PaulMichaels
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IGIWS: FIRST DRAFT: Ch.349 Letting the Cat Out of the Bag.
🕑 Added 2025-04-16 19:38:55 +0000 UTCAll the 20-year-old girls were in shock, or some fainted at the sight of Fiona's broken hand, as their friends would steady them and use their hand fans to give them air.
Fiona's adrenaline was surging to help numb the pain, but seeing her hand twisted in strange angles, she was on the verge of tears.
"Now, who has the unsightly hand?" Tayna asked as she wasn't taking any pleasure in Fiona's demise.
Fiona was gritting her teeth, trying her best not to let the pain get the best of her. But with every passing moment, the pain got worse.
"A-Amazing! What a powerful grip! I didn't know women could be this strong," Jenelle Dravenhart wondered out loud.
"Really? You haven't seen the female Royal Knights or adventurers, Jenelle? You're too naive," Melanie Ingham pointed out.
"I'm not that naive, Melanie. I'm just surprised is all," Jenelle retorted, but sadly it was true. Her father, Baron Alistair Dravenhart would only bring her brother out to hunt while she had to stay home and learned macrame with her mother. It was rare for her to be in the Capital, but she was excited to see the Royal Palace when the time came.
"She's a Maja for sure,"Melanie Ingham added as she ignored Jenelle.
"But why would she want to become a warrior in the first place?" Constance Montclair asked.
Tayna turned to the daughters of Major Lords, "You've heard the rumors, Constance. There's been whispers about challenging my husband for him title as Baron of Eder Hills... I'm just doing my duties as his wife and preparing myself to protect what is rightfully, Johan's." Tayna stated as she glanced at Fiona who looked at her cousin-in-law as if she was a monster. Tayna continued, "That's if my Johan asks me of course."
Fiona felt a sense of dread from Tayna's words. She had heard her father complain many of times that Johan and Amelia weren't worthy of becoming the Lord or Lady of the Eder Hills. She knew her father wanted to challenge them, and she had hoped her father would win, but her father barely could get his mana vein to develop and grow compared to his hired guards. They thought he had a Master Level Vein, which wasn't impressive compared to the rest of the Major Lords of Fiafyr, but her father was a million times more talented than Johan's pathetic mana vein. But if Tayna has a better potential vein and she has developed it to such a quick level, then that means they have no chance at beating her of her talentless cousin choose her as his companion.
Fiona needed to do something to get Tayna in trouble for humiliating her in front of the next generation of Ladies of the Court. With her damaged hand, that will take months to heal, is most likely going to be deformed and weak for the rest of her life. And since it might cause her to lose her engagement to Governor Badimir Crossfield, it will put her at the bottom of the marriage ladder for any new suitor. And the humiliation will ruin her family's reputation even more if Fiona doesn't get revenge.
"Y-You think you can get away with this, Tayna!?... You think by humiliating me in such a barbaric act will go unpunished!?" Fiona spat as the pain from her broken hand flared.
Tayna smiled, "I see you still have some fire to you... I am only showing you what it is like to fear ridicule, especially when you're surrounded by people who wish you harm." Tayna stated as Fiona and her ladies looked shocked.
Fiona gritted her teeth, "My father will demand that Johan must divorce you! I have the Dule bloodline, not you!" She hissed through gridded teeth.
Tayna could only smirk at Fiona's weak threat. She could see the fear in her eyes.
Tayna sighed, "You're a Dupree, not a Dule, and your family will only bring disgrace to the Dule name." Tayna said in a bored tone.
"That's a lie!" Fiona spat as Tayna's words cut deep. "My father is the youngest brother of Johnathan Duke and don't you forget that! My blood flows with my grandfather's, and you have nothing to be proud of, being born of a Minor Noble peasant!" Fiona sneered, but her face fell when Tayna didn't flinch.
Tayna could only look at her with a cold, piercing gaze.
"It's time you accept reality... The Dule bloodline will be running through me sooner than you think..." Tayna declared.
"W-What? What are you saying!?" Fiona said, taken aback while all the other girls were curious by what Tayna meant.
Tayna gave her a smirk and rubbed her lower abdomen. "We'll see if I miss my cycle in a week or so... Johan is very talented in his husband duties. And I made sure I had plenty of chances to carry his child." Tayna boasted, which made the girls blush.
Fiona couldn't believe what she was hearing and the same went for Amelia. She thought her sister-in-law didn't want anything to do with Johan. But she's claiming that she's done the deed in front of all these women was bolder then she expected.
"Y-You're lying! There is no way you'd be carrying my cousin's child." Fiona stated, though there was a hint of worry.
Tayna just smirked and shook her head, "We'll know soon enough... But, for now, you have more to worry about than a potential of losing your fiancé with a unsightly hand like yours."
Fiona wanted to slap her but the pain in her hand stopped her. She knew she was losing badly, but her stubbornness was stronger then the pain. She needed to make Tayna out to be a monster.
Fiona gritted her teeth before she took a step back and gave her a glare, "So, how many others are you planning on punishing, Tayna? I'm not the only one who's spoken ill about you behind your back. How many women's hands will you crush today?"
All the girls started getting nervous. Sure some of them poked fun at Tayna's expense here or there, but they never went to the levels that Fiona did. Yet, they didn't know if or how vindictive Tayna was. And now she had the power to do something about it if she so wished.
Tayna glanced around her and saw the ladies getting nervous. Some of them opened their fans to try and hide their expressions, while others looked away trying to avoid eye contact. She knew it was true that most of these girls gossiped about her, but she wasn't any better than them. It wasn't until she met Rya that she realized how shallow she was. She never gave Johan a chance, she was mean to her in-laws, she tried to steal Quinus away from Rya, and worse of all she was rude to everyone including Rya. She wouldn't have become the woman she is now without Rya's mercy and compassion. She was a changed woman because of her. And if she could change then maybe these young girls could to if they were really sorry about it.
She took a breath and sighed before she gave her reply, "Well... I suppose the truth hurts doesn't it... I don't care what anyone else thinks of me. As long as the people that are closest to me believe in me, then that's all that matters. I've already made amends with the people who I wronged, so I don't have anything to fear from those who wish to see me fall. Unlike you... You'll lose everything, if you continue down this path."
There was a collected sigh of relief among the girls. They were pleasantly surprised by Tayna's response, they thought she was going to make an example out of them all. But, Tayna showed that she had a compassionate heart, which changed their opinion of her instantly. When Lady Tayna becomes the Baroness, they will support her.
Fiona scoffed at how willing they were to side with her, even Melanie Ingham was falling for Tayna's act. If they were going to do that, then she needed to put an end to this charade by reminding them that Tayna crushed her hand in the middle of a party.
"Grr! Don't you see she playing you all?! You're all too stupid to realize what's happening. Why don't any of you care that she did this to me!?" Fiona shouted as she waved her swollen and bruised hand.
Constance Montclair and Melanie Ingham frowned at her before Constance spoke out, "Our empathy can only go so far, Fiona."
"Indeed, we weren't the ones trying to humiliate Lady Tayna on the spot. Sure it's a bit barbaric of her to do, but you were the one to poke the bear with a stick. We are all responsible for our own actions, and the consequences that come with it. You chose to challenge Lady Tayna and you lost," Melanie said while wagging her finger at Fiona.
Rya was pleasantly surprised by the turn of the events. All most of the girls were siding with her friend and she couldn't have been more happier for Tayna, but when she noticed that Fiona wasn't going to back down, a thought occurred to her in this moment. For some reason, the rumors about her being an healer haven't been circulating throughout the nobility as she first thought or maybe someone was spreading false tales about her and so when word about her healing made it's way through the grapevine the nobles who heard about her abilities probably thought it was a lie.
So, why not show these ladies that Rya is what she says she is. Rya smiled and began channeling her mana through her body and outstretched her hands towards Fiona who was busy getting ready to argue with her peers.
"What are you doing, Sis?" Nieren whispered.
"Letting the cat out of the bag... Fiona isn't a threat to us and this is the perfect opportunity to display my generosity," Rya whispered back as she cast her healing magic towards Fiona.
"You're all a bunch of cowards. Fine! Do what you want, but remember this... Lady Tayna will stab you in the back the first chance she gets. And let my unsightly... Uhhh... my unsightly... Huh?"
Fiona felt a pleasant sensation beginning to wash over her. Soon the pain in her hand started to subside and then some popping noises came from her hand, which startled her.
"Wh-what in the hells?"
*Crack. Pop. Crack.*
All the ladies who witnessed Fiona's hand being healed looked dumbfounded. They never seen anything like this before. And within seconds Fiona's hand was as good as new.
'H-How?... I swear it was broken.'
Fiona's mind was racing. How did her hand get healed. It was broken, right? It had to be, her hand was aching. But it wasn't now.
The pain was gone and her hand felt great. She moved her fingers. There was no stiffness. No pain. And when she looked at her hand, there were no signs that she'd injured it at all.
Tayna had a raised brow and turned to speak to her friend, "Why did you heal her, Princess Rya?"
Tayna's voice broke everyone out of their stupor and they all looked over at the Dark Elf who stopped channeling her mana and put a hand on her hip.
"I felt she learned her lesson to not mess with you anymore, Tayna... Besides, she probably won't shut up about it if her engagement to a 70-year-old man was broken off. And she's annoying as is," Rya said with a bit of spite. Sure, apart of her wanted to teach the girl a lesson by letting it heal naturally. But, this gave her the deserved results of showing the Ladies of the Court that she was a fabled healer that hasn't been seen in over centuries.
A bunch of the girls who knew about the healing rumors now had no shadow of a doubt about Rya. She was a woman to be reckoned with and they wanted to be on her side to help lift her up to the top of the Court.
Tayna was surprised at how kind the Princess was.
"Hmm. Well, if you say so, Rya. I guess she learned her lesson," Tayna said, looking back at Fiona. "But I'd better not catch you spreading any more lies about me, Fiona."
Fiona wasn't listening as she looked at Rya in awe and fear. She had openly insulted the Dark Elf and her cousin-in-law in front of their peers and was the one in the wrong. Her standing within the Ladies of the Court was falling faster than ever and she would be at the bottom of the pecking order from here on out. If she doesn't do something to salvage her reputation, she'll end up being the laughingstock of the entire Court for the rest of her life. Luckily, she had one more angle to play to at least not be ridiculed and maybe find a way to climb up the social ladder again.
'Dammit! How was I supposed to know that the rumors about the Dark Elf were true! Wait!? SHE'S A HEALER!? AND TAYNA IS HER FRIEND!? Oh, goddess... If Rya marries the Prince then she will become the most influential woman in all the Court! And Tayna will be the next closest after that! I won't be able to marry my way up the ladder! Dammit! How did this happen?! No! I can't think like this. I can't be at the bottom! I need to make sure that I'm above water and can make my way back up again. And if I do this, then at some point the Dark Elf and Tayna will have to respect my influence within the Ladies of the Court... Yes, I know how I can survive this!' Fiona thought as she glanced over at her Cousin, Amelia who was struggling to understand everything she has seen so far.
Fiona shook her hand that just got healed and cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention.
"Um, I seem to have been hasty today. That was an error on my part," Fiona stated while straightening up her posture. Rya, Nieren, and Tayna didn't like the tone in her voice as she continued. "But it seems that my Uncle wasn't a fool after all for marrying Tayna to my cousin, Johan. He's talentless in the areas that matter and needs a woman to protect his title shows how dire the situation is with House Dule. Which goes to show that the Dule bloodline is weak and needs someone with a strong mana vein to marry into the family. Johan was lucky to get Tayna, but Amelia isn't so lucky. Isn't that right, cousin?"
Amelia was brought out of her thoughts as Fiona zeroed in on her. 'W-Why is she coming after me again!?'
Fiona's friends were still keeping Amelia from escaping, but they didn't think it was a good idea to continue this conversation. But their leader was determined to keep going, despite the fact that she was being reckless.
Tayna frowned and wanted to punch Fiona in the stomach but Rya and Nieren came over and held her back.
"Shhh... Let's see what she has up her sleeve. It may just be a ploy," Rya whispered into her friend's ear.
Tayna took a deep breath and nodded her head, agreeing to hear her out.
"So, tell me, Amelia? What good is a daughter of a Major House if she can't find a suitor by now? I know you're 22 years old, and your beauty will fade. You must be desperate by now," Fiona said with a cruel smirk.
'What is she talking about?!' Amelia thought while frowning. 'I'm not ugly! I'm just a little bit older than her, that's all.'
"I don't need suitors lining up to make my self-worth valid. I'm perfectly content where I am," Amelia stated, which caused Fiona to raise her eyebrow.
"Oh? That sounds like what a peasant would say. And that's what you are, Amelia. A peasant wearing noble's clothing. Of everyone her, you don't belong in the Ladies of the Court. You make us all look bad," Fiona said with a sneer.
Some of the ladies nodded at some of what Fiona was saying but they didn't know if it was true after everything they have seen so far from Rya and Tayna. Yet, they didn't have proof to refute Fiona's claims.
When Rya heard Fiona it finally hit her as to what type of person Fiona was.
'Haha! Holy shit! I haven't ran into one of these assholes in a long time. Oh, I'm really going to ruin her day,' Rya thought as she recalled her past back on Earth. Fiona was one of those types of people that get promoted by sabotaging their competition because they lacked any merit to earn it. They were two-faced mother fuckers that spent more time breaking down others to promote themselves. And Fiona was doing the same damn thing when she went after Tayna and now she's pivoted to Amelia.
'Well, let's lift that blood contract curse off of Amelia and see what type of Mage Vein she has,' Rya thought as she stepped forward.
Comments
PaulMichaels
A frightened Noble girl of course 😉
Marek Gwalt
TFTC possible helping of a princess or noble ?(^^)
PaulMichaels
We are going to be having a "possible" Mana Rush scene coming up 😉
