Bitter Vendetta

Jasper Cheng, afraid of getting beaten, ran out of the Academy in one breath, only stopping when he was out of sight to catch his breath.

The little maid finally caught up, her eyes brimming with tears as she gazed at Jasper Cheng. But Jasper Cheng spun around and struck her across the cheek, snarling, "Useless wretch! Look at that pitiful face of yours. If you had any talent and could win the favor of Dean Jade Evans, wouldn't I have a place at the Royal Academy of Mathematics by now? But look at you! He won't even spare you a glance. Worthless! What use are you to me?"

The little maid turned pale with fright and knelt before Jasper Cheng. "Young Master, please don't give me away! I'm yours—my first time was with you, and I'll belong to you for my whole life. Please, Young Master, don't send me to someone else."

"Bah!" Jasper Cheng spat in her face. "I've got more women than I can count, all untouched. Why should I fancy you? What have you got that sets you apart? Just a bit of bloom on your cheeks now, but in a few years, you'll be as haggard as the rest!"

The little maid stared at him in terror. "Young Master, I will serve you faithfully, even if it means becoming your beast of burden—please do not cast me out!"

Jasper Cheng, thoroughly vexed, cared not for the maid and strode on, muttering curses beneath his breath. "I boasted back home that I'd surely enter the Royal Academy of Mathematics. If I fail, my name will be dragged through the mud. Bah! Tomorrow, I'll raise such a ruckus that the very walls will tremble. Come, let us return to the inn for now."

Jasper Cheng climbed into the carriage, and the maid quickly followed, fawning over him—pouring tea, rubbing his legs, doing everything to please him.

Jasper Cheng, now comfortable and in a better mood, glanced at the maid and asked, "Cynthia Green, what was your original name again? Su something?"

The maid's body trembled, and she lowered her head without answering.

The old woman nearby interjected, "Young Master, Cynthia Green's original name was Lana Evans."

"Oh, Lana Evans." Jasper Cheng clicked his tongue with mockery. "Cynthia Green sounds far better. You are my woman now, so that old name is forbidden. From this day forth, you are Cynthia Green—remember it well!"

Cynthia Green bowed her head, voice trembling, "Yes, Young Master. Cynthia Green shall belong to you from this day until my last."

Jasper Cheng dozed off in the carriage.

Lana Evans—now Cynthia Green—leaned against the carriage, closing her eyes to rest, but her mind was replaying that fleeting moment in the Academy.

In that courtyard, she'd glimpsed two people—a man and a woman. The man wore a white scholar's robe, elegant and striking, surely the legendary Dean Jade Evans of the Royal Academy of Mathematics, the greatest mathematician in the land.

And the woman—wasn't that Bella Bell, Lily Evans's maid?

Cynthia Green recognized Bella Bell at a glance, but Bella Bell did not recognize the now-changed Cynthia Green.

Cynthia's mind raced: Why would Lily Evans send her maid to seek out Dean Jade Evans at the Royal Academy of Mathematics...?

Unable to make sense of it, Cynthia Green simply began massaging Jasper Cheng's legs.

Jasper Cheng was her man, and a woman must be loyal to one man. Cynthia Green had made up her mind—she would remain at Jasper Cheng's side and be his woman, come what may.

As for Lana Evans... Just the thought of that name made Cynthia Green's chest constrict as if squeezed by an iron fist. Her days in Haizi Village were but distant, bitter memories. From the moment she fled her home and was sold like cattle, Lana Evans had died—her spirit crushed, her innocence stolen.

Lana Evans was dead—driven to her death by Lily Evans, destroyed by Lily Evans. That debt of blood would never be forgotten.

Cynthia Green would carry this blood feud to her grave, her heart forever burning with vengeance.