The Slave Queen - Chapter 104: Chapter 104

All these years, Katherine had maintained no visible contact with her family, yet in secret, she had been regularly supporting them financially.
Katherine thought she had kept this a secret.
But to her utter shock, Julia had already found out.
Katherine's mind went completely blank. Without a second thought, her legs buckled and she dropped to her knees.
"Lady Julia, have mercy. I didn't mean to—" Katherine stammered, her voice trembling with fear.
Katherine knew Julia's temperament all too well. Terrified, she kept begging for mercy.
Julia grew impatient at the sight.
She waved at Isabel to stop Katherine from begging.
Isabel also wasn't sure what Julia meant.
Truth be told, she had stumbled upon Katherine secretly supporting her family on several occasions.
But she always kept her mouth shut, pretending to know nothing at all.
Every family had its own troubles.
Katherine had long ago been bound by a permanent servitude contract signed by her parents. It meant that she and all her descendants would forever remain servants of the Duke's estate.
By the estate's rules, servants like her were strictly forbidden from contacting their birth families.
Even if the Duke and Duchess were merciful enough to allow the occasional visit, they would never tolerate a servant like Katherine constantly providing support to relatives.
That was the gravest taboo for any servant.
But Katherine's family were nothing but good-for-nothings, pestering her relentlessly.
As for Isabel, she too was a house-born servant at the Duke's estate, who was destined to serve all her life.
She knew that there was nothing she could do to help Katherine.
So pretending not to know was already the most kindness she could offer.
However, Isabel wondered anxiously how Julia had found out about it.
Helping Katherine to her feet, Isabel also cast a worried glance at Julia.
Katherine's face was a mask of panic.
She couldn't promise never to see her family again. They had threatened her that if she didn't keep sending them money, they would just show up at the Duke's estate gates and make a scene.
Then, she would be beaten and cast out. Her family could take her back, wait until she healed, and sell me off to another family as a servant. If she was too old to be sold, they'd just sell her to a pimp.
Terrified, and knowing all too well the cruel nature of her parents and brother, Katherine had given in to their demands again and again.
But now that Julia knew everything, she couldn't even imagine what punishment awaited her.
Julia frowned. She was clearly displeased. "What made you think I was going to do anything to you? Just answer me. Do you have a brother?"
Seeing that Julia was angry, Katherine didn't dare to beg for mercy anymore. She could only nod meekly and reply in a trembling voice, "Yes, I do have a brother..."
Hearing this, a satisfied smile played on Julia's lips.
Julia studied Katherine closely. "Tell me, does your brother look anything like you?"
With tears in her eyes, Katherine shook her head. "Lady Julia, I take after my mother, but my brother resembles my father more."
Julia thought, 'So, not very similar, then.'
Hearing this, Julia's satisfaction deepened visibly, a pleased smile playing on her lips.
When Katherine was little, she was quite adorable, and now that she had grown up, her features had matured.
Though she wasn't exactly a stunning beauty, she was still charming and pleasant-looking.
Fortunately, she never cared about her appearance and never bothered with makeup or dressing up in front of Julia.
As such, Julia was never particularly harsh about her looks.
In fact, Julia often found herself quietly satisfied by how pleasing Katherine was to the eye.
Julia thought, 'After all, if the wet nurse hadn't swapped me with Raelynn all those years ago, then judging by the life Raelynn had, my original fate would have been to be sold into some noble family as a lowly servant.
'Katherine's presence doesn't bother me. On the contrary, she constantly reminds me that I must never allow Raelynn to remain at the Duke's estate permanently.
'I will do whatever it takes to make Raelynn vanish from the Duke's estate for good!'
Julia had once caught a distant glimpse of Katherine's brother.
Though a scoundrel by nature, he was tall and lean.
Given Katherine's own comeliness, Julia supposed her brother wouldn't be unattractive.
Julia smirked as a plan took shape in her mind. She turned to Isabel and commanded, "Go get my jewelry box."
Confused, Isabel went to fetch it.
Moments later, she returned with Julia's exquisite jewelry box and gently placed it in her mistress's hands. "Lady Julia," she said respectfully.
Julia took the jewelry box, her fingers sifting through its contents before she finally picked out an outdated set of hair ornaments and a pair of bracelets she rarely wore.
She instructed calmly, "Take these and sell them. Use the proceeds to buy your brother some decent clothes."
Katherine was completely thrown off by the sudden turn of events.
She stared at Julia in disbelief. "Lady Julia, what are you..."
'What does this mean? Not only is she not punishing me, she's actually giving money to my family. Has Lady Julia completely lost her mind?' she thought.
But of course, she would never dare let such words pass her lips.