Love's Unexpected Awakening Elowen's Choice novel Chapter 501

"Your Highness, please... show mercy. I know I was out of line. I swear I won't say anything like that again."

Wendy could barely stand; her voice shook apart as she bent low to apologize desperately, tears steaming down her face.

Maerwyn didn't so much as flinch. She turned her head slightly and said, her tone crisp and final, "Someone step in. Make sure she learns exactly where the line is, and how not to cross it again."

The matron, long used to carrying out punishments like this, didn't hesitate for a second. She answered at once and stepped forward.

She moved with practiced efficiency, gripping Wendy by the arm. Her other hand locked firmly around Wendy's jaw, forcing her to face forward, her tear-streaked cheeks already trembling.

The sound came sharp and immediate.

Two sharp strikes cracked through the room in quick succession, clean and controlled, without any flourish or hesitation, just raw force.

Wendy's head snapped to the side, then back again. Her skin flushed instantly, swelling beneath the impact as the corner of her lip split open. A thin line of red surfaced, bright against her pale face.

The world blurred. A dull ringing filled her ears. Even her sobbing broke apart into shallow, uneven breaths she could barely control.

The girls nearby froze where they stood.

They had never witnessed anything like this before.

Their usual disagreements lived in quiet rooms, hidden behind polite smiles and measured words. At most, a sharp remark or a cold dismissal. Nothing like this. Nothing so direct. So public.

Now they instinctively drew closer together, faces drained of color, shoulders tense, not one of them daring to step forward or speak.

Maerwyn watched Wendy without the slightest trace of sympathy.

"Consider yourself fortunate," she said slowly. "I'm letting this end here out of respect for your grandfather, Edmund, and the reputation he carries."

Her gaze hardened.

"But if I ever hear you, or anyone else, speak a single word about Elowen behind her back..."

Her tone lowered, quiet but unmistakable. "I won't stop here next time."

The meaning landed heavier than the blows.

Wendy trembled all over, the fear settling deeper than the pain ever could. She didn't dare hesitate.

"I understand... I do..." she stammered, her voice hoarse and broken. "I won't do it again..."

Not far away, Elara finally exhaled.

Serves her right.

She had taken a risk speaking up.

She knew Maerwyn admired Azure's work, but even then, it could have gone either way.

She hadn't expected it to work this well.

It wasn't that she only cared for storybooks. She read poetry and formal works too, but they were never meant to compete. They served different purposes, spoke to different parts of a person. Raising one by tearing down the other had always felt narrow and deliberate.

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