Chapter 101: Another Branch

Emilia’s final warning made Vivienne’s heart leap into her throat.

’Did they find out I slapped Shani and kicked her baby beast this morning? But wasn’t the application already submitted yesterday? Today’s incident shouldn’t be able to halt the process, right?’

With her mind swarmed by unsettling questions, Vivienne headed back to the Ashbourne estate.

Upon entering the mansion, Vivienne made her way upstairs to find her mother, only for Dominic to step out from his study just as she reached the second floor landing.

Catching sight of his daughter, Dominic glared at her with furious, bloodshot eyes. He closed the distance in swift, menacing strides—

SLAP!

"You wretched child!"

Unprepared for the strike, Vivienne stumbled backward and slammed onto the floor.

Emilia stepped out of her room at that exact moment. "Ah!" she gasped, as if she were the one who had been struck.

She rushed to Vivienne’s side, checking her daughter’s reddened cheek and the trace of blood at the corner of her lips.

Her heart ached for her child, but unable to vent her rage at her husband, she channeled all of it into burning hatred toward Shani and Nora.

Vivienne herself felt deeply indignant, yet equally bewildered by what was happening.

"You did the stupidest thing possible!" Dominic roared, raising his hand to slap her again.

Emilia quickly shielded Vivienne behind her.

"Vivienne was in the wrong, but she couldn’t have predicted this would happen! That insolent Nora took advantage of Vivienne, and that ungrateful Shani pushed this issue until it got this complicated!"

"Do you think your words can change anything?" Dominic snapped coldly. "Move before I hit you too, just like this wretched child!"

Emilia didn’t budge. "Family Head, now is not the time to blame Vivienne. We need to settle this matter immediately—"

"You think we have a chance to settle it? Given Shani’s stubborn nature, she’ll never agree! And now, even the law isn’t on our side!" Dominic vented, his frustration boiling over.

"Shani only has a dispute with Vivienne, with our branch. She can only refuse to join our branch. But within House Ashbourne, there are other branches..." Emilia spoke slowly, a sinister idea forming.

Dominic raised an eyebrow.

He remembered his useless younger brother, who could accomplish nothing and had ended up seeking refuge with his family in the capital city.

He hadn’t yet permitted his brother to enter the mansion, intending to sever ties to shed the dead weight. Fortunately, he had been too busy over the past few months to take action.

"It turns out we can still exploit the law after all," a cunning smile spread across Dominic’s face before he turned and walked away.

Ever since being struck, Vivienne hadn’t moved or uttered a single word. Watching her father leave, she immediately turned to her mother, demanding an explanation.

Emilia recounted everything that had transpired during the meeting.

Vivienne’s eyes widened in shock. "That idiot Nora put me on speaker?!"

Emilia let out a heavy sigh. She knew her daughter wouldn’t be stupid enough to speak so carelessly. As it turned out, Nora had indeed set her up.

Vivienne stared in utter disbelief. She had never imagined her words that day would be recorded. She didn’t even know Nora and that woman named Mrs. Rourken had met inside a taxi.

Her hands clenched into tight fists. "Where is Nora?"

"In the back, preparing dinner," Emilia answered.

Without another word, Vivienne stormed off.

Emilia knew her daughter wanted to unleash her fury. To her, doing so was good for her daughter’s mental health, so she didn’t bother stopping her.

Indeed, Vivienne was looking to vent her rage.

Catching sight of Nora in a maid uniform, which she hadn’t worn since officially becoming a Grand Academy student, Vivienne’s anger reached its boiling point.

"Stupid servant!" Vivienne shoved Nora hard, uncaring that Nora’s arm scraped painfully against the edge of the counter.

She kicked Nora’s leg, forcing the girl to her knees, followed by slap after slap across her face.

The servants standing nearby could only back away, lowering their heads with trembling bodies.

Vivienne’s brutal outbursts were hardly a rare occurrence, every single one of them had received at least a slap before, yet that didn’t make them any more accustomed to the violence.

After ten minutes, Vivienne finally stopped. She stretched her hands and spat on Nora.

"Don’t you ever dare try to use me again!"

With that, Vivienne strutted out of the kitchen, leaving Nora curled up on the cold floor.

A servant quickly called for the nurse hired specifically to treat servants who received "punishments."

Nora rose to her feet with the help of the other maids. Her body was badly battered, but as a C-Rank beastman, she had managed to protect her vital internal organs.

"What happened?!" Nora’s mother, who worked in another wing of the mansion, rushed over with a panic-stricken face.

Another maid quickly explained what had just transpired, as Nora’s lips and jaw were currently in too much pain to speak.

Stepping closer, a third maid whispered, "I saw the Master slap the Miss..." She then went on to recount what she had witnessed up on the second floor.

Nora’s eyes widened in surprise before sparkling with delight, the corners of her lips curving into a subtle smirk.

When she called Vivienne that day, the thought of a taxi’s dashcam recording her voice hadn’t even crossed her mind.

She had only used Vivienne so that if things went south, Mrs. Rourken would throw Vivienne under the bus instead.

Unfortunately, House Ashbourne’s legal team had gotten to Mrs. Rourken first, bribing her to leave Vivienne out of it.

Yet through such a roundabout turn of events, Vivienne’s involvement had been exposed anyway. Naturally, Nora was thrilled.

...

Inside the fast-moving hovercar, Elias Theron turned to look at his Direct Student’s candidate, who was sitting upright like an untouchable high-ranking official.

He clicked his tongue, glared at the boy, and turned his gaze back toward the window.

Jeryon ignored the old man’s antics.

Feeling slighted by the silence, Elias let out a heavy sigh and muttered under his breath, "I wasted my time trying to help him, and this kid doesn’t have an ounce of gratitude. Poor me."

Jeryon’s brow furrowed. For the past thirty minutes of their trip, Elias hadn’t stopped fidgeting or muttering to himself.

Jeryon had tried to ignore it, assuming the old man wouldn’t act so childishly, but he had been proven wrong. This instructor was acting more like a pouting toddler.

"Instructor Theron, if you are unwilling to meet the King, I can go alone," Jeryon said at last, his tone flat.

After Jeryon refused to return to the royal palace and his legal guardianship passed to Elias upon becoming a Direct Student candidate, both of them were forcibly summoned by the King.

Elias’s head snapped around, his eyes narrowing. "Hoh? And if I don’t go, then what? War?" he asked sarcastically.

"Sir, you won’t need to speak. I will explain everything myself," Jeryon replied, brushing off the sarcasm.

"Arrogant brat," Elias grumbled under his breath.

Jeryon offered no response, staring straight ahead, which only infuriated Elias even more.

"Are you acting like this because of how I treated that Shani girl?" Elias asked, finally losing his patience.

Jeryon’s eye twitched, but he remained silent.

"Brat," Elias scoffed, once again met with cold silence.

If not for Jeryon’s impressive rank, Elias would never tolerate such disrespect from a junior.

At least Jeryon had the strength to back up his arrogance. Besides, geniuses were never quite normal anyway, were they?

"Do you always act like this toward anyone who degrades Shani?" Elias asked on a whim.

He turned toward Jeryon and caught a fleeting smirk tugging at the corner of the boy’s lips, his eyes gleaming with unmistakable pride.

Elias was dumbfounded. As it turned out, this kid was even dumber than he thought, living proof of a lost cause.

"Didn’t you see how Shani responded to me?" Elias tried to defend himself. "She’s far more resilient than you give her credit for. A few insults aren’t going to bring her down. Besides, my reaction was completely normal. If..."

Elias trailed off as Jeryon’s gaze turned dangerously cold. If insulting Shani was considered normal, Jeryon would make sure no one stayed normal.

Elias cleared his throat and smoothly pivoted the topic. "Anyway, speaking of that girl, House Ashbourne filed another custody claim for Shani. This time, they’re using a third branch."

Elias chuckled to himself. "Unfortunately for them, their efforts were entirely in vain."

Jeryon’s subordinates had already informed him of the Ashbournes’ latest move. He had assumed Shani wouldn’t be able to escape their clutches this time.

Still, as a candidate for Direct Student, the Ashbournes would have to tread carefully around her.

Shani could hold onto her inheritance until she was strong enough to claim everything herself.

Much like Jeryon’s own situation, where he remained part of the royal family but possessed the right to refuse any command that conflicted with his instructor’s rules.

Hearing Elias say that Shani had a chance to reject them once more, Jeryon was genuinely confused and curious.

"How so?" he asked.

...