Mirabel didn’t stop there.

With a manic, spiteful grin, she aggressively tore the documents and Penelope’s mother’s personal ledgers into tiny, jagged shreds before tossing them to the ground and viciously stomping them into the dirt.

Paper scattered across the dirt beneath her heels like fallen ash.

Penelope’s eyes widened in profound shock. The icy composure she had maintained the entire afternoon shattered as she took a panicked step forward, unable to tear her gaze away from the shredded pieces of her mother’s legacy, the axe completely forgotten now.

The devastated look on Penelope’s face was exactly the kind of reaction Mirabel had been aiming for. Penelope had been acting up, refusing to follow their wishes or play the submissive daughter anymore, and Mirabel hated her for it.

The toxic envy, bitterness and resentment festering inside her finally consumed her completely.

If they could not get their greedy hands on the inheritance to save their own skin, then neither would she.

"What are you going to do now, Penelope?" she taunted maliciously.

She watched with twisted glee as Penelope slowly crouched down, her trembling fingers picking up the ruined dirt-stained pieces of her paper.

"...no," Penelope whispered faintly.

By then, the elite guards had finally seized Mirabel, ruthlessly pinning her arms behind her back. But Mirabel no longer cared about the rough handling anymore.

The damage had already been done.

Even if something terrible happened to her family today, the satisfaction of ruining Penelope’s only chances of legally reclaiming her inheritance made it all worthwhile.

"Without those documents, how will you ever prove the inheritance legally belongs to you?" Mirabel laughed, a shrill, mocking sound that echoed through the tense courtyard. "You’re nothing! And since you already know the truth anyway, yes! I stole William from you! He belongs to—"

SLAP!

Mirabel’s venomous words were brutally cut short as a palm struck her across the face with deafening force. Her head whipped violently to the side, the laughter instantly dying in her throat, but before she could even process the burning pain, another ferocious slap landed squarely on her other cheek.

"You–" Penelope cut herself off, her chest heaving as she actively resisted the overwhelming urge to wrap her hands around Mirabel’s throat and strangle her where she stood.

She looked down at Mirabel, her voice dropping to a terrifying, measured hiss. "You know what? You truly are the absolute worst thing your parents have ever created. Aside from bringing you into this family and ruining a happy marriage, what else did you and your mother contribute to this family?"

"You–" Mirabel glared at her, angered by the slap, and by the insult.

"Do you have any earthly idea of what you have just done?" Penelope continued. "That foolish little tantrum of yours can legally be charged as the malicious distraction of noble property. I can also accuse you of attempted concealment and theft of inherited assets."

Mirabel’s face began losing color rapidly.

"And that is not even the end of it," Penelope went on mercilessly. "You openly insulted and physically challenged the Marchioness of Aelgard before an imperial detachment. The list of offenses continues quite extensively, and this reckless stunt of yours was just what I needed."

Mirabel’s expression blanched. The pain burning across her cheek became insignificant compared to the crushing realization settling over her.

"N-no... Mother!" She cried out frantically, turning to her parents, but they were already staring at her in stunned horror, whilst Baron James lowered his head, because Penelope was right.

Mirabel’s impulsive spite had just completely destroyed the entire defense they had carefully built.

Penelope stood straight, a cold, victorious smirk gracing her lips as she crossed her arms. "You just destroyed the very documents your parents claimed never existed in this house. So thank you, dear sister, for confessing so loudly before so many witnesses. I have more than enough criminal charges against the entire Viremont name to completely ruin all of you. Every single one of you."

She turned her piercing gaze back to the other three. Baron James, Genevieve, and William were staring at her, paralyzed with shock.

She reached down and picked up the short axe once more, her knuckles turning white around the handle. But before she could make her intentions clear to the trembling prisoners, a booming, authoritative voice came from the main entrance leading into the inner courtyard.

"The Marquis of Aelgard has arrived!"

Upon hearing that the Marquis was making his way into the inner courtyard, everyone immediately tensed up, the atmosphere shifting from chaotic to suffocatingly heavy. Sensing the sudden change in tide, Penelope instantly let go of the axe, letting it clatter harmlessly against the ground.

Mirabel and her family quickly exchanged triumphant glances. They honestly thought this was the perfect opportunity– a golden moment for the Marquis to witness firsthand the unhinged, violent woman he had chosen to marry. Surely, no man would tolerate such disgraceful behavior from his wife. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

But what they absolutely did not expect was for Penelope to suddenly gasp, her knees giving out as she theatrically dropped to the hard floor. Before anyone could even blink, her shoulders began to tremble violently, and then she started to weep. Tears streamed down her face in a display that was so heartbreakingly fragile that everyone looked visibly stunned.

The transformation was instantaneous.

The terrifying woman who had been swinging an axe at them moments ago had vanished completely.

When the Marquis entered the inner courtyard, flanked by the four high-ranking guards who had escorted him to the palace, his overwhelming presence immediately crushed whatever courage remained within the Viremont family, except for William.

Vincent’s piercing gray eyes swept the scene. His gaze locked onto the shattered vault, the restrained figures, the torn papers scattered across the dirt, and finally froze when he found his wife huddled helplessly on the ground.

"Penny?"

His cold composure evaporated immediately. Without hesitation, he rushed to her side, dropping to one knee as he wrapped a strong arm securely around her trembling form.

Penelope looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes now, her bottom lip quivering perfectly like she had been desperately trying to hold herself together this entire time. Vincent’s expression darkened at the sight, and he gently helped her back up to her feet.

"Your Lordship, you’re finally here," she whimpered, letting out a soft fragile sniffle as she clung lightly to Vincent’s arm. "Y-you won’t believe what these people tried to do to me in your absence."

Vincent’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

"What happened?"

Penelope slowly turned her head, looking at the stunned trio, along with William, before pointing a trembling finger directly at them.

"These... These awful people tried to tarnish my name. They tore the inheritance paper I came all this way to get. And... and they threatened me with an axe! I just wanted to retrieve my mother’s things, but... these people... if it wasn’t for the elite guards protecting me,I don’t know what they might have done to me."

"You’re lying," Mirabel immediately shrieked, her jaw dropping so low it nearly hit the floor. Not just her, but even her parents were starting to panic as Penelope effortlessly twisted the narrative in front of the one person whose favor they absolutely could not gain.

"We did no such things to you," Baron James immediately protested, desperately turning toward Vincent. "Your Lordship, she’s clearly lying! We never touched her! She’s only playing victim here!"

"Be careful of your words, Father," Penelope said, sniffling softly. "You are invoking heaven’s wrath with your lies. Everyone here witnessed your cruelty, so just admit to your mistakes."

"Since when did you become so good at lying, Penelope?" William asked, utterly speechless in the face of her flawless performance.

It felt as though he were seeing sides of her he had never known existed, despite having grown up beside her for so many years. For the first time, he found himself at a complete loss for words, the delusions he had clung to beginning to crack apart painfully.

Perhaps... he had never truly known her at all.

Martha quickly hurried to Penelope’s side as well, her expression filled with perfectly timed indignation.

"The Marchioness speaks truth, Your Lordship," she said firmly, immediately siding with her mistress. "Her Ladyship came only to retrieve what legally belonged to her and attempted to reason peacefully with the Viremont family."

Martha’s gaze sharpened as she looked toward them. "Instead, they sought to intimidate and humiliate her before going ahead to destroy the inheritance document in front of everyone present."

She shook her head faintly.

"I never imagined a family could treat one of their own blood with such cruelty. It’s unheard of. Sir Elias can also confirm the Marchioness’s words."

Hearing his name, Elias blinked once and turned to Martha.

The look in his eyes clearly said: Why am I suddenly involved in this madness?

He wanted no part in it.

But considering he already despised the Viremont family, and considering Penelope had, technically speaking, not lied entirely, he gave an agreeable nod as well.

"Yes."

The single word landed like a death sentence. Baron Jame’s face drained of color almost instantly.

Meanwhile, Penelope slowly lifted her tear-filled eyes toward Vincent, her fingers lightly curling against his arm.

"You must seek justice for me, My Lord," she whispered weakly.