I Woke Up from Hibernation and Found a Husband - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 18
“Ugh!”
A cruel grip tightened around Isabella’s forearm, drawing a gasp from her lips. The Head Maid’s eyes blazed as she barked down at the girl.
“Sneaking into the Garden like a rat! You’re bringing shame upon House Voltier!”
Isabella’s face drained of color. Gripped by panic, the child couldn’t even scream—only harsh, ragged breaths escaped her.
Watching this unfold mere inches away, I felt my teeth clench.
‘How dare she.’
Veins rose and fell across the back of my hand in rhythm with my pulse. The wildness I’d been suppressing surged like a flame fed by fury, threatening to consume me entirely.
“Let go of her.”
A sound like a predator’s growl leaked through the prison bars, and the Head Maid’s gaze snapped toward the source. In the shadowed cell, cold eyes gleamed with lethal light.
The Head Maid flinched momentarily, but the instant she realized I was locked behind bars, a contemptuous smirk twisted her face.
“What are you staring at? A caged beast daring to meddle in human affairs—how presumptuous.”
I showed no reaction to her vicious words. My gaze remained fixed solely on Isabella’s anguished face.
“Remove your hand.”
A second warning. But as the Head Maid snorted and began dragging Isabella away, sinews bulged across my forehead.
I had reached my limit.
“Miss Bella, would you close your eyes for a moment?”
At my whisper, Isabella instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.
“Wh—what!”
The high window tore like paper in a single instant. In one leap, I reached the ceiling and wrenched the bars free, pulling them clean from the wall.
“Ahhh!!”
Before the Head Maid could scream, I clamped her mouth shut, exhaling a long breath heavy with rage. Killing intent rose like a tide. Beneath the moonlight, my amber eyes burned with menace.
“…Claire?”
Released from the Head Maid’s grip, Isabella stumbled backward, unnerved by this unfamiliar side of me. Seeing the frightened child, some semblance of reason returned, and I shook my head.
‘Calm yourself. There’s nothing to gain from touching this woman here.’
Swallowing my fury, I turned to Isabella.
“Miss, are you hurt anywhere?”
Isabella, still unaccustomed to this fierce version of me, kept her distance and nodded.
“I’m fine.”
But her wrist—the one the Head Maid had seized—bore angry red marks in the shape of fingers. Bruising was inevitable. My brow furrowed.
“Let go!”
The Head Maid, pinned beneath my weight across her face and shoulders, seized a gap and shrieked between my fingers. She bit savagely at my hand, but my expression didn’t even flicker.
“Miss, return to your room for now.”
“What?”
“I’ll handle this.”
I had escaped the prison and harmed a servant. Regardless of circumstances, punishment was inevitable.
‘I need to send her away first.’
Isabella had to be kept clear of any connection to this incident.
“But… I came here for no reason, and…”
Isabella’s eyes welled with anxious tears, but I continued in a steady voice.
“It’s fine. I can handle this well on my own. Would you trust me and return home today?”
Isabella, sniffling and rubbing her eyes, answered in a trembling voice.
“Will I see you again?”
Claire nodded and answered immediately.
“Of course.”
“Okay, then I’ll wait.”
Isabella, who had clenched her fists as she answered, soon disappeared beyond the Garden. After waiting briefly for the child’s footsteps to fade, I lowered my head toward the Head Maid’s ear.
“You’d do well not to scream. As you said, I’m a beast with little patience.”
When I removed my hand from the Head Maid’s face, she glared at me with cold resentment.
“Do you even know what you’re doing right now? If Gregory finds out about this!”
“If he does?”
I echoed her words slowly. My cold eyes, devoid of any fear, gleamed with the predatory gaze of a hunter.
“A beast like you—!”
The Head Maid couldn’t continue easily. Her entire body trembled violently, overwhelmed by my presence. Her lips quivered as she seemed to regain her senses, and she bit her lip hard before speaking.
“Why go so far? What’s so important about that Young Master and young lady that you’d interfere with us like this!”
At those words, I responded as if I didn’t understand.
“Isn’t a servant employed to properly serve their master? It’s you who’s interfering.”
“A master is a master depending on who they are.”
The Head Maid let out a bitter laugh. Her bloodied lips twisted into a savage smile.
“In the end, he’s just Leopold’s child. That Leopold who brought nothing but shame to House Voltier!”
“Leopold?”
“Do you know what that bastard did? How many people were beaten and driven out on false pretenses? Do you know how many of them died miserably on the Streets!”
I recalled the scoundrel of House Voltier that Angela had told me about. The father of the siblings and the man called the shame of House Voltier.
“My friend died that way too! Because of Leopold’s threats, she couldn’t find proper work and wandered the Streets, dying at such a young age!”
I had no intention of defending him. Looking at just a few major incidents, his deeds were clearly evil. I pitied those who had suffered from the harm he caused.
But.
“Did the Young Master and young lady harm you?”
At my question, the Head Maid’s mouth stopped.
‘Angela, could you investigate just one thing for me?’
After hearing from Angela about the controversy surrounding the raccoon siblings’ father, I had asked her to investigate Theodore and Isabella from that time. When Leopold passed away, Theodore was thirteen and Isabella was four. Thirteen was young, but old enough to have his own convictions and make decisions.
‘Then were the Young Master and young lady also perpetrators of the evil deeds?’
I had considered that point important.
‘And a few days ago, I received the answer by messenger pigeon.’
I spoke to the Head Maid, who still kept her mouth shut.
“Except for a few official engagements, Leopold rarely sought out the children, and the Count assigned separate tutors to care for the siblings for their education. The Young Master Theodore and young lady Bella—weren’t they both of gentle temperament, unlike their father?”
At those words, the Head Maid, who had been staring at me with bloodshot eyes, spoke savagely.
“So what? Leopold was also disgustingly docile when he was young! True nature reveals itself as you grow! Look, the Young Master also attacks people when his madness flares up. That’s proof he’s just like his father!”
My eyes narrowed.
‘The Young Master has never harmed an innocent person until his madness took hold.’
I recalled the day I first came to work as a maid. That day when I was sent to the Young Master’s Room without detailed instructions or clear orders. A strange atmosphere had permeated the Mansion, as if those here subtly hoped for me to be harmed.
“Hah.”
All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place for Claire.
‘They’re using innocent people as sacrifices to build the Young Master’s infamy.’
A respectable position as a servant of House Voltier and generous wages—such conditions would attract countless moths to the flame, even if their master were a madman.
“So you resent your own suffering, yet you find it acceptable to exploit others’ pain for your own purposes?”
A sickening sensation twisted through Claire’s chest. The nausea was overwhelming. Yet the Head Maid paid no heed to her accusation, speaking with unwavering confidence.
“A beast like you could never understand. Once he becomes Count, he’ll set everything right. Only someone who has felt the same suffering as us can truly understand us.”
Like a brainwashed devotee, the Head Maid’s lips moved ceaselessly without a single blink.
“That demon Leopold received his punishment and died, and that demon’s spawn Theodore is being punished as well. The world itself is helping him!”
‘That person? Are they talking about Gregory?’
Claire was about to ask for more details when—
“Stand back!”
Knights rushed forward and surrounded Claire. Dozens of sharp blades pointed at her throat, yet Claire’s expressionless gaze remained fixed on the figures behind them.
There stood Gregory, regarding her with an enigmatic smile.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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