Chapter 57. See You in H*ll After Death

I got out of the carriage. I felt the need to find out what had happened to Helene.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, Jasmine and Haley surrounded me as if to shield me. The two were vigilantly watching Helene as if she were a disaster waiting to harm me.

“Oh dear, Miss.”

Sensing the presence of someone, the coachman turned around and sighed. The moment Helene spotted me, she widened her eyes and tried to approach me with long strides.

But before she could get close, the coachman, Haley, and Jasmine quickly moved to block her path.

I could only see Helene from a distance over their shoulders. She seemed to think the servants were being presumptuous and angrily huffed.

“What do you think you’re doing? Do you even know who I am? I’m Lady Lopez! Move aside immediately!”

Helene pushed against the three, but they didn’t budge. I couldn’t help but admire Helene’s confidence in calling herself Lady Lopez even amidst the family’s bankruptcy, while I observed her appearance from afar.

First of all, her hair… It looked patchy and uneven, as if a rat had gnawed at it. It seemed like someone had grabbed her hair and cut it haphazardly.

And the long scar on her left cheek. The thin, red line ran from her cheekbone down to below her lips, clearly a cut from a blade.

Watching Helene almost thrashing about surrounded by the three, I suddenly opened my mouth to ask.

“What happened to your hair? And how did you get that scar?”

When she heard me, Helene flinched and glared at me with fierce eyes. Soon, a torrent of resentment poured out of her mouth.

“Ellen! How could you do this to our family? We’re still family, aren’t we? When family goes through hard times, they should help each other! How can you keep ignoring us!”

Before I could refute her absurd claims, Jasmine suddenly got angry.

“How are Miss and you all family! You never treated her as family! There’s a limit to being shameless…!”

Jasmine stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at me. Seeing her glance at me with a bewildered expression, she seemed to think she had made a mistake.

Yes, it was a mistake. Thanks to her, I realized that the servants at the Grand Duke’s residence had been keeping quiet about my family relations.

But there was no reason to be angry, so I just gave a bitter smile. The fact that Ellenore Lopez had been abused by her family was now a well-known story.

“I’m sorry, Miss…”

“It’s alright, Jasmine.”

Jasmine lowered her head with a gloomy face. I approached her and patted her shoulder a few times. Then I called out softly to Helene, who was still glaring at me fiercely.

“Sister Helene.”

“……”

“Do you really think we’re family?”

At my question, which sought the truth, Helene flinched slightly. So she did feel some guilt. I waited patiently for her to speak, but Helene just looked down at the ground with a tearful expression. In the end, I sighed and spoke again.

“I don’t think we’re family. And you know it too. That we’re worse than strangers.”

“But still, we lived under the same roof! And you’re still a Lopez! You’re Father’s daughter! Are you going to keep ignoring us?”

Helene insisted unreasonably. She must have known herself that what she was saying made no sense. But she was desperate enough to cling to anything.

Should I pity her? Her, Margot, Melissa, Anthony… and Father.

I remained silent for a while before opening my mouth.

“…What if the situation were reversed?”

“What?”

“If I… had ended up being taken by that scum Anderson.”

I closed my eyes tightly for a moment. The remnants of the future I had seen through foresight magic flashed across my eyelids. A life filled with pain and despair.

“Would you… the ones now claiming to be my family, have helped me? Would you have reached out to me?”

No, never.

The Lopez family would have sacrificed me to avoid bankruptcy. That’s the kind of people they were.

Helene was at a loss for words, her mouth opening and closing. Then, as if she had thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she spoke quickly.

“But, but, back then, when you were caught by Marquis Anderson! I helped you then. Remember? I was the one who called His Highness the Grand Duke of Bayern! You survived because of me!”

“…Are you really bragging about that?”

“Bragging? If it weren’t for me, you would have been taken by Anderson!”

“Why was I almost taken by Anderson?”

Helene flinched and blinked at the unexpected question. I tilted my head and continued to glare at her.

“It was because your mother tried to sell me to that man.”

“What? That, that’s…”

“And the reason she tried to sell me was because Anthony had gambling debts with Viscount Gillen. Viscount Gillen’s financier was Anderson. I’m not sure if Margot knew that much, though.”

“Anyway, that has nothing to do with me!”

Helene shouted. I gritted my teeth and glared at her sharply.

“How does it not? If I had been sold to Anderson, the money that the Lopez family would have gained, the beneficiary would have been you!”

Selling me to Anderson would have been a profitable deal for Margot. She could pay off Anthony’s debts and use the remaining money for Helene’s dowry.

If I sacrificed myself—no, was it even a sacrifice? It wasn’t something noble or valuable. It was just my misfortune. Being thrown into the depths of h*ll for the greed and selfishness of the Lopez family.

I took a deep breath, trying to suppress my anger.

“Have you ever apologized to me?”

“Apologize…”

“Have you ever sincerely felt sorry for me, even once?”

“……”

Of course not.

Seeing Helene avoid my gaze in silence, I laughed at her mockingly.

“The reason you helped me back then was ultimately for yourself.”

“……”

“You probably think that by doing that, you’ve repaid some of the wrongs you and your mother have done to me. But I will never forgive you.”

I turned my back on Helene, who couldn’t say a word, without hesitation. After taking about three steps, I heard Helene’s desperate plea from behind me.

“Then, at least the hospital bill! No, just the cost of the medicine! Do you see this scar on my face? Melissa did this! That crazy girl… She messed up my hair saying she would sell it! I got into a scuffle trying to stop her… The blade of the scissors brushed against my cheek…”

“……”

“You know what Melissa is like, right? She said it was a mistake, but she did it on purpose. She deliberately scarred my face! That insane… that wicked girl…”

Helene’s voice sounded almost like she was about to cry at the end. Standing still, I let out a low sigh. So, in the end, that scar on her cheek is Helene’s own doing.

“You and Margot knew what Melissa was like and still left her alone, didn’t you?”

“Left her alone? My mother and I did our best…! But what can we do if it’s her nature?”

“If that’s the result of your best efforts, it’s truly unfortunate.”

I sneered, looking Helene up and down in her serious state, and she flushed red and bit her lip. I shook my head with a bitter laugh.

“See you in h*ll, Helene. Let’s not meet again while we’re alive.”

“You…! Ellen! Are you really going to do this?! How can you be so cold-hearted! Elleeeen!”

Ignoring Helene’s cries from behind, I got back on the carriage. Wasting over ten minutes on a meaningless conversation was a waste of time.

Helene continued to cause a commotion, but when the carriage carrying Enoch appeared at the front gate, she hurriedly fled.

Enoch Bayern, who is so afraid yet feels no hesitation or guilt when dealing with me. He truly exemplifies the strong preying on the weak.

“It must have been annoying.”

After I reported the details of my scuffle with Helene, Enoch swirled his brandy glass and commented. He looked a bit tired, probably due to lack of sleep, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of taking a nap.

“If something like that happens again, just ignore her. Your time is valuable.”

Hearing those words—realizing he thought the same as I did—I couldn’t help but smile softly. Enoch’s curious gaze landed on me, and I explained with a still-laughing voice.

“It’s just that I also thought my time was too precious. Helene isn’t someone you can have a proper conversation with, no matter how much you try.”

“Right, exactly.”

Enoch chuckled. As he swirled his brandy glass and took a sip, his gaze suddenly landed on my right side. Instinctively, I pulled a cushion over to hide ‘it’. Seeing my actions, Enoch raised an eyebrow and asked.

“What’s that?”

I felt sweat forming on my palms as I rolled my eyes. What I was hiding with the cushion was a gift box, elegantly wrapped. Inside was the stick pin I had bought from a shop in the bustling downtown area.

A pin set with a yellow diamond, resembling Enoch’s eyes…