I had braced myself for some grave offense. But the crime, it turned out, was nothing more than this: after delivering the divorce papers to the Emperor, Ruby had taken it upon herself to summon the royal physician for me.
The Emperor and Empress already carried guilt over the Crown Prince breaking off his engagement to me. When they learned what had happened, they'd rebuked Chloe harshly.
Called her vicious. Said she'd shown callous disregard for another woman's life.
Chloe couldn't touch me, not with the Emperor and Empress shielding me. So she'd turned her fury on Ruby instead.
I watched Ruby's broken body twitch with each blow, barely clinging to life, and the tears wouldn't stop.
I seized Homer's sleeve and begged. "My lord, please save Ruby. Every fault is mine, all of it."
"She was only worried about me."
Homer's expression pinched with reluctance. "Penny, she's just a servant. Let the Crown Prince's wife vent her anger and it'll blow over."
I stared at that handsome face of his, so perfectly composed, so perfectly human, and could not fathom the rottenness it concealed.
Because we were born lowly, our lives simply didn't matter?