Chapter 49: Chapter 49: BULLYING THE BETA

VALORIA WILDEROSE

“Just when we think you can’t look more horrid, you surprise us, Alice. I’m amazed.” Elodie weaponizes her usual blunt coldness like bullets shot right into Alice’s massive ego. Its size alone makes it the perfect target.

Alice fumes—more erratic than before when she was just up against me. She’s unnerved but hides it behind her deepening scowl.

“No one called you here, Elodie.”

“That’s right. I have no business here whatsoever.” She nods, staring at her slender nails absentmindedly. “In fact, I give practically zero fucks about whatever you decide to do to her, considering she can’t seem to speak out for herself.”

For a single second, her eyes flick to me—stoic, emotionless—calling me out for being silent, for letting Alice walk all over me. I flinch, hiding my face away.

“But,” she continues, turning back to Alice with a brighter smile, “my dislike for your face trumps everything else. So, I have no choice but to intervene.”

Alice trembles with anger, faced with the woman who’s at least a foot shorter than her. She bites her lip so hard that blood beads at the edge.

With no confidence to face Elodie, her rage redirects toward me again.

“Now you have the high concubines on your side protecting you? How pathetic can you be? Pretending like you don’t care about hierarchy while buttering your way up and hiding behind them like a coward—acting helpless so they can come to your rescue every time? I hate your kind most of all.”

She spits in my face, and I flinch—until Elodie suddenly steps between us.

“Back up, porcelain bitch,” she snaps. “Just because I’m being nice doesn’t mean I’ll pass up the opportunity to scar that face of yours if I need to. I might be doing you a favor anyway.”

Alice flinches back, falling silent. Her eyes flicker between the both of us before she lets out a frustrated grunt.

“Whatever.” She stalks off, her heels striking loudly against the tiled floor.

“Look at her, running off like a scaredy cat. She’s always all bark and no bite.” Elodie bursts into light-hearted laughter, mocking the woman retreating with her tail between her legs.

“Th-thank you,” I mumble under my breath.

“You gotta say something, or they’re never going to stop.” She sighs, eyes softening as she looks at me.

I can’t say she’s wrong. I have a good enough idea of just how bad things could’ve gotten. But still—I don’t know why I froze.

Maybe it’s the thing with Ivana…the guilt I haven’t gotten over eating me alive. Or maybe I haven’t fully broken free from the trauma of home.

Maybe it creeps in sometimes, crippling me with the compulsion to submit.

“Now you look like shit,” Elodie comments after seconds of me staring off into space. “Is it because you can’t get into the royal library?”

Before I can answer, she glances toward the old man who’s been silently watching this whole time. He flinches the second her gaze lands on him.

“Old man, just let her in.”

“It’s okay.” I stop her before she can get verbally violent like she was with Alice.

She looks at me, visibly disappointed—almost as if she was looking forward to it.

“You’re just going to give up like that?”

“I don’t have access, and neither do you. I knew it was impossible from the start.”

My shoulders slump as I admit the truth out loud. It’s better to know when to give up than waste time arguing.

“Don’t worry.” Her hand lands on my shoulder. I notice the light in her bright eyes hasn’t faded at all. “About that—there’s always more than one way to get to a destination. And I know a secret shortcut. Follow me!”

I stare at her, confused, just before she grabs my hand and tugs me in a new direction—out of the library.

Before we can get too far, I glance back at Yue, waving.

“I’ll see you later,” I call out before we disappear through the door.

“There’s more than one way to gain access to restricted areas in the castle,” Elodie explains, leading me down a narrow corridor. “The usual way is asking for a key through the chief librarian in charge or… getting approval from a higher power.”

I follow closely, nodding along to what she says, even if none of it makes much sense.

“Azrael’s not going to let me use the library.”

“Who said anything about meeting the King?”

I raise a brow, looking at her. Who else would give her permission to go in—or a spare key?

Finally, we stop at another door. Elodie runs her fingers briefly through her thick curly red hair, adjusting the low-cut neckline of her shirt to show more cleavage that’s practically nonexistent with her barely A-cup breasts.

“Heads up—the person we’re about to meet is utterly and completely in love with me, to the point that it’s almost tragic.” She swipes her hair dramatically before kicking the door open.

We step into a wide, grand office in complete disarray. Servants are scattered everywhere, buzzing like bees with documents in hand.

A few rummage through the shelves, while others sort papers on separate desks lining one side of the room.

At the center of it all is a massive table stacked with even more work, and at the very end of the room stands one man—barking orders, reviewing files, and managing chaos all at once.

The man himself is the Alpha’s Beta.

“Eros! Did you miss me?” she exclaims in a high-pitched, sing-song voice, arms thrown wide in dramatic excitement.

All eyes snap toward her—his included—with instant shock that just as quickly morphs into repulsion.

“It’s you,” he says, scorn dripping from every syllable.

His usually blank face twists into a subtle scowl—the closest thing to emotion I’ve ever seen from him—just as she bursts into delighted laughter.

“See? Crazy in love,” she comments.

I stare at her a second longer than I should, slowly realizing what she truly meant by love. Complete and utter repulsion.

“What do you want?” His tone is tight and cold. “And why is Lady Valoria with you? Are you causing trouble again?” The accusation comes fast, sharp—like he expected the worst within five seconds of her walking into the room.

Anyone else would’ve been stung by the harshness of it, but Elodie remains unfazed. Immune, even. If anything, she smiles brighter—just to spite him. Somehow, that annoys him more.

“Look, we’re still cleaning up the mess you made in the kitchen, Elodie, so whatever it is—I don’t have the time.”

“Oh relax, with a little soap and water it comes off easily.” She waves off his concern like it’s nothing. Judging by his glare, it wasn’t nothing.

“What do you want?” he snaps again, impatience edging his voice.

“We need your spare key to the King’s personal library.”

“No.” His reply is instantaneous—snuffing out my hope before it can even spark.

“Pleaseeeeeeee.”

“Why, of course—the mere fact that you added please will make me trust you with my key in a room full of important documents.”

“Really?”

“Hell no.”

Her brilliant smile twists into an exaggerated pout.

“A sourpuss as always. This is why you haven’t been able to win my heart, and why your eternal suffering in your one-sided love will never end.” She sighs, pressing her palm against her forehead like a tragic heroine trapped in a melodrama.

“Yes, of course. I suffer every single day,” he deadpans, clearly used to her delusions.

“Please stop. How many times do I have to tell you I’m married—and to the King? Your boss.” She gasps with an accusing, though playful, glare.

I cringe, suddenly uncomfortable, unsure which one of them is delusional anymore. First, I thought he truly was in love, then that she meant the opposite… now, I’m not sure what’s going on at all.

“Uhm… sh-should I ex-cuse you two?”

“Please, Lady Valoria—please don’t.” He begs in a dull, exhausted tone, rubbing at his temples as if her very presence is a migraine come alive.

The desperation in his voice is almost comical. I could probably do anything to him right now and he wouldn’t mind—anything but leaving him alone with Elodie.

Finally, he exhales, opens a drawer, and tosses her a key in one swift motion. She catches it with ease.

“Don’t burn it down,” he says quietly, the edge in his voice softening just slightly.

Despite his obvious dislike, he gives in without much of a fight. All she did was demand the key with arrogance and a smile.

She does a celebratory spin, ignoring his warning entirely.

Then his cold eyes move to me.

“You’re in charge,” he says—his tone carrying a silent warning.

And just like that, he turns back to his work, pretending we’re not even in the room while the chaos unfolds around him.

“C’mon, we’ve got it. Let’s go.” Elodie grabs my hand and pulls me out the door.

I glance back one last time at Eros and throw him an awkward little wave—one he thankfully doesn’t notice.

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