Elaine threw herself forward and clung desperately to her mother's coffin, her face torn and bloodied, the wounds and tears mingling into something almost unrecognizable and horrifying.
Her voice was hoarse, rising again and again in broken cries, half plea and half threat. "My lord! I beg you… please, I beg you, don't do this! Adrian! Adrian, are you trying to drive me to my death?"
She had nowhere left to turn. At this moment, she did not even know what else she could do. She had no money or power, only her own life and the hollow title of duchess consort she barely wore, as if it were a second skin.
At that moment, Lydia released her hand from her cheek. A thin line of blood had appeared there without her noticing. She stared at her hand and cried out in shock. "Ah… my face!"
Then s
