As soon as the weight of the woman's blatant accusation settled in her, Ruby's anger flared as she slammed her fists against the table.
"Watch what you say! What you're spouting are nothing but baseless accusations!"
She gnashed her teeth, her pupils blazing with fury as she glared at the smiling little devil before her. If such a dangerous idea was to reach Julien's ears, God knew what other trouble would await her.
On the other hand, Lylia didn't like the way things were going either. If anything, she hated it even more.
Obviously, she was the one having the upper hand here. And yet, the 'nobody' was looking down on her with such condescending eyes as if she stood above her.
Who gave her the guts to think as such?
As the thought came to her mind, Lylia's gaze swept over the life-like blue roses blooming across the girl's mask, her expression stilling as if deep in thought before she let out a scoff.
No one dared to treat her lightly. Whoever they were, whatever their status belonged to.
No one could be compared to her because for the paranoid Julien, she, Lylia, was different. She was a special existence.
"You must've thought you're something great for being able to stand beside someone like my master."
Lylia recovered her ridiculing smile as she taunted, the maliciousness in her tone impossible to miss. However, what ticked Ruby was what came after the little jab that had amounted little to nothing.
"Say, how long would you be able to stay in that position?"
At the woman's ambiguous question, Ruby creased her brows.
As she searched for the truth in the woman's eyes, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Somehow, her instincts told her they weren't mere empty threats meant to scare her to the point of silence.
"You're going too far–" Ruby snapped, her arms shooting up to hug each other in a protective defense when the bob-haired woman let out a maniacal laugh.
Ruby blankly stared at her as if asking whether she had lost her mind, but Lylia was the least affected by her look, continuing with a cruel smile.
"The delicate second, weakest fifth, and the unluckiest thirteenth—who had only lasted half a day after stepping into the house. Hah… As the seventeenth on the list, what will become of you when the day comes for you to join them on their deathbeds?"
As Ruby took in the darkness in the woman's somber expression, the fine hairs on her arms and back couldn't help but stand and shudder all at once.
The tilt on Lylia's glossed lips lifted in an eerie angle as she mouthed a whisper, sending additional chills down her spine.
"What about the delusional seventeenth? What do you think, Madam... or should I say… 17th Madam?"
Ruby's face went pale as all colours left her skin. She took a staggering step backward, her pupils dilating as the light in her eyes flickered at the sudden realization.
The 17th Madam.
She recalled Mario addressing her by that on their very first meeting that night.
Ruby snorted to herself, her dry lips trembling as she subconsciously licked and bit on them. So, it wasn't a fleeting mistake.
And here she was, foolishly thinking that she had misheard, never giving the matter another thought.
As the state of her mind slowly crumbled like a castle built on sand, she saw Mario approaching from the distance, his incoming figure stiff and hurried.
Sensing the tense atmosphere between them, Mario didn't stall, straightforwardly announcing his purpose.
"The training grounds have been prepared. Before the real training begins, let's start with the physical assessment first." He said from behind the mask, his taut voice exposing the nervousness he tried so hard to hide.
Lylia's gloating face turned annoyed as she looked away, while Ruby didn't even notice the difference in him.
With her distraught mind drifting somewhere else, she nodded without a word, eager to leave the place and Lylia for a change of mood.
…
The physical assessment included the basic evaluations of stamina, strength, endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
Ruby wasn't asked to do much. She started with a simple jog around the mansion, which honestly wasn't hard since it had been part of her morning routine every day, before she was arranged to lift weights.
While Ruby proceeded with a simple set of bodyweight exercises, both Lylia and Mario stood by the side, the former with a book and a pen as she filed the results while the latter merely watched over her with his arms sternly crossed.
"Surprisingly, this one is rather talented in the field. Look at her, she was surpassing the standards with flying colours."
Contrary to her usual obnoxious self, Lylia generously offered her praise, to which Mario merely responded with a slow nod.
"I hope she'll suffice." He flatly said.
"That is, if she's able to survive long enough for that." Lylia added.
Mario pursed his lips. He knitted his eyebrows and glared at Lylia.
"I heard everything you said earlier." He grabbed her arm, forcing the bob-haired woman to meet his furious eyes. "I'm warning you, Master won't be happy with this. Don't cross the line, Lylia."
Lylia pushed him off with a forceful shrug, her voice haughty, "I am merely stating the truth. What's so wrong about that?"
"I said not to cross the line!" Mario snapped.
"And I'm saying I'm not." Lylia shot back. "I know exactly where I stand, Mario. And you—you should stay in your lane and mind your own business."
The sudden turn of her sharp voice extinguished whatever remained of his anger. Mario fell silent, before finally letting out a frustrated sigh as Lylia turned her back against him, no longer bothering to acknowledge his existence.
Mario wondered since when did their relationship become this strained, this awry.
They were once bosom friends, with no secrets to hide from each other. The three of them, with the young Julien, were once childhood companions who found solace in each other's presence.
How had things ended up in this state?
Perhaps, it all began with Julien's sickness. Then Lylia's mishap. And finally… his own helplessness in the matter.
Yes. In the end, Mario knew he had no one but himself to blame.