Chapter 26: Forgive This Ignorant Girl

"You brat!" Hector roared, his voice cracking slightly as he struggled to process the suffocating pressure radiating off me. "Who do you think you are, putting on airs in front of your elders?!"

​Before I could take another step toward Karl to finish what I started, a trembling hand reached out and grabbed the hem of my top.

​"Brianna, please... it’s dangerous," Valerie pleaded from the floor, her tear-filled eyes wide with sheer terror as she held Bradford close to her chest. "You’ve done more than enough, sweetie. Please back down... I don’t want you to get hurt."

​I paused, looking down at Valerie. The genuine agony, panic, and protective instinct in her eyes hit me like a quiet splash of cold water. I shifted my gaze to Bradford, who was watching me through a swelling, bloodied eye, his jaw slackened in shock.

​Right, I reasoned silently, the icy edge of my assassin bloodlust receding back beneath the surface. Revealing the full extent of my capabilities right here would be a tactical error.

​It was infinitely better to keep my enemies in the dark, letting them write this off as an anomaly so I could catch them entirely off guard when the true bloodbath began in the arena.

​I took a subtle step back, instantly dropping my posture. My spine curved, my shoulders slumped, and I brought a trembling hand up to press against my forehead, swaying slightly on my feet as I entered full actress mode.

​"It’s fine, Mother," I murmured, my voice suddenly delicate, raspy, and laced with manufactured exhaustion. "I... I just got lucky this time. But I’m sure Uncle Hector and Karl here will be more than kind enough to leave today after warning me. I know my place."

​I let out a soft, trembling breath, blinking as if I were on the verge of fainting. "I was just so frightened... but I think I’m okay now."

​I turned my gaze back toward Hector. Even with my sudden display of weakness, the moment my eyes locked onto his, my uncle flinched violently. A drop of cold sweat rolled down his temple.

​"I’ve learned my lesson, Uncle," I said meekly, bowing my head in mock deference. "Please... forgive this ignorant girl."

​My words were soft, but as I tilted my chin back up for a split second, the cold, pitch-black gaze beneath my lashes held not a single shred of fear or regret.

​Hector swallowed hard, his throat dry as he frantically wiped his damp forehead with the back of his hand. His instincts were screaming at him that something was terribly wrong, but his fragile pride desperately grasped at the excuse I had handed him.

​"T-That’s right!" Hector stammered, his bravado sounding hollow even to his own ears. "So... so learn not to run your mouth again, brat!"

​He quickly reached down, grabbing the groaning, blood-mouthed Karl by his uninjured arm and hoisting him up.

​"Come on, Karl," Hector muttered, refusing to meet my eyes again as he dragged the wheezing Fletcher boy toward the front door. "We’re leaving."

Look at them running with their tails tucked between their legs, I thought, a dark, amused smirk flickering across my mind as the front door slammed shut behind them.

​Don’t worry, Karl Fletcher. We’ll meet again in the tournament. And when we do, I will make you regret every single breath you ever took.

​The moment the footsteps faded down the street, Valerie and Bradford scrambled up from the floor, rushing over to surround me. Valerie’s trembling hands hovered over my face and shoulders, frantically checking every inch of my skin for bruises.

​She let out a massive, shuddering sigh of relief. "Thank the Moon Goddess you’re not hurt..."

​Tears immediately flooded her eyes once again, spilling down her pale cheeks. I stared at her, genuinely impressed. Aside from her incredible talent for making stew, this body’s mother possessed an undeniable superpower: she could cry on command like a leaky faucet.

​"You got lucky this time, Brianna," Bradford said, his voice heavy with caution as he dabbed a cloth over his split lip. "Provoking a patrol Beta and a Fletcher... Please, daughter, don’t try to draw any more hatred toward yourself. You’re already in a rough patch as an Omega. Don’t give them a reason to hunt you."

​I offered them a calm, reassuring smile, letting them hold onto their comforting belief that a miracle or pure luck was the only reason Karl’s ribs were currently cracked.

​"It’s fine, Father," I said softly, my voice smooth and steady. "I told you I’ll do just fine in the tournament. The Moon Goddess will be on my side. And I will not die."

​Valerie’s chest heaved as she placed her warm palms gently over my head, swallowing hard as she looked up toward the ceiling in quiet prayer.

​"That’s right..." Valerie whispered, her voice filled with a desperate, fierce faith. "The Moon Goddess does not abandon her children. Brianna, I believe you. You will make it through without dying."

I held her gaze and then smiled.

"For now, I’ll go up to my room," I said, offering a soft smile. "Please let me know when the food is ready."

I had every intention of heading upstairs with the apothecary elixirs I’d secured to begin flushing the deep-seated bone fatigue out of this weak shell.

"Of course. Please rest, sweetie," Valerie said softly.

My eyes lingered on Bradford. His lip was still bleeding, and his jaw was swollen and visibly bruised from Hector’s strike. I turned toward the paper bags, reaching past the food to pull out a small, pale bundle wrapped in twine.

I had originally planned to hoard every single resource for my own conditioning, but leaving him to suffer through a cracked jaw felt unnecessarily cold. I pulled out a sprig of faint, luminous flora and held it out to him.

"Here, use this, Father," I said.

Bradford looked down at the plant, his eyes going wide as he let out a sharp gasp. "This... silver grass?" he asked, utter disbelief painted across his face. "Brianna, this is extremely valuable! I can’t... I do not need—"

The moment his stubborn pride kicked in to refuse it, I squeezed my eyes shut, letting a fresh batch of tears spill instantly down my cheeks.

"It’s all my fault, Father!" I sobbed, forcing my voice to break pitifully. "They only came here to bully me, but you stood up for me and now... and now you’re hurt because of me!"