BAM!
The door slammed shut as soon as Ruby was thrown inside the room. The woman grimaced softly. She tried to get up and dragged her body toward the corner of the room, to be precise, toward her mother—Helena Barnette—whose legs and arms were tied with iron chains.
Helena's appearance looked very messy, her clothes looked shabby, and her hair was tangled because she always messesed her hair.
"Oscar! Oscar, did you come to see Mother?!" Helena screamed hysterically when she heard the sound of the door opening. Her hands that were held by chains trying to reached Ruby's figure, who she thought was Oscar.
The pain in Ruby's heart was getting more prominent when she watched her mother's condition worsen daily. The beauty that used to surround Helena had disappeared because of her madness, the tenderness and love that always shone in her eyes vanished along with Oscar's death.
Ruby slowly took Helena's hand, then wrote a few sentences in her mother's palm. "It's me, Ruby."
Helena was silent for a moment. She tilted her head to get a better look at Ruby's face, then said, "Ruby? Did Ruby come to tell Mother where Oscar is?"
Ruby smiled wryly. She wrote the sentence in Helena's palm. "Oscar is busy, Mother. Now he is going to a faraway place."
"When will he come back?"
Ruby looked at Helena with a sad look. "I don't know. I can't predict it."
Helena held her daughter's hand tightly, tears running down her dirty cheeks. "Can Ruby go find Oscar and tell him to come home soon? Please, tell Oscar that Mother misses him very much."
Ruby lowered her head and didn't reply to Helena's words for a while.
Even her biological mother never paid attention to her and instead paid more attention to her long-dead older brother.
It seemed that her birth was indeed a big mistake.
"Ruby," Helena asked again, "Don't you want to find your older brother?! Do you also think Oscar is already dead?!"
Helena's voice gradually grew louder, almost hysterical. Her hands relentlessly shook Ruby's shoulders violently until the woman grimaced for the Umpteenth time.
Blue and purple colors radiated around Helena's body, indicating that her heart was filled with deep sadness and fear.
It was these two feelings that ultimately drove Helena into madness.
Ruby then touched Helena's cheek. Instantly all the color of feelings attached to Helena's body faded and turned white. At that moment, Helena's heart which was previously filled with confusion, became as calm as a puddle of water on a lake.
Ruby wrote the words, "It's okay, Mother. In a little while, we will reunite with Oscar."
Because without the protection of the Barnette Family, Ruby and Helena wouldn't be able to survive out there. They had no money to buy food and shelter, nor did they have the fighting ability to protect themselves.
The only ability Ruby has is seeing the color of the feelings of the people in front of her. A power she couldn't use to survive.
Ruby may have to work as a waitress or beggar if she wants to survive on the streets. At least it was better than being a whore for the werewolves in heat.
[But if there's no other choice, being a prostitute doesn't seem bad either.] Ruby thought.
Because even though Ruby didn't have combat skills, Ruby's appearance was quite beautiful in the eyes of men. Her skin looked as bright as a pearl. When Ruby lowered her head, her long, curly eyelashes would drop, adorning her beautiful peach eyes shape.
Her lips were as red as an apple, seeming to be able to seduce a man in no time. Her wavy golden hair looked soft and made her face look adorable.
If only Ruby weren't disabled, all men in the Wridal Kingdom would be willing to do anything to mark Ruby as their mate.
Unfortunately, Ruby wasn't born as a perfect woman, so the men in the Wridal Kingdom prefer to turn a blind eye to her.
• • •
"From today onwards, you are no longer part of the Barnette Family!"
When the sun had just risen, Marquess Barnette had asked the guards to drag Ruby and Helena out of the Barnette Family mansion. They weren't even given a penny or food supplies. Ruby could only carry a shabby bag containing her and Helena's clothes.
Ruby then looked at Marquess Barnette with a fierce look. For years she had tried to restrain herself from being impolite to Marquess Barnette because she wanted to live a peaceful life. However, after being kicked out, Ruby no longer wanted to maintain her decency and preferred to berate her father before she left.
Buk!
Ruby threw a pile of papers on Marquess Barnette's face. Each sheet of paper was written in various harsh languages, which were the contents of Ruby's heart that she had endured all this time.
[You Bastard! If I die, my spirit will haunt you, then kill you in your sleep!] Ruby wrote on one of the papers.
[Jerk! I hope you and the entire Barnette Family will fall into poverty one day!]
[Bastard! Jerk! Pinhead! All of you are shit!]
Marquess Barnette's face turned red with anger. His hand holding some of the papers trembled and immediately kneaded them until they were almost torn.
"How dare you insult me like this! Was the punishment I gave yesterday not enough?!" shouted Marquess Barnette.
Marquess Barnette then raised the cane he was holding, then was about to throw a punch at Ruby. However, his hand movements immediately stopped when he heard a horse carriage moving toward the Barnette Family's mansion.
Marquess Barnette felt surprised, as did Ruby, who repeatedly rubbed her eyes to ensure that what she saw was not a hallucination.
On the horse carriage covered in silver and gold, there was a symbol that could make everyone who saw it shudder and not dare to move.
Symbol of two wolves flanking a sword and crown.
The Symbol of the Veritas Kingdom.
A kingdom ruled by a Lycan known to be cruel and cold-hearted.
"Why is there a carriage from the Veritas Kingdom here?" Marquess Barnette asked the soldier beside him.
The soldier shook his head quickly. "I don't know either, Your Grace."
Ruby also questioned the same thing because it was unusual for people from Veritas to set foot on another kingdom's land.
At first, Ruby thought that the horse carriage just happened to be crossing the Barnette Family mansion. But, her guess was refuted after seeing the horse carriage from the Veritas Kingdom suddenly stop right in front of the Barnette Family mansion gate.
Not long after, the carriage door opened, revealing a man wearing the golden insignia of the Veritas Kingdom on his chest. His appearance was elegant, his long black hair was tied back, and there were no tangles in his silk clothes.
Based on the man's appearance, Ruby could guess he had a high position in the Veritas Kingdom.
"Good morning, Marquess. I am the royal adviser of Veritas, Alger Bournee." A gentle smile appeared on the man's face as he said, "We hope our arrival doesn't disturb you."
Marquess Barnette immediately straightened his appearance and tried to smile kindly in front of the honorable guest in front of him. "No! You don't bother us at all. It is an honor for the Barnette Family to receive guests from the Veritas Kingdom. Do you need anything from the Barnette Family?"
Alger's presence made Marquess Barnette feel overbearing because he thought maybe the Veritas Kingdom wanted to offer cooperation that could benefit the Marquess.
Unfortunately, Alger had no interest in Marquess Barnette. His two dark eyes completely fell on Ruby, who had been staring at Alger with her round eyes for a long time.
"His Majesty the King of Veritas wishes to speak to Lady Ruby. If the Lady doesn't mind, Lady may enter the carriage so that she can speak privately with His Majesty."
Suddenly Ruby looked shocked. She repeatedly glanced at the horse carriage and Alger in turn. Alger's words revealed that the number one person of the Veritas Kingdom was in the carriage. A person whose name doesn't dare to be mentioned by the people of the Raeludin Empire.
Matthew Harelle.
But what surprised her even more, was why a king like Matthew would come all the way to the Wridal Kingdom and want to talk to Ruby.
Before Ruby could react, she heard Marquess Barnette shouts, "Greetings to His Majesty King Veritas! Sorry for my rudeness in not knowing your presence!"
Ruby rolled her eyes and said inwardly, [You dog. Constantly licking the feet of important people.]
Buk!
Suddenly Marquess Barnette hit Ruby's head and cursed at her. "Where are your manners? Quickly bow your head before His Majesty and apologize! You must have misbehaved again that His Majesty the King of Veritas wants to see you!"
Ruby glared at Marquess Barnette. [How can I have a problem with him if I've never met him before?!]
Because of Ruby's gaze, Marquess Barnette wanted to hit her head again, but his movements were stopped by hearing a low voice from inside the carriage.
"Are all the men in the Wridal Kingdom a jerk wild wolf? Your alpha rejects the woman he was meant for, while a father beats up his own daughter."
A pair of golden eyes suddenly appeared from the carriage window, looking smoldering as if they wanted to burn Marquess Barnette into dust.