“I’m being unreasonable?!”
Flora’s pain and helplessness, born from shattered hopes, instantly transformed into an unprecedented fury upon hearing Moria’s words.
“The person least qualified in this world to say something like that to me is you!”
Years of bitterness and grievances, the agony of family betrayal, the resolute moment before attempting suicide, and the coldness of the blade piercing her heart—all these feelings blended into one.
Her emotions crashed from one extreme to another.
She clenched her fists, bounced up from the ground, and swung at Moria, who had taken a couple of steps back at her furious shout.
If this punch connected, then this arrogant and detestable woman would bear the mark of her fist on her face.
However, with little combat experience, Flora’s move against a seasoned warrior was nothing but asking for trouble.
From the moment she entered the room, Moria had her hand resting on the sword’s hilt—not only as a precaution to prevent another suicide attempt but also adopting the perfect counter-stance of a skilled swordswoman.
She effortlessly struck Flora’s right waist with the flat side of her drawn longsword, instantly nullifying the already weak force behind Flora’s right punch.
Sheathed her sword, Moria grabbed Flora’s now loosened right hand with her left, lifting the girl—who was now shorter than her—right off the ground.
“Oh? Trying to act cute with me, Flora?”
She wasn’t angry; instead, a mocking smile played on her lips as she looked down at Flora’s angry yet pale, pain-stricken face with amusement shining in her eyes.
“You…”
Before Flora could speak, Moria tightened her grip on her wrist, the crushing pain threatening to crush the bones nearly suffocating her consciousness and forcing the words back down her throat.
Flora felt something soft pressed against her front—Moria’s ample chest, padded under her leather armor—not like being treated as a man.
Whether she was regarded as a human at all was questionable.
The mingling of physical sensation and psychological impact filled her heart with an indescribable shame.
She gritted her teeth, glaring fiercely at Moria for treating her this way.
But Moria wasn’t done.
She raised Flora’s other hand above her head, grabbed it with one hand, and held her up like showing off a pet kitten, then smiled as she turned to the other two teammates.
She shook Flora slightly, making the bell on her right ankle jingle crisply, matching her laughter.
“Look, our little healer is so adorable. Not nearly as boring as that useless Fros, and she even plays these fun little games with me.”
As she spoke, she used her free hand to lift the upper part of Flora’s nightdress, gently pinching the smooth, pale skin of her stomach.
“This chubby feeling—you want to try it?”
Erka completely averted her gaze, unwilling to watch any longer, but Tatashimi eagerly stepped forward to scrutinize Flora, then smiled after seeing her tear-filled glare.
“Try it? No thanks, I’m not in the mood, but honestly, this look suits her better.
At least if she’s useless in the field, wearing a maid outfit while working might brighten our moods.
Flora, you’re naturally cut out for this.
You should be grateful we went through so much trouble to remake your body.”
The heavy humiliation caused blood to taste slightly metallic in Flora’s mouth—she knew she’d bitten her lip, but it somehow helped her calm down a little.
“What exactly do you want to do?”
Her weak voice barely carried as she spoke again.
“Don’t misunderstand Tatashimi’s words. Honestly, if you keep being so hostile, how can we continue adventuring as good partners, Flora?”
Moria wore a troubled look, casting a somewhat reproachful glance at Tatashimi, who shrugged indifferently, seemingly unconcerned with how this farce would turn out.
Flora was put down again, her powerless hands hanging limply at her sides like they were dislocated.
She lifted her chin and stared blankly at Moria, wanting to hear more of her absurd excuses.
“Didn’t I just say? From now on, you’re the core of the Emerald Heart squad. We’ll respect you and revolve around you. So, Tatashimi’s joke about you wearing a maid outfit to work—that’s impossible unless you’re willing.”
Moria suddenly seemed to remember something important, patting her head in frustration.
“Almost forgot the real matter—managing this Villa is quite troublesome, and if you want to be the team’s core, some necessary training can’t be skipped.
We need to speed things up.
Flora, just wait in this room; a maid will bring you your meals later.
I’m going to get busy now.
If you need anything else, just ask the maids; they’ll probably fulfill your requests.”
“I want to go out. Will you let me leave?”
Flora kept looking at her.
Moria’s expression remained unchanged as she nodded.
“Of course, but only if you’re Flora, the core of the Emerald Heart.”
“I never wanted to—”
“No more pushing your luck. If you don’t accept your current status, then…”
Moria’s face darkened immediately, while Tatashimi waved her hand in annoyance.
“Why say so much? Someone else would’ve been bowing and thanking us by now. Seriously. Let’s go; there’s so much to do. If our funds go haywire, Miss, you think I won’t sell her off to pay our debts?”
“Hey? No, we have to treat little sister Flora well. I believe she understands our difficulties. Stop acting like such a strict mother figure.”
With that, the two ignored Flora’s incredulous stare and busied themselves discussing the Emerald Heart’s future plans and Flora’s arrangements, then left the room.
Flora really wanted to slap them both.
But unfortunately, she didn’t have the strength to do so.
Perhaps plotting revenge was the only way?
Aside from freedom and dignity, the only reason to keep living in this world was such a vengeful spirit.
She stared blankly at her still-unhealed hands, completely unaware that someone remained in the room.
Only when a warm embrace wrapped around her from behind, soft skin pressing against her back, did she belatedly realize the presence.
Erka Muzan, the party’s elven mage, who had avoided her since her parents’ betrayal, was now here.
As Flora braced herself for sharp, biting words, the elven lady chose instead to hug her and gently speak in a soft voice, conveying her complex guilt and sorrow.
“I’m sorry.”
After that simple apology came a message beyond words.
Magical transmission echoed clearly in Flora’s mind.
“When I leave this room, I’ll deliberately leave the door unlocked. The soul-monitoring magic on you depends on the runes beneath this house to remain stable. Once you leave, it will cease to function. So please act quickly, Fros.”
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