Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 537: A Line Crossed

Anson's concern made perfect sense.

There were established procedures in Avenlor. When an official committed a wrongdoing, it was meant to be reviewed and handled by the proper authorities, in accordance with the law.

Elowen held the rank of Lady of the First Rank, and her status placed her among the most respected women in the realm. Even so, bypassing formal channels and personally subjecting officials to punishment that bordered on physical discipline, if word spread, would inevitably give people something to talk about.

Elowen only smiled, calm and unbothered. "Honestly, I'd be disappointed if he didn't go complain."

Anson paused, momentarily caught off guard.

Elowen had already lowered her gaze again, turning another page of her ledger as if the matter had already passed.

There was nothing more to say.

Anson bowed and quietly withdrew.

Through the entire afternoon, Archer and his son Gavin were kept in the rear grounds of Hale Manor, hauling water and tending the vegetable beds.

Nikki stood nearby, hands clasped neatly behind her back, posture straight and deliberate. She held a thin rod like a proper steward, pacing back and forth with exaggerated seriousness, her sharp eyes fixed on the two of them.

Archer, older and shaped by years of disciplined study and earlier hardship, managed to keep his movements steady.

Gavin was another story entirely.

He was used to long days of leisure, riding through the city, drinking, surrounding himself with companions. Work like this was completely foreign to him.

The wooden handles of the buckets quickly rubbed his soft palms raw, the skin turning red after only a few trips.

Before long, his arms began to tremble, muscles burning from the unfamiliar strain.

Frustration and fear churned together inside him, making his movements less steady. The buckets swayed as he walked, water sloshing over the edges. By the time he reached the rows, a good portion had already spilled, leaving the narrow paths slick with mud.

Nikki stopped in her tracks, clearly unimpressed.

She tapped the rod sharply against her palm and snapped, "You can't even carry water without dumping half of it along the way? What are you good for? You're all height and no strength. I've seen kitchen staff with more backbone than you."

Gavin's face darkened, but he didn't dare speak.

Nikki went on, her tone cutting and relentless. "You don't like hearing it? Look at yourself. You can't lift, you can't carry. You're only fit to sit around living off your family name. Put you out on your own without that, you wouldn't last. You'd be starving before the week's out. How are you supposed to be useful to anyone?"

Both father and son looked humiliated.

But the guards stationed nearby made things clear enough. Any sign of resistance would not be tolerated.

So they endured it.

They kept working.

By the time the sun dipped low and the last light stretched across the estate, iron braziers were lit one by one, casting a steady glow through Hale Manor.

Archer and Gavin were exhausted, breathing hard, drenched in sweat. Their inner tunics clung to their backs, and their boots and trousers were thick with mud.

Only then did Anson step forward.

"Her Grace says you may leave. The kitchen didn't prepare enough this evening, so you won't be staying for supper."

To them, it felt like being released from a sentence.

They had no desire to stay.

If they stayed, who knew what else they would be made to do?

They hurriedly changed back into their wrinkled formal attire, supporting each other as they made their way out, eager to leave as quickly as possible.

Outside, Helena Rayne had already been waiting with a carriage.

The moment she saw them, disheveled and filthy, she froze in shock. "What happened to you?"

Gavin stumbled forward and threw himself into her arms, breaking down instantly. The more he cried, the harder it became to stop.

Archer felt a surge of humiliation and anger rising together, his throat tightening painfully.

He forced it down, his voice strained. "Let's go. We'll talk at home."

On the ride back, Gavin's sobbing filled the carriage, relentless and loud.

Archer's patience snapped. "That's enough. All you've done is cry. Do you have anything else in you?"

Gavin's crying hitched, faltering.

Helena shot Archer a sharp look. "He's been humiliated. He's allowed to cry. You call him useless, what about you? If you had any real standing, would the two of you have been trapped there and treated like that?"

Archer went silent, his face turning rigid, unable to respond.

Helena held Gavin close, her eyes reddening as she comforted him. "I don't know how I ended up married to you. My son, forced to haul water like that... at home I wouldn't even let him lift a finger. And you call yourself an official? You throw your weight around in the house, taking one mistress after another..."

"Enough," Archer snapped, his voice sharp.

Helena fell silent, but her expression remained tight with resentment as she continued to soothe Gavin.

Archer's jaw tightened.

"This isn't over."

There was no way he would let this humiliation stand.

So what if Elowen is the Lady of the First Rank?

She has no right to treat a court official like that.

He might not be powerful, but after years in service, he had connections.

People who would listen.