Chapter 463: Snapped

Third-person POV

Penelope mentally weighed her options, trying to decide if she should just stand still and wait for Electra to show up or do something about Jella herself. At first, remaining still had seemed like the smarter option. Jella was desperate, unstable, and clearly terrified for her life, which made her dangerous in a very unpredictable way.

Penelope could feel the rusty nail pressed tightly against her neck, and even though the pressure was not enough to kill her immediately, she knew it could still do serious damage if Jella panicked and shoved it deeper. The smell of dirt and rust from the nail alone disgusted her badly enough to make her stomach turn.

For several long moments, she stayed frozen while her thoughts raced through her head. Part of her wanted to keep waiting for Electra because she knew Electra was somewhere nearby and would definitely notice that something was wrong soon enough, but another part of her, the much angrier part, was getting more irritated with every second that passed. The more she thought about it, the more insulted she felt that Jella actually believed she was weak enough to be used as a hostage.

Then suddenly, without warning, Jella pushed the nail deeper against her neck, and Penelope immediately felt a sting followed by warmth slowly trailing down the side of her neck. Her eyes widened slightly as realization hit her almost instantly.

Blood.

That disgusting old woman had actually pierced her skin. The irritation inside Penelope snapped immediately, and in that exact moment, she stopped caring about waiting for Electra to save her. She stopped caring about remaining calm. All she could think about was the fact that this crazy old hag had just cut her neck with some filthy rusty nail she probably found on the ground.

Without hesitating any longer, Penelope suddenly grabbed Jella's wrist with far more strength than Jella expected from someone her size. The movement was so quick and forceful that Jella barely even had time to react before Penelope violently yanked the arm holding the nail away from her neck.

Jella's eyes widened in shock, but before she could recover, Penelope twisted her arm harshly. A loud cry escaped Jella's mouth almost immediately as pain shot through her arm. She had clearly expected Electra's friend to panic and cry or freeze in fear, not physically overpower her.

"What the…!"

Jella's voice broke off into another pained gasp as Penelope twisted harder.

The strength behind Penelope's grip genuinely shocked her. Despite Penelope looking much younger and smaller, the girl's anger alone seemed to be fueling her strength in a way Jella had not anticipated at all.

The moment Penelope managed to shove Jella away from her, she immediately stepped back and touched her neck carefully. The second her fingers came away stained with blood, her expression changed completely.

She snapped. "You disgusting old hag!" Penelope yelled furiously.

Before Jella could even properly get herself together from being shoved away, Penelope stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face with enough force to send her falling onto the ground.

The sound echoed loudly through the palace grounds, and Jella looked utterly stunned.

Penelope, however, looked even more furious now that she had actually seen the blood herself. "How dare you cut me with that dirty nail?!" she shouted angrily.

Jella tried to push herself up from the ground, but before she could fully move, Penelope kicked her hard in the leg.

"Are you insane?!" Penelope snapped before kicking her again. "Do you have a death wish?!"

Jella cried out in pain as Penelope continued kicking her legs over and over again without holding back. Every ounce of irritation, stress, exhaustion, and anger Penelope had been carrying lately suddenly seemed to pour out all at once onto Jella.

"You crazy hag!" Penelope yelled while kicking her again. "What is wrong with you?!"

Jella was completely mortified. Just days ago, she had still been queen. Servants had bowed before her. Guards had obeyed her orders without question. Nobles had treated her carefully out of fear and respect, and now? Now she was lying on the palace ground while some teenager kicked her repeatedly like she was nothing.

The humiliation burned almost worse than the pain itself.

"How dare you hit me?!" Jella shouted angrily through gritted teeth as she tried shielding herself from another kick. "Have you forgotten who I am?!"

Penelope scoffed loudly as if the question itself was ridiculous. She immediately crouched down to Jella's level, breathing heavily from anger while glaring directly into Jella's face.

"The only reason I'm not smashing your face right now after you tried to kill me," Penelope said coldly, "is because I don't want to be the one who kills the queen."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "But don't push your luck."

Jella stared at her in disbelief. For a brief moment, neither of them spoke. Penelope's chest rose and fell heavily while Jella remained sprawled awkwardly on the ground trying to recover from both the pain and humiliation she had just experienced.

Then suddenly, another voice spoke from behind them. "I thought you said you had no interest in hunting with me."

Both women froze, and Penelope immediately turned around.

Electra stood several feet away watching the scene with clear amusement written all over her face. Unlike Penelope, she looked completely calm and relaxed, almost as if she had just walked into something entertaining.

The sight of her instantly made Jella's face pale. Penelope, however, looked more annoyed than relieved. She quickly stood back up before turning fully toward Electra with an upset expression on her face.

"This crazy old bitch tried to kill me," Penelope complained immediately while pointing toward her bleeding neck.

Electra's expression shifted the second she noticed the blood, and the amusement disappeared almost instantly.

Her eyes narrowed slowly as she stared directly at the small trail of blood running down Penelope's neck. The air around her seemed to change immediately, becoming colder and heavier in a way that made even Penelope slightly uncomfortable.

Jella noticed it too.

Electra slowly looked away from Penelope's injury and turned toward Jella instead, and the expression on her face now was terrifyingly calm.

In a low voice filled with fury, she spoke without taking her eyes off Jella. "Step away from her Penelope."

Penelope did not need to be told twice. She immediately moved back several steps away from Jella, though not before kicking her one final time out of irritation and muttering another angry scoff under her breath.

Jella curled slightly on the ground after the kick while staring fearfully at Electra now approaching her slowly, and unlike before, there was no playful excitement on Electra's face anymore.