Marrying The Fake Invalid Dragon Lord

Kara POV:

The foul stench of cheap wine filled the room as Lachlan stumbled forward.

"Kara, my little beauty, don't hide," he slurred, a foul grin spreading across his flushed face. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to thoroughly 'awaken' your Dragonless body today."

In my past life, his words had paralyzed me with fear. I had huddled in the corner, weeping as his grimy hands tore my dress. But this body now housed a soul forged in hellfire and betrayal.

My gaze swept the room and landed on the hearth. Beside it rested a heavy black iron poker, used for tending the fire. Perfect.

I walked over and wrapped my fingers around its cool, solid weight.

Lachlan lunged, his fat, sweaty hands reaching for me, muttering filth under his breath. He expected me to cower. In his eyes, I was still the timid, easily bullied 'Dragonless' girl who was supposed to be paralyzed by drugged tea.

I didn't retreat a single step.

I sidestepped his clumsy charge with fluid precision. In the same breath, the heavy iron poker in my hand sliced through the air with a vicious whistle, swinging down with devastating force.

CRACK!

The sickening sound of bone shattering echoed loudly in the quiet room. The iron poker connected squarely with his kneecap.

Lachlan let out a scream that was more animal than human, clutching his shattered leg as he collapsed heavily to the floor. "Kara, you dare hurt me?! It's your blessing that I even want you!"

I didn't stop. I swung the iron poker again, bringing it down mercilessly on his other leg.

Another wet crunch. He crumpled completely like a sack of wet grain, his screams turning into agonized, breathless howls.

I walked over to him, my expression as cold as a gravestone, and planted the heavy, ash-stained tip of the poker against the soft flesh of his throat.

His howling choked off instantly. His eyes widened in absolute terror, the sheer pain finally cutting through his drunken haze.

"You... you're not Kara..." he stammered, his massive body trembling uncontrollably beneath the iron rod. "You're not drugged?!"

A dark, cruel laugh escaped my lips. "I am Kara Griffith, the first daughter of this House. And you are a filthy intruder about to pay the price for your stupidity."

I raised my foot and brought my heel down hard on his outstretched wrist—the very hand that had dared to touch me in my past life. I ground my heel into the delicate bones.

Snap!

Another sickening crunch, followed by his muffled, suffocated cry of agony.

I leaned down, my lips close to his ear, my voice a venomous whisper. "Lachlan Beaumont. Did Gale send you?"

I let out a cold laugh. I didn't even need to ask to know this was Gale's doing.

It was exactly the same in my past life. Gale drugged me and sent Lachlan, the bastard of House Beaumont, to ruin my purity.

Although I fought him off last time, Gale brought a crowd of nobles in to catch me with my clothes torn and disheveled.

From that moment on, my reputation was utterly destroyed.

Only later did I learn the truth: Gale didn't want me to marry Ansel, the legitimate heir of House Beaumont. The two of them had been having a secret affair for a long time, so she deliberately orchestrated this to ruin me.

My father, obsessed with face and honor, was furious. He locked me in the ancestral hall for half a month before banishing me to a remote convent.

If I hadn't been abandoned by everyone, I would never have fallen for Prince Damian's deceptive sweet talk.

I suppressed the monstrous hatred boiling in my heart. Even the heavens couldn't stand the sight of Damian and Gale, allowing me to be reborn to exact my vengeance upon them.

Lachlan scrambled backward, suddenly realizing that the timid girl was gone. But remembering the crowd of nobles waiting outside, his courage returned. "Kara, my older brother Ansel doesn't even want you! You might as well serve me. I promise I'll treat you well, ah--!"

Before he could finish his filthy sentence, my foot slammed down on his ribs. I grabbed a heavy silver candlestick from the vanity and brought it down mercilessly across his jaw.

Again. And again.

I beat him until his face was a bloody, unrecognizable pulp. Until his arrogant sneers turned into pathetic, muffled whimpers.

I dropped the bloodied candlestick, calmly smoothing the wrinkles in my dress.

I glanced down at Lachlan, who lay whimpering in a pool of his own blood and vomit like a beaten dog. There was no pity in my heart, only a chilling anticipation.

Gale POV:

"Second Miss, it's just ahead. I saw a man go in with my own eyes," the maid reported.

"No way, Gale. Is your legitimate sister really... having an illicit affair?" Isla Beaumont, a noble girl, asked.

A dark gleam flashed through the depths of Gale's eyes, but her tone remained perfectly innocent. "There must be a mistake. My sister can be a bit wild, but today is the manor's banquet. She wouldn't..."

"You are too kind, Gale! Didn't everyone say she constantly bullies you in the manor? Let's all go see what kind of person she really is today. Once we catch her in this scandal, let's see if she ever dares to bully you again."

Gale seemed to want to persuade them further, a look of reluctance on her face, but the girls beside her were already stepping forward excitedly, ready to push the door open.

Kara POV:

The door was pushed wide open from the outside.

The hallway was packed. Gale stood at the very front, flanked by a gaggle of young nobles eager for a scandal, and a few of our cousins from branch families.

When the maid had gone to fetch Gale earlier, she hadn't avoided the guests at all. The young lords and ladies admiring the flowers in the courtyard had heard everything. I could easily guess the whispers that had followed them all the way here.

"I heard the first daughter of House Griffith is a complete 'Dragonless' waste. She's barbaric and unrefined, yet she constantly uses her status to bully her siblings."

"Lord Vincent is a highly respected noble and the Prince's tutor, possessing a powerful Dragon Soul. Isn't it hilarious that he raised a useless fool who can't even conjure a spark of Dragonfire?"

"Thank the Dragon Gods the second daughter, Gale, awakened a perfect Dragon Soul and mastered all the Dragon Court arts. She's the true pride of the capital, truly living up to her father's legacy."

Everyone in the capital knew of me. First, because my father was a highly respected lord and the Prince's tutor. Second, because my sister Gale was the darling of the capital, adored by countless young lords.

Standing in the shadows of their halos, I was nothing but a crude brute who lacked a Dragon's Scent and only knew how to swing heavy weapons, utterly unworthy of my noble bloodline.

Gale put on a fake show of trying to stop the crowd, but 'helplessly' followed the excited nobles into the room.

As they stormed in, they froze. Instead of a ruined girl, they saw me standing tall in my red dress, with a man crushed beneath my feet. The unexpected scene left everyone stunned.