Getting spoiled in a woman dominating world

”K-Kim Seon-hwa.”

Hearing the name, Brandon was quite surprised ”You are korean?”

Seon-hwa’s gaze dropped, her matted hair falling forward to obscure her eyes, and she nodded faintly. ”Mhm...”

Brandon looked at her face and even though it’s dirty and pale, he can see that the woman is not young.

She must be in her early thirties.

Looking at her, he asked ”Do you wish to die?”

Huh? Callista was confused to hear his question, and the woman, Seonhwa, herself was taken aback as her eyes widened in shock.

With a faint sigh, Brandon asked ”Let me rephrase the question. Do you want to have an instantaneous, painless death, or do you want to get tortured like this for months?”

Hearing this, Callista finally realised his idea ”Since you don’t want to kill or harm the protesters... You want to make this woman join the protest and kill her or subdue her so the protesters would stop?”

Brandon nodded his head ”That was my initial thought...”

As he spoke, he looked at the tears threatening to fall from the woman’s eyes.

’Am I being too cruel?’

He sighed in his heart and glanced at the prison guard ”Leave...”

The prison guard hesitated for a second, but then she bowed and left.

Brandon looked at the woman and spoke ”What is your age?”

Seonhwa looked at him for a moment before answering ”I am... thiry two.”

Brandon nodded slowly looking at her face.

”Why did you do it?” Brandon asked in a quiet voice.

”Why come here? Why try to kill Valiene?”

Seon-hwa didn’t answer at first and her eyes dropped.

She opened her mouth, then shut it.

”...Does it matter?” she whispered finally. ”Would anyone believe me?”

”That depends on what you say,” Brandon said, looking into her eyes.

Seon-hwa looked up, and her eyes held a deep pain.

”I was sent by someone. But not to kill Valiene.”

Brandon’s gaze condensed ”Then why were you really here?”

She hesitated for a second before speaking up ”To spy on the church. To find the truth behind the Church’s movements.”

”The Great Houses are not united. There are those who suspect the Church is planning something. I was supposed to confirm it. Nothing more.”

Brandon gave a faint nod and asked ”But why did you try to kill Valiene?”

Hearing this, Seonhwa’s body trembled ”I... was informed about that later. At first, it was just a spying job, but later I was ordered to kill the Acolyte.”

Brandon’s gaze condensed and he asked ”Which of the five houses asked you to spy on the Church?”

Seonhwa let out a deep breath ”It’s the house of Caeles.”

”Hm.. I see. Are you really loyal to that house or did they hire you with money?”

Shaking her head, she replied ”No... I was hired for money. Since it’s just a simple spy job, I accepted... but then I was tasked with killing the Acolyte.”

She blinked hard, as if forcing back a fresh wave of tears ”Since I was desperate for money, I tried to kill her...”

Brandon can see that she is really tired and exhausted; she is straining herself to even speak to him.

He stood up and glanced at Callista ”Aid her wounds, give her food, and a place to bathe. Give her clothes too...”

Callista glimpsed at Seonhwa before nodding ”Yes, Lord Herald.”

Brandon’s eyes flicked back to Seon-hwa one last time.

She looked stunned, as if she had misheard him, and her lips parted in silent disbelief.

With that, he stepped out of the cell and walked out.

Seonhwa didn’t move.

She sat there, stunned and trembling, still unsure if she had imagined the entire exchange.

Is this some kind of game?

Or is it... the final comfort before death?

Her thoughts spiraled until she suddenly winced, jerking slightly as a soft warmth pressed against the bruised skin on her arm.

Callista von Aubrecht knelt beside her.

She said nothing and just gently placed her hand gently over the worst of Seon-hwa’s bruises.

Her fingers glowed with golden ether as they flowed inside Seonhwa’s body.

Ether pulsed into her body.

Warmth spread on her broken muscles, knitting torn fibers, soothing swollen joints, and cooling feverish skin.

Seonhwa gasped as the pain began to dull.

She didn’t know how to react. Her arms trembled and she flinched again when Callista brushed the filthy strands of hair from her bloodied cheek.

”You’re in no condition to remain like this,” Callista said softly.

”The Lord Herald has given his command. You will be cared for. That is all you need to understand.”

”I... don’t understand,” Seonhwa croaked out, ”Why? Who is he? Why would he...?”

Looking at her, she spoke ”He is the one whose arrival will reshape the very foundation of the world. A boy born outside the divine order. The first male ether wielder in history... the Herald of Divinity.”

Seonhwa stared at her blankly. Male ether wielder?

Her thoughts reeled. Is this some kind of joke?

Before she could ask further, Callista stood and gave a slight nod toward the guards outside.

A few moments later, the cell door opened again and two white-robed attendants entered.

One offered her a cup of water, and the other held out a neatly folded cloth robe of pale blue and white.

Seonhwa blinked in confusion.

Her fingers wrapped slowly around the cup.

She brought it to her lips and then took a slow sip.

The cold water felt like heaven, sliding down her parched throat.

After that, they helped her stand.

It took effort.

Her legs were weak, and every muscle groaned in protest, but the warmth of the healing ether had taken the edge off.

She limped forward with their help, out of the stone cell and into a smaller, adjacent chamber.

Steam rose gently from the bath with hot water in a polished stone basin.

Folded towels rested on a bench and her new robe was placed beside it.

She stood there and looked around in surprise.

This couldn’t be real.

”Please,” one of the attendants said quietly. ”Take your time. We’ll remain just outside the door.”

When they stepped out, she slowly walked her way to the mirror there.

She didn’t recognize the woman staring back.

Her body was frail, thinner than she remembered; her eyes were sunken, and her skin was pale and dirt-streaked.

Her black hair is now clumped and matted, with dried blood along her temple.

But her hands... were still trembling.

With a shaky breath, she sank into the warm bathwater.

It enveloped her like a mother’s embrace, and despite herself, a sob escaped her lips. Then another. And another.

Tears fell silently, mingling with the steam and water, with everything she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in months.

Pain, guilt, relief. Confusion. Hope. Despair.

’Why?’ she kept asking herself.

’Why is he doing this? Why would he show me mercy? What does he gain from this?’

’Is this some twisted part of the Church’s manipulation? A test of obedience before execution? A game to see if I’ll beg for my life?’

She didn’t know.

But after she bathed and stepped out in clean robes, she was led to a small room deeper within the Hall.

A tray had been set out.

A bowl of steaming rice, tender cuts of meat, soft bread, and even fruit... cut and arranged carefully.

She stared at it in silence and then, hesitatingly, she began to eat.