CHAPTER 330: WHEN BLOOD TURNS AGAINST BLOOD [1]

PLAH!

The sharp crack of flesh against flesh echoed in the morning air, far louder than it had any right to be.

Florence’s head snapped to the side, her golden hair falling across her cheek where her mother’s palm had struck.

For an instant, she just stood there, stunned and her lips parted with a faint tremble.

"You filthy whore..." Henriette Bleaufort’s voice reverberated across the stone steps of the mansion.

Brandon froze where he stood near the car, his fists curling so tightly that his nails bit into his palms.

But Florence... Florence didn’t move.

She stood rooted in place, like a child once more before her mother’s shadow

"Mother..."

Henriette’s expression did not waver "Is this what you have become? Crawling back here with a man like... that?"

"Have you learned nothing, Florence? Did I not carve the weakness out of you long ago?"

Brandon took a step forward and the crunch of gravel under his shoe drew both women’s eyes.

*step* *step* *step*

His boots echoed in the silence as he climbed the stairs.

The woman’s eyes narrowed faintly, looking at Brandon walking towards her.

Florence saw him coming and panic flooded her eyes as she quickly shook her head, whispering breathlessly, "Kael.... no. Don’t-"

Looking at Henriette, Brandon muttered "Don’t ever... touch her again."

Henriette’s eyes narrowed further "So this is him... the boy who dares upset the balance of the entire flesh. A mistake given flesh. A monster my daughter would rather bed than banish."

"Mother-!" Florence’s voice rose sharply, but Henriette silenced her with a single raise of her hand.

"Do you not see, whore?"

"This man is rot. He will hollow you out, just as he seeks to hollow out your daughter. Have you fallen so far that you would let him corrupt the Bleaufort name?"

Florence’s chest heaved and she turned to Brandon "Kael, please... leave."

Henriette’s lips twisted into a cold, mocking smile as she took a step down the stairs "Leave? Yes, boy. Crawl back to whatever gutter you came from. You have dirtied my gates long enough."

Brandon’s gaze narrowed and he stayed silent for a moment.

Henriette looked at Brandon with disdain, "Why are you looking at me like that? Strike me? The Grand Matriarch of Bleaufort? Will you bare your teeth here, in the lion’s den?"

Glancing at Florence’s cheek, he uttered "If you were anyone else, your hand would already be broken."

Florence’s eyes widened in shock at the audacity of his speech.

Henriette let out a low chuckle "Threats. From a boy who should not even exist. You think because you carry this... forbidden power, you have the right to stand in front of me?"

Her gaze flickered to Florence, "Pathetic. You always did surround yourself with weakness. First with that daughter of yours, who now clings to this aberration, and now you too."

"Where were both of you for the entire night? He bedded you too? You slut."

As she spoke, she raised her hand enough to slap Florence, but before that, Brandon raised his hand and slapped Henriette across her face.

SLAP!

Henriette’s head snapped violently to the side, her silver-streaked hair whipping with the force and the echo of flesh striking flesh lingered against the morning’s silence.

WHAT? Florence’s pupils shrank in absolute horror and she slowly turned her head to look at Brandon as a breathless whisper escaped her lips "...Kael?"

Looking at Henriette, Brandon spoke "Don’t ever call her that. And you don’t dare raise her hand against her."

Henriette’s body swayed faintly, one hand rising to her cheek where his strike had landed.

Slowly, she turned her face back to him.

Her grey-blue eyes narrowed into sharp slits "...You dare. This is my family matter; who are you to interfere in that?"

Looking into her eyes, he replied "Then consider me a trespasser who slaps brain-dead thots like you."

Henriette snickered under her breath "Trespasser, he says? You know how we handle trespassers...?"

"KIERA!"

-WHOOM!

In the next instant, a blue energy slash arc appeared out of nowhere and in instinct, Brandon raised his left hand to block.

*sleesh*

A wet, tearing sound echoed as blood sprayed outward.

The slash separated his forearm at the elbow in an instant and his arm flung high, spinning grotesquely before tumbling down the marble stairs like discarded meat.

Florence’s eyes widened in absolute terror.

"K-KAEL?!"

Brandon staggered backward, clutching the spurting stump of his arm as blood gushed between his fingers.

The marble steps beneath him were already slick with red.

From the shadow of the archway above, a figure emerged with slow, graceful steps.

Her blonde hair cascaded in the morning breeze and her cold, piercing blue eyes looked at Brandon.

Kiera Bleaufort.

The elder daughter.

The weapon Henriette had forged with her own hands.

Each step she took seemed to weigh on the air, the very ether around her vibrating with lethal potential.

"...Grandmother. You called."

Florence staggered forward as she reached out with her hand "Kiera- stop! He’s not your enemy!"

But before she could even touch her daughter, Henriette’s cane struck the ground.

CRACK!

A ripple of ether burst outward and reverberated through the marrow.

Florence froze mid-step and her breath caught in her throat.

Henriette’s cane, carved from ancient blackwood, gleamed faintly with the etchings of runes.

"You will not move another step, Florence. Your softness has gone unchecked long enough. Stay where you are."

Florence’s hand trembled in mid-air, her nails digging into her palms until blood welled.

Brandon, gritting his teeth, clamped his good hand tighter over his bleeding stump.

His vision blurred, stars dancing at the edges, but he forced himself upright.

He staggered, then planted his feet firmly against the blood-slick marble.

His chest rose and fell heavily, "So this... is the elder daughter. The one you stole from Florence."

Kiera didn’t blink and looked at Brandon "You bled too easily. Weak. Not worth Eira’s heart."

Tears flooded Florence’s eyes looking at the blood gushing out of Brandon’s arms "Kae-"

But Henriette’s cane struck the ground once more, "Enough. The boy lifted his hand against me, against the blood that forged this House. Trespassers are punished. Monsters are culled."

She gestured toward Brandon with her finger, "Kiera. Finish it."

The air around Kiera shimmered faintly as ether gathered at her fingertips.

Brandon’s blood dripped onto the marble, staining the white stone in uneven trails, yet his gaze only hardened.

He spat crimson to the side, straightened his back, "...If you think one missing arm is enough to put me down... you’ve sorely underestimated me."

Suddenly, green energy spiraled out of his left hand and a smile crossed his lips as he whispered "I love you, Dhayun Noona..."