second crime came easier to her.
“I’m sure this has all been planned by the Queen” Leticia said.
All this time, she never faced any problems. Nobody ever dared threaten her, but it all got twisted after meeting the Queen.
“It’s the royal family. Their footprints are everywhere” the man confirmed. “Grand Chamberlain Basil got personally involved in this matter”.
Enraged, Leticia clenched her teeth. Who put her in this mess? In this messy, problem-riddled life of hardships? That was her step-sister’s mother. If that woman hadn’t stolen her father’s love, her parents would have lived happily ever after within a formal wedding ceremony. She wouldn’t have been an illegitimate child.
However, in spite of all that, her step-sister didn’t feel an ounce of empathy for her nor the life she’d been dealt with. She even went as far as revealing the sins Leticia had committed.
“Please, don’t worry. I want to help you, Viscountess”.
Hearing these surprising words, Leticia lifter her head. “You’ll help me?”
“I’ll help you exact revenge on the Queen, Viscountess. Isn’t that what you want?”
“And why would you do that? How would that benefit you? And, who are you?”
The man remained silent for a while, just smiling to the red-haired beauty in front of him. “Shouldn’t you consider your own situation before demanding to know my identity?”
“My situation?” Leticia scoffed. “I’m quite aware of it”.
“I’m thinking of tossing you aside if you are of no use to me”.
Leticia’s lips parted slightly. The man continued speaking.
“If you are worried I’ll have you killed, that will not be necessary. I don’t like such barbaric methods. But if you do not want to get revenge, that’s fine. I’m thinking of setting you free. It will take less than a day for the soldiers to find you and throw you into a cold cell, anyways. They are wandering around this place. You will not be able to escape, not without help”.
Leticia understood the restless feeling she got when she first met this man. He hid a dark secret. Compared to her, this man was a snake with mortally venomous fangs. His comment about tossing her aside if she refused to help weren’t hollow threats. Besides, he’d kept her alive all this time just to set his plans into motion.
“What do you want me to do?”
The man shook his head. “I recommend you make a decision. If you decide to get revenge on the Queen, we’ll help you. We’ll give you the chance to infiltrate the Palace and stick a knife into the Queen’s heart. On the other hand, if you decide not to do that, you can simply leave this place whenever you please”.
“Why are you making that suggestion?”
“The reason isn’t important. I’m just giving you options. It all depends on you, whether you are willing to carry out your vengeance or calmly rot in prison”.
Leticia’s red eyes violently shook.
Reading her expression, then man said “Ok. Now, I’m asking you again, what are you going to do?”
She was trapped in a dark alley with no exit. In order to live, to survive, she had to agree on his plan.
“…do you have an appropriate plan?” she asked through clenched teeth.
The man laughed, delighted. “The Queen will soon hold a birthday banquet”.
This reply had no relation to her question. Leticia frown, but the man suddenly hit the table with his fist.
“Since you’ve agreed on exacting vengeance, let us now begin our talks regarding the plan”.
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