Once we arrived at Father's office, the two guards stood beside the door while I entered the room, only to find Father sitting at his desk, which was covered in papers.
"You wished to see me, Father?" Asked Marley as she closed the door behind her and bowed.
"It is Patriarch Eve to you, Marley, do not make the same mistake again. Sit down." Said Nordan coldly as he set aside his papers and stared at Marley with near-emotionless eyes.
"M-My apologies, Patriarch Eve." Replied Marley as she bit her lip in pain from Nordan's lack of affection before sitting down in one of the seats.
"From the spies, I have inside the Royal Palace, they've reported that you've been forced to act as a royal servant." Commented Nordan while looking at his nervous daughter.
"Y-Yes, Patriarch Eve. Prince Elif forced me to be a maid for one month as punishment." Said Marley as she avoided eye contact with Nordan while balling her hand in anger.
Father didn't say anything; he merely stood up and turned around before gazing through the window; his actions made me feel even more nervous.
"Do you know why I summoned you to my office?" Asked Nordan while observing the scenery outside the window.
"N-No, Patriarch Eve." Replied Marley while fidgeting, hoping to ease her nervousness.
"Tell me, Marley, what is the point of your entire existence?"
"T-To surpass the Crown Princes and Crown Princess and display my superior talent." Said Marley, while remembering all the times Nordan had engraved those words into her soul.
"Correct. Your purpose was to surpass the Prince and Princess and become the leading figure in the younger generation, which in turn would grant the Eve family many benefits. However, what happened two years ago during the final match of the Noble tournament?" Said Nordan as he finally turned around and eyed Marley.
"I defeated the Prince in battle and won the tournament." Said Marley as she tried highlighting her achievements even though she knew that was not what Nordan wanted to hear.
"Yes, you won the battle, but was it easy? It took you quite a while to actually defeat Prince Elif in battle, yet he was just six and only had two full years of cultivation. You, on the other hand, were ten years old and had six full years of cultivation, three times as much as Prince Elif; however, the worst part was that Prince Elif was three entire realms beneath you, and yet he still managed to put up a fight against you, Marley." Stated Nordan coldly while eyeing silent Marley.
"That battle alone was enough for me to realize that your purpose was impossible; you were never going to be able to surpass the Prince, and from the intel, I have on Princess Elaine, she isn't too much weaker than Prince Elif. So with Prince Elif's cultivation having finally caught up to yours and your purpose now lost, what do you bring to the Eve family?" Added Nordan as he sat down and tapped his finger while coldly eyeing the ever-silent Marley.
"I-I'm still the most talented descendant among all the Nobles, and if you give me another chance, I know I can surpass Prince Elif!" Declared Marley passionately as she finally found the courage to look Nordan in the eyes, though when she did, she instantly quieted back down in fear.
"Silence! Stop with your foolish thinking, Marley; you can never hope to compare to Prince Elif with your meager talents. While it's true you're the most talented among the younger generation of Nobles, in the grand scheme of things, it hardly means anything. The moment Prince Elif advanced to the Divine realm, you'd become useless; your arrogance over the years has caused you to be greatly hated among all Nobles; some of them even wish to see you dead. I didn't previously care as you still had a purpose, but now you don't; keeping you around will do more harm than good to the Eve family." Declared Nordan angrily while staring at Marley, who trembled in fear, despair, and denial once she realized where the conversation was headed toward.
"But what about Sarah!? What does that trash have that I don't!?" Exclaimed Marley in anger, but you could vividly hear how frail she currently was.
"Sarah may be trash compared to you, but she's done something no one has done. She's managed to get close and gain the trust of Prince Elif and Princess Elaine, something much more valuable than anything you could ever hope to achieve." Stated Nordan, not an ounce of emotion in his voice when he mentioned Sarah.
"Guards, come and apprehend Marley." Ordered Nordan as the door was quickly opened, and entering the office was the two guards who were stationed just outside the door.
Feeling the guards tightly grab my arms, I tried breaking free, but nothing I did worked; the two guards didn't even look at me as I attacked them.
"B-B-But Father, I'm your daughter; you can't just abandon me." Said Marley desperately, as the fear, despair, and denial of the situation clouded her mind.
"Daughter? You were merely a tool for me to use, Marley; the same for every one of my children. From this point forward, Marley Eve, Daughter of Nordan Eve, shall be forever banished from the Noble Eve family!" Said Nordan with an emotionless expression as he looked at Marley before announcing her banishment to the entire Eve estate, causing everyone to get shocked at such a sudden announcement.
Hearing Father's announcement shocked me so much that I didn't even notice he had stripped me of most of my belongings until he spoke again, leaving me only with the set of clothes on my back.
"Take her away." Said Nordan as he emotionlessly eyed Marley before focusing back on his paperwork.
I couldn't even process what had just happened to me; even while being dragged through the Eve manor and being looked down upon by the masses, I was silent, still trying to process the reality of the situation.
Only when the guards threw me onto the ground did I snap out of my thoughts and quickly stand up before turning around as I tried walking back into the Eve Estate.
"Only authorized personnel past this point." Said the guard coldly as he stopped Marley's entry; the same guard that respectfully greeted Marley earlier today.
I Ignored the guard and attempted to walk past him, but when I did, I suddenly felt a great deal of pain in my abdomen before keeling over and grabbing my stomach.
"As I said before, only authorized personnel past this point. Next time, I won't be so gentle." Said the guard coldly as he retracted his fist back to his side.
Grunting in pain, I eyed the guard before slowly turning around and flying away; though, because of the great turmoil in my heart and soul, I didn't realize that now I was no longer a noble; I didn't have the privilege to fly.
"Only Nobles have the privilege to fly within Yggdrasil." Said the guard with an evil smile as he pressured the flying Marley to the ground, accidentally allowing his true feelings to show.
Looking back at the guard and seeing his evil smile, I wanted to vent all of my pent-up anger on him, yet now that I'm no longer a noble, attacking him would be a foolish move. So I ignored him, stood back up, and walked down the street without a destination; I just wished to leave this area.
By the time night arrived, I had only just arrived at the first district, and if it weren't for me running most of the way, It would've taken me a few days of walking to get there.
'What do I do now?' Thought Marley in distress while absentmindedly running among the crowd of people.
With everything that had happened and my purpose disappearing, I was empty inside; I didn't know where to go or what to do, so I just continued running with no objective in mind for several days while trying my best not to mentally and emotionally collapse.
Noticing an abnormal amount of royal guards, I stopped and looked up before realizing I'd arrived at the entrance to Yggdrasil, and if I were in my normal state of mind, I would've turned around before doing something stupid like leaving the safety Yggdrasil; however, I was not mentally there, so without a second thought, I continued running.
As time passed, the constant sound of chatter and the number of people in my surroundings began diminishing before; eventually, everything was quiet, only the sounds of carriages traveling across the sky every now and then. I don't know how many days had passed since I left Yggdrasil, though only when I came to a dead end did I stop running and lethargically observe my surroundings.
'When did I veer off the road? In fact, where is the road?' Thought Marley as she expanded her divines sense to the limit, only to find out she was lost within a large forest, though her actions of wantonly scanning the area caused many beasts to get restless; however, luckily for her, she hadn't gone too deep within the forests so all the beasts were weaker than her.
Retracting my divine sense, I looked up at the night sky before sitting down and tightly hugging myself; feeling the cold air blow against my body only made me understand how truly afraid I was about being alone.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't young mistress Marley Eve, oops, my apologies, it's just Marley now, isn't it." Said a man that appeared out of nowhere while mocking Marley.
Startled by someone managing to sneak up on me, I quickly stood up in a defensive stance while whipping my tears as I faced the man, though when I realized who it was, my heart instantly sank.
"You! What do you want!?" Said Marley angrily as she eyed the guard that had humiliated her just outside the Eve estate, though he currently wasn't wearing any armor.
"You misunderstand Marley, I don't want anything, but WE would like some revenge for how you've treated us in the past. Now that you're no longer affiliated with the noble Eve family, we don't have to worry about any repercussions." Said the man with a sinister and lustful smile as three other men suddenly appeared beside him.
"D-Don't you dare lay a hand on me! If you do, I'll tell Fat-" Yelled Marley fearfully before the man suddenly appeared in front of her and tightly grabbed her throat as he lifted her up in the air.
"Who will you tell? Patriarch Eve has deemed you useless enough to ban you from the Eve family. However, we think you still have some use; for example, your beautiful young body would certainly do wonders in pleasuring men. Don't you agree, brothers?" Stated the man as his sinister and lustful expression terrified Marley.
"I don't know how many times I've fantasized about being able to stick my hard member inside her small young body; I bet she's incredibly tight down there." Said a different man with a lecherous smile as he began taking off his pants while looking at Marley.
"Just the thought that I'll be shoving my shaft down her slippery tight throat soon gives me a painful erection." Said another man lustfully as he took off the last layer of clothes, allowing Marley to lay her eyes on a real penis for the first time.
"Hehe, well then, if you two are taking her mouth and vagina, I guess that only leaves me with her backside, and I'm not one to complain at such an opportunity." Said the last man as he appeared behind Marley, his penis mere centimeters away from touching her butt as his hands caressed it instead.
"I'd already called dibs on her perky breasts before we even got here, so I shall go first." Said the man holding Marley as he forcefully suppressed Marley's cultivation base, making her entirely helpless before ripping her shirt off, revealing her small flawless breasts.
"NOOO!! STOP IT, YOU MONSTER!!" Yelled Marley angrily with tears streaming down her face as she tried her best to fight back against them, though with her cultivation being suppressed, she was hardly stronger than an ordinary beast; besides, even if she had access to her cultivation base, it wouldn't have made a difference.
Right when they were about to rip my pants off and reveal my most precious part, a familiar voice sounded through the silent forest, one that brought an untold amount of joy and an equal amount of anger as well.
"Tch, this is quite the distasteful sight." Said someone hidden in the forest with a disgusted tone as their words announced their presence.