"Kathleen, this isn't self-harm. What he's doing now is my way of punishing Ethel. He's taking that guilt for Ethel, telling me in a different way that I should let Ethel go off?"
Kathleen froze slightly, not expecting Lyra to think that at all.
"Lyra, Collin hasn't mentioned Ethel at all since that return party. He's atoning to you. He's doing it because of you."
Lyra was silent for a long time.
In her ears, there was Collin's weak and hoarse chanting in the hall.
Gently opening the door, there was Collin's bruised back in front of her.
In her heart, she was touched by the streak of blood.
But it was only for a few seconds.
After thinking for a long time, she smiled and her eyes looked cold, "He really should atone for his sins. Since he has punished himself, you should let him do it. He has a guilty conscience and can't get over it without doing it."
Kathleen was red-eyed, whimpering and feeling heartbroken.
"But Lyra, he is using a horse whip. Twenty whips a day. All over the new wounds and old scars, he can't stand it."
Lyra thought about it.
Collin was the person who hurt her the most, but those things were done by Ethel. His biggest fault was to know the truth but didn't act. He was not worthy to be her brother.
She had always been clear in her mind. Sh was never biased, and never wronged anyone.
Thinking about it, she looked seriously at Kathleen, "You tell him there's no need to get wounded and bitter for me to see."
"If he really want to atone for his crime, just insist on reading the Buddhist Scriptures every day. I will not let anyone keep an eye on him. If he is willing to read it, just do it. If he isn't, just forget it. As for whether I'll forgive him or not, just wait until he's done it. Then I can think about it."
After she coldly said those words, she turned her head, without lingering and superfluous emotions.
Kathleen stared at Lyra's distant back and could only sigh as she pushed the door inside the hall.
She crouched down behind Collin to check his injuries.
His white shirt was broken because of the whip. Two days in a row, he suffered forty lashes. Inside the shirt, criss-cross injuries were visible.
Her heart throbbed with pain. She reached over, but did not dare to touch his wound, being afraid to hurt him.
In the last few days, she had almost dried up a lifetime of tears.
"Honey, you're hurt so badly, and you are still feverish. Why don't you stop reading tonight? Take medicine and then start reading again tomorrow?"
Collin didn't say anything, but kept his mind on the Buddhist Scriptures, which he was holding in his hands, and continued to read.
Being unable to persuade, Kathleen could only accompany him in silence, covering her mouth and crying in a whisper.
At the countryside.
Ethel got dizzy again.
The torment of the past few days had made her whole body thin and exhausted physically and mentally.
While Cerys took Twelve and Fifteen to dinner, Keagan snuck into Ethel's room to check on how sick she was.
This morning, Ethel smiled at him. Her smile was so warm and nice that he remembered it to his heart.
He just couldn't believe that the girl who looked so pitiful and innocent could really be the pervert his mother had described.
So, he intended to ask in person.
He entered Ethel's room gingerly and saw that Ethel was already awake, leaning on the bed and staring at him lovingly.
He awkwardly scratched his head and giggled nervously, "I just want to see how are you doing. Do you need me to find a doctor?"
Ethel, whose voice was too hoarse to speak from a distance, waved at him deliberately.
Keagan immediately stepped forward as if he had been hooked.
When he approached, Ethel immediately took his hand and placed it around her neck, saying in a mute voice, "You're helping me by killing me."
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