Chapter 289

The crowd that was about to leave all stopped in their tracks, stunned by the sight.

They watched in astonishment as the petite woman hauled heavy buckets, shuttling frantically between the water well and the blaring chaos.

Bucket after bucket she poured onto the flames, only to turn and fetch more.

Her meager water was, without a doubt, a drop in the ocean.

Yet Athena seemed to defy exhaustion, relentlessly pressing on even as her palms were rubbed raw and bled into blisters.

The old man, moved by pity, gently stopped Athena. “Young lady, what are you doing? The fire is too far gone now. No matter how many buckets you bring, it won’t make a difference.”

Tears blurred Athena’s vision as she stared at the burning wreckage. “My friends are still inside,” she whispered. “I brought them here. I have to bring them back…even if it’s just their remains. They shouldn’t be left in a place so far from home.”

With that, she turned away and went back to hauling another bucket of water, her exhaustion clear but her resolve unwavering.

Athena’s actions deeply moved the neighbors.

“She’s just a young girl having a tough time. Let’s help her out,” someone said.

“Yeah! Come on, everyone, pitch in!” another called.

The townsfolk who had been leaving turned back one after another to help put out the fire.

From a short distance away, Michael watched the scene unfold, and a sharp, stabbing pain pierced his heart, as if it were being pricked by needles.

Yet he had no choice. Under those dire circumstances, his only option was to get Athena out first.

Just as Michael was about to rush to Athena’s aid, a bone-chilling murderous intent ambushed him. Instinctively, he spun around, blade flashing to parry, only to be sent flying backward by the powerful shockwave.

Michael’s eyes snapped wide as he stared at Jessa, who stood there very much alive. “You’re not dead!”

“Lord Osborne, are you that eager to see me dead!” Jessa’s face was hidden behind a mask, revealing only her beautiful eyes.

But those eyes gleamed with deadly intent, like a venomous snake coiled beneath silk.

Michael knew he was no match for her. His voice turned grave as he warned, “The assassins will return soon. Get her out of here now!”

Jessa folded her arms, sword still in hand, and let out a cold scoff. “Save your concern, Lord Osborne."

As Michael remained motionless, Jessa tilted her chin up slightly. “Still here, Lord Osborne? Or are you waiting for me to escort you out myself?”

Her words dripped with undisguised threat.

Michael’s back ached dully, and the palm strike he had just taken from her had left him at the end of his rope.

If he held on any longer, he would collapse, even without Jessa having to lift a finger.

Michael gave Jessa a long, unwavering look, then turned and walked away.

The moment Michael left, Jessa’s body swayed violently.

She clutched her aching chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood, then turned to find Athena.

Behind her, her tattered clothes revealed a gruesome mess of torn and bloody flesh.

Meanwhile, Athena kept dragging the heavy bucket, even as her blisters burst and blood streaked across her raw palms.

Completely exhausted, each lift of the bucket was an agonizing effort.

As Athena struggled to haul the heavy water bucket, her steps unsteady on the way to the inn, a hand suddenly shot out and snatched it from her grasp.

“Hey!” Athena cried out, startled, and reached to grab the bucket back. But when she looked up, she saw Jessa smirking. “So eager to put out the fire, Viscountess? Worried the flames might cremate my remains before you get the chance?"

Jessa, who should have been dead, suddenly appeared, leaving Athena frozen in shock.

She looked Jessa up and down, her voice barely steady. “You’re… alright?”

Although Athena tried to keep her composure, her body still trembled faintly.

She dug her nails into her palm, refusing to let herself lose control and cry out.

If it had been her from three years ago, she would have cried out and thrown herself into Jessa’s arms without hesitation.

But those three years had worn her emotions down to nothing.

Now, even when faced with life’s greatest joys or sorrows, her face remained an unreadable mask.

Jessa blinked rapidly, her eyes growing moist.

Then she stepped forward and pulled Athena into a tight embrace, her voice rough with emotion. “I’m alright. I’m still alive.”

Jessa’s warm body enveloped Athena, filling her with an overwhelming sense of security.

After repeatedly convincing herself this wasn’t a dream, she finally reached out tentatively and hugged Jessa back.

“Jessa, I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have gone through all this,” she said.

Jessa held Athena close and murmured, “This isn’t your fault. The ones who tried to hurt us, they’re to blame. You don’t have to carry the weight of their…”

Athena’s expression faltered, a wave of profound warmth washing over her.

Since childhood, the words she had heard most were, “You’re wrong. You shouldn’t have done that?”

Yet here was Jessa telling her she wasn’t to blame.

Jessa’s quiet comfort loosened the weight Athena had carried for years, as though someone had finally rolled the boulder from her soul, letting the light in at last.

Athena’s tears soaked Jessa’s shoulder.

A laugh bubbled up in her throat, but the sorrow was too deep, the tears just kept coming.

These were the words she had longed to hear her entire life, yet of all people, it was Jessa who finally said them.

The ones Athena had once called family ignored her, belittled her, even tried to crush her. But now, with Jessa’s words, it felt like she had finally been set free.

“She’s right,” she thought. “It was never my fault. The blame belongs to the ones who tried to hurt us, not me,” she said to herself.

Athena’s hand brushed against something warm and wet. In the flickering firelight, she saw blood on her fingertips, only then realizing that Jessa’s back was a gruesome mess of torn flesh.

Chapter 290

Despite barely escaping death, Jessa came straight to find Athena.

“Jessa, you…” Athena’s words caught in her throat as she suddenly felt Jessa’s head slump heavily onto her.

With the neighbors’ help, Athena settled Jessa into another inn.

Upon closer inspection, Athena discovered just how badly Jessa’s back was wounded.

It seemed she had been caught in the explosion; shards of debris had been driven deep into her flesh.

Despite such grievous injuries, Jessa hadn’t uttered a single groan, yet she’d pushed through the pain just to find her. A knot tightened in Athena’s chest.

“Jessa, just hold on a little longer.” Without wasting another moment, Athena carefully removed Jessa’s tattered garments and began tending to her wounds.

Burns are different from ordinary wounds; the greatest threat is infection.

So her immediate priority was to thoroughly remove all the debris from the wound.

Tiny splinters and grit were embedded deep in her flesh, each fragment painstakingly tedious to extract.

Athena did her best to be gentle, but Jessa’s muscles still spasmed uncontrollably beneath her touch.

She glanced at Jessa; her eyes were tightly shut, yet her lashes subtly quivered.

“If it hurts, just yell it out,” Athena said gently.

Athena knew Jessa was awake. She had only fainted earlier from excessive blood loss and exhaustion.

Seeing her act hadn’t fooled Athena, Jessa could only open her eyes.

Jessa lay prone on the bed and murmured softly, “It doesn’t hurt. These wounds are nothing compared to what I’ve endured before.”

Jessa was no stranger to suffering.

Athena’s hand froze. She realized Jessa, too, was…

She was a solitary figure, always keeping to herself and avoiding crowded places.

Back at the estate, Trina and Marquita had tried to connect with Jessa, but she rebuffed them all.

Like a proud wild creature, she withdrew into her own world, impenetrable to others, with no desire to come out.

Even when she smiled, her eyes remained cold and distant.

Jessa, like Athena, had a tragic past of her own.

Athena picked up some medicated cotton and gently dabbed at her wound, making small talk as she said, “Prince Xander sent you to protect me, right?”

To Athena’s surprise, Jessa didn’t deny it. “Yes, I owe him a life debt.”

Athena looked at Jessa in surprise. “A life debt?"

“He pulled me out from a heap of the dead. If not for Prince Xander, I wouldn’t be alive today,” she replied.

Then, Jessa slightly lifted her upper body and looked at Athena, her eyes unusually gentle. “Lady Athena, you’re special to him. To Prince Xander."