Chapter 30: Who Hit You?

Lucy looked at them calmly. "You don't need to tell me to leave. After I see Great-Grandfather, I'll leave on my own. I just want to say one last thing to him." Seeing Lucy still trying to move forward, Sophie stepped directly in front of her. "I told you to leave. If you don't go now, don't blame me for being rude!" Her tone was unpleasant, but Lucy repeated, "I'll leave after I see Great-Grandfather." Unexpectedly, Sophie, upon hearing this, gave Lucy a hard slap. "I already told you, I won't let you do anything. If you keep this up, don't blame me for getting angry. This slap is to remind you of who you are!" Lucy tried to speak again, but Fox called his men over. "Since Lucy isn't willing to sacrifice for our family, then let her get out! It's Father's birthday, and we don't need a useless person hanging around!" With that, they forcefully threw Lucy out of the house. The rough handling left her with multiple abrasions. Just when she was about to break down in tears, she heard Tangna's voice behind her. "Mommy? Mommy, you're out!" Tangna called out excitedly. "Mommy, look, Daddy bought me new clothes. Aren't they beautiful?" Lucy didn't dare turn around, but Tangna followed her. "Mommy... why are you crying? Did something happen? If something's wrong, you can tell me. I can help share your burden..." Looking at Tangna's innocent face, Lucy forced a bitter smile. This was the reality of her family situation. She had no ability to continue taking care of Tangna. Even though they could maintain their current life, it was already challenging for Lucy to raise Tangna alone. Arguing with the family further... "It's nothing. I just stood by the window and the wind blew in my face," Lucy lied. Tangna believed her. "Then you should be more careful, Mommy! You're already grown up; don't be so hard on yourself!" Hearing Tangna's words, Lucy smiled weakly. "I know, sweetie. I'll be more careful from now on." After saying this, Tangna finally left, but Lucy felt a chill in her heart. She realized she had no place in this family. She was worse off than a dog, potentially being discarded like trash. Suddenly, she remembered it was the old man's birthday. This was her only chance to talk to the family. But now, she was thrown out. Did she still have a chance? What should she do? Before Lucy could decide, Joseph appeared in front of her. He squinted, looking at her face. "Who hit you?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he called out to his subordinate. "Beelzebub!" "Yes, sir!" "Take Tangna to play," Joseph ordered, knowing he might have to do something violent, and he didn't want Tangna to see. "Understood," Beelzebub replied, feeling a bit frustrated. It was the second time he missed seeing Joseph in action because he was taking care of the child. Nonetheless, being the Reaper's subordinate, Beelzebub knew he had to obey. He took Tangna away, even though she protested, "I don't want to leave you, Daddy!" Joseph smiled gently, comforting her. "Don't worry. Mommy and Daddy need to handle something to strengthen our relationship. We haven't seen each other for a long time, right?" Tangna quickly understood. "Got it! I'm not a little kid anymore! Okay, Daddy and Mommy, go ahead!" She knew her mom was upset about something and it needed to be resolved. Beelzebub was surprised by her maturity. "Alright, what do you want to play?" he asked. "I want to eat pizza!" Tangna replied happily, and Beelzebub took her away. Once they left, Joseph turned to Lucy. "Tell me, who hit you?" Lucy gave a bitter smile. "Who else could it be?" Besides her sister, no one else would do this. Joseph nodded. "Makes sense. Only that lunatic would do something this stupid." To Lucy, it didn't matter anymore. She had endured worse before and had grown used to it. Seeing her expression, Joseph understood. "Are you really going to accept this?" he asked, scoffing. "You treat them like family, but they don't see you that way. Haven't you realized that?" Lucy smiled bitterly. "If not family, then what? Without them, what else do I have?" Joseph clenched his fists. "I'm going in to get you justice!" Lucy grabbed his arm. "Even if you beat them to death, what good would it do? It's not worth it. Let it go." Joseph was taken aback by her kindness. How could she still protect her family after all this? "You really don't understand people, do you? Can't you see your situation? Don't you see what these people are like?" Lucy shook her head. "This is my life now... what more can I expect? I can't be without this family. Even if they're not good to me, I was born into this."