Irene's POV
The stares started the moment I stepped out of the carriage.
I knew I must have looked ridiculous, hobbling along with my walking stick while four of Yin's guards flanked me like I was some kind of dignitary instead of just a student trying to get to class.
After the poisoning, Yin had insisted. No arguments, no negotiations. Either I took the guards or I didn't go to school at all.
So here I was, limping across the courtyard while every single person stopped to gawk at me.
"Is that Lady Irene?" someone whispered, not quietly enough.
Trying their best
"What happened to her?"
"I heard her husband beats her."
"No, I heard she tried to run away and he broke her leg as punishment."
I gritted my teeth and kept walking, my knuckles white where they gripped the walking stick. Let them talk. Let them make up whatever stories they wanted. The truth was so much more complicated and dangerous than any rumor they could invent.
