"Ruby... you remember, right?" Grace cried, her eyes glistening with fake tears. "I told you—you’re like a daughter to me! Back then, I even gave you all my savings! Three hundred gems! Just because you were marrying Julian!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Ruby remained silent, her expression unreadable.
Grace dramatically wiped her face, though there were no real tears. "But what did you do?! You wasted it all on drinking! And now—oh my God!—you actually took advantage of my poor little ghost?!"
She pointed at Levi, who kept his head down, pretending to be pitiful.
"You already have four husbands! Is that not enough for you?!" Grace shrieked. "And yet, you still dared to ruin my poor, innocent Levi?!"
The murmurs in the crowd grew louder, their judgmental stares boring into Ruby.
Julian’s jaw clenched, his fists trembling at his sides.
"This is ridiculous," Karl muttered angrily. "What a load of bullshit."
Milo’s cheeks puffed up in frustration. "Wife, can I hit her? She’s annoying!"
The crowd’s whispers grew louder, spreading like wildfire.
"Such a shameless witch! She already has four husbands, and yet she still wants more?"
"Disgusting! Leviis Julian’s cousin! How vile can she be?"
The judgment in their voices was thick, their words sharp and cruel. Sneers, gasps, and hushed gossip rippled through the gathered witches and ghosts, their eyes dark with disdain.
Ruby, however, did not react.
She stood still, her expression eerily calm as the accusations piled onto her like stones meant to crush her.
She had dealt with this kind of mob mentality before.
She had seen how quickly people turned, how eager they were to believe a well-acted lie and gossips over an inconvenient truth.
Slowly, she stepped forward. The crowd instinctively parted, giving her space as an unsettling silence spread.
She walked toward Grace without hesitation..without fear until she stood directly in front of the old witch.
Then, with a smirk, she leaned in.
"You said you gave me three hundred gems, right?" Her voice was eerily calm.
Grace flinched, suddenly looking unsure.
"And you said I wasted all the money on drinking?" Ruby continued, her red eyes gleaming.
The older witch swallowed hard but nodded. "Y-Yes, that’s right!"
Ruby chuckled, but this time, there was no warmth in it.
"Yes! But you wasted it all on drinking!" Grace repeated quickly, as if saying it louder would make it true. "Now take responsibility for my little ghost! And give me money! We don’t even have anything to eat at home!"
Ruby tilted her head, her gaze dark and knowing.
"I see..." she murmured, amusement lacing her tone. Then she took a step forward, her voice turning deceptively sweet.
"Alright. I won’t marry Levi... unless you tell the truth—did I take money from you or not?"
Grace’s eyes widened in panic for a brief second before greed overpowered fear. She scrambled up from the ground, nodding eagerly.
"Yes! Yes! I never gave you any money!" she admitted without hesitation, thinking Levi would marry Ruby and take control of her wealth.
A heavy silence fell over the crowd.
And then judgmental eyes turned onto Grace.
Disgusted murmurs rippled through the onlookers.
"Did she just expose herself...?"
"So she really lied about giving Ruby money?"
"And she was still trying to push her son onto her? Disgusting!"
The weight of the crowd’s disapproval fell on Grace and Levi, and it was clear they hadn’t expected it to turn against them.
Then, Angeline spoke.
Her voice was firm, her expression serious.
"I don’t know what’s going on entirely, but I do know one thing—Ru would never take advantage of anyone."
The crowd immediately went silent at her words.
Her sharp eyes locked onto Grace. "You just proved that you lied about giving her money. So why should we believe anything you say about Levi?"
Kenji stepped forward.
"Yes, Miss Ruby has always been polite. I can’t believe she’d do something so horrible."
Hugo, another of Angeline’s husbands, frowned as his gaze flickered toward Levi.
"I agree," he said slowly, narrowing his eyes. "And I’m sorry, but... I don’t mean to compare looks or anything, but Levi?" He let out a low chuckle. "He’s not exactly... special."
Levi’s face turned red in anger.
"Julian, on the other hand," Hugo continued, "looks much more... delicious."
Julian’s ears immediately turned bright red. He shot Hugo a sharp glare, but his flustered expression only made him look even more attractive.
Hugo smirked. "And Ruby’s husbands? They’re gorgeous. Look at Karl, Adrian and Milo. She already has a variety of husbands—strong, handsome, and unique in their own ways."
The comment sent Karl into an eye-roll while Milo blinked innocently, then grinned, puffing his chest proudly.
The whispers in the crowd shifted.
People started nodding in agreement, realizing the absurdity of the accusation.
And then Pillu arrived.
He had heard the commotion and quickly pushed through the crowd, his expression serious.
"Miss Ruby would never do such a thing!" he declared loudly, drawing attention.
He turned his gaze onto Levi, and his sharp eyes held nothing but contempt.
"This Levi... he LIED to me!" Pillu announced. "When I caught him sneaking around, he fed me a fake story!"
"He told me he liked Ruby so much that he asked Julian to propose the marriage to his mother because he was too shy to do it himself. But Julian ended up asking for his own marriage to Ruby instead. That’s why Levi couldn’t marry her. He told me so many lies!"
Pillu scoffed. "Levi twisted the entire truth. He lied to everyone here!"
And then the crowd turned.
This time, completely against Levi and Grace.
Because Pillu wasn’t just anyone.
His wife worked in the government, and his status was superior. Even if he was arrogant and loved to show off his wealth, everyone knew—
If you stayed in his favor, he could help you.
And while he had his flaws, one thing was certain Pillu never lied.
The weight of his words crushed the last thread of Levi’s false narrative.
—To be continued...🪄