Clang!
The sound of metal rang in her ears. At the same time, a dull pain stabbed through her wrist, which had flushed a livid red.
“Ungh!”
Clenching her fist, Lariette let out a low groan. Before she knew it, both wrists were swollen and puffy. Her face had long been twisted in agony.
“Haah….”
She plopped down onto the soft carpet and sighed. Then she stared blankly at the white door before her. It was a door that had not opened once since she had arrived here and regained consciousness.
‘To think I’m trapped in this room again.’
Hugging her bent knees, she muttered inwardly.
Though she had used this room for some twenty years, it had never felt like her own. Rather, the rooms of House Candel felt far more familiar.
By now, Lariette had already been trapped in House Blanche for several hours.
She had tried to flee the moment she woke, but to make matters worse, iron mana restraints were fitted around her wrists.
She had tried everything from smashing her wrists against the wall in an attempt to break the restraints, but they were prisoner shackles—useless. And since she could not use magic, she was no more than a powerless noblewoman.
No matter how much she pounded and kicked the thick door, it refused to budge, and the window was locked from the outside. In other words, there was simply no way out of this room no matter how desperately she tried.
Dawn seemed to have passed, for sunlight was now streaming through the window. Realizing it was morning, her stomach growled impolitely. She had been starving since last evening.
It was a familiar situation. Being trapped in a room, starving, waiting for the door to open. She had behaved well since childhood and had not often been punished, but her body remembered it all too clearly.
Could anything be more despair-inducing? Lariette wondered blankly.
To think she might have to end her life in this terrible place—nothing could possibly be worse. A terrible sense of despair enveloped her huddled body.
And at that moment, a familiar and welcome voice came through the gap in the door.
“My lady!”
It was so faint that she had to focus to hear it. Even so, Lariette immediately recognized who it belonged to. Naturally, since Anne was the only person in House Blanche she had missed.
“Anne! Are you there?”
“Yes, my lady, it’s me! Are you alright? You must be so hungry….”
Hearing Anne’s melancholy voice, Lariette forgot the pain in her wrists and her hunger and broke into a wide smile. Joy took precedence.
Lariette sprang up and approached the door. The gap was too narrow to see Anne, but knowing she was on the other side set her mind somewhat at ease.
“No, I’m fine. Anne, have you been well? Are you in good health?”
“Of course. I’m always healthy. What should we do, my lady? The master seems terribly, terribly angry….”
“I'm used to that man being angry, after all.”
“It’s not the usual kind. The situation is serious. Last night he flew into a rage, saying he would not let you go when morning came.”
Anne’s voice was graver than ever, clearly not joking. Unable to understand a duke who had told her to leave, only to throw a fit and kidnap her once she did, Lariette shook her head.
“I’ll try to find help.”
Anne spoke in a resolute voice. Right now, before the duke woke, was Lariette’s only chance to escape.
But from Lariette’s perspective, it was far too reckless. There was virtually no one in this mansion who would help her, and there was a high chance Anne would be severely reprimanded for nothing. She would rather be punished herself; she never wanted Anne to get hurt.
“No, Anne. Don’t do that.”
“If we ask Magus Joel for help….”
“Even my teacher wouldn’t be able to do that.”
Lord Joel was one of the few in House Blanche who cared for Lariette and was her teacher, but he was not someone who would dare openly defy the duke’s orders.
That was likely why he had broken her barrier yesterday as well. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t at all hurt, but Lariette fully understood his position.
“Then… I’ll try to steal the key.”
It was terribly dangerous. Lariette continued to dissuade her, but Anne’s resolve would not be broken.
“I regretted so much sending you off like that. I haven’t done enough for you. So please, let me at least try, so I will have no regrets this time.”
“Anne….”
“I’m begging you.”
Hidden by the door, she could not be seen, but Lariette could almost imagine just how serious her expression was.
She was grateful to Anne, yet sorry at the same time. Because even knowing Anne could be put in danger, Lariette was actually hoping for her help.
Blaming herself for being alone and helpless, Lariette opened her mouth with a wretched expression.
“…Thank you.”
“For what! I’ll be back as soon as I can, so please wait and don’t overexert yourself.”
“Anne, you must be careful. If you think you’ll be caught, don’t try it. There will be another chance.”
“Yes!”
Anne answered brightly. Then she immediately turned and headed toward the head butler’s room.
Lariette, who had been standing pressed close to the door, did not leave its side until the sound of Anne’s footsteps had faded completely. Then she sat back against the bed and stared at the white door.
After that, time crawled by unbearably slowly. No matter how many times she opened and closed her eyes, nothing in the room changed, and no sound came from beyond the door.
Lariette’s neat eyelashes slowly lowered over her eyes. Though they were closed, her heart pounded with anxiety, and sleep would not come. Depressing thoughts swam through her empty mind. Only a faint hope held her sanity together.
***
Perhaps several tens of minutes had passed when footsteps began to approach. Lariette, who had buried her face in her knees, snapped her head up and looked forward.
Click, clack-.
The doorknob shook noisily. Along with it, Lariette’s heart pounded heavily. Without blinking once, she stared fixedly at the door.
And then, a single question pierced through her chest, which had been throbbing with anticipation and vague hope.
‘Weren’t the footsteps a bit too heavy and numerous?’
Recognizing that the sounds had been far too heavy and numerous to be Anne’s, Lariette’s face turned pale in an instant.
Creeeak-!
As if it had been waiting for that very moment, the door opened. Reflexively, Lariette raised herself up.
And the two people who appeared before her were the ones she least wanted to see.
“Lariette.”
“…You’re up early, Father.”
How much he must have missed seeing her. Lariette added with a cynical smile at her lips. At that, the Duke of Blanche’s face twisted instantly.
She did not stop, but continued to sneer.
“But who is this ugly fellow? Your complexion is quite colorful.”
The one who had come with the Duke of Blanche was unmistakably her older brother, with his red hair and purple eyes—the one whom she had recently removed any possibility of producing an heir.
But the reason she spoke thus was because Raon’s face was tinged entirely with blue.
She did not know how he had been hurt, but he had surely called for priests to treat him; for scars to remain so visibly meant he had been severely injured.
“I locked you away so that you might reflect, yet there is no sign of that.”
“Why should I reflect? I have done nothing wrong.”
Even while wearing restraints, Lariette spoke proudly with her chest thrust out. She had no intention of apologizing for something she had not done.
“You have done nothing wrong?”
The Duke of Blanche let out a hollow laugh and approached Lariette step by step. As he drew closer, her lips trembled from a learned sense of intimidation, but she did not yield.
“Yes, I have not.”
And at the same time, a large, thick hand struck her face.
*Smack!* A sharp cracking sound filled the room, and a flash of light swept past her eyes.
Her mind went blank as if struck by lightning. Her ears rang, and her head spun. Before she could even grasp what had happened, a thunderous roar fell.
“You haven’t done anything wrong-!”
The Duke of Blanche looked down at Lariette with eyes unhinged by rage. Then he raised his hand again.
Lariette wanted to twist away to avoid his hand, but the duke’s firm grip held her shoulder in place, making it impossible.
*Smack!* In the end, she could not avoid it and met with pain. Because of the ring the duke wore, her face was torn, and blood flowed. It was the ring symbolizing House Blanche.
“Haven’t?”
Only then did the duke release her shoulder. Perhaps because his anger had not subsided, the breath escaping his lips was exceptionally rough.
The moment the duke released her, Lariette collapsed to the floor. She was so dizzy she could not possibly stand. Her vision was dark, and her body was heavy. Her right cheek, struck by him, stung as if pierced by hundreds of needles. Her lip seemed to have burst; blood was pooled heavily inside her mouth.
“After pouring so much money into raising you nobly, you dare run away, enter that monster’s house, and make a fool of this father?”
The Duke of Blanche directed an oppressive and vicious gaze at the collapsed Lariette. Lariette wanted to retort, but her head was still spinning too much to muster the strength.
The insults continued to rain down upon her.
“What did you whisper to that monster to make your brother’s face like this! Have I raised a prostitute instead of a noble lady, is that it?”
So I called someone like this Father. Lariette muttered inwardly even while barely conscious. A terrible emptiness filled her entire body.
The Duke of Blanche continued to pour out insults, but she no longer heard them, thanks to her conscious effort to close her ears.
Behind him, Raon wore a satisfied smile on his bruised face. Lariette let out a groan but bit her own lip in shame.
“Know that you will not get out until you have reflected!”
Before long, having spewed all his poison, the Duke of Blanche left. Even after he disappeared, Raon did not leave and remained in the room.
“You look wonderful, little sister.”
Raon giggled and sneered at Lariette’s sorry state. It seemed he had stayed behind for that very purpose.
“You don’t look so great either.”
Having finally adjusted to the pain, Lariette forced the corners of her lips up and retorted. Blood trickled down through the gap of her torn lips, but she wiped it away nonchalantly. Whether it was that calm attitude which provoked him, deep wrinkles formed between his brows. A grinding sound of teeth was heard.
“Because of you, what humiliation I have suffered…!”
Raon climbed on top of the fallen Lariette and grabbed her by the collar. His grip pulled the fabric harshly, strangling her neck. She could not breathe properly. Lariette let out choking groans and glared at Raon. His twisted face was filled with vengeance for a terrible memory.
“How dare you have that bastard do that to me!!”
It was something Lariette could not understand. In her vision, she saw him draw back his fist.
She wanted to fight back, but she could not use magic, and the shackles made it difficult to use her hands. Pinned beneath him, it was just as hard to move her legs.
But she could not simply let herself be beaten like this.
*Crunch!*
“Uwaaaack!!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lariette bit down on his hand. Already having blood pooled in her mouth, the taste of blood spread bitterly.
Raon screamed at the top of his lungs and flailed his arm wildly. Like a hound, Lariette did not let go of what was in her mouth until he rolled completely backward. Only then did she release her jaw.
“Y-you crazy bitch…!”
Furious, Raon glared at Lariette while clutching his fingers, gouged deep enough to show flesh. But he soon closed his mouth.
Because the purple eyes facing him were more savage than anyone’s—far beyond anything he could have imagined from Lariette, whom he had always looked down upon.
A chilling shiver ran down his spine. The thought that he would die if he messed with her instinctively came to mind.
Without realizing it, Raon took a step back. He did not want to admit it, but he was feeling fear toward his younger sister right now. He was terrified of those eyes glaring at him without the slightest deviation, from a face stained with blood. Those eyes seemed to resemble someone’s. The Duke of Candel, who had ruthlessly beaten him.
“Ugh, uuugh…!”
Flushing red with humiliation, Raon sprang up and fled. Even in the midst of that, he meticulously ordered the servants to lock the door.
Lariette wanted to escape in this opening, but she did not have the strength. Soon, the large door slammed shut with a bang.
And all that remained was terrible helplessness. Familiar resignation weighed down on Lariette’s body.
Time passed futilely once more in the burning pain.
‘Asrahan.’
In the end, Lariette recalled the precious name. She had tried deliberately not to think of it. It seemed it would hurt even more if she did.
They had been apart for only a single day, yet she already missed everything about him.
His blunt yet tender voice, his firm and broad embrace, his warm hands, his beautiful eyes. Each time they came to mind, tears welled up drop by drop and flowed down her bloodstained face.
“My lady!”
Anne’s voice came from outside the door. Lariette listened to her words with her eyes closed.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t get the key.”
As long as you are safe, it is fine. Lariette said inwardly instead, lacking the strength to answer.
“But instead, I found someone to help and contacted them! They’ve arrived downstairs right now!”
It was incomprehensible. If not Lord Joel, who could possibly help her?
As if hearing the question in her heart, Anne answered.
“Duke Candel has come!”