2. Be Insulted

Laura Legoza's heart harbored a garden now reduced to charred ruins. Once beautiful and hopeful, it lay destroyed, leaving only seething hatred and unending pain.

To confront the challenges ahead, she realized the necessity of resilience. Trapped in the dim, confined space, Laura gauged time by a small, high window. Nights stretched endlessly, suffused with loneliness and fear.

Cold, hungry, and still reeling from physical wounds, reminders of her torment persisted. As strength slowly returned, she gathered tattered clothing fragments for warmth.

Yet, the chill and fear persisted in her heart. Uncertain of her escape from this grim prison, she gazed warily at the wolf on the other side of the fence. Its eyes hinted at ferocity and cunning. Laura avoided meeting its gaze, dreading a loss of courage.

Some wounds had scabbed over, others remained raw and bloody, a terrifying sight. Yet, she felt only numbness, pain no longer registering, invading her mind.

She pondered ancient texts about mystical arrays, once ridiculed. Now, hope clung to the prospect of finding a chance for revenge within those pages. Exhaustion claimed her in a deep slumber, despite her heart brimming with hatred and resolve.

Revenge became her sole desire—to make those who inflicted pain pay for their crimes.

Meanwhile, on the castle's second floor, chambers echoed with repeated calls, servants dismissed.

"Your excitement over your fiancée's humiliation is telling, isn't it?"

Kathy asked breathlessly as her body heaved up and down.

"What else does she have, other than that face? I don't know who she's showing off to!"

"Didn't you just want to sleep with Laura before marriage but you were rejected? And now you feel good about it? I didn't think you were that petty~"

"Good about it?"

John smiled evilly and grabbed her neck.

"You know what makes me feel the best."

After that, Kathy took John's pants off, touched and took them out with her hands, made an up-and-down motion with her cherry-like mouth like eating ice cream, licking slowly from bottom to top with her tongue, and making circles there; Not even a single hand was idle, she reached down and touched the two balls.

Time had slipped away unnoticed.

"Splash!" Out of nowhere, a freezing cold basin of water drenched Laura, jolting her awake. She felt like she'd just dozed off, abruptly interrupted by the icy water.

Shivering uncontrollably, she struggled to sit up. The cold overwhelmed her, momentarily numbing the pain of her wounds.

The water trickled down her hair, drenching her face and clothes, leaving her in an unparalleled state of shame and humiliation.

"Sleeping peacefully with wolves now?"

Kathy Legoza's mocking voice echoed from above, laden with disdain and scorn. Laura wiped the water from her face, glancing up at the small, high window. The sky had brightened, yet the sunlight streaming through the cracks failed to thaw the cold and despair within her.

"The feral one can slumber with beasts just fine!" Elena, another cousin, chimed in with a sneering laugh, dripping with sarcasm and disdain.

Throughout the day, without a drop of water or a morsel of food, Laura's mouth felt dry, her tongue parched, her lips chapped and cracked, threatening to bleed. The desperate thirst tormented her, compelling her to lick the droplets of water that had fallen on her hair, hoping to relieve the agonizing dryness in her throat. Yet, this simple act invited nothing but sneers and mocking laughter from the surrounding nobles.

"Goodness, did you see what she did?" someone gasped, as though witnessing an unthinkable act.

"How repulsive! I never realized before that she pretends to be refined, but she's just as beastly as animals!" echoed another, disgust and contempt tainting their words.

"She's not even fit to be a dog in the Legoza family!" sneered someone else.

Laura remained motionless on the ground, the nobles' mocking laughter echoing painfully in her ears. She tried to feign deafness to their taunts, but their voices pierced her heart like needles, inflicting unbearable pain and humiliation. Biting down hard on her lower lip, she fought to contain her tears.

She understood that showing any sign of weakness would only embolden these people further.

"Darling, don't forget the day's agenda," John Barlow's false and malicious voice pierced her ears, feeling like a cruel sentence. Laura's heart sank further, anticipating the next wave of cruel and degrading torment.

"Huh, do I need to remind you? Guards!" Kathy's rude command cut through. Following her order, guards callously dropped a piece of bloody raw meat right beside Laura. The raw flesh emitted a nauseating stench of blood and wild animals, inducing a feeling of revulsion. Laura knew this vile act was a deliberate ploy by Kathy and others to torment and debase her.

Before Laura could process this horrifying ordeal, Kathy barked yet another order: "Proceed!" The barrier separating humans from animals slowly lifted once more. The nobles applauded and cheered enthusiastically, treating her suffering as if it were mere entertainment.

Summoning all her strength, Laura kicked the raw meat toward the corner where the wolves were. The chunk lay motionless, easier to control than a moving human. The wolves were immediately drawn to it, starting to gnaw on the meat in the corner.

"Hey, you despicable creature! Wasn't that your last meal for the rest of your life? Is this how you repay me?" Kathy's voice was filled with contempt as she shouted at Laura. Her face displayed anger and dissatisfaction, as if Laura's actions had crossed a line.

Starving and light-headed, Laura couldn't bring herself to eat with the animals. She clung to her dignity as a human being, the only thing she could hold onto in that moment. Fearlessly meeting Kathy's gaze, she expressed determination and courage through her unwavering look.

Unexpectedly, more food was thrown down from above, emitting a familiar scent. Upon inspection, it was leftovers from the nobles' feast—mashed-up steak speared with forks, bone-bare roasted chickens, discolored mashed potatoes, scattered fruit pits, and vegetable leaves… A mixture emitting an indescribable foul and sour stench.