~Chapter 91~
Savior and Enemy
If this were the usual cowardly Damian, he would’ve backed off by now. He always did.
He acted all tough with Eleanor, but the moment his weakness was exposed, he would raise his tail and run with a scream. Nora assumed he’d act no differently toward her.
But unfortunately, this time was different.
Damian was mentally pushed to his limit.
His body was exhausted from days of running away. The thought of eventually facing his father and getting punished made his chest tighten. His face still throbbed painfully from being punched by Duke Royster.
And now, the one woman he had put all his hope in had mocked and threatened him. That was the final straw—he lost what little sense he had left.
Especially the fact that Nora came from a background lower than that of a commoner made it all worse for him.
“Even someone as dumb as you knows it, right? That everything Nora said was just an excuse. So give it up. You were never good enough for her in the first place, you idiot.”
Suddenly, Eleanor’s voice from before he passed out echoed in his mind.
‘Not good enough?’
Unbelievable.
Damian saw commoners as toys—things he could kill or spare however he pleased. Many had lived or died on his decision. Killing poor, powerless people was no different from squashing a bug.
And yet, this girl—lower than even a commoner—had dared to insult him, the heir of House Astria.
Unforgivable.
His blue eyes lost all reason, going blank and unfocused.
Noticing something was wrong, Nora flinched just as Damian suddenly thrust his arm forward.
Thud!
“Mmgh…!”
His thick hand grabbed her face and crushed it. The back of her head struck the door as she staggered backwards. A groan escaped her throat, but with her mouth covered, no real sound came out.
“Go ahead. Tell Father, and see what happens.”
Nora frantically tried to lift his hand off her face. But no matter how hard she tried with both hands, it was impossible.
Damian, gripped by rage, was far too strong. And with her recent weight loss, she simply didn’t have the strength to fight back.
“If you survive today.”
She had believed that Damian couldn’t kill her. Even he had to know how much damage it would do to Astria—how furious the Duke would be to lose the daughter he intended to marry into the royal family.
But she realized now that she was wrong.
A fool swallowed by emotion doesn’t think about consequences. She used to think that kind of simple fool was easy to manipulate—but now that his violence was directed at her, it was a deadly flaw.
She should have stayed away from Damian from the very start.
When he had arranged for thugs to beat up his own sister without hesitation, she should’ve seen this coming. She should’ve listened to those who told her to avoid him.
And now, she was like someone who tossed food to a beast for fun—only to be abused by it in the end.
“Mmmph! Huff…!”
Nora thrashed wildly, gasping for air. She scratched his arm with her nails, kicked him, but Damian didn’t budge.
He really looked like he intended to kill her.
No!
She couldn’t die like this. After all she had done to survive, she wasn’t about to let this pathetic man be the one to end her.
A surge of fury stronger than fear rushed through her. If she couldn’t escape by struggling, she would use another method.
And she had a powerful weapon at her fingertips.
If it meant surviving, she was willing to become an even worse beast than him.
Crunch!
“Aaaaargh!!”
She bit into the flesh between his thumb and index finger. The taste of blood filled her mouth as the skin tore off.
The bitten flesh dangled horrifically. Damian screamed and grabbed his injured hand in agony.
Spit!
Nora spat out the bloody piece of skin. The moment she was free, she ran into the hallway.
She had to reach people—anyone. Damian wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her in front of others. And even if he did lose control again, at least one servant would come to her help.
With that hope burning in her chest, she ran with all her strength.
Tap, tap-tap-tap!
The sound of fast footsteps echoed through the hallway. Harsh breathing spread through the cold air.
“Noraaaa!”
Soon, a scream nearly bordering on madness followed behind her.
Startled, Nora instinctively looked over her shoulder—and saw Damian chasing her. He was gripping a long candlestick from the hallway with his uninjured hand, running toward her with terrifying madness and murderous intent in his eyes.
If he catches me… he’ll really kill me.
The instinctive realization made the blood drain from her face. She turned and forced her increasingly heavy feet to move again and again.
She could see stairs leading down to the first floor just ahead.
If I can just make it there…!
If she could just reach the first floor—where people were—someone would surely save her from this monster.
But just as she thought that, Nora realized something chilling.
Even if I get there…
Despite all the noise, no servants had come upstairs. That could only mean one thing.
When it came to choosing between the future Duke Damian and the soon-to-be imperial bride Nora, the servants knew whom to obey.
She hadn’t received a formal education, but Nora was smart. She could see her future clearly—and it was cruel.
No one is going to help me.
In this massive mansion, there was not a single person on her side. The Duke of Astria, whom she had hated so much, had unknowingly been her only true protection…
This devastating truth weighed her down.
Her breath hitched, and her body stumbled. Her foot slipped to the side mid-step on the stair.
And then, her body pitched forward—into the darkness.
Thud!
A sharp pain spread from her chin and elbow. Her head spun from the impact.
Nora groaned, wincing, and forced her eyes open. She saw the staircase—just within reach.
Damn it…!
Blood dripped from her busted lip. Desperately, she reached out to lift herself up. But her arms were weak. All she could manage was to slightly turn her head while lying on the floor.
Thud, thud, THUD!
Damian’s heavy footsteps drew closer.
In the shadows, his blue eyes gleamed like a beast. The gold-covered candlestick sparkled ominously in the light.
She couldn’t run. She couldn’t survive.
And in that moment of despair, Nora thought of someone.
The person who had once saved her from hunger and fear. Who had once smiled at her gently and called her “little sister.”
“Nora, come with me.”
The one who lit up her life… and also dragged it into its darkest, filthiest depths.
Eleanor Astria.
“DIE!”
Now in front of her, Damian raised the candlestick high. His face twisted in rage, mouth open in a monstrous smirk.
Nora laughed bitterly.
This is the last face I get to see before I die? That ugly thing?
She didn’t even blink as the candlestick came down.
Her mind raced with emotion—but all that remained at the end was a faint sense of regret.
And then—something unexpected happened.
Whoosh!
Something sliced through the air.
But it wasn’t the sound of the candlestick swinging—it was Damian himself being thrown through the air.
In her blurry vision, Nora saw his ugly face—then watched it grow smaller as his body flew backward over her, as if someone had shoved him hard.
Behind her, the stairs led to the first floor. And there was no servant below to catch him.
Damian, clinging tightly to the golden candlestick, fell down the stairs.
CRASH-BANG-BANG-BANG!
The loud noise rang in Nora’s ears, but she didn’t turn around.
She simply stared, dazed, at the woman now standing where Damian had just been.
A face all too familiar. So familiar, she had just seen it in her mind moments before dying.
That refined, elegant face.
“Elea… nor…?”
Nora muttered the name weakly.
Was she hallucinating before death? For a second, she thought so. It felt unreal.
Eleanor saved me?
Still in shock, Nora’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
Eleanor glanced at her briefly—then turned her gaze to the crumpled figure at the bottom of the stairs.
Damian lay crumpled at the base, completely motionless. He had fallen down a tall staircase—no wonder.
Did he… die?
Her pale violet eyes trembled faintly.
She hadn’t meant to kill him.
The outcome had gone far beyond what she expected—and it was annoying.
After everything Damian had done, death seemed too easy.
Eleanor felt a flicker of regret—but quickly buried it. Even if she could go back a few minutes, she’d make the same choice.
So rather than wasting time regretting, she needed to take control of the situation.
“You…”
Just as Eleanor was about to step forward, a sharp voice cut her off.
Looking down, she saw that the dazed, weak-eyed Nora had vanished. Instead, a familiar fury now filled her gaze.
“Who do you think you are, helping me?!”
Even after being saved, Nora said sharp words instead of thanks. And Eleanor couldn’t help but admire her consistency.
“So I should’ve just let you die?”
“Yes! That would’ve been better! I’d rather die than accept help from my enemy!”
Eleanor asked calmly, but Nora exploded with shame and rage. The humiliation of remembering her enemy in her final moment, only to be saved by her—it was unbearable.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Nora. I didn’t save you out of pity.”
Eleanor let out a quiet sigh and gently brushed her bangs aside.
“I just couldn’t stand it.”
Yes, that was it. The reason she impulsively ruined her own carefully laid plans—
It annoyed her to see Nora die so pathetically.
She had just begun to truly taste the bitterness of her own medicine. The whip that once lashed Eleanor’s legs was now just beginning to sting Nora.
Soon it would escalate—from slaps to whips, and worse still.
But instead of enduring it, Nora had the nerve to die like this?
Why do you think I’ve endured this hellhole until now?
Eleanor had suffered through brutal beatings and humiliation at Astria Manor—not out of weakness, but for the perfect revenge.
Nora. The Duke. Damian. Arlo.
She would ruin all of them, leave nothing behind, and walk away without regret.
She had even denied herself peace and escape to see it through.
So after all that, she wasn’t going to let Nora die like this.
That’s why she had stepped in.
Pity? Please.
She had no room to feel that kind of thing.
Eleanor clenched her jaw as she looked down at Nora, who now stared up at her with rage in her eyes.
