Chapter 6

“Go.”

Robert gave the order with a look of disgust, as if their mere presence had contaminated the room.

Rossa felt relieved when she heard Robert’s command.

Livia stood up first, even though her body was still trembling from the pain.

“Come, Mom,” she said while helping Rossa rise slowly.

Livia bit her lip as pain spread from her back, squeezing her heart as if it were being crushed. Every breath felt painful. Even her eyes reddened as she struggled to endure the pain that nearly made her lose consciousness.

But she remained standing.

With her weakened body, Livia walked while supporting her mother.

“Livia, I can walk on my own,” Rossa said.

Livia did not respond.

Rossa looked far more fragile. Her legs trembled with every step, as if her body might collapse at any moment.

“Later I will give you some pain medicine. The pain will disappear soon. Don’t be afraid,” Livia said in a very gentle voice.

Rossa smiled faintly and nodded.

The clothes of the mother and daughter were already soaked with blood on the back. Dark red stains had seeped into the fabric.

Yet no one in the room felt any pity.

Their gazes were cold.

As if the suffering of the two women was nothing unusual.

As soon as they passed through the large hall, two servants quietly caught Rossa and Livia, holding them so they would not fall.

“Take them to the room,” one of the servants said in a low voice.

Livia gave a weak smile and nodded.

The two servants then laid Livia and Rossa on the bed very carefully, as if they were afraid of touching the wounds on their backs.

The room they were placed in was the same as the servants’ room. There was not the slightest privilege given to them.

“Wait a moment. I will bring you some warm water to drink,” said the middle-aged woman.

Livia nodded again slowly.

One of the servants opened the back of Livia’s clothes to check her wounds.

She immediately fell silent.

The wounds on the girl’s back looked red and open, some of them still releasing thick, dark drops of blood.

“I’m sorry… we’ve run out of antiseptic. There isn’t any left in the kitchen.”

“It’s alright. The blood will dry soon,” Livia said without a smile.

She knew that the medicines had certainly been stored away by the head maid under Melly’s orders.

Not long after, the middle-aged woman returned carrying two glasses of warm water.

She handed them carefully to Livia and Rossa.

“I’m sorry, we cannot stay here with you. We have to go back to work.”

“Yes, thank you,” Livia replied softly.

As soon as the door closed tightly, silence filled the room.

The two women did not say anything.

They were only trying to adjust themselves to the terrible pain that still spread through their bodies.

The wind that entered through the slightly open window blew gently, touching the wounded skin on their backs. The cool sensation eased the stinging pain a little.

Rossa sat quietly while massaging her temples.

But her tears kept flowing endlessly.

Livia was different.

The girl looked calm, as if she had long made peace with suffering like this.

“Livia, you don’t need to worry about me. You can still leave this place. I will face them. Even if they become angry, they will not kill me. So you don’t need to worry about me.”

The sentence was spoken with difficulty and hesitation.

Livia slowly stood up and walked toward the cabinet.

Every step felt painful, yet she kept moving until she reached it.

She opened the cabinet and took a small bottle from inside.

After that, she returned and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Mom, I have successfully made a very good medicine to stop bleeding like this,” Livia said while showing a small bottle filled with white cream.

“You succeeded in making it?”

Rossa’s face immediately brightened when she saw the bottle.

Livia smiled and nodded quickly.

“Even though this cream hasn’t passed official testing or received a patent yet, I have already tried it directly on my own body. The result is very satisfying. The bleeding stops quickly, and the wound dries fast. What is even more amazing is that after it heals, the wound will not leave a scar. This is truly a very good cream,” Livia said proudly while raising her thumb.

Rossa looked at her daughter with eyes full of pride.

“You are very amazing.”

But behind that smile, there was a worry pressing in her heart.

Would Livia’s dreams still be able to come true… after she married Adrian?

“Every time we were injured and bleeding, they never gave us medicine. There was even a time when the wound became infected. That is why I tried to make this medicine. I designed it especially for you,” Livia said with a small laugh as she carefully applied the cream to her mother’s back.

Rossa smiled as she listened to her daughter’s story. “This cream feels cool, and the stinging pain quickly disappears.” Yet her tears continued to flow.

After applying the medicine to Rossa’s back, Livia took several pills and placed them into her mother’s mouth.

“After taking this medicine, you will not feel pain, soreness, or stinging anymore. This medicine is very effective. And I created it myself,” she said proudly while showing her neat white teeth.

“You don’t need to worry about the medicines I give you, because I have tested all of them on my own body. I trust it more when I test it on myself, because that way I know the medicine is truly good.”

Rossa smiled and nodded.

Slowly, the pain in her body began to lessen.

“Now it’s your turn to take it.”

Livia smiled and then took the medicine.

After that, Rossa helped apply the medicine to her daughter’s back very carefully.

“Livia, Adrian is very cruel. You can still run away. I do not want you to suffer like this, or even worse than this. I will be fine. I can face your father,” Rossa said in a very low voice so that no one would hear their conversation.

“I am already very used to facing Robert’s cruelty. Don’t worry, Mom,” Livia said confidently.

“I’m sorry, I still cannot take you away from this place.”

“It’s alright. I am the one at fault. My greatest regret is letting you live. I should never have let you live in this woman’s world.”

The cruel words coming from Rossa’s mouth stabbed painfully into Livia’s heart.

“Do you regret giving birth to me?” Livia’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at her mother.

Rossa nodded. “If only I had not been selfish and forced you to live and endure, you would not have suffered like this.”

Rossa’s sobs broke out, filling the narrow room.