Why Is My Husband the Villainous Schemer! - Chapter 46

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

Chapter 46
I tried to pull Linea away from my shoulder to check her condition, but the child shook her head firmly and clung to me.
Her startled heart hadn’t calmed yet, so I asked as gently as I could.
“Linea, are you hurt anywhere?”
Linea shook her head again.
“Thank goodness.”
I exhaled in relief, then pulled her deeper into my arms.
But it took far longer for the child herself to find peace.
As she clung to me with all her strength for what felt like an eternity, I closed my eyes and stroked her hair.
Slowly, her heartbeat—which had been racing like a kitten’s—began to settle.
With sudden resolve, Linea pulled away from me and spoke.
“Mother, please just leave today!”
“What?”
“You don’t have to take me with you.”
Linea was sincere.
“I’ll be fine. Grandmother gives me food on time and provides a place to stay, even if she punishes me sometimes.”
“Linea.”
“Grandmother will keep doing this to you.”
The child didn’t cry. She simply rushed forward with her words, trying to convince me.
Her eyes, far too old for her age, were dark and devoid of light.
“And I know that because of me, Grandmother treats you even worse…”
Linea rambled on.
Just as on the day we first met, seeing her empty gaze, I called her name firmly.
“Linea.”
When I spoke her name with even greater conviction, at last I could meet her eyes.
“Look at me, yes?”
Cupping her cheeks in both hands, I gazed into Linea’s eyes.
“I will never leave you behind. You’re my daughter.”
Her lips trembled at those words.
I continued.
“I’m your mother, and I will always protect you and love you. Even if you had run away from me today, I would have loved you anyway.”
Just as I never abandoned Linea, she didn’t turn away from me today either—though she could have.
Would my mother-in-law truly have let her go unpunished?
‘She must have threatened and coerced the child with everything she had. Told her that if she let me go, she herself would pay the price.’
And yet Linea rescued me anyway, and even urged me to leave alone.
This child’s love was always like this.
Like Cinderella, she performed kindness believing that someday a better day would come.
“So Linea, let’s leave together. Right now.”
At those words, Linea’s expression seemed briefly blank.
Or rather, it looked that way for a moment.
Then her brows lowered.
The sight of her crumbling expression was so heartrending that I found myself unable to breathe.
Slowly, transparent tears welled in her blue eyes and slid down her cheeks.
“You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
At last, Linea nodded heavily.
I managed a smile for her.
“Thank you for becoming my daughter.”
At those words, Linea suddenly threw her arms around my neck again.
This time, I felt my shoulder grow damp beneath her face.
“M-mama…”
Afraid someone might wake, Linea buried her face in my collarbone and wept bitterly.
I simply held her closer.
After patting her back, Linea’s sobs subsided.
But her clogged nose still hitched with breath, and her flushed cheeks, her hair clinging to her tear-stained face—all bore witness to her crying.
“Linea, before we leave, we need to gather all the evidence of abuse first.”
I pulled a handkerchief from my inner pocket and wiped her eyes and cheeks clean.
“Wait here a moment, alright?”
As I held the handkerchief to her nose and gestured, Linea blew it gently.
“There’s a gatekeeper at the Entrance Hall, so we’ll leave through the Back Door instead. Understand?”
In the rear, there was a servants’ door that connected to the Kitchen.
It wasn’t locked, but the guards were relatively less vigilant there.
“You must stay quiet.”
Linea nodded in agreement.
I left the detestable Storage Room and quietly closed the door behind me, then replaced the chair against it.
Leaving Linea hidden in darkness, I climbed upstairs to my room.
We’d already wasted considerable time.
‘Since I didn’t expect Linea to rescue me, I didn’t post sentries.’
I packed only what I needed into a bag and headed back downstairs.
Entering the Reception Room, I was relieved to find the torn clothes and broken doll still lying there.
I gathered one of the outfits Linea had worn in public and the doll, shoving them into the bag.
And the Reflection Letter scattered on the floor as well.
‘That’s everything now.’
I’d collected all the evidence.
All that remained was to report it.
‘When Linea and I disappear today, my mother-in-law won’t sit idle.’
I would need to return early tomorrow morning with a lawyer to pressure her.
‘For now… I have no choice but to contact Carsel.’
My worry was how to get the child safely to him, but for now I could only hope we’d be fortunate enough to find a hired carriage.
“Linea, let’s go.”
* * *
Taking Linea’s hand, I pushed open the Back Door and stepped outside into a path leading toward the Garden.
The Garden side had no guards—only a gatekeeper who made his rounds at dawn.
I quietly unlocked the rear gate that connected to the Garden and stepped out.
I thought this was the moment of our escape… but then—
“Good evening, madam.”
A gasp nearly escaped me, and I swallowed it down quickly.
A man I’d never seen before had suddenly appeared from nowhere!
‘The streetlamp is lit—how did he just materialize like this?’
Sensing danger, I made no effort to hide my wariness as I asked, “What business is this?”
The man dressed entirely in black from head to foot—the one whose presence concealed the trembling Linea behind me—answered.
“The Duke is arriving now.”
“Carsel?”
My guard remained firm.
The man replied calmly, “I was unable to enter the house itself, so I’ve been watching. I noticed your room’s light didn’t come on.”
The clock I’d seen in my room earlier had shown midnight.
Normally Linea fell asleep between nine and ten, and I usually retired around eleven.
“Finding that unusual, I reported it, and I’ve revealed myself now to inform you that the Duke will arrive any moment.”
“Did Carsel place a watchman on me?”
“Not so much a watchman—he asked that I confirm everyone’s safety. Should any trouble arise, I was to report it…”
The sound of a carriage came from behind the man.
‘Carsel’s carriage.’
A black carriage raced along the darkened road lit only by the streetlamp and finally came to a halt before us.
Before the driver could even descend to open the door, Carsel pushed it open and stepped out himself.
“Asha!”
“Carsel? How did you—no, wait.”
Unlike usual, Carsel wore only a black shirt, not his typical formal attire.
His tousled hair made it clear he’d ridden here in great haste.
He hurried down from the carriage and looked me over.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere…?”
Perhaps it was because the stress of today had worn on me as much as on Linea.
The moment I saw him, relief flooded all the way to my throat.
In that instant, Carsel—who had somehow become someone I could trust, someone I could lean on—drew near, and I threw myself into his arms.
Carsel’s expression showed surprise as he wrapped me in one arm.
“Carsel.”
The familiar scent of him made me weak.
“Carsel, I… I…”
“I’m listening.”
Still holding me, Carsel smoothed my hair.
“I need you, Carsel. I can’t do this without you.”
It was because he existed that I could be bold enough to flee this house today.
If even Carsel turned his back on me, I would have no one left to lean on.
I closed my eyes tightly and spoke.
“So… stay by my side. Please.”

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