The Slave Queen - Chapter 67: Chapter 67

A dark glint flashed across Julia's eyes.
Turning her head, Julia caught sight of Verda Carlson. She was the unpopular illegitimate daughter of the Carlson family. She looked awkward in her gaudy peach-pink dress, which made her stand out for all the wrong reasons.
Seeing Verda, Julia's mood inexplicably grew even darker.
For some reason, over the years Julia had found herself increasingly isolated among Hazond City's elite circles.
To her dismay, the noble-born ladies who had once been her close friends were now gradually drifting away.
But being so proud and conceited, Julia could never bring herself to ask why, so she gradually drifted apart from the other noble ladies.
At this point, the only ones she could hang out with were people like Verda, who were unpresentable bastards.
But then again, precisely because Verda was an illegitimate daughter, she had no proper upbringing and not the brightest mind, which made her the perfect pawn for Julia.
Julia offered Verda a strained smile.
Verda scampered over cheerfully. "Julia, you're here too!"
Julia looked down at her ugly face, a forced smile barely gracing her lips as she nodded. "Yes," she replied, "today's Ice Party! I've heard there are all sorts of unheard-of ice sculptures. How could I possibly miss such a spectacle?"
Verda chirped, "Precisely! Mother finally allowed me to come out today. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know how to help you..."
Julia's expression tightened instantly. She quickly pressed a finger to her lips and hissed sharply, "Keep your voice down. Someone might hear us!"
Verda finally realized and nodded eagerly. "Oh, right! I was in such a hurry, I nearly forgot."
Out of Verda's sight, Julia rolled her eyes discreetly.
She thought, 'What a moron!'
In that moment, Julia suddenly felt a pang of regret.
'Was it a mistake to involve her in my scheme?' she wondered.
But with the Ice Party just around the corner, Julia couldn't afford to dwell on it now.
Besides, she truly had no one else at her disposal.
If only Julia could have secured an alliance with a general's daughter or a minister's daughter, she wouldn't have to pin all her hopes on Verda.
Julia sighed inwardly, 'I just hope this ugly, brainless woman won't screw up my plan or hold me back!"
Verda, however, remained blissfully unaware of Julia's inner turmoil.
She eagerly linked arms with Julia. "Julia, let's go in!"
Julia forced a smile and nodded. "Alright."
Meanwhile, Raelynn, who had already entered the Ice Party, gazed at the exquisitely carved, crystal-clear ice blossoms and smiled brightly.
Ever since she was a child, she was left to fend for myself. All she ever thought about was how to survive another day.
She grew up in a place that had a lot of snow during the winter.
But that grimy, patchy snow only brought her bone-deep cold and countless falls.
Every time she ventured out on a snowy winter day, the treacherous, slippery ground would send her sprawling again and again.
For a short while after returning to the Duke's estate, she did get to enjoy a few days of comfort and luxury.
But it wasn't long before her parents treated her like a criminal and sent her off to the palace.
For the next four years, winter after winter, the heavy snows once again became an ordeal of pain for Raelynn.
Those four years in the Aether Sanctum were pure torment for her.
In the sweltering summer heat, she was beaten until her flesh split open. Wounds would always take a long time to heal.
The noble consort always insisted she stand guard at the entrance.
Night after night, she was left at the mercy of the relentless summer mosquitoes.
Often, mosquitoes would lay their eggs directly in her festering wounds. Mixed with the oozing pus, the stench was simply unbearable.
Only then would the noble consort offer her some bug repellent.
However, she would never offer Raelynn any medicine to heal those festering wounds.
So all Raelynn could do was grit her teeth and endure it, waiting for her skin to heal on it own. She ended up having hideous and jagged scars all over her body.
Summer was already unbearable, and winter was downright hellish.
Her clothes were always the thinnest, and her bedding was just as flimsy. She never had enough to keep out the biting cold.
Even after a whole night's sleep, she'd wake up with her hands and feet still numb with cold.
During the bitterest winter months, every day she had to wash the noble consort's clothes in ice-cold water until her hands and feet were covered in festering frostbite sores.
She'd never forget that excruciating pain, which shot from her fingertips straight to her heart.
After everything she'd been through, nothing terrified her more than snow and winter.
Over the past decade or so, heavy snow had brought her nothing but painful memories.
Naturally, she couldn't bring herself to appreciate the snow-clad landscape during the winter.
Thankfully, now she could finally pause and leisurely appreciate the beauty of this winter and even the very ice that had once only ever brought her pain.