The Flower of Separation

Eric and her would fall under that category- Lillian paused in mid-thought as an image of that smiley man appeared in her read. Stuart Robert, huh? She recalled Lucas' recent behavior.

It is the first time for her to see Lucas so angry; perhaps she can use him to deal with that person. It is true Stuart Robert fascinates her; however, at the end of the day, she still wishes to focus on taking down Eric.

Her thoughts broke off when she felt Bridget grab hold of her leg.

"--not done, I am not done!" Bridget exclaimed.

At those words, she hears the sound of rumbling. It sounded like a herd of beasts heading in their direction. However, Lillian extended her hand out, and a stream of red spider lilies headed towards the door. In the next second, they both hear the sound of torn flesh; the red spider lilies enter the room again, but several carrying the head of a beast.

Lillian carefully observed the severed head. "I must say I am impressed; you found a way to tame the corrupt sacred beasts?"

Bridget scoffed. "Of course, I am not like you. Limiting yourself to these things."

Or so she says, but when Bridget heard about her contract familiar being the red spider lilies, she protested to her father.

'Those creatures only acknowledge the strong and the heir to the Ageha family household. I am much better suited to be the host!'

Lillian recalled her desperation that day and chuckled.

She held up one of the red spider lilies that immediately started to suck on the small piece of blood on her fingers.

It was not her blood but Bridget's. The small creature's wings vines twisted, and Lillian turned to Bridget.

"It seems like your blood is passible to them. Tell me, my dear sister, other than obviously working for brother Eric. Why did you attack the Empress?"

At those words, Bridget's gaze dimmed, and she clenched her fist. "Why can't I attack her? Lillian, you should know, the Zestra family are our enemies. For a member of that household to take on the Empress position, they are clearly challenging us!"

Lillian looked at Bridget, amused. "So, in other words, my dear sister, you wish to become the Empress?"

Bridget did not have to answer. Her expression gave it away.

"I see, so that was why you have been close with Rosa recently. I wondered what you were planning using that naive girl for, but it makes sense now. You wanted to dismiss your negative image and make it look like you are the only saint in the Ageha family."

Certainly, with the current reputation of the Ageha family, nobody will get picked to be the Empress from their side. But to think this foolish woman would go so far just because she wants to be the Empress,

"I think you are forgetting something." Lillian trailed off. "There is something you need to become the Empress, even if you manage to take the position. People will only see you as a fake Empress."

Yes, there is one thing that will make people acknowledge an individual as the Empress. Her eye color flashed a brighter shade of red; if one looked closely, they would see the small symbols in her pupils.

Bridget's haughty tone and expression faltered. "Wait a second, Lil-" But it was already far too late.

Anybody who looks into her eyes when she uses this power will have the desire to end their own life. Lillian watched as Bridget gradually stood up despite her weakened state; she picked up her sword she tossed aside earlier and stabbed her stomach.

Unlike earlier, when she stabbed the girl with the knife, Bridget coughed out of blood from her mouth. 'So that is how it works. Although she used a spell to avoid dying if somebody stabs her heart- it is not a spell that avoids death. It simply redirects to her death point.' That explains why Bridget was being careful with her stomach earlier.

Her lips curved to a grin. This is certainly amusing. Although Bridget had already stabbed herself, Lillian wanted to test the theory more.

Lillian picked up her own sword, which she tossed aside earlier, and walked over to Bridget, who was barely standing.

"My dear sister." A sinister look appeared on her face. "Why don't we do something fun?"

Lillian grabbed hold of her neck. "It would be a real waste to kill you right away. Moreover, killing people immediately is not my style."

"Lili-"

Bridget did not get a chance to finish her sentence since she used the sword to cleanly cut off the woman's arm. A screech and agonized voice passed Bridget's lips as she collapsed onto the ground.

"My dear sister, if you're going to cry over this, I am sure you won't like the end results. Oh, don't worry," Lillian said innocently. "I actually don't plan to kill you; after all, we are related by blood. But I think you would rather die than be disfigured."

'Quite some time has passed since I let loose like this-'

"Your fiance- you don't know, do you? After you let him escape, I was the one who tortured him!" Bridget exclaimed.

Despite the girl being under her mind control, she was still able to say this.

Lillian paused and recalled Aaron's state earlier. Despite him being clad in heavy armor, she could see how slow his movements were, like he sustained a serious injury.

The brightness in his eyes, the sign of life on his face, was gone. There was nothing there but pain. How much did he have to endure? What did this woman do to him, and for how long?

Unforgivable, unforgivable- these words repeated over and over in her head as she increased the intensity of the flames.

She raised her blade, and the red spider lilies surrounded it, covering the piece of metal. She felt a piercing sensation in her palm and realized one of the creatures sliced her hand to get some of her blood. But it did not bother her.

"It seems Bridget; you don't want the easy way out."

When was the last time she felt so angry? Was it during the hunt the previous day when Ramon spouted that nonsense? No, that was only a small trigger. Right now, she cannot suppress her emotions.

'I was the one who lectured the Empress about her emotional control but looks at me now.. Once again, I am doing something stupid for your sake, Aaron.'