Chapter 7

Ezekiel glanced down at the rod in his hand. A trace of awkwardness flashed across his eyes.

Francine, however, continued to pile blame onto Julia. "Julia, you smashed the courtyard the moment you came home! Your father was only angered because of what you did."

"Was I wrong to smash everything?" Julia shot back.

Ezekiel immediately answered, "You did the right thing. It's better to remove those things than to let anyone raise suspicions."

Francine glanced at him. She wanted to say something, but ultimately held her tongue.

Julia sneered on the inside. She understood Ezekiel all too well. Nothing mattered more to him than his reputation, glory, and wealth. The only daughter he cared about was the one who helped him preserve his honor.

"Since you've come here with the rod, Father, please punish those unruly servants outside who offended me on my behalf."

Ezekiel had stormed over while carrying the rod. Many servants had already seen him. By disciplining the servants instead, he'd be preserving his dignity.

Francine immediately grabbed his wrist. "Ezekiel, those are Rebecca's servants. They have served her for many years…"

"And it's precisely because we've never disciplined them properly that they had the nerve to say such preposterous things. They need to be punished!" Ezekiel shook off her hand and strode outside.

Soon, the sound of tearful pleading and agonizing screams rang out as the servants were given a beating.

Francine's face turned pale. She turned back toward Julia, her eyes sharp as daggers.

"You've only just returned, Julia, yet you've already struck Martha and persuaded your father to punish the other servants. Must you insist on stirring up as much trouble as possible in the family before you're satisfied?"

"Martha's eyesight has failed so badly that she couldn't even recognize me. And those servants outside dared insult me to my face. Even if these unruly servants suffered a severe beating, what of it? For the sake of the Sewell family's reputation, Mother, you need not pity them," Julia calmly replied.

Francine felt like she'd been put in a chokehold. In the end, all she could say was, "You'd better watch yourself."

Then she rushed off to urge Ezekiel to stop.

Before long, those servants were beaten until their skin had split. They had to be dragged off, looking barely conscious.

Ezekiel instructed Francine, "Have someone tidy up Bloom Garden and return it to Julia."

Francine frowned. "Return it to her? Then where will Rebecca live?"

"Rebecca can stay anywhere else. However, Julia must not only move back into her old residence but also be afforded every available comfort. Don't you dare do anything foolish."

Ezekiel walked away with his hands behind his back.

…

By evening, the sky had turned dark. Snow began to fall.

The bloodstains in the courtyard had already been cleaned away.

Inside the room, Julia sat cross-legged on the bed. She used her inner force to expel the chilly air that had seeped into her body. Soon, she was sweating profusely, as if she'd just taken a bath. The chill she had absorbed while kneeling in the snow during the day was all forced out as sweat.

One hour later, her face was flushed, and her health was mostly restored. She called for Yvette.

The moment Yvette entered the room, she fell to her knees with a thud. "Please don't kill me, miss."

Julia wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief before glancing over. "Why would you say that?"

Because Julia had allowed Yvette to wait outside and listen at the door, Yvette had overheard the shocking secret. "I will never reveal your matters to anyone else, miss. I'd rather die than betray you, so please spare my life!"

She was terrified.

Ezekiel had stormed over, hellbent on punishing Julia. But in the end, Julia had used him to deal with those servants instead.

The courtyard had practically been torn apart, but he said nothing. He even ordered people to refurnish the place.

In just a single afternoon, Julia had effortlessly turned an unfavorable situation around. Yvette knew that with Julia's abilities, she could easily snuff out a maid like her.

Seeing her trembling, Julia said calmly, "You may rise. I never intended to take your life. I let you hear those things because, as the person closest to me, you would have to find out about it sooner or later."

"Miss…"

"Yvette. What do you think of the way my parents treat me? You can be honest."

Yvette hesitated before lowering her head. "They are too biased, but I don't understand why. Why would they treat you like this after the way you risked your life for the family, miss?"

Julia simply laughed and replied indifferently, "Because Mother hates me. In her eyes, no matter what I do, it's not a contribution to the family. It's merely compensation for what they believe I owe them."

Francine had indeed been pregnant with twins back then. Lucinda Abbott, Julia's wet nurse, had told her that Francine first gave birth to a son, Jasper, before giving birth to Julia.

But no one expected Julia to come out holding Jasper's leg.

He had been frail from birth and passed away soon after. An experienced midwife later told Francine that twins fought for nourishment while still in the womb.

From then onward, Francine believed that Julia had stolen Jasper's chance for survival—that Julia was the reason she had lost her firstborn son.

She had invited priests to pray for Jasper's soul. One of them told her that when only one out of a set of twins died, it was considered an omen of misfortune. If she wished to have another son in the future, she would have to pretend that her firstborn was still alive.

Therefore, only the people serving in the main residence knew the truth. Everyone else believed that Jasper had been born weak and had been sent away to be raised in peace.

That was why Julia was able to don a male disguise when she was 14 years old. She'd taken on the identity of the already deceased Jasper, her twin older brother, and went to war in Ezekiel's place.

Ever since she was little, she had known that Francine didn't love her. Francine always wore a stern, indifferent expression, setting countless rules and expectations for her.

Back then, Julia had naively assumed that if she performed well enough, she would finally earn her mother's favor. So she trained harder and lived as though she carried the weight of two people.

Whenever Francine showed even the slightest coldness toward her, Julia would immediately reflect on whether she had done something wrong. She had been suppressed by the desire for familial love for far too long, so long that in her previous life…

When Francine smiled and handed her that glass of wine during the birthday banquet, Julia truly believed it was a celebration of her new beginning.

Yvette wiped her tears away. Her heart ached for Julia's suffering. "From now on, I will do everything in my power to protect you, miss, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

Julia helped her to her feet, saying, "They're the ones who should be sacrificing their lives."

Yvette couldn't resist saying, "Miss, if they go too far, you should ask Princess Gillian to stand up for you. She did say you can go to her for help if you encounter any difficulties."

Julia looked at the flickering candlelight on the table. Her eyes darkened.

"Such favor can only be used to boost an already positive situation. You can't rely on others in your time of need. You have to count on yourself."

She was determined to lay out every step of her revenge plan and send the heartless family to hell herself.

Julia took out a medicinal salve from her things and gave it to Yvette, telling her to apply it to her knees. They would help drive out the cold she had absorbed from kneeling in the snow.

Yvette accepted them gratefully before preparing a warm bath for Julia.

That night, Julia lay on the bed and considered the situation. Although she'd started things off with a bang upon returning to Sewell Manor, that didn't mean the days ahead would be easy for her.

Arthur had already bestowed a great deal of honor upon Ezekiel.

Half a month later, the Queen, Vanessa Thorne, would hold a palace banquet and invite Francine to attend with her daughter.

In her previous life, Julia had been ordered to remain at home. Francine had taken Rebecca into the palace instead. Not long after they returned, the royal edict arrived.

Francine was made a first-class ennobled lady, and Rebecca was also given the title of princess by royal decree. Apparently, she'd played a song at the banquet to express her longing for the Apex General. It had touched Arthur deeply, so he lavished even more honors onto the Sewell family.

Julia refused to allow those honors to fall into their hands again. She needed to prepare for this in advance. Moreover, she remembered that before the palace banquet, Francine had done something major for Rebecca.

The next morning, Julia had a simple breakfast of boiled oats, plain toast, and a boiled egg.

"It's a little simple, but the kitchen said they had nothing else to offer," Yvette reported, her tone indignant.

She knew the kitchen staff were deliberately picking on them.

Julia, however, did not care. "The food tastes fine. We'll make do."

She had eaten far worse food at the frontier.

Yvette pursed her lips. "Miss, I'll definitely find a way to let you eat better."

Just then, there was a commotion outside. An angry roar rang out.

"Where the hell is Julia? Tell her to get her ass out here now!"

The sound of that voice made Julia's gaze turn frosty. Marvin, her younger brother, was back.