"Sir Evans, the commander of the royal knight order, was simply kind enough to let me stay at his house during a mission. He and I are knights first, not man and woman. What’s wrong with staying at a colleague’s house when I’ve returned late from work? If anything is wrong, it’s probably your rotten mind, Father!"
Herbert, struck by Lillian’s sharp words, fumed with even more rage. He spat as he voiced his nonsensical accusations.
"How dare you lie so shamelessly with that open mouth! Like mother, like daughter, huh? The mission was just an excuse, and you stayed there to seduce a man. You filthy slut. What’s the difference between you and the women who sell their bodies in the back alleys?!"
Lillian was left speechless, her mind in utter disbelief. How could a father compare his own daughter to a prostitute? Especially when he had never once acted like a father? Herbert was the type of man who drank away the money Lillian earned with her sweat and blood. And now, this!
‘This is trash!’
Lillian didn’t know much about her father, but he was notorious in the knight order, for all the wrong reasons. Because of him, even men who might have considered courting her quickly turned away. Who would want a woman whose father was such a disgrace?
Enrique’s unusually lenient proposal probably stemmed from this very reason. He must have been worried about what would happen to Lillian if she resigned from the order and was left to deal with her father.
Of course, Lillian had no idea about Enrique’s considerations. She stood there in shock, staring at her father’s trash-like face.
"What’s got you so stiff, raising your head high like that?! You shameless girl! You must’ve stayed at that man’s house to seduce him! You wanted wealth and luxury that badly, huh? You vulgar woman!"
“Ahhh!!”
Lillian remained silent, causing Herbert to assume she had been intimidated. Seizing the opportunity, he kicked her. Lillian, stunned by the shock, was hit in the stomach and fell backward. Herbert, his eyes wide with fury, grabbed a fire poker from beside the fireplace.
"This time, I’ll make sure you never tarnish the Rosetti family name again!!"
Herbert was dead serious. Lillian should never marry, never meet a man. She was the sole money-making tool for the Rosetti family, his personal wallet. She was born to make money for him, and to abandon that duty for some man was something he could never accept.
‘That face of his...’
Herbert swung the fire poker toward Lillian’s face. Though she was a knight, she was still a woman. If he left an ugly scar on her face, no one would want her. With this calculation in mind, Herbert swung with no hesitation.
Fortunately, Lillian reflexively raised her arm and blocked the fire poker. Her face was unharmed, but her arm, struck by the metal, burned with pain. The intense ache made her want to cry out. This was serious. If Herbert was wielding a weapon, it was a whole different matter.
"We’ll see how long you can block, you bitch! You’ll die today, and so will I!!"
Herbert, spitting with rage, swung the poker again. Lillian hastily stood up and dodged. If she blocked with her arm again, it felt like her bones would be shattered. A sudden fear gripped her — what if she couldn't use her arm afterward?
Luckily, Herbert’s drunken attacks lacked precision. A couple of times, the fire poker swung through the air and struck the floor instead. Swearing under his breath, Herbert yanked the poker back up and aimed it at Lillian, cornering her.
"Ahhh!!"
Lillian instinctively twisted her body to avoid it, but the poker scraped her shoulder. The sharp impact made her shoulder crash into the wall, and a loud clatter rang out. The pain shot through her, making her vision blur and her arm seize up in agony. Lillian looked at Herbert’s gleaming eyes, now filled with sadistic pleasure.
"You damn bitch! You managed to dodge that, huh?"
If she took another hit from the fire poker, it would be catastrophic. Lillian realized she had to act quickly. Before Herbert could swing again, she lunged at the end of the poker, grabbing it tightly. The two engaged in a struggle, Herbert roaring as he tried to pull it back.
"You bitch?! Won’t let go?!"
"Stop! Stop it!!"
Lillian, emotionally drained, shouted at him. This was it. She was fed up with her life as a supporting role and with all the endless problems that kept coming her way. It felt like her mind was on the verge of breaking. She wanted to smash everything in frustration.
"Let go! Let go! You damn...!!"
Herbert cursed as he tried to twist the poker away from her. His plan was to throw her aside, but Lillian held her ground. With a surge of strength, she remained firm, pulling back and causing Herbert to topple forward.
"Ugh!!"
To his unfortunate luck, Herbert fell right into the fireplace. The flames, which had been burning brightly, immediately ignited his hair and shirt. His face and ears burned severely, and he jumped up, flailing wildly to put out the fire.
"Ahhh! Fire! Fire!!!"
Lillian stood frozen in shock, still holding the fire poker. Herbert, now a human torch, thrashed about, his skin charred and cracked, the stench of burning flesh overwhelming the room.
The pain from his burns was excruciating, like being stung repeatedly by bees. Herbert, foaming at the mouth, was crazed, charging toward Lillian. It was unclear whether he wanted her to put out the fire or attack her, but with flames engulfing his body, his approach was terrifying. If she allowed him to get too close, she too would be set on fire.
"Ahh! Don’t come near!!"
Lillian, unable to think clearly, swung the fire poker at Herbert. The situation escalated so quickly that she didn’t even realize how much force she used. Unfamiliar with her own strength, she struck Herbert’s head squarely.
Crack—!
The unpleasant sound echoed through the air, like a watermelon being smashed or an old pottery jar cracking. In reality, it was the sound of Herbert’s decaying skull shattering.
Warm liquid splattered onto Lillian’s face. It was Herbert’s blood. The heavy thud of his body hitting the floor came next, followed by a convulsive jerk. His limbs curled up like a squid before going limp. It was an unmistakable death.
The sound of his final breath gurgled out, and then—
Clink—!
Lillian, now too weak to hold onto the poker, let it fall. Her face turned pale as she confirmed Herbert’s death. She wiped the blood from her face with trembling hands, her eyes fixated on the corpse.
‘I... I... killed someone...!!’
Of course, she didn’t want to die as a supporting role. She still dreamed of pushing the main characters aside and standing in their place. But killing someone, even if it was her father, had never been part of that plan.
In her past life in South Korea, Chae Soyeon was selfish but never a murderer. She was utterly confused, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Her gaze alternated between her bloodstained hands and Herbert’s lifeless body.
"Ughhh..."
At that moment, Seth, still unconscious on the floor, groaned. She had not regained consciousness during all the commotion. Lillian, seeing her foolish, open-mouthed face, snapped back to reality.
‘Right, this isn’t the time for this!’
She hurriedly picked up Seth and carried her out of the room, depositing her in a random one. Thankfully, Lillian’s training had made her strong enough to move Seth, despite her being no lightweight.
After setting Seth down, Lillian returned to the room with shaking steps. She lowered her head, staring at the lifeless body of the man who had been her father. His head was cracked, half-burned, and grotesque. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
In a panic, Lillian opened the window and took in the cold air, desperately trying to think through her next steps.
‘What do I do with this body now?’