Kennard's POV

But the moment Jefferson said those words, everything changed.

They kept calling Jefferson "Jeff" and stopped calling me “Kenn.” Worse, they even called me a bastard.

I couldn’t understand how people could change so drastically.

This time around, I swear I’ll find out the truth.

Jefferson soon brought in the old widow, speaking in the local dialect. “As long as you cripple him, he’s yours.”

My blood ran cold. I clenched the muscle near my thigh until it hurt, rage burning in my eyes.

No wonder she came at me last time like I’d killed her family. Turned out, Jefferson was behind it all.

That nightmare of a woman crept closer again, her greedy eyes lingering on me. Her body laso reeked so bad it made me want to gag.

As she lunged toward me, I kicked her square in the chest with everything I had.

She crashed to the ground, howling in pain. But it was nothing compared to what she’d done to me in my previous life. This was just a fraction of the interest she owed.

“Help! Somebody help me!”

I bolted out of the yurt, screaming for help.

By the time my so-called parents and Jefferson caught up, a group of concerned herders had already surrounded me.

“Please, you have to help me! The three of them are trying to sell me to that woman!”

When I spoke fluently in the local dialect, Jefferson’s eyes widened in shock.

He quickly translated it for my parents, and their faces darkened in an instant.

“It’s just a misunderstanding,” Jefferson tried to cover it up with a forced smile using the local dialect. “He’s… not well. He gets paranoid and thinks people are out to get him. And now he’s having an episode. We were just about to take him for treatment, and this happened.”

As Jefferson said that, my parents grabbed one of my arms, trying to drag me away.

Desperate, I clung to a herder’s leg and pleaded, “I’m not crazy! They’re really trying to hurt me. Please, please don’t let them take me!”

Seeing how terrified and helpless I looked, the herders didn’t want to let me go so easily.

But just then, the old widow came stumbling out of the yurt, clutching her chest and shouting, “That lunatic nearly kicked me to death!”

Seizing the opportunity, Jefferson jumped in, “See? I told you he’s violent. You all better stay away before he hurts someone else.”

The herders looked at the bruised, pale-faced widow and backed off nervously.

Even the man I was clinging to shook me off like I was a plague.

Seconds later, my parents dragged me back into the yurt.

“You didn’t drink the wine? And how the hell do you speak their language?” my dad growled. “You must have a death wish!”

“I knew you wouldn’t give the company to Jefferson so easily,” my mom hissed. “Doesn’t matter. Tonight’s your funeral.”

I struggled against them, but Jefferson just laughed. “It’s no use. One word from me, and no one will believe anything you say.”

At his signal, the old widow stormed in holding a rock.

“You kicked me? Let’s see which is tougher. Your foot or this stone!”

In my past life, she used that very rock to crush both of my legs until they were nothing but shattered bones.

The memory slammed into me, so I panicked and tried to break free. But my parents pinned me down.

“Do it,” my dad ordered. “Break his legs so he can never run again!”

“Smash them good,” my mom added. “Make sure he never gets the chance to compete with Jeff ever again!”

Their faces twisted into something monstrous, and the widow raised the stone.

Just when I thought it was over, a voice cut through the chaos.

“Stop! Don’t you dare touch Kenn!”

Lorelei burst in like a storm, shoved the widow aside, and rushed to my side.

She helped me up, her hands trembling as she checked me for injuries.

“Kenn, are you hurt?” she asked, her voice thick with concern. Then she turned sharply to my parents. “Uncle, Auntie. Weren’t you supposed to be on vacation? How could you let something like this happen to him? I need an explanation. Right now.”

Kennard's POV

Lorelei stepped in front of me protectively, her eyes filled with both anger and suspicion as she stared down at my parents.

When she sharply questioned them, they couldn’t even meet her eyes. Guilt was written all over their faces.

“If they won’t talk, then you tell me, Kenn. What happened?” she asked, turning to me with surprising gentleness.

Standing on her tiptoes, she wiped away my tears with soft fingers. “It’s only been a day. What on earth happened to you?”

No... not just a day. It had been three whole years.

When she wrapped her arms around me, her warmth finally cracked something in me. After three long, lonely years, I felt like I could finally lean on someone again.

Choking back my sobs, I told her everything.

“Earlier today, we had just finished horseback riding when a beggar suddenly ran up to my parents and whispered something to them. At first, they looked disgusted. But in the blink of an eye, they were hugging him like he was family, saying they wanted to adopt him.”

I took a shaky breath, then continued, “They even forced me to hand over my company to him. When I got suspicious, I pretended to agree. But they still wouldn’t let it go. They tried to drug me. They even wanted that woman to ruin me. If I hadn’t refused the drink, if you hadn’t shown up when you did—”

I couldn’t keep going. My voice broke completely, and the tears streamed down my face.

As I cried, Lorelei’s eyes went ice-cold.

“You filthy beggar. You dared to hurt my Kenn? You’re dead meat.”

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. In a flash, a group of bodyguards stormed into the yurt, their eyes sharp as blades, locked on Jefferson.

“No! Don’t hurt Jeff!” my mom protested.

“If you want someone, take me instead!” my dad shouted next, rushing in front of him like hens protecting their chick from a hawk. Even knowing how hopeless it was, they still threw themselves in front of him without hesitation.

Lorelei paused, clearly stunned.

Jefferson, however, stayed calm. He even smirked.

“Aren’t you curious what I said to them? Just one sentence changed everything. Don’t you want to know what it was?”

My gut twisted. I grabbed Lorelei’s hand in a panic.

“Don’t listen to him. Please. Let’s just go... anywhere safe. I’m begging you.”

But she looked at me tenderly, patting the back of my hand. “Don’t worry, Kenn. I’ll listen to what he has to say, and then I’ll take you away. I promise, I’m on your side.”

“No... please, don’t…”

But no matter how I pleaded, she gently pulled her hand from mine and stepped toward Jefferson.

He leaned in and whispered something into her ear.

The moment she heard it, her whole expression changed.

The warmth vanished. In its place was something horrifying—delight, even love—but not for me.

She looked at Jefferson with shining eyes, like he was the only one that mattered. Then she turned back to me, cold and disgusted.

“You think you’re good enough to compete with Jefferson?” Her voice was full of scorn. “Your parents were right. You don’t deserve anything better. You belong here.”

Then, turning to the old widow, she said with a cruel smile, “Do whatever you want to him. Just make sure he never stands up again.”

My heart shattered. I begged her to remember what we once had, to show a shred of mercy.

But she didn’t even flinch. She just laced her fingers with Jefferson’s and walked away, leaving me with nothing but the sting of her betrayal.

The old woman cackled, her fingers already tugging at her clothes.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I heard Jefferson’s voice outside the yurt, calm and mocking, as he repeated that same sentence.

So that was it. That one line.

Those four little words.

I finally understood why they turned on me, why everything fell apart.