Arthur clenched his fists.

Even though he did not want to do so, he still knelt down.

He knew that if he didn't kneel today, this matter would not be resolved. Considering Owen's temperament, he might even strip him of all his rights. Years of scheming would have been in vain.

"Lydia, you as well!"

Owen roared, determined to punish his disobedient children in front of everyone, so that they knew that as long as he was alive, he was the one in charge.

Lydia gritted her teeth and cast a resentful look at Freya before forcing herself to bend her knees and kneel in front of Freya with a thump.

She did not come from a noble background, but since marrying into the Austins, she had never been subjected to such humiliation.

She now had to kneel before a country bumpkin.

Everyone was also watching.

Lydia hated Freya to the point of wanting to destroy the world. Her eyes were blazing as she glared at Freya.

Freya looked at Lydia and pretended to be scared, retreating to Bradley's side.

"Arthur, Lydia, you'll curse me if you kneel before me..."

Lydia coldly laughed. It would be best if Freya were cursed. I'll send you down to hell tomorrow.

As she internally cursed Freya out, she suddenly heard Freya speak.

"From now on, don't do this anymore. It's fine to poison in the soup, but you can't poison Arthur as well. He's your husband. It would be humiliating for you if he has an affair with someone else…"

Lydia had been scheming when she heard that, and it almost made her pass out in anger.

This darn girl has a sharp tongue. It was clear that she and Bradley had conspired to turn the servant and Arthur into their scapegoats. Now, Freya was pushing all the blame onto Lydia.

She was drugged, so she drugged Arthur so that he would do it with some random woman.

Owen was finally calming down, but what he heard infuriated him once more.

"Arthur, you have tarnished the reputation of this young lady. How do you plan to handle this?"

Arthur glanced at the maid on the bed with a hint of desire flashing in his eyes.

Despite the effects of the drug earlier, he had enjoyed it very much.

The maid was more attractive and curvier than Lydia, and she was young, which excited him. This led him to strike out at Brian while ignoring the rest of the people in the room.

When Lydia saw him ogling the maid, she slapped him. "Arthur, do you plan on marrying her?"

"I don't, Lydia."

"If you don't, then why are you still ogling? Just pay her and kick her out."

Lydia felt her entire body trembling with pain and frustration. She had suffered a complete loss, yet there was nothing she could say about it.

Freya looked at Lydia's murderous gaze and blinked. "Lydia, it doesn't seem appropriate to do that. She has lost her innocence. How is she going to marry anyone in the future?"

"What do you suggest? Do you want this woman to be part of the Austins?"

Lydia's eyes went wide with disbelief and shock. "Freya, you've gone too far."

Freya shrank back in fear, hiding behind Bradley as she whispered, "The people in the countryside value reputations the most. If a girl sleeps with a man, they are meant to get married."

"You…"

Lydia was so angry she almost spat out blood.

Does this little wicked girl mean to have Arthur marry that maid?

Bradley crossed his arms and looked at Freya with an interested gaze.

That meant that since they slept together, they were together.

Freya did not see the interest in his eyes, but the next thing she knew, her hand was caught by a large hand.

She turned to look at the faint smile in his eyes and shuddered. Then, she heard him say, "You who said it. Sleeping together means we're together."

His narrow, cold eyes were blazing with a fire that made Freya blush. It was only then that she realized that she had dug a trap for herself that she even jumped into.

"You know that's not what I mean," she anxiously said.

Bradley smiled. "I took it to heart."

They looked like they were flirting, and it made James clench his fists in response.

Lydia was panicking. No! She could not let Arthur marry the maid.

She was someone who could not even tolerate a thorn in her eyes, let alone share her man with someone else, especially not with a lowly maid!

"Freya, we are in the city, not the countryside! Besides, in this day and age, no one gets married just because they slept together!"

Freya smiled while deliberately avoiding Bradley's passionate gaze.

She knew she had said the wrong thing, and he would remember it forever.

There was a surge of joy in Arthur's heart. Could he really marry the maid?

However, he then heard Lydia cry out, "Dad, you can't do this. If Arthur marries her, what am I meant to do?"

Owen looked at her with disgust in his eyes and said, "If you don't want Arthur to divorce you and marry someone else, just behave yourself and stop causing trouble."

After that, he banged his cane on the ground. "Alright. Let's end it here for today. Give that maid some money and send her away."

Brian felt a sense of justification and relief upon seeing Arthur's family punished.

Over the years, Brian's family had suffered too much injustice. While they were not pushed to the brink of death like Bradley, things were far from easy for them.

Lydia was a vicious troublemaker, always striving to win at everything. Susan had suffered a lot under her. Fortunately, his wife was considerate and generous, never causing trouble for him.

Freya's eyes were cold. Arthur and Lydia had brought all of this upon themselves!

After all, they upset her first.

As she turned her head, her eyes immediately let Bradley's, causing her heart to skip a beat.

The interested smirk on his mouth laced with a touch of wickedness made him look like one of those irreverent rich young men.

Just looking at him made her feel flustered.

"Dad, Freya has been exhausted after that drug. I'm worried that her body can't take it. I'm taking her back to rest first."

After saying that, he gently pulled her onto his lap.

Freya was filled with extreme embarrassment at being carried around once more in front of everyone.

"I'm really fine."

While she was drugged, she had not been exhausted. He might have been subtle, but everyone clearly knew what he meant and what happened between the two in the room.

Bradley's lips twitched. Let them misunderstand the situation. His gaze lightly swept over James, observing James' unpleasant expression and dark eyes.

"Freya has suffered a lot. Bring her back to the room for some rest. I'll instruct the kitchen to cook something to nourish her body."

"I understand, Dad."

Bradley carried Freya away and back to the bedroom.

He knew Lydia's tricks well.

She had urged Arthur to play nice with Bradley and even had spies planted in his household so that she could set his mansion on fire while he was asleep.

If it were not for Frederick rescuing him from the fire, he would have been reduced to a corpse long ago.