The Slave Queen - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

No one was waiting for her at the gate. The gatekeeper was slouched in a chair, nodding off. When he saw her approaching, he stood up lazily and gave a perfunctory nod. "Lady Raelynn, you're back. Go on inside—they are in the front hall. They've set the table and are waiting for you. Lady Margot took her medicine earlier this afternoon and just fell asleep. She hasn't woken yet."
Raelynn kept her head down and stepped quietly into the estate, still wearing that thin servant's robe.
She hadn't even reached the front hall when the warm, comforting aroma of food drifted out to greet her.
Julia's voice rang out—soft, sweet, and perfectly gentle, just like in her memories. "Once Raelynn's home, Grandmother's health will definitely improve. Then we can all be together again, just like before—happy and whole."
Cecilia Lennox let out a quiet sigh. "I don't know what's taking so long. Could something have happened? Or did the noble consort go back on her word?"
As Raelynn stepped inside, the first thing she saw was Julia nestled in Cecilia's arms, her face tinged with guilt, eyes glistening with tears.
"Mother... Raelynn must've suffered so much these past three years. I'm afraid she'll hate me... blame me..."
Cecilia gently stroked her hair, soothing her. "It was only a few years of chores. Raelynn's not so small-minded. Now that she's home, your father, your brother, and I will all make it up to her.
"Don't overthink things, Julia. If you wear yourself down with guilt, it'll only worry the rest of us."
The two sat close, warm and intimate—so natural in their closeness that, for a moment, Raelynn felt like she was looking in on someone else's family.
She stood at the doorway in silence, her presence unnoticed, until Julia suddenly looked up and saw her. "Raelynn?"
Cecilia followed her gaze and, seeing Raelynn's bloodless face and the paper-thin clothing clinging to her, immediately burst into tears. "My poor girl!"
Julia ran to her and threw her arms around her in a tight embrace—so tight that it pressed directly against the wounds still raw on Raelynn's body.
"Raelynn, why did you get back so late? Didn't Gabriel go to pick you up? Why isn't he with you?"
She didn't seem to notice Raelynn's frostbitten hands, fingers so red and swollen they looked like radishes. Without hesitation, she grabbed them tightly. "I've missed you so much all these years. In the palace, did you—"
The pain hit like a shockwave, radiating from Raelynn's fingers straight to her chest—ten fingers, all linked to the heart. Reflexively, she pushed her.
Julia let go and stumbled back. She hadn't even pushed hard, but still, she lost her balance and fell backward into the snow.
Cecilia had just stepped forward, ready to embrace Raelynn, but froze in place. She frowned and stared at her. "Raelynn, what are you doing?"
Before Raelynn could speak, Julia looked up, her eyes red with tears, voice trembling with wounded innocence. "Raelynn... you're still mad at me, aren't you?"
She was still sitting in the snow, tears falling in fat droplets, her face the picture of helpless sorrow.
"I never wanted you to go to the palace in my place. But Father and Mother thought my health was too fragile... I know you've always felt I took what should've been yours. I've been hoping all these years that you'd come back...
"If you really don't want to see me, I'll leave the Duke's estate. But now that Grandmother's sick, can I at least stay a little longer—to show her I care?"
Seeing Julia cry, Cecilia hurried over and pulled her into her arms. But when she turned to look at Raelynn again, her expression had shifted—there was now a hint of reproach in her eyes.
"Raelynn, I know Julia was thoughtless back then, but that was years ago. Why are you still holding a grudge against your own sister?"
She sighed, unfastened her cloak, and gently wrapped it around Julia's shoulders. "The family will make things right with you, but this isn't the way. Don't take your anger out on Julia. Be the bigger person and apologize. You know how delicate she is..."
"I didn't push her, Lady Cecilia," Raelynn said calmly, her tone steady but distant.
She lifted her hands and held them out for all to see—red, cracked, and raw. "I wasn't angry. She just squeezed too hard, and it hurt. If you still believe I was wrong, I'll apologize to Lady Julia right now."
Cecilia went still.
She thought, 'What kind of hands are those?' When Raelynn had first come back home, her hands had been rough from years of labor. Cecilia had felt guilty, had ordered fine ointments and silk gloves, and gradually restored those hands to something soft and ladylike again.
But now... they were barely recognizable. Her palms were marred with deep scars, one of them clearly a burn—dark, raised, and twisted. The skin around her fingers was split open with frostbite, and faint streaks of blood welled up from the cracks. The injury from Julia's grip was fresh and obvious.
Tears welled in Cecilia's eyes and spilled over as she covered her mouth in horror. "Raelynn, you..."
She reached out to take Raelynn's hand, but Raelynn quietly stepped back. "Lady Cecilia, may I go change?" she asked softly. "I want to visit Grandmother next. If she sees me like this, it'll only upset her."
Cecilia choked back a sob, unable to find the words. The guilt in her eyes was unmistakable—almost unbearable.
Julia stared at Raelynn's wounded hands, but in her own eyes, a flicker of something sharp and cold passed through—just for a moment.