WMHMS - Chapter 45

Thinking that, she began to take out the odds and ends from the closet and tossed them out of the closet.

As a result, at some point, I was able to find out what Linea had been so eager to hide.

"A doll? That thing bought this expensive one?"

This top-of-the-line doll that even comes with a wardrobe?

Yurizella roughly knew how much this doll cost.

"You're really going overboard with your money. You're not nouveau riche, yet you go around throwing money away on the street just because you've made a little bit."

Yurizella confiscated the doll, speaking as if it were pathetic.

"Having something this expensive would only spoil you. I guess I should take this."

“No, no!”

Linea, who had remained silent until she tossed things like dresses, jeweled pins, and shoes onto the floor, suddenly shouted.

And hurriedly, she tightly grasped the feet of the doll that Yurizella was holding.

"Please give it to me. Don't take this."

"What are you going to use this for? Huh? If you keep holding onto something this expensive, you'll just end up pestering for something even more expensive for your next birthday."

"Ah. No, that's not it. I don't need to receive anything for several lifetimes!"

Linea was so scared that she squeezed her eyes shut and held onto the doll until the very end, refusing to let go.

Tears welled up in the corners of the child's eyes as he shook his head.

"Grandma, please."

However, that plea only further fueled Yurizella's anger.

"Linea, I shouldn't have left you with that woman. How dare you talk back to an old woman?" 

"Ah. No. That's not it."

Linea stammered several times while sobbing.

Memories of being scolded by her grandmother over the years came flooding back, and her whole body trembled.

"I guess I'll have to lock you up in the storage room for the first time in a while?"

Still, Grandmother never once hit Linea, but instead she used to punish her in other ways.

The plan was to lock Linea in the storage room under the stairs and make her write a letter of apology until she calmed down.

Even for a young child like Linea, that room was cramped and filled with the smell of dirty dust, and staying there for just a few hours would quickly give her a headache.

On top of that, her hands would ache and sting as she wrote countless letters of apology until her grandmother was satisfied.

Almost no light came in, so it felt like her eyeballs were going to pop out.

So it was one of the bees Linea feared the most.

"Ah. No! Please, I don't want that, Grandma."

Linea shook her head in fear at those words.

However, she couldn't easily let go of the doll until the very end.

In the end, Yurizella's anger reached its peak.

She shouted at Linea.

"Follow me! You've let your guard down and lost your senses. You really need to be punished today."

In the end, Linea had no choice but to awkwardly follow behind her grandmother.

To undergo the arduous discipline that begins again.

Linea thought of Asha in her mind.

Is it because she hopes her mother will come and save her?

It wasn't.

Since today's schedule ended late, she simply hoped that her mother would never see this. 

She knew without a doubt that her mother would step forward for her. 

Linea prayed and prayed that her mother would not be implicated because of her.

***

After completing the signing of the contract, I took care of what I had asked Isar to do and headed home. 

The events of the day flashed through my mind, but Linea was the urgent matter right now. 

'Has Linea had dinner? If not, she might go out for a moment.' 

It was the very moment I stepped out of the carriage and entered the Count's mansion that my mother-in-law's voice came from beyond the open drawing room door.

"You, come here!"

'What is he acting like that for again?'

I thought that she would be on edge for a while because of the Mary incident.

However, I wasn't expecting to see a sight like this.

From the looks of it, contrary to my expectations, my mother-in-law did not attend the dinner party today and seemed to have been diligently searching Linea's room.

My mother-in-law triumphantly destroyed the things I bought for her in various ways and piled them up on the sofa as if on display.

On top of that, she stood in front of the table with the doll Linea cherished so much still on it.

"Mother! Isn't this a bit too much?"

Honestly, I wasn't even angry at first.

If only Linea hadn't been sitting on her knees next to her grandmother with a face covered in tears.

I probably compensated by buying even more things to spite my mother-in-law.

However, Linea had cried so much that her eyes were swollen to the point of being pitiful.

In addition, there were a few sheets of paper placed in front of it.

"What on earth did you do to Linea?"

I forgot even my lighthearted tone and sneered at my mother-in-law.

I was the kind of person who froze even more coldly the angrier I got.

'Ah, I think a scene like this appeared in the original work as well.'

Being a noblewoman, she did not resort to direct violence, but the mother-in-law knew other ways to break the child's will and make her do as she pleased.

One of them is probably locking Linea up and making her write a letter of apology.

I put my hand in my pocket, clutched the item I had received today tightly, and asked my mother-in-law sarcastically.

"Are you the type who feels relieved by tearing up Linea's dress and shoes like this, and crumpling up all the books?"

"Hey. You really think you can say something like that to me right now."

The mother-in-law also held up the hammer in her hand as if to show off.

"Buying things like this will only spoil the child; you were wrong from the start."

"So, did you lock the child in a cramped back room where she couldn't even stand up straight and make her write a letter of apology? Even when she cried and pounded the door, begging to be let out."

I was breathless, as if those scenes that had been glossed over lightly in the original work were suddenly appearing vividly before my eyes.

"Ha, did you really have to ignore her and torment her until she groveled and came in as submissively as you wanted?"

"Yeah. I did that too! That's how everyone grows up! Using things that fit their means!"

"This is about right for my means. It seems Mother has thought, ever since childhood, that you weren't even capable of using something like this."

I asked her.

"Well, my mother was a baronet, so you were of lower rank than me."

"You. You. Crazy bitch!"

"You know that threatening someone with a hammer like this is a serious crime, right?"

"When did I ever threaten you? I was just..."

The mother-in-law snickered and swung a hammer, smashing Linea's doll.

Bang! Bang!

The doll was badly damaged with just a few slams.

"I was just disciplining Linea."

"This isn't discipline; it's abuse. Terrible emotional abuse."

However, my mother-in-law already seemed to have no intention of talking to me.

“Hold that!”

As it seemed like the conversation was going to drag on any longer, she pointed her finger at me and gave orders to the maids.

In an instant, several maids swarmed around me and roughly grabbed me. Then they dragged me away somewhere.

"You should experience it for yourself. Don't even think about spreading ridiculous nonsense that I abused Linea."

“No! Mother!”

Even though she couldn't use her legs properly because she was kneeling, Linea tried to follow us.

However, as one of the maids grabbed Linea, the sound quickly faded away.

The storage room right under the stairs was barely big enough for a child to stand in, but...

My mother-in-law looked down at me and pointed her finger.

"Think carefully here all night. You aren't in this house because you're so great. You'll only be able to continue living here if you crawl into my hands."

The maids who had shoved me inside slammed the door shut.

“Hey.”

And while being held captive, I made a bewildered face.

'I never thought I’d get to experience being Crown Prince Sado in a romance fantasy.'

I was shocked.

Isn't the very act of thinking to lock a child in such a narrow, dark, and unclean room the mark of a psychopath?

I sat slumped on the floor and swept my hair back.

“Still, I’m glad.”

Saying that, I checked the contents of my pocket once again.

Evidence secured.

I had planned to leave within a few weeks, and this has convinced me.

'I have to escape with Linea tonight.'

***

Time flowed endlessly.

Honestly, being confined in a place like this didn't really cause me any mental problems.

As night fell, all I could think about was slowly breaking down the warehouse door, escaping, and taking Linea with me.

My anger burned even more chillingly cold and silently in the darkness.

It was just as I was about to lift my foot to kick open the warehouse door, it was time for everyone to fall asleep.

“Uh, Mother.”

A very thin and weak voice was heard from beyond the door.

"Linea, are you okay?!"

I hurriedly sat up and checked on Linea's condition beyond the door first.

The child's voice was hoarse and full of tears.

"I'll open it for you. Just a moment."

The sound of Linea straining her muscles was heard.

It looked like they had placed a chair in front of it since it wasn't a locked door.

After a long while, Linea let out a sigh.

The child dragged something with a squeaking sound and finally opened the door.

"Linea. Ah..."

As soon as the door opened, Linea hugged me with her arms outstretched.

I was left speechless by the weight of those frail arms, smelling of a baby, as she embraced me tightly with her whole body, without a word.

I closed my eyes in that hug, where I could clearly feel the worry and longing you had for me.

And I held Linea even tighter in my arms.

Ah. Now I understand.

'So I came here to meet you.'

I felt that confidence.

For a moment, I felt as though I existed solely for this child.

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