Chapter 41 - 2.2

There were five heads.

First, the Duke. From her memories, this man in the middle of it all was the Duke, this body's biological father.

The other people were her step mother, two half brothers, and a half sister.

Her birth mother wasn't there. She was buried six feet under the ground years ago upon this body's birth being discovered.

In other words- her current body was not someone part of the legal family, she was an illegitimate child who had no place in this complete family. She was a noble, but she wasn't treated as such, only given the bare minimum to satisfy the law.

The law dictated that it was illegal to kill a noble or act with disrespect towards them. It sounded authoritative, but nothing could describe how much this body felt grateful towards that law. It could be said that the body's survival was dependent on the law.

No matter if it was part of the legitimate or illegitimate side, killing a noble would warranty a grand punishment. Thus, Ariel- this body's name, was left alive, but lived in seclusion and bad treatment for all these years after being born into the world. She was given servants, but only one truly served her not because of the money, but because of sympathy and a deep rooted relationship.

She was the servant that carried 'Ariel' just now. Her name was Lily, and she was not only a maid of the Maine Dukedom, but also a former close friend of her late mother. When Ariel's mother Maria gave birth to her, the one who acted as her nanny was precisely this maid, Lily.

She took care of all of the lady's matters even though nobody else wanted to have anything going on with her. She was the only one the original soul could trust- the last person that could possibly spark emotions inside the ice lady's heart from time to time.

Roughly, that was what Xu Jiaqi discerned.

A rather interesting setting to start off with, right?

'Pretty unlucky, I must say.'

Ariel Maine. The 'poor' daughter of the Maine Dukedom, located inside a vast land positioned in the upper left corner of the Varadan Empire. This was her body's identity, the young lady who was despised by her own family and treated as a low blood despite not having committed any crimes.

She greeted all her 'family members'.

"Ariel. I have a task for you." This was the first thing the Duke spoke about right after she sat down on the chair. She hadn't even touched her food yet, but the others had already eaten most of the delicacies and left only the trivial leftovers for her. In her memories, she was also served cold food like this every single day since the Duke didn't allow her to dine in with the rest of the main family.

However, today, she was actually brought to sit with them. Of course, not to make good amends, but for a task.

"..This lady understands." Xu Jiaqi responded without emotion, digging into her food and chewing slowly.

"Is that all you have to say?" The Duke, whose name was Reginald frowned. "Do you have no manners? I'm talking to you, and you're trying to eat?" He berated, banging on the table with his fist.

"What does Esteemed Lord think this lady should be saying? Should this lady get off this chair and grovel before you so that you can impart your priceless order to her? Is that the viable choice? This lady shall do that if you request to do so. There is no need for Esteemed Lord to get angry."

If there was one thing to note about Ariel Maine's speech, it would be that she always addressed herself as 'this lady' for some unknown reasons, perchance a psychological mark.

"Stop. You are still a member of the Maine Dukedom no matter how lowly you are. What if someone sees you being like this?" Reginald said.

Xu Jiaqi only nodded as she crossed her hands on top of the table and looked at Reginald with cold eyes. "Then, what is the Esteemed Lord's order about?"

"You are going to be sent to Varadan's capital. The Holy Monastery seeks for a young, chaste maiden of our bloodline, but your little sister Ariana can't possibly be sacrificed for this reason. Thus, you will be going to the Palla region and train there as a Saintess candidate. Do you have any objection?"

"Understood, Esteemed Lord. Your order shall be carried off." Xu Jiaqi replied without even thinking twice.

A rule had always been instilled inside her head. That Reginald Maine's words could never be objected or refused. Besides, getting out of Maine might be the best solution she could take.

Reginald did not bat an eye at this 'daughter' of his any longer. "I am not asking you to be the Saintess. For someone of your caliber, a miracle would have to happen. Your magical power is low, let alone your ability to wield Holy power. Originally, nobles of Maine had a high affinity with Holy magic, but Ariana will be wasted over there. You should stay low and not make a ruckus. You are going as the representative of Maine, and I won't allow you to cause embarrassment for us. Do you understand?" he warned clearly.

As if saying 'don't think that you are special just because of this'. Reminding her of being worthless.

"This lady understands, Esteemed Lord." Xu Jiaqi bowed her head down.

Just then, an annoying chuckle came to life like an aggravating fly.

"Serves you right, lowly tramp. You should be grateful that you can be useful for once. Hahahah!" The man who was supposed to be her half brother insulted her right off the bat, making her originally already bad mood even worse. His name was Tristan Maine, the Duke's second son. It had to be said that he was the main culprit of most of her sufferings.

He was the one who personally came down and acted on her frail body, imprinting her all sorts of heinous abuses, both physical and verbal. The original body's hatred towards this man was overflowing and couldn't be ignored.

After having taken over the body, would Xu Jiaqi just stay still?

No.