The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 135

Sheila was listening to everything Cedric said every night without missing a single word.

The reason she didn’t respond was simple. She didn’t want to cause a disturbance in the middle of the night.

She didn’t want to exchange words with him or argue with him.

If she just pretended to be asleep, he would talk to himself and leave.

Rather than getting into a pointless argument, she thought this was faster.

Just as Sheila expected, he would talk to himself and then leave.

Even when she heard his apologies and words of regret, Sheila felt nothing.

‘Ha…. Lies! Who does he think he’s fooling? I won’t listen to anything. I won’t believe a single word!’

Every time, she had been toyed with by his schemes. Whenever he cornered her, Sheila had no choice but to suffer helplessly. Because she didn’t know anything. Because she had neither status nor money….

After he talked to his heart’s content and left, Sheila couldn’t fall asleep easily. Then when the sun rose, she greeted the morning in a state of lethargy.

Each new day felt nothing but dreadful. She didn’t want to meet anyone, and she didn’t want to do anything.

Because everything felt meaningless.

At least having Molly by her side was some comfort, but whenever the thought crossed her mind that Cedric might have bought Molly over as well, anger surged uncontrollably.

She wanted to get rid of her brother and obtain complete freedom.

Was it really so difficult to live her life by her own will?

For three, four years, she had run toward a single goal. And just before achieving that goal, Sheila fell into an even deeper swamp.

Sheila despaired. Even so, she squeezed out the last of her strength and escaped from his grasp.

It was a mistake. In the end, she hadn’t escaped even a single step.

The problem was that Sheila had allocated her strength only up to that point.

The elastic tied around Sheila’s waist was already stretched to its limit. In a brief moment of carelessness, the band snapped back and yanked her far behind the starting line.

Sheila, who had fallen into the abyss just before reaching the mountain’s summit, couldn’t come to her senses.

It felt like all her limbs were broken. And not just her limbs.

Everything was because of Cedric.

So no matter what Cedric said, there was no way it would sound pleasant to her.

“If you get up, I’ll grant you anything you want. Even if you leave me…, I won’t stop you.”

“Those words, are they really true?”

Sheila opened her eyes and asked.

She didn’t look at him, but she could feel him flinch in surprise.

It seemed he truly hadn’t realized that she had been pretending to sleep and listening to everything every night.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have spoken so openly.

When he first came like this and apologized, Sheila had been quite surprised too.

But that was all.

What was the point now? It didn’t change the fact that he had ruined everything.

Even his apology was probably just for his own peace of mind.

Ever since returning here, Sheila saw everything in the world as crooked as the slanted ceiling of her attic.

“Were you listening to everything?”

Annoyed by his question, Sheila didn’t answer.

“Yes. It’s true.”

Cedric continued, “However, that’s only if you’ve clearly returned to your old self in the eyes of anyone. I told you before. The management period is for life. I can’t let you go in this state. I’ll wait until you stand up completely. After that, do as you wish.”

Sheila threw off the blanket, sprang up, and sat on the edge of the bed. The arm bracing herself on the mattress trembled thinly. She’d forced her weak body up too suddenly.

“Don’t pretend you’re doing this for my sake. You’ll let me go once I’ve ‘recovered’? Then let me go now. I’m fine!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Sheila stood up abruptly.

“Hey, you’ll fall like that.”

No sooner had Cedric spoken than Sheila lost her balance and staggered.

Lately, she really felt like a sick person.

Even eating felt bothersome, so she took a spoonful or two and put the utensil down.

When Molly suggested cleaning, it took her an hour just to get up and reach the corridor. It was the same when they went for a walk.

In the middle of all that, she forced herself up in anger and stubbornness, and dizziness washed over her.

As she was about to collapse, he caught her in his arms.

“Let go! Let—!”

Sheila struggled.

Cedric smirked as if to say, see, holding her like that.

Smack!

That was why Sheila slapped his cheek.

Because she couldn’t stand the sight of his smug face. Because she was furious at him for always being right.

His expression hardened at the slap.

Sheila wasn’t afraid. She didn’t care if he treated her harshly. If he threw her out altogether, she’d be grateful.

“Did my expression bother you?” he asked. Sheila kept her mouth shut, her face still angry.

“I was happy to see you up. It’s been too long.”

Sheila couldn’t understand what he meant.

“I’ll apologize. You weren’t feeling that way.”

His apology that followed left her at a loss for words.

He continued, “I bought you from your brother only to protect you. No matter how you take it, that’s the truth. Nothing changes for you. The only difference is that your brother won’t be able to touch you anymore.”

“So you want me to be grateful to you?”

Sheila shot back. Then she pushed at his chest and got up, moving to sit on the bed.

Cedric let her go without resistance. The look on his face, as if he’d grant her anything she wanted, made her heart ache again. It was useless now. All the generosity he showed was just pretense.

“I was going to kill him with my own hands. I had to deal with it myself.”

Sheila shouted, agitated. There was no hesitation in her words. Cedric had clearly already caught on to her plan.

“What does that change? The ‘revenge’ you talked about?” Cedric asked evenly.

Everything made her angry, but most of all, Sheila was furious at this situation where she alone was burning with rage. It drove her mad.

“No matter what you say or what you think, I don’t care. I had to kill him for me to truly live!”

Sheila’s eyes were bloodshot.

Looking at her, Cedric spoke as if to coax her, “Sheila, if you’d done what you wanted, you’d be guilty of incitement to murder. Did you think you could live properly after becoming a criminal?”

Sheila glared at him in frustration, but she couldn’t come up with a proper rebuttal.

“Just because you don’t get caught doesn’t make it okay. Whether you get caught or not, the moment you carry it out, you become a criminal.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter…? You said you wanted to live your life fully, yet that doesn’t add up. Do you think that’s possible if you become a criminal? Even if you don’t get caught, many people turn themselves in out of guilt. Do you think you can endure that guilt? Just because you didn’t kill with your own hands and only ordered it, do you think you won’t feel any guilt?”

“No matter what you say, Young Count, my thoughts won’t change. And the method I wanted has already been ruined by you.”

It had been a long-cherished wish. Wanting to get rid of her brother and live her own life fully was sincere.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with what Cedric said. It wasn’t as if Sheila had never thought about those things.

She didn’t care if she had to feel guilty for the rest of her life, and it didn’t matter even if her crime was discovered and she ended up in prison.

She thought that was her share. The price and punishment for surviving alone after her sister died….

“Fine, I ruined everything. It’s all my fault. So stay here and rest as much as you want until you recover. I’ll take responsibility for everything.”

He willingly took on all responsibility.

Even that side of him didn’t look good to Sheila, but for now, she had no way to leave this place.

Her body simply wouldn’t cooperate.

To settle somewhere else, she would have to start working immediately, but in this condition, it was impossible.

“Lie down, Sheila.”

At Cedric’s touch, Sheila huffed and lay back down.

Perhaps because she had been overly agitated, sleep quickly overtook her exhausted body.

As if nothing had happened, Sheila fell asleep in an instant.

Cedric gently brushed her forehead as if he pitied her, and for a long while, he didn’t leave the attic.

***

Rufus had gone to Holzeroad for a few days.

Before reporting, Rufus looked over the letters and parcels that had arrived for Cedric.

He was checking in case there was anything urgent that needed to be delivered right away.

Picking up a box he had been waiting for a long time, Rufus knocked on Cedric’s door.

“Come in.”

Rufus stood before Cedric with a tense expression.

“Young Count, there’s good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

At Rufus’s abrupt question, Cedric cast a dry glance at his secretary, whom he was seeing for the first time in days.

Looking at Rufus, who wore an awkward smile, Cedric let out a short scoff.

“The bad news first.”