Chapter 31. Crazy Woman

The old man’s eyes gleamed unpleasantly. It wasn’t hard to read the lust and sadism in them.

“Lovely Ellenore, so we meet again like this.”

The man was intoxicated with cruel triumph. The vile joy of finally being able to do as he pleased with someone who had been out of his reach was evident on his face and in his gestures.

“Don’t come any closer.”

As I stepped back warily, the man, who had been staring at me, snorted loudly. It was a laugh that mocked what I could possibly do. I tensed every nerve and gripped the glass shard in my hand with all my strength.

“You still don’t understand your situation… You’re mine now. Your parents sold you to me! What makes you so arrogant? Grand Duke Bayern? Nonsense! He was just toying with you! Wake up from your foolish dreams and face reality! You’re going to be my wife!”

The mask he wore in society was stripped away, revealing a hideously ugly face. This must be his true nature. It was exactly as I had seen in the future through foresight.

I glanced sideways at the still half-open door. There was no way Anderson had come alone, so there must be at least two of his servants in the hallway. And the servants of this mansion… Could I shake them all off and make it to the front door?

Even if I managed to get out of this mansion, getting to Grand Duke Bayern’s residence was another problem. Running through the streets in broad daylight in my pajamas and barefoot… The very thought was dreadful.

‘But there’s no other way.’

What’s the big deal about running in pajamas and barefoot? It was better than being caught by Anderson. Anderson, smirking, came closer, and I waited for the moment of self-defense.

“Maybe breaking your pride here wouldn’t be so bad. It would be more humiliating to be violated in a filthy place like this storage room…”

His toad-like, fat hand reached out to me. As he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me down, climbing on top of me, I glared at him, thinking about where to stab him. Somewhere that wouldn’t be fatal but would be painful enough to catch him off guard…

As his hand grabbed my pajama top and the fabric began to tear, I raised the hand holding the glass shard and struck down.

“Aaagh!”

The glass shard lodged in the man’s right shoulder. I saw his white shirt stain with blood. As he recoiled in pain, I slipped out from under him, kicked him in the groin, and quickly put some distance between us.

“Ugh! This, this b*tch…!”

I hid behind the door. The servants, alerted by the commotion in the room, rushed in from the hallway, and while they were busy tending to Anderson, I slipped out quickly. And I ran desperately without looking back.

The first floor, the first floor… I had to get to the first floor. I wasn’t confident I could jump out of a second-floor window and land safely.

I ran like a crazy woman. Shouts and the sound of shoes hitting the floor echoed behind me. Just as I barely reached the first-floor hall, I ran into Melissa.

“Sis, where are you going? Dressed like that…”

“Move.”

“Sis, your hand is bleeding…”

“Move!”

I pushed Melissa aside and dashed towards the entrance. Just as I was about to escape the hall, Anderson and his men shouted from behind me.

“Catch her! Catch that b*tch!”

As soon as I heard that, someone grabbed my hair. The pain in my scalp was excruciating, and as I turned around, I saw Melissa, her face twisted into a grotesque smile, holding my hair.

“Where are you rushing off to, sister…?”

“You…”

In that brief moment, I realized anew. Melissa’s insidious malice was fundamentally different from Margot, Helene, or Anthony.

Margot was someone who tried to spread her unhappiness to me, Helene was a fool who tormented me following her mother, and Anthony was a selfish person who only cared about himself.

But Melissa was different from any of them. Melissa purely enjoyed seeing others fall apart… She was a fundamentally twisted human being.

“Sis, you shouldn’t trouble the gentleman.”

Melissa spoke, her words interspersed with intermittent laughter. Her hand gripping my hair trembled. It wasn’t from guilt or fear. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself.

“You caught her! Well done, Melissa.”

Anderson, excited, ran over here. His right shoulder had been given emergency treatment but was still bleeding heavily. Melissa dragged me over to him, and as soon as Anderson saw me, he scowled fiercely and raised his hand high.

The moment that hand slapped my cheek, I closed my eyes tightly.

Smack!

The sound of the slap rang out loudly. Anderson grabbed me firmly and pulled me up as I staggered. As I turned my head towards him, I made eye contact with Helene, who was hiding and watching from behind a pillar.

Helene visibly flinched and covered her mouth with her hand in shock. Her wide-open eyes were filled with fear. She took a few steps back hesitantly before turning around and running off somewhere. For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off that spot, and then I heard Anderson’s angry voice.

“You insolent girl… If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll never learn. How dare you stab and kick me? You should be grateful I’m not throwing you in jail right now!”

He grabbed me by the collar and started dragging me towards the entrance. I tried to resist by planting my feet firmly, but it was no use. I was dragged along like a dog on a leash. At the entrance, Margot was waiting.

She looked back and forth between Anderson’s shoulder wound and me, her face growing colder.

“…Your Grace, Marquis Anderson. That shoulder wound… it must be Ellen’s doing. I am truly sorry. That child has inherited her mother’s madness…”

“Oh, it’s alright. After all, isn’t she going to be my wife? I’ll take her and educate her properly.”

Anderson answered nonchalantly, pretending to be generous. He let go of my collar and this time tried to embrace my shoulder. I stepped back to avoid his touch and glared at him as if I wanted to kill him. Anderson’s face immediately twisted.

“Ellenore, be good. Come here.”

I openly mocked him, who was now using polite language with me. Maybe it was because my heart was filled with rage, but I wasn’t afraid of him. The violence this vile man inflicted on me couldn’t break me. I’d rather bite my tongue and die than be dragged away by this scoundrel.

My mind was a chaotic mess, and my vision turned red. I couldn’t see anything anymore. Perhaps the story that I inherited my mother’s madness was true.

“Get lost. You filthy r*pist.”

“…What did you say?”

Even with a trembling voice, I cursed him with all my might. I could have said worse. Margot, who was watching, was shocked, and Anderson’s face turned red with anger. I spoke without hesitation.

“Stepmother, since you treat me like a madwoman, I’ll do as you wish. Did you say you wanted me to be unhappy? That’s too bad. I’ll die before I become unhappy. I won’t fall into the misery you desire. Instead, I’ll curse you. I hope your precious daughters, Helene and Melissa, live in torment in a hellish reality for the rest of their lives. And Anthony, there’s no need to mention him. What will a boy who frequents gambling dens become when he grows up? He’ll be lucky to keep all his limbs. And you, you’ll live to see all that. Watch your children live the miserable lives you so desperately didn’t want for yourself…”

“You… you, how dare you!”

Margot, enraged beyond belief, rushed at me. Anderson and his servants stared at me in a daze.

The absurdity of their expressions and the situation was so comical that I burst out laughing. Margot grabbed my hair. She glared at me with eyes that wanted to slap and strangle me right away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, trembling instead. It was so ridiculous.

“What? Afraid of damaging the merchandise you’re trying to sell off?”

Margot, who was holding me, flinched as she glanced at Anderson. It was as if she had discovered something strange.

I raised my eyebrows in confusion and watched Margot, then turned my head in the direction she was staring.

And there, unexpectedly, stood Enoch Bayern.

“……Your Highness?”

I called out to him blankly. I thought it was a hallucination. His golden eyes slowly scanned me. Jet-black hair that shimmered like ebony. A face as perfect as if sculpted by a god. It was unmistakably him.

And a little behind him, Helene was trembling, clasping her hands tightly.

Swish, my hair slipped out of Margot’s grasp.

She hesitated and took a few steps back. I stood there in a daze, looking back and forth between Enoch Bayern and Helene standing near him.

What is this situation?

“……I was told to wait in the drawing room…….”

Enoch Bayern started speaking softly as he moved forward. His movements were fluid and graceful, like water. There was no hint of an impending storm. His gestures were just beautiful, devoid of any ferocity…….

“I waited quietly.”

Suddenly, he was right in front of me, looking down at me silently. His scrutinizing gaze swept over my cheeks, the split lip, the shoulder marked by a handprint, the right hand that had held the glass shards, and the slightly torn front of my nightgown.

“What the hell kind of situation is this?”

The same question I had just thought of slipped from his lips. As I looked up at him blankly, he pulled me into his arms with one arm. A deep musk scent wafted from beyond the neatly dressed black suit.

“Ah, no, Your Highness, what brings you here…….”

“Y-Your Highness, this is…… this is, well…….”

Anderson and Margot mumbled almost simultaneously. In the confusion that was spreading like paint splattered in the air, I met Helene’s eyes over Enoch Bayern’s shoulder. She flinched as if she were about to jump, biting her lip with a tearful expression.

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