Chapter 093. Are you going to beat me or something?
“……Jade?”
It was a face she had never seen before.
Though it hadn’t been long since she’d known him, it was an expression she had never once seen in their few meetings.
Just as her head slowly turned to the left, following her gaze that had stiffened without her realizing it—
Whoosh—!
Something pulled her with tremendous force, and her body floated upward in an instant.
It happened so quickly that there wasn’t even time to scream, but more than that—
“…….”
The reason Deborah didn’t react afterward was the familiar scent that pierced the tip of her nose.
Her heart began to pound wildly the moment she recognized what it was—and whose it was.
Slowly lifting her head, Deborah’s eyes met the face of that man, Raymond von Cheister.
How…… The reason words wouldn’t come out of her gaping mouth was that the gaze fixed on her felt far too unfamiliar.
It was as if they had returned to the very beginning—or rather, an atmosphere even colder and sharper than that.
It felt far too murderous to be merely an extension of the recent cold war.
Ah— A groan escaped her involuntarily from the pain digging into her wrist, but the man paid no attention and shifted his gaze across.
Finally, the man’s lips opened as he glared fiercely at Jade, who stood rigidly.
“I warned you to live quietly like a dead rat, staying out of sight—”
“…….”
“You couldn’t have forgotten that already.”
With every chilling word that poured from his mouth, a shiver ran through her body.
“And yet this—”
His gaze slowly alternated between Jade’s face and Deborah’s as he slightly drew out the end of his sentence.
As if searching for something between the two of them.
Only then did Deborah’s senses snap back at that incomprehensible look.
She didn’t know what it was, but he was clearly misunderstanding the situation, so she was about to say something.
“Your Grace, I—”
“Be quiet.”
With just that one word, whatever she was about to say was cut clean off.
“Keep that mouth shut.”
“…….”
The icy glare made her breath catch in her throat for a moment.
Confused and shaken, not understanding why he was acting this way, she stared at him wide-eyed until his gaze finally returned forward.
“I’d momentarily forgotten.”
“…….”
“That filthy blood that covets what belongs to others couldn’t have gone anywhere.”
Even as he hurled insults without hesitation, Jade showed no reaction.
Only his tightly clenched jaw occasionally twitched faintly, as if he were enduring the contempt and humiliation poured on him as something natural.
Even in the midst of this chaos, Deborah couldn’t understand it.
She wondered what on earth had happened between these two—or rather, how these two even knew each other in the first place.
But before her curiosity could be satisfied, the situation ended in an instant.
“If you want to keep the fortune you inherited thanks to that, you’d better behave from now on.”
With those warning-like words, Deborah was dragged away by the man who had turned around.
As she hurriedly looked back, she briefly caught sight of Jade’s unreadable expression, but that lasted only a moment.
Soon she was forcibly shoved into the carriage, and everything disappeared.
* * *
The entire ride back, the carriage was so quiet that even breathing could barely be heard.
He kept his head turned toward the window, not sparing her a single glance, so she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
After traveling in that fragile, breakable atmosphere, the carriage finally arrived at Elfengreen.
While she hesitated, unsure what to do, the carriage door suddenly opened with a clack, and ice-cold words poured out.
“Get out.”
“…….”
The reason she couldn’t immediately obey was that, unlike last time, the carriage had stopped right in front of the main building.
She had only hesitated for a moment, afraid someone might see her getting out of the carriage, but the man seemed to interpret her action differently.
Judging by the words that followed.
“Shall I drag you out?”
Startled by the threatening tone, Deborah reluctantly moved at last.
But apparently displeased with her dawdling, he eventually grabbed her arm and yanked her roughly.
A groan escaped from the crushing grip, but more than that—
“Your Grace. W-wait a moment.”
Deborah urgently called out to the man who was about to walk away while still holding her arm.
She thought he might ignore her, but fortunately, his steps stopped.
“Where…… where are you taking me right now—?”
“That’s not what you should be curious about right now.”
“…….”
“You should be more curious about what I’m going to ask you next, not where I’m taking you.”
Right? Seeing the sneering twist of his lips, Deborah unconsciously bit down hard on her own.
She didn’t know exactly what misunderstanding this was, but she agreed that they needed to talk—at the very least to clear it up.
Honestly, she couldn’t guarantee a proper conversation with him in this state—
The problem was that she absolutely could not be dragged into the mansion like this.
It would look strange to anyone.
In no circumstance would the head of the house personally drag a maid around like this.
“I…… I’ll go separately…….”
If he just told her the place, she would go on her own—the moment he caught that meaning, the man’s eyebrow twitched.
Soon, heavily twisted words spilled from his mouth.
“Who says I trust you.”
“…….”
“How do I know what tricks you might pull in the meantime?”
Each word dug painfully into her heart.
With that, Deborah was dragged straight into the mansion.
BAM—!
With a loud bang, the second-floor study door slammed shut.
Had she been pulled to the center of the study while still held by the man who strode quickly?
Finally, the man who hadn’t budged no matter how much she pleaded flung her arm away as if discarding it.
The throbbing pain in her arm was one thing, but more than that, anger surged at the man’s attitude of treating her like less than human.
—Ah, this is……
Moments ago, the expressions of everyone who had been waiting in the entrance hall for their master’s return had all turned to shock at once.
Of course they would.
The duke had returned from an outing and suddenly dragged a maid from the mansion—how could it not be strange?
Not only was the duke’s murderous aura intimidating, but everyone’s eyes were filled with curiosity about Deborah, who was caught in his grip.
Even the ever-composed head butler, Greig, had stammered, unable to finish his words.
Thanks to the cold order not to follow, she escaped those curiosity-filled stares, but the stinging gazes piercing her back lingered for a long time, tormenting her.
Deborah quietly glared at the man’s turned back.
Even as she watched his shoulders heave as if suppressing rage, her heart strangely grew calmer and calmer.
Now she really wanted to hear it—no, she felt she absolutely had to know.
Why she was being treated this way, and what lay behind it.
After waiting in silence for a long while, the man finally turned around.
“When—and how—did you come to know that bastard?”
She didn’t need to ask who he was talking about.
“Why are you doing this—?”
“Just answer what I asked.”
“…….”
He completely ignored her attempt to first ask for an explanation.
Swallowing the urge to demand answers, Deborah took a deep breath.
“Not long ago…… by chance, through an introduction from someone I know.”
Thinking that mentioning the Levenville Market would only cause unnecessary misunderstanding in the current situation, Deborah kept her explanation brief.
“Someone you know?”
“My former teacher…… from when I was at the orphanage.”
“The day you were introduced—was when?”
“It hasn’t been long.”
“It wasn’t before you entered this place, right?”
Her patience, which had been steadily holding as she answered the barrage of questions, finally snapped there.
If he was going to be this unreasonably stubborn, what was the point of this conversation?
“Couldn’t you first explain to me why you’re doing this?”
“Answer first—whether you met him before or after entering this house.”
At the low, threatening growl, Deborah’s face hardened coldly.
“No.”
“……What?”
“If you don’t first tell me why you’re acting like this, I won’t answer either.”
Staring straight at him and answering boldly, Raymond’s expression grew even more ferocious.
His large frame took a step closer, which could have felt intimidating, yet Deborah did not blink once and continued glaring at the man’s face.
“Let’s see if you can really keep your mouth shut.”
At the low, growling threat, her heart throbbed painfully for a moment.
She shuddered at the way he was reminding her—in this manner—of the insurmountable status wall between them, something she already knew all too well.
Hiding her wounded heart as best she could, Deborah murmured softly toward him.
“Why? Are you…… going to beat me or something?”
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Hmm I’ll continue to translate 2 or 3 more chapters for your benefit, but from now on, I’ll declare my hatred towards the Ml 🙂🙂🙂🙂
