“That…,”
Laila struggled to speak as she looked up at the marquis.
It was a strange situation.
Words didn’t come easily.
She had been slapped on the back of her hand, but it wasn’t a big deal; it didn’t hurt at all.
So, please rescind the order to punish the child.
She needed to say that, but…
But she felt like something invisible had suddenly blocked her throat.
Laila belatedly realized the identity of the ‘something invisible.’
It was fear.
Fear of something she had never done before.
It’s the……fear of daring to go against the villain’s decision, of doing something so unfamiliar that she has never done before in her life.
‘No, but in my last life, I was definitely…’
Laila recalled the moment just before returning to the past.
Back then, she had looked at the marquis and spoke her mind without holding anything back. She had poured out her innermost thoughts until she felt relieved.
And then…
She was forced to board a carriage destined for ruin. Laila’s complexion turned pale in an instant.
‘I’m screwed.’
She regretted recalling the past.
If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have felt as if even her last remaining courage had been drained.
‘But I still have to say it. Somehow…….’
The last thing she needs is for the child who was brought to the Marquisate to be whipped because of her.
Laila, conjuring the courage she thought she had lost, finally managed to open her mouth.
But at that moment, the marquis, who had approached unnoticed, placed his hand on her head.
Laila, with her mouth agape, held her breath.
“You don’t want me to punish that brat, do you? You’d rather I didn’t.”
Laila’s eyes widened. Unexpectedly, the marquis spoke the words she couldn’t.
Starting to breathe again, she managed to answer.
“Yes.”
“Why? Do you pity him?”
Instead of verbally responding this time, Laila nodded slightly.
“Yeah, I understand your feelings. Sympathy might be useless, but it’s a universal emotion.”
“…….”
“But Laila, think carefully. He assaulted you.”
Assaulted?
In the excessive recoil, Laila almost forgot there was a hand on her head and nearly raised her head.
She had merely extended her hand to the fallen child, only to have it slapped as a sign of refusal.
It was a bit harder of a slap, but…
Even so, the term “assault” seems too much.
In the moment of Laila’s confusion, the marquis continued speaking.
“Assaulting you is essentially a challenge to me and Hildegarde.”
Laila’s mouth slightly opened.
She was dumbfounded.
‘Outrageous.’
It went beyond an exaggeration. It was purely forcing a narrative.
You could grab any passerby and ask them, and they’d say the same thing.
…Except for those in this castle.
Laila wanted to refute the marquis’s words. However, her mouth still refused to move against her will.
“Now, I ask you again. Should I refrain from punishing the one who insulted me and my lineage?”
“…….”
“Answer me.”
The marquis’ grip on Laila’s head tightened. At that moment, Laila’s mouth opened involuntarily.
“……No.”
However, even though Laila answered, the Marquis’ hand didn’t move from her head.
He was expecting a different answer.
Laila tightly closed her eyes. The sensation of pressure on her head intensified.
No, she couldn’t tell if the marquis had actually increased the force on his hand. Laila felt not only her head but almost her entire body being pressed down.
Shit.
For heaven’s sake.
Damn it.
“Severely… administer the punishment. Do not relent until the child acknowledges their sins and sincerely repents. This is the Hildegarde way…”
As she uttered the last words with a trembling chin, Laila suddenly felt like vomiting.
The urge to flee anywhere and throw out what was inside of her overcame her.
“Good girl. Do not forget what you have said in the future.”
The marquis, seemingly satisfied, patted Laila’s head and then withdrew his hand.
He turned his back to Laila.
“Take him away.”
At his command, the knight dragged the child away like a piece of luggage.
Laila deliberately looked down at the floor.
She heard the sound of the child being dragged away, but she didn’t see the scene.
There’s no need to look. It would only make her feel more hopeless.
Laila bit her lip.
This was the worst.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Fifth. How not to die in 10 years?
In response to the question written on the paper, Laila thought of two ways.
First,
Prevent the man seeking revenge on Hildegarde and herself from coming back to life in the future.
But there was a problem.
She didn’t know how the man died and came back to life.
How can she stop something she doesn’t know about?
And even if, by some chance, she could prevent it, there was still an issue.
If the man couldn’t come back to life…
‘Who’s going to save the world?’
Yes, that’s the real problem.
The man was a hero.
A great figure who sealed the evil being that sought the annihilation of humanity, bringing peace to the world.
Since she had already confirmed multiple times through the future that the ‘evil being’ was not a fabrication or a legendary figure, she knew it well.
Unfortunately, the only one capable of resisting the evil being was the man who was Laila’s enemy.
There was no one else. At least as far as Laila knew from her repeated regressions.
Without the man, the world would succumb to evil beings.
If the world fell under the domination of the evil being, all “humans” would perish.
Ultimately, it’s the end. It’s just a matter of dying alone or dying together.
Laila had no wicked ambition to make everyone in the world her companion on the road to the afterlife.
Therefore, as soon as she thought of the first method, she immediately discarded it.
And the second option that remained was…
‘I thought it would be easy since I already foresaw it, but I never expected it to turn out like this.’
Laila swallowed a sigh as she descended the stone steps.
The second option she had chosen was to survive by currying favor with the person who would kill her in the future.
In simpler terms, it was a strategy of “Let’s just become acquainted enough that you won’t kill me!”
‘Rather than becoming acquainted, hasn’t he already grown to really dislike me?’
A shadow fell over Laila’s face.
‘I thought it wouldn’t be that hard…….’
To be honest, Laila thought gaining the favor of her enemy was relatively easy.
She was a bit reluctant, but overall, she anticipated that the plan had low difficulty and a high success rate.
Because “now” is the past.
The man who is ‘supposed’ to trample Hildegarde and take Laila’s life in the future is not yet a hero or a murderer.
Currently, the man is just a small, powerless child who lost his home overnight and was dragged to a strange mansion.
So, if she treats him well now, wouldn’t he easily open up to her?
‘…I reached out to him with that thought in mind, but I failed, didn’t I?’
She didn’t expect the child to slap her hand away without even a hint of hesitation.
As a result, who could have possibly known that the child would suffer severe discipline from the very first day he was brought to the mansion?
At least, Laila didn’t know. It was truly unexpected.
Overwhelmed suddenly by a sense of self-blame, Laila slammed her hand against the nearest stone wall.
‘Ouch.’
Naturally, her hand hurt.
Guilt added to the pain.
‘…Let’s stop this nonsense and figure out how to make amends.’
With a noticeably darkened expression, Laila concentrated on descending the stone steps, relying on the light of the lamp.
It was well past midnight.
Laila sneaked out of her bedroom unnoticed and made her way to the underground prison.
She had one reason.
To save the child imprisoned in the underground dungeon.
The child, who had suffered severe punishment, was still clinging to life, perhaps barely.
‘I must save him.’
Ensuring that precarious breath is firmly held in place.
It was the first thing Laila had to do to rectify the current situation.
Thank uu 😍🥰🥰