Chapter 100: Misunderstanding (2)
He took each item carefully. Then he checked the other side of her belt and the pockets of her dark trousers for messages, coins, or hidden marks.
That was when the door opened.
Peter entered first with his sword drawn.
Jenny came in right behind him, holding a lamp.
Both of them stopped after entering the room.
The room became very quiet.
Lucard was crouched over a young woman on the floor. One of his knees was beside her hip. One hand held her wrist down, and his other hand was at her waist because he had been checking the belt pouch hidden there. Lysa’s hair was loose from the fall, her face was flushed with anger and pain, and her breathing was uneven.
To Lucard, it was an interrogation.
To Jenny, who had just entered with a lamp in the middle of the night, it looked like something else for one terrible second.
Peter’s eyes moved from the knives on the desk to the open window, then back to Lucard’s hand at the girl’s waist. His face became stiff.
"Young Master," Peter said carefully, "should I close the door?"
Lucard looked at him. "No."
Jenny’s shock turned into horror.
"Lucard!!!!"
He looked at her. "She entered through the window."
Jenny’s eyes went to the window, then back to him, then to Lysa’s position under him.
Lysa saw the change in Jenny’s face.
Her mind moved quickly. She did not know who this woman was, but she understood shame when she saw it. Fear and anger mixed inside her. She had failed to kill Lucard, failed to escape, and now this woman had seen her helpless under him. Her pride cracked, and she used the only weapon she had left.
She turned her face away and let tears fill her eyes.
Jenny’s face became colder.
"I did not expect you to do something like this."
Lucard froze for half a second.
Peter closed his eyes.
Lucard stood at once and released Lysa’s wrist, but he stepped on the loose edge of her sleeve so she could not jump up. "You are misunderstanding the situation."
Jenny gripped the lamp tighter. "Am I?"
"Yes."
Lysa pulled her wrist to her chest and cried harder. She was not fully pretending now. Pain, humiliation, fear, and anger had all mixed together.
"He beat me and touched me where he shouldn’t."
Lucard looked down at her. " Stop lying, bitch. You entered my room with two knives, one needle, lock picks, and a climbing hook. You attack me from behind. I only defended myself."
Jenny looked at the desk.
Peter also looked and saw the weapons Lucard had removed. His expression became more serious.
Jenny still looked angry, but doubt entered her eyes.
Lucard pointed to the open window. "I marked the window earlier. I felt the mark wake before she stepped inside. I heard her climb the wall before that. I waited because I wanted to know whether she was alone or not."
Peter lowered his sword slightly. "That makes sense."
Jenny glared at Peter.
Peter raised his sword again a little, not because he needed to, but because he felt safer holding something.
Jenny looked back at Lucard. "Then why were you on top of her with your hand at her waist?"
"I was searching her pockets, checking if she had any hidden weapons."
"That does not sound better."
" I was also looking for messages, house marks, poison, money, or anything useful."
Lysa shouted through tears, "Liar. You grabbed my waist. Nobody touched me like that in my entire life."
Lucard looked at her. "You are bad at this."
Jenny took one step toward the door. "I need air."
Lucard moved and stood in front of her path. "No."
Jenny’s eyes widened. "Do not block me."
"You will listen first."
"I saw enough."
"You saw the middle of an interrogation and created the beginning yourself."
Jenny’s face flushed with anger. "Do not speak to me like I am stupid."
"You are not stupid. You are angry and tired. That makes your eyes careless."
Peter’s mouth twitched, then he forced it still because this was not a safe moment to find anything funny.
Jenny stared at Lucard. Her eyes were wet now, not only with anger but with disappointment and fear. Since his change, she has accepted many impossible things from him. Coldness. Killing. Secrets. Plans she did not understand. But there were lines she could not bear to imagine him crossing.
Lucard’s voice became lower.
"She came to kill me. If I wanted to do anything inappropriate, Peter would not be standing alive enough to ask whether he should close the door."
Peter looked at him. "Young Master, I do not know whether that comforts me."
"It should."
"It does not."
Jenny looked at the open window again. She saw the small scratch marks near the latch. She saw mud on the floor under the window. She saw the climbing hook hanging outside, partly hidden by the curtain. Then she saw the needle and knives on the ground.
Her anger did not vanish, but it changed shape.
She turned toward Lysa and asked the most important question, "Who are you?"
Lysa sat up slowly, holding her wrist. Lucard allowed it because Peter now stood near the door, and Lucard remained close enough to stop her if she moved. Her face was wet, her pride wounded, and her eyes burned with hatred.
"I will not tell you anything."
Jenny stepped closer. "You entered the house in the middle of the night and attacked my brother. You must answer all my questions otherwise..."
Lysa laughed bitterly. "Your brother killed mine."
Lucard watched her face.
Peter’s eyes sharpened too.
Jenny’s voice became cautious. "Who was your brother?"
Lysa pressed her lips together.
Lucard lifted the black cloth strip with the ash-colored wolf head.
Peter’s expression changed at once. He recognised the logo. "Ash Wolf Mercenary Company."
Jenny turned toward him. "Peter?"
Peter looked at the cloth in Lucard’s hand again. "Lady Jenny, that is a mercenary group logo. They were known to take tracking contracts and dirty guard work near the western road. Mostly hired by local people and financially challenged Nobel. Like ours..."
Peter paused then continued, "Your father refused to hire them once because their leader was sick. Some rude guy came to make the deal. He told them to come once the leader of the group is well. The next week our house got attacked. You know the rest."
Jenny’s face became colder. "Were they somehow involved with the attack on our house?"
Peter hesitated. "I do not know, but it is possible."