Chapter 142: Unwanted Visitor

Ever since slavery was formally abolished, slaves were rebranded as lifelong servants, a status that differed very little in practice from the institution that preceded it.

The primary distinction lay in their compensation: lifelong servants earned a salary, albeit significantly lower than that of regular domestic staff.

Furthermore, if a lifelong servant managed to amass sufficient funds to buy out their freedom, the law prohibited masters from retaining them.

In reality, however, many masters resorted to underhanded tactics to ensure their servants remained trapped indefinitely.

Additionally, the offspring of servants were no longer born into servitude.

Upon reaching legal adulthood, these children were required to leave the master’s estate, unless they chose to execute a fresh service contract of their own volition.

Nora served as a prime example. Her mother and her late father had been lifelong servants of House Falkner, eventually accompanying Emilia into House Ashbourne.

Because Nora was a minor under her mother’s care, she assumed the role of a semi-servant, assigned directly to a young lady of her same age, Vivienne.

Upon turning eighteen, Nora possessed the legal right to leave House Ashbourne behind.

However, Vivienne offered an enticing proposition: she would secure Nora’s admission into Grand Academy if Nora agreed to sign a brand-new service contract.

Since childhood, Nora had harbored deep resentment and envy toward Vivienne.

Yet she possessed no desire to endure a life of hard manual labor in the outside world, nor could she bear to part with the luxuries of living in a grand estate.

Above all, she nursed the ambition of captivating a wealthy young lord at Grand Academy, an achievement that would instantly elevate her social standing.

When that day arrived, she reasoned, the fee to buy out her contract would become entirely trivial.

Ultimately, she surrendered her freedom, voluntarily signing away her life as a lifelong servant.

Never could she have anticipated that her actions would provoke the daughter of the first branch, plunging her into a cascading nightmare with no end in sight.

Nora glared at her mother as if staring down a sworn enemy, while her mother offered a relentless stream of tearful apologies.

"You’re right. It’s all my fault. It’s because your mother was powerless that I dragged you into a life of hardship."

The attending physician treating Nora observed their exchange with furrowed brows.

"Nora, your father passed away while you were still in the womb. Your mother raised you entirely on her own, granting your every wish. She even tried to forbid you from becoming a servant—"

"Mind your own business, Doctor!" Nora snapped, cutting him off with sharp hostility.

The physician’s expression darkened. His standing as a medical practitioner earned him widespread respect among the household staff.

No servant had ever dared speak to him with such insolence, least of all a patient currently under his care.

He couldn’t help but recall the sweet little girl Nora used to be, a child doted on by the entire domestic staff.

He began to wonder if that charming demeanor had been a mere fa?ade, and whether the venomous creature before him was her true self all along.

Beside them, Nora’s mother repeatedly bowed in apology to the physician, attempting to smooth over her daughter’s harsh tone while Nora maintained her bitter glare.

The doctor offered a curt nod to Nora’s mother before glancing down at his wristwatch. A few more minutes remained before the anesthetic would take full effect.

A subtle smirk flickered at the corner of the physician’s lips as he initiated the procedure.

In an instant, Nora’s blood-curdling screech echoed through the servants’ quarters.

...

As the third month of the academic term drew to a close, students threw themselves into a fierce race to hatch their second baby beasts.

Vivienne glared at the holographic display before her, which showed an outgoing call to Gideon’s contact.

As the call rang unanswered, Vivienne’s face flushed red with rising temper.

"Damn it! How dare he ignore my calls?!" Vivienne slammed her fist against the adjacent wall.

Since Monday, four whole days had passed during which she had repeatedly attempted to reach Gideon to conduct their resonance sessions.

Frustrated, she fired off a text message to Gideon: If you don’t answer my text right now, I swear I’m dropping you as my resonance partner for good!

Vivienne was convinced that Gideon would panic upon reading her ultimatum.

Yet when she attempted to send a follow-up message a few minutes later, a system notification informed her that Gideon had blocked her contact.

"He... he’s completely out of his mind!" Vivienne fumed in disbelief. Shortly after, Gideon’s father’s words echoed in her mind.

Vivienne shook her head vigorously in denial.

’Becoming my partner is the absolute best outcome for his child! Neither he nor that foolish beast of his would ever throw me away!’

While trying to reassure herself, a call arrived from Dominic, delivering the exact same stern ultimatum he had repeated over the past few days.

"You foolish girl, go apologize to Shani! If you fail to apologize, don’t even think about coming home this weekend!"

"Class is about to start. I’m hanging up," Vivienne lied, having zero intention of apologizing to Shani.

Her father stopped calling, but right after her afternoon class ended, her mother called instead, uttering words that left Vivienne completely dumbfounded.

"I’m standing right outside the academy gates. They won’t allow me entry, even after I told them I brought something for you."

"Mom, what did you bring for me, and why won’t they let you in?"

"Don’t play dumb with me. I came all the way here because you failed to carry out your father’s orders," Emilia replied sharply.

Vivienne pursed her lips, resentful over being constantly blamed. "Is your real goal actually to meet Shani?"

"Of course. It seems that because your father used the headmaster multiple times to arrange meetings with Shani, anyone affiliated with House Ashbourne has now been barred from setting foot on academy grounds."

"Damn it! How on earth can the academy take that bitch’s side?!" Vivienne swore without restraint, earning an instant reprimand from her mother.

"Mind your tongue. Now go fetch Shani and tell her to come meet me!" her mother ordered.

"No way!" Vivienne refused outright.

"Vivienne, why do you think the punishment your father gave you was so light? Do you honestly think it was out of the goodness of his heart?" Emilia’s tone turned menacing.

Vivienne froze on the spot, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Her mother had always been her protector, the very reason she could act as spoiled and reckless as she pleased, knowing her mother would sweep in to clean up the mess.

She knew that if her mother chose to wash her hands of this, she would face unimaginable trouble. Reluctantly, she yielded.

Vivienne had been avoiding the cafeteria lately, as she was constantly the target of whispers and gossip among the other students.

But this time, she forced her way inside, doing her utmost to ignore the staring eyes as she scanned the hall for Shani.

She spotted Shani sitting and eating among her group of influential friends.

Vivienne’s heart accelerated, terrified not only of Shani’s powerful inner circle, but of Shani herself.

She inhaled deeply, chanting under her breath: Just call her over and it’s over. Call her, then head straight back to your room! No need to say anything more!

As she approached the table, the glares from everyone seated there turned icy and hostile.

"Shani, my mother, the wife of the Ashbourne head family, is looking for you. She has something important to tell you. She’s outside," Vivienne blurted, dispensing with all pleasantries.

Shani answered without bothering to turn her head. "Your mother? Ashbourne? Don’t know her at all."

Vivienne ground her teeth. "She just wants to talk for a moment. She won’t—"

"I don’t care. I have no business with any of you," Shani interrupted smoothly.

Then, she turned her head slightly, casting a cold gaze over Vivienne. "Stop bothering me unless you’re eager to collect your third warning letter."

Vivienne instantly went pale and silent, especially when her eyes crossed paths with the frost-cold stares of Jeryon and Noella.

She beat a hasty retreat, turning on her heel and scurrying off without another word.

’Did Emilia Falkner come all the way here to lecture me because I slapped her daughter?’ Shani mused internally, figuring she hadn’t had any run-ins with House Ashbourne lately aside from Vivienne.

Unlike Shani, who kept her curiosity to herself, Kiran blurted out, "Why are the Ashbournes looking for Shani again? Did something happen?"

Shani doubted anyone at the table knew the answer, but Sonny flicked his gaze between Jeryon and Noella before speaking up.

"House Ashbourne is on the verge of total bankruptcy. And I mean very soon."

Shani was left completely dumbfounded.

"The two companies still generating profit for them are currently in extreme jeopardy. In fact, one of them is about to be completely taken over by another enterprise," Sonny explained, subtly eyeing Jeryon and Noella.

Though Shani hadn’t previously given much thought to who was behind the crisis, she couldn’t help but connect the dots now.

"You two..." She looked back and forth between Jeryon and Noella.

...