CHAPTER 140: A PROMISE BROKEN

Having maneuvered Ian into a private confrontation, Beatrix aimed to fix what she felt was broken between them. For seven years, a cherished promise had fueled all her effort and magic.

Ian wanted to say something, but she put a finger on his lips, gently shushing him before turning to Edmond, who was watching the two from the sofa he was lying on without a hint of shame. He seemed rather uncomfortable about what Beatrix was doing, but what Beatrix did next annoyed him greatly.

"TRANSMIX!"

Her magic word created an invisible bubble between her and Ian that only allowed voices to travel inside without escaping outside, before completely dampening the vocal vibrations.

"This?"

Ian felt the spell around him, and as he spoke, he felt even stranger, as the voice he was hearing was distorting and not reflecting back to his ears, creating a very weird feeling.

"No one will hear us like this, dear Ian."

As Beatrix said, Ian turned around to see that Edmond had completely sat up and looked at the two with piercing eyes, as if he was going to read their lips if he could not hear them speak. According to the orders of the Crown Prince, Beatrix was not to be disturbed while she was working on tracking and tormenting the Bloody Swan.

Once Beatrix noticed that, she became upset and waved her other hand, saying something that Edmond could not quite hear, but Ian heard it clearly.

"UMBRUM!"

Suddenly, the area around Ian and Beatrix was enveloped in an ink-like smoke that spread in the shape of a sphere and blocked Edmond’s vision.

Now he could neither hear nor see—an annoying situation. But if he were to act by himself and try to breach the magic, no one knew how that unhinged Beatrix might react.

Back inside the dark bubble—which did not block the light from coming in but rather altered its characteristics when reflecting at a certain radius—it was only Beatrix and Ian facing each other in complete privacy.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, now no longer willing to put up any mask in front of her beloved.

"What?" Ian frowned. "That’s my question. What is wrong with you?"

"I..." Beatrix was at a loss for words. "I merely wanted to speak with you privately... without them distracting you."

"Is that what you call privacy?" Ian seemed displeased. "You insulted Lady Matilda and drove her out of her drawing room in her house."

"Please, stop bringing up that girl’s name," Beatrix asked him with a tragic face.

"What girl? Her name is Lady Matilda, and you have insulted her quite enough for the past three days."

"Why are you defending her? Didn’t you tell me we would have each other’s backs?"

"What?"

"Seven years ago, dear Ian, you told me that. You said that you could not wait until you saw my magic when I became a great sorceress."

"Good Lord in heaven!" Ian smacked his face and shook his head. "Seven years ago? Are you still a child? Do you even realize what is at stake here?"

"Wh..."

Beatrix was taken aback by the sudden coldness she was given.

"Are you..."

She wanted to say something.

She wanted the pain to disappear.

She wanted to hold back her tears.

She stuttered in her thoughts while struggling to utter a single word.

"Are you angry with me?" she asked. "I am sorry, dear Ian. I... I didn’t mean..."

"I’m not angry. It’s just..." Ian was royally annoyed by the overflow of feelings Beatrix was having, so he decided to proceed the only way he knew how. "We haven’t seen each other before this situation for at least a year. I tried reaching out to you, but meeting you once a year is simply too much. How do you expect me to be your dear Ian?"

Beatrix closed her eyes, shaken by every word she heard, and her breathing was all over the place.

"So... you are angry because we... haven’t courted for a long time?" she mustered enough courage to ask. "You know... I was doing what you wished of me... I was working hard to be a great sorceress."

"Are you?"

"..."

She looked at him and finally lost all words. She had nothing but tears at this point, coming down her face, with two black trails as her makeup smudged her cheeks.

"I... I see... I am sorry."

Beatrix lowered her head, and her magic dissipated from the place like a waning flame.

"Don’t apologize to me!" Ian said as he softened his voice, but without any remorse, he followed up with, "Apologize to Lady Matilda."

Since the spell was cast and broken, sorcerers like Matilda and Ronald had had enough time to come back from wherever they had headed and enter the room right at the moment Ian said so.

Beatrix’s eyes hung over Ian’s image as he was pointing toward the door Matilda had come from, and then those eyes traveled, averted slightly, to see the heroine in question.

"I..."

An "I" was choked in Beatrix’s throat as she forgot to breathe from her nose and only panted from her mouth, her body’s heat rising, and she had to force all the words out.

"I’ve never been good enough."

She wasn’t sure if she had said that or had not said it; something in her head may have blocked her from hearing what she blurted... probably just nonsense at this point.

Someone had to intervene, Edmond thought. If Matilda spoke, Beatrix would go crazy. If it were Ronald, somehow the relationship between the two siblings was not filial enough.

But right then and there...

RUCKUS!

... things got noisy outside the manor, and as Edmond hastily walked out to check on whatever was happening, the door to the mansion was opened, and a guard came inside running. The moment he almost ran into Edmond, he turned to Matilda and spoke.

"My lady, someone is out there claiming to be your senior. They are forcing their way through the house guards."

"Hey! You are not allowed to come in."

The voice of another guard was heard, but then a thud was heard, followed by a crisp female voice:

"Move out of the way, or else."

Edmond saw who was coming, and before anyone else could join him...

"Edith?" he blurted, but then saw the other person coming behind her. "De Clare?"

"The coward is back?" Ian spoke disdainfully of Valentine.

"No." Ronald shook his head once, and his face twitched. "It smells like a woman."

"Step aside, brother. This madness has to stop," Edith said as she walked through the hallway with relentless momentum.

However, right before she would reach him, the person behind her held her shoulder and passed her.

"Let me handle him," Isabella said, and with a cunning smile, she arrived at Edmond and pushed him back with nothing but her aura. "Long time no see, Softy."

As if possessed by a spell, Edmond’s eyes almost lit on fire, but a second later, a slap hit his face out of nowhere, and his fire was doused in a single second.

"When did you learn to look at mommy with those eyes?" She looked at him and saw how he could not stop facing the ground. Then, with a satisfied smile, she spoke, "That’s better. Good girl, Softy."

She then turned and spoke to the people in the room.

"Which one of you plebs is Beatrix Morgan?"