bookbashuk Chapter 55 Suffocation
Chapter 55 Suffocation
Wendy leaned down, smiling as she looked at Buck, who was lying on the ground in pain from a cut on his hand: "The prize and good fortune belong to the first person to catch the shuttlecock. The rules of the celebration are clearly stated, right?"
"It's you! Cecilia's commoner teacher!" Buck shouted, pointing at him, his forehead covered in cold sweat from the pain. "Damn it! How dare you hurt me and steal my badminton shuttlecock!"
"This shuttlecock doesn't have your name on it, Mr. Buck," Wendy smiled. "Since I was the first to get it, it should be mine. And I'll take the girl and that other girl from the prize too!"
He was referring to Cecilia, who was surrounded by guards and was gradually losing ground.
Cecilia had already noticed the scene, her golden eyes filled with guilt.
She hadn't wanted to involve Ms. Wendy, but she was just too useless. If it weren't for Ms. Wendy, she probably wouldn't have been able to stop Buck...
Buck, enraged, stood up with the help of his guards, defiantly retorting, "You foolish pauper, after following Cecilia for so long, have you picked up that heroism too? How laughable! Do you know who stands before you? With just one order, you'll be hacked to death by a hail of swords!"
"The eldest son of the Lawrence family, the so-called heir, but in my opinion, you're not even worth a finger of Cecilia's." Wendy nonchalantly toyed with the ball, as if he didn't take his threat seriously at all. "As for the ending you mentioned, being hacked to death by a hail of swords—ha, you're welcome to try it."
He rarely said such harsh words, but it didn't seem out of place when he did, and his smiling face only made it more unsettling.
Buck suddenly felt a little scared, especially when he noticed the Eye of God at his waist and the arrow that had just wounded him.
He no longer cared about Cecilia and ordered everyone to seize this rebellious fellow.
Even though Cecilia knew that Wendy, as the holder of the Eye of God, was definitely more than he appeared, Cecilia was still worried that Wendy would be at a disadvantage in the face of so many people. After hesitating for a while, she finally made up her mind and ripped off the cloak that was used to cover his identity.
"Stop!" she shouted.
The guard was stunned by the Lawrence family's distinctive light blue hair and instinctively looked at Buck.
The latter didn't expect Cecilia to reveal her identity at this moment. Didn't she know that Lord Lawrence was watching the ceremony nearby? By making her sneaking out public, even she couldn't escape punishment, right?
It's a pity, he originally planned to use this as leverage to complain to Mr. Lawrence afterwards.
However, besides feeling regretful, he felt more annoyed at having his pride slapped.
He looked at the group of guards belonging to the Lawrence family. They were already confused by the sudden appearance of Cecilia, who was also a descendant of the Lawrence family. After all, they only obeyed the Lawrence name, not Buck himself, even if he was the designated successor.
"Damn it! Damn it!" With no one left to rely on, Buck could only draw his sword and save face.
Cecilia snatched a sword from a guard and assumed a fighting stance.
Buck was barely able to keep his expression down.
He had fought his sister before, and unfortunately, he was no match for Cecilia at all, not just in swordsmanship, but in every aspect.
If his father hadn't believed that only men were qualified to inherit everything from the Lawrence family, everything he had now would probably have been taken away by Cecilia long ago.
Even now, when facing her on the battlefield, Buck's body automatically recalled the feeling of being beaten up, and even the hand holding the sword trembled slightly involuntarily.
His blustering yet cowardly demeanor was obvious even to the onlookers. Someone started a mocking laugh, which then escalated.
Buck's face flushed red, as if he had been lifted onto a high platform by the laughter, and now he really had no way to advance or retreat.
Fortunately, Mr. Lawrence finally realized that he could not let things continue to develop in this way.
"Enough!" he shouted sharply. "Aren't you all ashamed enough?!"
As if he had finally found his pillar of support, Buck immediately dropped his sword and rushed towards him, crying, "Father! Look! Cecilia actually dared to do such a thing!"
"Shut up, Buck!" Mr. Lawrence gave him a disgusted look, but still did not stop him from hiding behind him.
He then turned to Cecilia: "How long do you intend to keep holding that sword? Do you really intend to harm your own brother?"
Cecilia tightened her grip on the sword, but finally chose to loosen it.
Mr. Lawrence knew her temperament, and his eyes showed a hint of satisfaction when he saw her yield.
He said loudly, "I'm sorry for this unpleasant incident during the badminton festival. I will handle the rest. Please continue to enjoy yourselves."
That's what he said, but anyone could tell it was just a polite way to get rid of them. No one dared to question him, and they could only watch helplessly as he took the people away.
*
Inside the Lawrence mansion, the butler stared in shock at Cecilia, who was walking in behind Mr. Lawrence.
He tried to hold back, but finally couldn't help glancing in the direction of Cecilia's room, then at Cecilia herself, and felt a sense of unreality.
If the atmosphere hadn't been so strange, he would have been on the verge of tears, asking her why she had lied to him.
Cecilia ignored his complicated gaze. After noticing Buck following closely behind Mr. Lawrence into the study, she paused slightly and stopped beside Wendy.
"Teacher Wendy, don't worry. No matter what Father says, just push all the blame onto me," she whispered.
She is, after all, his daughter, and no matter what, she will be fine. But Wendy is a different story. Given the Lawrence family's long-standing contempt for commoners, Wendy is unlikely to have a good end.
Cecilia knew that Wendy wouldn't agree to this, but the situation was different now, and he had to do it.
Before she could explain the implications to Wendy, the butler spoke up impatiently, "Miss Cecilia, please keep your distance from him. The master is still waiting for you inside."
"...I know." Cecilia had no choice but to give up and went inside before Wendy.
Buck seemed to have used this time difference to say something to Mr. Lawrence, and now he was no longer flustered. In fact, his gaze toward her had become gloating.
Sure enough, Mr. Lawrence's first words were a accusation: "Cecilia, I expect you to explain why you, who should be bedridden at home, are at the celebration, dressed like this?"
Clearly, the sudden rebelliousness of his once obedient daughter angered this controlling father more than his already unruly son, and he preferred to blame others for his own negligence.
"Perhaps someone said something to you without my knowledge, which led you astray?"
A cold gaze fell on Wendy.
Cecilia knew that anything she said at this moment would sound like she was defending Wendy, and would only make things worse. So she had to find another way to distract her father from questioning the matter for the time being.
She took a deep breath and took a step forward: "I'm sorry, Father, it was indeed wrong of me to go out without permission, and I am willing to accept the punishment."
The show of weakness improved Mr. Lawrence's mood somewhat.
As the person directly facing Lord Lawrence, Cecilia was the first to sense this softening attitude.
She breathed a sigh of relief, then changed the subject, asking, "But before that, I hope you can answer my question, Father."
"What's the problem?"
"Did you condone Buck's actions at the badminton festival?"
Mr. Lawrence remained silent.
Such a reaction speaks volumes; even though Cecilia had anticipated it, her heart still sank.
She suddenly felt suffocated, and her voice rose: "How could you do this! Aren't these the people we're supposed to protect?! How could you let Buck bully them! Where is your responsibility in inscribing Lawrence in the family precepts?!"
Lord Lawrence let her vent her emotions until she choked with disappointment and could no longer speak, then he coldly said, "Cecilia, what makes you think this is an insult? Just as Buck said, I've protected you too well, so well that you have no idea what's going on outside Mondstadt."
"Do you know about the rampage caused by the dragon Usa? If it weren't for the Lawrence family's ability to temporarily control the dragon and take in the refugees, do you know they would all have ended up in the dragon's belly? Since we protected them, they naturally need to pay the price. Although Buck's actions were inappropriate, it's actually an honor for that commoner to be favored by the young master of the Lawrence family! She's much luckier than her compatriots; she only needs to give up her body to get more food and a better place to live!"
Lord Lawrence didn't expect his daughter, who was always confined to the house, to understand this, so he simply waved to the butler to bring up the young girls from the celebration.
The butler was very efficient, and the girl quickly stood timidly in the middle of the crowd.
Mr. Lawrence's eyes remained unwaveringly contemptuous, yet he still managed a hypocritical smile: "Come, tell this young lady who's been scheming to save you, do you really need her to save you?"
The girl almost immediately knelt on the ground in fear.
"What are you doing?" Mr. Lawrence chuckled. "I'm just asking you a question, don't act like I'm threatening you."
"No, I wouldn't dare..." the girl answered tremblingly, looking at Cecilia as he instructed. Her eyes were still filled with tears, but she whispered, "Thank you, Miss, I don't need your help... thank you so much..."
Cecilia stared at her in astonishment.
She knew the girl was lying, but why? She was right there, standing right in front of her, so why couldn't she believe her?
The feeling of suffocation grew stronger and stronger. Cecilia could clearly feel her heart beating faster and faster in her chest, as if it was trying its best to draw in oxygen.
Suddenly everything went black, and she collapsed.
(End of this chapter)
The author says: (scratching head) I bet you'll never guess what the next chapter will be about.