The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 77

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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 77
I bit my lip and lowered my head.
“I’m sorry.”
The Maidservant wearing a gentle smile shook her head. Then she began attending to me again with careful hands. I couldn’t bring myself to meet her gaze.
Her demeanor had always been cautious and gentle. That’s why I thought we could communicate. I’d intended to coax her into releasing me through conversation, but I never expected her to be in this state.
Who had done this to her? Could it be Abarid Bestes? So that I, trapped here, couldn’t speak with anyone. So that I wouldn’t even consider the possibility of escape.
I bit my lip hard. Was I overthinking this? But if it were Abarid Bestes, he would be more than capable of such a thing. He’s a man who would do anything for his desires.
The Maidservant who couldn’t speak finished attending to me and curtsied, smoothing out her skirt. As if telling me to rest well, she carefully closed the curtains, dimmed the lights, and left the room.
Whether it was the aftereffects of being struck by Delania Siaz or the drug hadn’t fully worn off, I felt like I’d collapse the moment I lay down, but I couldn’t fall asleep. No, I shouldn’t fall asleep.
I shook my head vigorously to shake off the encroaching drowsiness. Then I quietly got down from the bed. My head spun dizzily as if I might collapse at any moment, but I forced strength into my legs. I had to find some way to escape. If I just waited helplessly, I’d become exactly what Abarid Bestes wanted. That, above all else, I wanted to avoid.
The floor beneath my bare feet was cool. For some reason, goosebumps rose on my skin, so I rubbed my arms. The fireplace burned brightly red, and the nightgown the Maidservant had prepared was warm and thick, but it wasn’t enough to block out the chill rising from the floor. I sighed quietly and moved carefully.
I approached the door the Maidservant had left through and slowly turned the handle. Click. The handle, unable to turn all the way, was blocked by something and made a dull sound. Damn it. The door was locked from the outside.
Somehow, I’d expected as much. I changed direction. There was another way to reach the outside besides the door.
With trembling fingers, I carefully opened the thick curtains that hung to the floor. Blinding light poured into the dark room. I squinted my eyes, accustomed to the darkness. The sun was slightly past its zenith in the sky. The remaining snow reflected the afternoon sunlight.
A vast garden came into view. The garden covered in white snow appeared at first glance to be completely neglected. This place must be quite far from the Capital, I thought. If this were a mansion in the Capital, it would never be left in such a state. A garden is like the face of its owner.
My violet eyes rolled about, surveying here and there. Judging by the height, the room I was in seemed to be at least on the third floor. I pushed hard against the window leading to the balcony. I tried pulling it too. But the window that spanned the entire wall didn’t budge.
Of course it would be locked. I swallowed a sigh and found the locking mechanism. I tried to lift the crescent-shaped lock placed in the center of the glass window that took up one wall, but the lock, which wasn’t particularly heavy, wouldn’t move. I frowned.
I examined the lock closely, but there was no other mechanism. The crescent-shaped lock was something used only in high-class mansions, but that didn’t mean I was unfamiliar with it. After all, they used the same kind at the Lilywood Duke’s Mansion.
If that was the case, then this lock must have some mechanism I didn’t know about.
I abandoned the idea of escaping through the window. After all, from a height of three floors, jumping would result in more than just a sprained ankle. Still, I thought it would be easier than escaping through the door. As I chewed my lip, I let out a hollow laugh. Abarid Bestes had clearly put considerable effort into kidnapping me.
To bring me here alone, he used two mistresses, some unknown drug, a Doctor, an Attendant, and even this mansion. Did he really think I’d smile gratefully and fall into his arms because of all this? Really, he’s wasting effort on useless things.
Irritated, I struck the window with my fist. Bang—a loud noise erupted. My hand ached, but whatever treatment had been applied, the window didn’t budge. If they’d even worked on the lock, it wouldn’t break easily. Besides, if the loud sound of breaking glass rang out, anyone would come running. In any case, escaping through the balcony was impossible.
I ran my hands through my hair. The black hair that Anna and Lise had carefully maintained, flowing with a lustrous sheen, became a mess, but I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about such things. I returned to the bed and sat down heavily.
Abarid Bestes said he had no intention of touching me until my wounds healed. That much was fortunate. By the time they healed, should I slap my own cheek? If so, would Abarid Bestes leave me alone until then?
But all of this is meaningless thinking. I don’t have time for this. I wanted to know how long I’d been here, but there was no way to know. There were no calendars or clocks in this place. Even if I wanted to ask the one attending to me, I couldn’t get an answer.
There is a Doctor to treat my wounds. There is someone to attend to me. Good quality meals are served. But this place was ultimately a prison. A prison where Abarid Bestes confined me to take me as he pleased.
Blood seeped from my lips, which had started to tear at some point. I tasted the metallic, bloody flavor. In this state, I couldn’t think of any proper solution. I needed to calm my mind. I lowered my head and tried to take a deep breath. But then, my gaze caught on the necklace Abarid Bestes had left behind.
The moment I saw the pendant shaped like snowflakes, marking me as Abarid Bestes’s mistress, irritation surged up violently. My lips, clenched with anger I couldn’t immediately release, trembled. I picked up the golden pendant. The finely crafted pendant glimmered as it caught the light seeping through the curtains.
After staring at it for a long while, I threw it with all my might as if venting my anger on the necklace. The metal pendant flew to the front of the fireplace, its edge leaving a deep scratch on the wooden floor. I thought, breathing heavily, that I wished that wooden floor were Abarid Bestes’s face.
There was nothing more I could do. Fatigue suddenly overwhelmed me.
I had no choice but to lie down on the bed. Pulling the blanket over myself, I breathed slowly. I closed my eyes tightly. Aster Veil Lilywood must be worried. Would he try to find me? I hoped he wouldn’t think I’d run away. Suddenly, I missed Aster Veil Lilywood so much.
* * *
I opened my eyes at the sound of unnatural movement. The moment I opened them, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling and realized I was in Abarid Bestes’s villa or residence, somewhere like that. I couldn’t understand why I was in such a place, and it was simply unpleasant. I wanted to scream in irritation. Instead, I quietly raised myself up.
My gaze, as I irritably brushed back my hair, fell upon Abarid Bestes picking up the necklace I’d thrown on the floor. Our eyes met. Unlike me, whose irritation was plainly visible, he smiled leisurely, his golden eyes gleaming.
“My, Lauren. Throwing away my heart like this—isn’t that a bit sad?”
He deliberately swung the necklace in his hand. At the end of the chain he held, the snowflake-shaped pendant swayed back and forth.
“Even if it doesn’t look like much, this is quite precious, you know.”
Abarid Bestes shrugged and laughed. I stared at him expressionlessly for a long moment before slowly opening my mouth.
“…It seems Your Highness’s affection is light enough to scatter among this person and that person.”
At my cold voice, deep wrinkles formed between Abarid Bestes’s brows. For a moment, a savage light flickered in his golden eyes, but I turned my head away.
I wanted to scream at him to send me back at once, to hurl a pillow at his face—but I held myself back solely because the man before me was the Crown Prince of the Empire.
“Listen, Lauren.”
Abarid Bestes strode toward the bed with long, purposeful steps. The way he leaned down, pressing his face close to mine, felt like a threat. Yet I turned my head away, refusing to grant him even a glance. My cool profile drew his intense gaze.
“Keeping you here is nothing to me.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Even without looking, I could picture his smile—that smirk that didn’t reach his eyes, the false warmth he manufactured to win favor and bind people to him.
He could crush anyone beneath his power and strength. Yet he chose to bind them to his side under the guise of affection, as if his feelings alone mattered. And he had already proven he could drag people here and render them immobile. Was it because he was the Crown Prince? Because he was someone who could wield power however he pleased?
“I could make you mine right here and now, or I could sever the tendons in your ankles so you can’t take a single step from this room.”
With a soft thud, his weight settled onto the bed. He sat beside me, his fingertips brushing against my cheek. The touch was gentle, almost ticklish, yet it felt colder and more horrifying to me than the stroke of a blade.
“If you keep speaking that way, I might just cut out the tongue of my old nursemaid, who’s pacing anxiously outside.”
At his words laced with laughter, I forgot I had been ignoring him and looked directly at him. Horror flickered in my violet eyes, but Abarid Bestes seemed delighted that I had finally met his gaze.
“Though I suppose I’d miss hearing your voice—perhaps a little.”
All I want to hear from you are the sounds you make in bed anyway.
He leaned in close, his low voice tinged with amusement seeping into my ears. But I couldn’t respond to his words. My mind was consumed by the identity of the owner of those soft, tender hands that had cared for me. The nursemaid with her tongue severed. It wasn’t difficult to piece together who the elderly maidservant truly was.
“…Why.”
My voice trembled as I barely managed to utter that single syllable. Abarid Bestes smiled with what seemed like satisfaction, then raised his hand. Unable to pull away, I felt his fingers gently brush a strand of dark hair from my cheek, tucking it behind my ear.

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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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