Episode 18
The maid urgently pulled Isabella back, hiding her from view. Pamela’s clear voice echoed down the corridor.
“See, miss? You should have listened to your nanny. You always obey your father, so why not me? If you dislike me, think of me as the Duke. Wouldn’t that make things easier for both of us?”
Pamela was carrying Eliano on her back, who appeared lifeless. Isabella, fearing her sister was dead, covered her mouth to stifle a scream. Emily, sensing Isabella’s panic, shook her head desperately to calm her.
Pamela climbed the stairs with a brisk pace, Eliano still on her back. From her hiding spot beneath the stairs, Isabella caught a sharp, metallic scent.
Blood had dripped along the path Pamela took. It was clear that the blood belonged to Eliano.
The maids screamed upon seeing the bloodied young lady. But Pamela quickly drove them away.
“Nanny, the young lady needs medical attention! I’ll fetch a doctor.”
“How dare you!”
Pamela slapped the maid who suggested calling a doctor.
“I’ll handle the treatment. Get out now! She’s my young lady!”
Pamela shoved the maids aside and slammed the door shut.
“Those clueless fools! We need to replace them all!”
The maids attending to Eliano were newly hired and unaware of the mansion’s intricacies. Long-time servants of the Rosana Ducal House knew well how Eliano had been raised. Whenever the sound of a whip came from the Duke’s office, they avoided Eliano’s room entirely. They also took great care to ensure the second young lady, Isabella, remained unaware.
Pamela gently touched Eliano’s skin and spoke.
“You beg your father’s forgiveness, yet say nothing to your nanny.”
“I didn’t raise you to be so ill-mannered.”
When Pamela pressed down on a wound, Eliano let out a pained groan.
“You’re not ready yet. You need to suffer more to truly reflect.”
“Ugh…….”
Pamela glanced at the ointment on the nightstand and scoffed.
“I won’t treat you today. This is your nanny’s punishment.”
She took the ointment with her.
“Still, the Duke must love you. He always prepares medicine for you. You should be grateful for his love.”
Eliano lacked even the strength to clench her teeth. Though the Duke of Rosana was her father, he was cruel enough to make her grind her teeth in anger.
She had anticipated such situations. She had vowed not to endure the beatings passively as before. She imagined herself refusing to hang from the ceiling and running out of the office and had rehearsed these scenarios in her mind repeatedly. She believed she could do it. But when the moment came, she was powerless.
At the sight of the whip in her father’s hand, her body lost all strength, and despair consumed her mind. Her thoughts froze. Before her father wielded the whip, she was nothing more than a fragile child.
She could only cry and beg for forgiveness, desperate to end the pain. Despite enduring countless sufferings, she never learned to withstand physical pain. The whip taught her how to suppress her cries. When she cried loudly as a child, her father struck harder with the whip.
The louder she cried, the more violently her father whipped her. She could do nothing but sob and plead for the ordeal to end quickly.
It was the same earlier. Eliano was powerless. Still, she tried to escape by pretending to faint. But Pamela splashed cold water on her face and continued the whipping.
“Miss, you’re using cunning tricks. Duke, the young lady’s behaviour has worsened. Trying to deceive her father like this…”
Because of those words, she was beaten until she truly collapsed. Eliano believed the Duke of Rosana intended to beat her to death.
After what felt like endless whipping, Eliano genuinely lost consciousness. She didn’t remain unconscious for long. Of course, she kept her eyes closed and didn’t move. Now, even if she wanted to move, the pain was so intense that she couldn’t lift a finger.
‘What kind of proposal letter did that bastard, the Viscount of Albich, write…’
If something had actually happened with that man, at least it wouldn’t feel so unjust. Eliano wanted to kill the Viscount of Albich. Realizing her thoughts mirrored those of her past self, Eliano tried to regain her composure. She shouldn’t let fear make her blame others and ignore the real culprit.
It was her father who wielded the whip. She must not forget that. She couldn’t let physical pain turn her into her father’s puppet.
“Perhaps it’s in your blood, but you have a vulgar nature.”
Pamela seemed unable to tolerate the young lady, who once seemed like a controllable doll, slipping from her grasp. She was revealing Eliano’s illegitimate status. In her past life, Eliano might not have understood the implication of those words.
“That’s why the Viscount of Albich wrote that he couldn’t forget that night. What did you do? There’s no mark on your body… Did you perhaps give him those lovely lips?”
All they did was dance! Writing such nonsense about the night must have driven her father mad. Moreover, Pamela was away on probation, leaving her side. It was a phrase and situation ripe for misunderstanding.
“I’ll treat you tomorrow morning, so don’t worry. We can’t let scars remain on our young lady’s body.”
Pamela moved away. She entered the small room attached to Eliano’s chamber. The sound of the door closing followed. The horrific physical pain she hadn’t felt in a long time jolted Eliano’s mind awake. If she couldn’t escape her father, she’d live like this forever. Not becoming the Crown Princess of Zacador wouldn’t solve everything.
Her consciousness gradually faded, and eventually, even the pain was numbed.
The three maids expelled by Pamela paced anxiously in front of Eliano’s room.
“The nanny said she’d handle the treatment. Let’s leave before we get into more trouble.”
“Still… We should report to the head maid. I’ll go.”
“Then I’ll… fetch Lady Isabella! You stay here and keep watch.”
Two maids hurried away, and soon after, Head Maid Miller arrived.
“If this happens again, just leave the room quietly.”
At Miller’s words, the two maids whispered softly.
“But Head Maid, you said not to leave the young lady alone with the nanny.”
“In situations like this, it’s acceptable.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t call a doctor? Her clothes were soaked in blood.”
“Yes. There was blood on the floor too…”
Following Miller’s orders, some maids were already scrubbing the bloodstained floor. Miller hesitated briefly. She hoped Eliano would completely sever ties with Pamela. If Pamela treated her diligently, Eliano might once again cling to her.
However, it was an open secret that the Duke of Rosana used a whip to discipline his daughter. It wasn’t something to intervene in lightly. A misstep could cost one’s life.
“I’ve called the physician.”
Miller was startled by Isabella’s voice from behind. Having heard from Eliano’s maid, Isabella had rushed over, accompanied by the family’s doctor.
“When I signal, just pull Pamela out.”
“Lady, please wait a moment.”
Without waiting for a response, Isabella burst into the room.
“Who said you could enter without permission!”
Pamela’s sharp voice rang out as the door opened. Startled, Isabella flinched, but her personal maid, Emily, shouted back.
“How dare you be so rude to Lady Isabella!”
“Lady Isabella?”
Pamela quickly emerged from the small room and greeted Isabella. Yet, she didn’t forget to scold her for opening the door without permission. However, she soon fell silent. Isabella had screamed and slapped Pamela’s cheek.
“How dare a mere nanny lecture me?”
The loud slap made all the maids turn their heads. Pamela stared at Isabella in shock. Isabella shouted sternly.
“Are you insane? How dare you look at me directly?!”
“Oh dear, Lady, please calm down…!”
“Move! How dare someone like you block a noblewoman?”
Pushing aside her maid, Isabella was about to scream again but stopped.
“Right, sister!”
Isabella shoved Pamela aside and rushed to the bed. The family doctor, sensing the urgency, quickly followed. Seeing Eliano lying motionless, Isabella’s face turned pale. Lifting the blanket revealed blood-soaked sheets. Isabella screamed at the horrific sight. Emily swiftly covered Isabella’s eyes.
“Treatment hasn’t been administered yet. I’ll handle it, so please don’t worry.”
“What? No treatment?”
At the doctor’s words, Isabella turned around with a fierce expression and strode over. Pamela, trying to leave the room, was held back by the head maid and Emily. When Isabella raised her hand again, Pamela’s other cheek was struck. Not stopping there, Isabella grabbed her hair and shook her.
“How dare you! My sister is in this state, and you’re sleeping instead of treating her? How can you sleep in such a situation?”
“Ah! That’s not it! I was just about to start treatment…!”
Earlier, when the door opened, Pamela had come out of the small room. Was she lying? Do I look like a fool? Enraged, Isabella raised her hand again. Knowing how harsh her mistress’s slaps could be, Emily closed her eyes tightly.
“How dare you, a commoner, try to rise above me?”
When Isabella shouted, Pamela prostrated herself on the floor.
Isabella had never been cruel to Pamela before. She remembered how Pamela had cared for her as a child and respected her because Eliano trusted and relied on her. If Pamela misunderstood, it was because the respect was for her sister, not for her as a nanny.
She was a noblewoman to her core, another daughter of the Rosana family. Though she wasn’t close to her sister, she naturally sided with her over a commoner nanny. Even if her sister was only a half-blood.
Now that her sister had decided to remove Pamela, there was no need for her to show respect anymore. Moreover, if a nanny left her mistress bloodied and untreated, she deserved to be punished severely. It was more than negligence; it endangered her mistress.
“I will inform Father about this.”
“The Duke…”
“You dare—!”
