Although in the Eryndor's Mansion, the members of the family feared Marla, their fear cannot be compared to the Patriarch of the Eryndor Family, Karol Eryndor. He is a man of principles.
The man was one of the most important figures in the area and doesn't usually stay at home, but once in a while, he stays with his family.
Wystan is currently in front of Karol's Study, and Lucas had already met up with him. As he met up with him, he picked up the already thin boy and flipped him to the back.
Wystan cried in pain, his voice louder than usual, "Lucas, please. I'm sorry for sleeping in your room. I was sick and couldn't spend the night in the attic. Please help."
Even Lucas was shocked at Wystan's sudden shout. The boy had never made any noise whenever he was being dealt with by him, but now he was screaming at the top of his lungs and was even exaggerating.
"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, shock lacing his annoyed voice.
"Lucas, please stop hitting me! I'm already injured, don't open up my wound! Please! Lucas!" Wystan cried out in pain, tears streaming down from his eyes.
In less than a minute, the hall was already crowded with people, and even the door to Karol's Study opened.
"I didn't… I swear to God I didn't…" Lucas' eyes widened as the words stuttered out of his mouth. His eyes met with Karol's, and his body went stiff. "Fa… Father!"
"What is going on here?!" Karol's authoritative voice, deep and cold, reverberated in the cold hallways.
The murmurs of the people who had gathered went down, their faces filled with horror.
The Patriarch of the Eryndor was known to be quite strict, disciplined, and a man of principles. Although he isn't always at home, he is feared in his house, and once he is in his Study, no one is allowed in the hallway that leads to his Study, not to even talk of causing a commotion in front of his Study.
"Yesterday, I was injured and didn't know I spent the night in Lucas' room. He arrived this morning and started hitting me," Wystan sobbed, his voice trembling as hot tears streamed from his eyes. "I had to run away, and he chased me down here, Father. I'm sorry, Father."
The people who had gathered in the hallway exchanged glances with bewilderment. However, the person who was more shocked was Lucas. His body was already trembling as his Father didn't shift his gaze from him.
"Wystan, why… why are you…"
Before he could speak further, Wystan interrupted, crying more profusely. "Please, Lucas, I promise not to sleep on your bed anymore. Please forgive me. Father, please beg Lucas on my behalf. He promised to kill me."
Karol's eyes twitched lightly as he watched the scene of his youngest child, crying like a baby who had been left unattended. He had never seen the boy cry like this before.
Wystan was a quiet, frail boy who had never called him Father. Ever since Wystan was brought into the Eryndor Mansion, he hadn't talked much and even avoided meeting Karol.
So Karol was taken aback to find Wystan crying profusely like this. It was something he had never seen.
He turned to Lucas, his eyes as cold as ice. If looks could kill, Lucas would have been dead by now. "Lucas, is this true?"
"Father… I…" Lucas stuttered, his jaw trembling, making it hard to speak.
"This is true, Master Karol. Young Master Wystan was quite injured yesterday," A voice broke through the taut atmosphere. It was Wystan's assigned assistant, Darius. "Young Master Wystan went missing two days ago, and we found him yesterday night, injured. He was quite tired because of his injuries, so he couldn't sleep in the attic."
Darius had been working for Wystan ever since the latter arrived in the Eryndor Mansion and had been on Wystan's side even though he didn't understand why Wystan had to put up with being bullied by everyone in the Mansion just because he was an illegitimate child.
Seeing Wystan change brought a lot of joy to him. He knew there was no better chance than this.
"Sleep in the attic?" Karol asked, his voice low and authoritative.
"Young Master Wystan has been sleeping in the attic for the past few months, Sir," Darius said, his head bowed. Wystan passed him a look of gratitude, laughing in his heart as he kept his act on. "Although I am only a servant, Young Master Wystan has endured so much, and you never seem to care about him."
Silence wrapped the hallway like a shroud, and only Wystan's stifled cries could be heard. Tears had already gathered in Lucas' eyes, and he knew there was no way for him out of this.
He hadn't expected this at all, Wystan doing all this.
Darius continued, "Please know that I'm not trying to make you look bad, My Lord, but Young Master Wystan…"
"What is happening here?" A voice broke through, making everyone turn their heads to the direction of the voice.
At the far end of the hallway, Marla, the wife of Karol Eryndor, walked towards the crowd, her eyes sharp and walking with the gait of a predator ready to pounce on its prey.
"Since when did a servant have a say in our family?" Marla said, her voice dripping with spite. Before anyone could understand what was going on, Marla raised her hand and gave Darius a slap, which made the latter stagger back. "Everyone should go back to their work, or what the hell are you all doing here when you are supposed to be productive on a bright morning like this?"
With jaws dropping in surprise, the people who had gathered immediately dispersed, leaving only Darius, Wystan, and Lucas.
Marla's fists clenched at her sides as her gaze landed on her husband. "So you want to disgrace our son now? You want to embarrass him in front of your family, servants, and maids, right? So what if Lucas beat Wystan up? Why…"
"Marla!!" Karol yelled, his voice booming like thunder. "How dare you let a child of mine sleep in the attic?! How dare you?!"
Marla blinked her eyes rapidly, taking a few steps back as her mind tried to process what had just happened. "Karol! Are you believing the words of a servant over mine? Why would I do that to Wystan? Well, maybe Lucas did beat him up, but it was because Wystan slept in his bed. He had a reason for doing so."
Blood drained from Marla's skin as she took in Karol's expression. Was he actually going to believe the words of a lowlife over hers? She immediately glanced at Wystan, who was still crying, and an idea popped into her mind.
"You can ask Wystan if the words of this lowlife are true or not?" She pulled Wystan's arm, her eyes cold as she sized Darius up.
When Darius saw this, he knew it was definitely over for him. Wystan is really scared whenever Marla pulls something like this, and that is why he doesn't really like to interfere. Wystan would deny everything, just like he always has. He must have been really stupid to believe everything would work out today.
Wystan blinked his eyes, his lips pursed quizzically.
"Why don't you tell your Father the truth, Wystan," Marla pulled the thin boy closer to herself, her grip on his arm tightening as if to remind him not to mess up.
A smirk pulled on Wystan's lips seeing this. He yanked her hand from his, turning to face Karol with an undecipherable expression. "Everything Darius said is true, Father," He dropped the bomb, disdain crafting his eyes into a cold, unforgiving stare.
A small gasp escaped Darius' lips, while Marla's heart skipped a beat, an obvious pause that found its way to her face.
"Wystan… why…"
"I have been sleeping in the attic ever since I arrived in this mansion because of Stepmother. I have always been bullied by Lucas, and when I went missing two days ago, I was left in the forbidden forest before I was found. And when I was given an indefinite suspension at the academy last semester, it was because Lucas teamed up with his friends to blame me for stealing the sacred globe…" Wystan made mention of everything he recalls, adding more salt to Marla's wound.
Lucas stumbled back, losing his footing for a brief moment as he fell to his knees. "Father, I swear… I just… it's not my fault! My Mother made me do everything! She wanted to get rid of Wystan! It's not my fault!" He cried out, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
Marla stood unblinking, trying to process what had just happened. Wystan's sudden change? Her Son's accusations? Karol's dreadful gaze that pricked her skin? She found it difficult to process everything.
That was all Karol needed to hear to see the other side of the woman he had been living with for years.