After a while, shiqi seemed to have come to a resolve. With movements so calm that it was almost eerie, Shiqi placed the brooch still tainted with her blood back into the box and closed it with a snap.
Molly, who had been watching in silence, finally spoke. "Miss… are you alright?"
Shiqi did not answer.
She straightened her back and wiped the blood from her palm with the edge of her sleeve and smiled. "I am perfectly alright, Molly. Even my weariness from earlier seems to have disappeared. You should leave now. I'll be going to bed for the night."
She felt Molly cast a troubled look her way but paid no mind to it.
In her heart, things were already quite clear. It was all a sham. This talk about choosing a mate. They were all in cahoots. Her parents, Aron and Mira. They intended to push her into the arms of the three lords.
