"Luna, she... she..."

Gidi was startled by Celitia's gaze and stammered, taking quite a while to calm down before continuing.

"Last time because of Luna, Young Master Olar got slapped by you, and since then, his temper has been very volatile..."

Listening to Gidi's gradual explanation, Celitia roughly understood the situation.

Previously, when Celitia had slapped Olar, it had stunned him and he had quieted down for a while.

After Celitia left home to attend the academy, two or three days later, Olar came to his senses and began to feel something was wrong.

A sister he had bullied since childhood—even if she had suddenly erupted once, he had absolutely no need to be afraid!

Moreover, Celitia wasn't even home. Could she really reach out from the academy to control him?

After figuring this out, Olar became even worse, venting all the anger he had suffered from Celitia that day on the servants.

Luna bore the brunt of it—Olar had been slapped because of Luna that day, and every time he recalled it, he felt he had lost face and became furious.

During the few days Celitia wasn't home, Luna had been punished frequently, starting with being denied meals, then being locked in the woodshed and forced to kneel, with punishments becoming increasingly severe.

"Today, the master and mistress went to attend a banquet hosted by Duke Augustus, but Young Master Olar wasn't invited and was forced to stay home. Because of this, the young master flew into a rage and called several servants including Luna inside. We could hear the young master's shouting from time to time, along with the sound of things being thrown and the screams of the maids..."

As Gidi spoke, her tone was filled with deep fear, terrified that she would be next.

"I understand," Celitia's voice was slightly cold, hiding the calm before the storm. "Take me there, Gidi."

Gidi quickly responded: "Yes, Miss Celitia."

Her attitude toward Celitia became even more respectful.

A few days ago when she heard that Celitia had hit Olar for Luna's sake, Gidi hadn't believed it. Only when Olar began crazily retaliating against Luna did she reluctantly believe it somewhat.

Gidi couldn't understand how the previously weak and bullied Celitia had become what she was now after falling ill.

When Luna was suddenly mentioned just now, Gidi still vividly remembered the look in Celitia's eyes and felt genuinely terrified.

But she also had some expectation.

Could Miss Celitia really control Young Master Olar?

At the same moment, in the side hall.

Teacups and vases lay shattered on the floor, their beautiful patterns still faintly visible; tables and chairs in the hall were toppled over, and an expensive sandalwood chair had a broken leg—it was a complete mess.

Three maids stood cowering in a row, fearfully looking at the gloomy-faced blonde youth before them.

One freckled maid had a large bump on her forehead, as if struck by something hard, with blood flowing to the corner of her eye, but she didn't dare wipe it.

Another short-haired maid had a red and swollen left cheek with an obvious handprint, apparently having been slapped by Olar.

Among the three, the only one not yet injured was Luna, who stood there stunned, not daring to breathe.

Olar stared at the three maids with interest, holding the broken sandalwood chair leg in his right hand, gently tapping his left palm with the wooden stick.

"The warm-up is over. It's about time to get serious, don't you think?"

Serious? So he hadn't been serious before?

The three maids looked at each other in terror, not knowing which of them—or all of them—would ultimately face misfortune.

Olar's gaze fixed intently on Luna, a sinister smile gradually appearing at the corners of his lips.

"I heard that the three of you have always had a good relationship and could be called friends in this house?"

The short-haired maid hung her head even lower.

Sure enough, they were being implicated because of Luna, which was why Young Master Olar had brought them along when he got angry.

The freckled maid's throat moved as she wanted to deny it, but fearing she would attract Olar's attention, she carefully swallowed her words.

"Young Master Olar," Luna said with tears in her eyes, her voice trembling, "if you're dissatisfied with me, you can take it out on me, but please don't involve Beth and Jennifer..."

Olar's expression changed dramatically: "Are you teaching me how to do things, Luna?"

Luna had to close her mouth, her body trembling slightly, her face full of fear and pain.

"Beth, Jennifer, I know you're both Luna's friends. That's fine of course, because I'm now giving you two a chance to prove yourselves—hold Luna down for me, press her against that pillar over there."

His smile widened, becoming increasingly bloodthirsty as Olar tapped his palm again with the wooden stick. "I'm planning to teach her a proper lesson now."

Beth and Jennifer looked at each other, their eyes full of fear.

They knew that what Olar held was a sandalwood chair leg, extremely heavy, and with the young master's usual strength, he might actually kill someone!

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Seeing the two hesitate without moving, Olar said ominously, "Or do you two want to taste this sandalwood stick first?"

Both trembled violently. Beth, who had been beaten bloody by Olar, gritted her teeth and spoke first:

"Sorry, Luna!"

Beth grabbed Luna's left arm, and seeing this, Jennifer also hugged her right arm, dragging Luna toward the pillar near the door.

"Luna, this all started because of you, so don't blame us for being heartless!"

Caught between the two and being dragged toward the door, Luna didn't dare resist. She closed her eyes as two streams of tears flowed from the corners.

"Hmph, you wanted to protect them, but in fact, when disaster strikes, these so-called friends will be the first to betray you, choosing themselves without hesitation!"

Using words to torment Luna, watching the sad and painful expression on the girl's face, Olar felt a surge of satisfaction inside.

For Olar, others' suffering only served as nourishment for his pleasure.

"Yes, press her against this pillar, hold her tight, don't let her struggle free and run away, or you two will be the ones getting the stick!"

Directing Beth and Jennifer, Olar walked up to Luna and looked at the girl pressed immobile against the pillar, swinging the sandalwood stick in his hand with satisfaction.

"Very good. Are you ready, Luna?"

As his words fell, Olar put all his strength into swinging the stick toward Luna.

Hearing the whooshing sound of the wooden stick cutting through the air, the girl closed her eyes tightly, desperately awaiting the arrival of severe pain.

"Olar!"

Just then, an angry shout filled with rage came from the doorway: "Stop right there!"