NSRA CHAPTER 65

Chapter 65

A bright lamp shone down on Beth as she lay collapsed on the bed. Before she could fully regain consciousness, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

Beth flinched, thinking it was that man, but when she felt the gentle touch of a woman, she let herself be guided. She didn’t have the strength to resist, mostly because of the lingering effects of the drugs.

“I’ll help you wash.”

Two maids supported Beth by holding her arms and opened the door.

Beth suddenly remembered Luca and looked back, but she wasn’t in the room.

“There isn’t much time.”

The maid’s quiet urging left her no choice but to start moving. It was the first time she had walked properly since arriving here from the train, and her legs trembled weakly.

Without any complaint, the maid gently supported Beth.

The view outside the unfamiliar room was entirely different from what Beth had expected. The corridor walls were adorned with antique paintings, and footsteps of servants could be heard from the staircase below.

However, most of the windows in the hallway were covered, so even though it was daytime, all the corridor lights were on.

After locking the bathroom door, the maid reached for Beth’s clothes. Beth shook her head, preventing the maid from touching her.

“I’ve prepared clothes for you over here. However, I must assist you with the washing, my lady.”

My lady? Beth hesitated at the unfamiliar term but couldn’t ask about it.

She silently turned her back and began to undress. She discreetly hid the brooch in the pile of clothes.

The occasional sound of splashing water woke Beth from her half-sleep. The drugs that had seeped into her body wouldn’t easily wear off.

As the lukewarm water poured over her and the fragrant scent of oil filled the damp air, Beth wandered in a dreamlike state.

“My lady, you must wear this dress.”

The bathroom led to a powder room.

When Beth reached for the worn nurse’s uniform, the maid gently stopped her hand. The maid pointed to a neatly folded indoor dress hanging nearby.

Beth gestured to herself and then to the door with her finger. After a moment of pondering, the maid nodded.

“I’ll wait just outside the door. However, you must hurry, as Count Howard is arriving soon.”

Beth nodded in agreement.

Once the door was closed, Beth unwrapped the towel from around her body. The overpowering floral scent from the oil made her head ache, permeating her from head to toe.

As she put on the dress, Beth’s eyes frantically searched for a place to hide the brooch. Or at least a string to hang it on.

But nothing suitable was in sight.

“My lady, there are accessories in the dressing table drawer.”

The maid’s voice came just in time, and Beth quickly opened the drawer. It was filled with earrings and bracelets, but there was no string to attach the brooch to.

However, there was a hair clip.

Beth quickly gathered her loose hair into a bun. She secured the bun tightly with the clip and slipped the small brooch inside. It was firmly held by the clip’s jewels and wouldn’t fall out even if she shook her head.

Even when she checked in the mirror from different angles, the brooch was well-hidden by her thick hair.

Beth paused to look at her face. Fresh from the bath, her pale face looked even more haggard than on the battlefield, full of sickly pallor.

It felt like a lie when Dixie had once made her look so glamorous.

How could she look so wretched now?

“My lady! The Count has arrived!”

The maid’s voice grew urgent.

When Beth stepped out of the room, she looked around.

The sound of footsteps echoed as Count Howard approached from the end of the corridor. The man who might as well have killed her mother had the audacity to walk calmly toward her.

His appearance was no different from twenty years ago.

“Beth, have you come to your senses? Are you ready to talk?”

Beth slowly nodded her head.

“That’s good news. The doctor has arrived just in time, and I hope he brings even better news.”

* * *

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Howard slammed his fist on the table. The impact caused the teacup on the table to topple over. Cold tea dripped down the edge of the table, but no servant dared to approach.

“Her vocal cords are fine, and her mind is intact, so why can’t she speak?!”

“Well, um.”

The doctor, the unfortunate target of Howard’s wrath, sweated profusely, nervously glancing at the Count.

“You see, this illness is heavily influenced by the state of one’s mind.”

“The mind, you say?”

Howard snorted in disbelief, turning to glare at Beth.

“She’s pretending to be obedient, but it seems she hasn’t lost that damned stubbornness.”

Howard’s expression suddenly darkened. The kindly façade of a middle-aged count vanished, revealing a cruel and unscrupulous man.

This was Howard’s true nature.

At least within these walls, he never bothered to hide his temper.

“If you dragged your sorry self in here to protect your mother’s corpse, then you should damn well do your part.”

Howard growled, gripping Beth’s delicate chin roughly. Her dark eyes stared at him with a piercing intensity.

“You insolent wretch!”

Unable to contain himself, he struck Beth across the face.

Beth gritted her teeth, suppressing a groan, thankful that Luca wasn’t here. If Luca had been present, the girl would have surely been struck in her place.

“Must she really speak?”

It was the woman who had accompanied Howard since arriving here.

Unlike before, when she wore a black robe, the woman now dressed in an elegant indoor gown, appearing every bit the respectable lady.

“Oh, Lady Howard. How do you do?”

“Please, spare me the dreadful ‘Lady Howard’ title. At least in this house, I don’t want to hear it.”

The woman coldly dismissed the doctor’s greeting.

“The social season is about to begin, so don’t waste your energy on trivial matters.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Howard exploded with anger.

“Have you forgotten how much of a devil Debert is? He’s even more insane than Cassius! And you expect me to place this foolish girl, who leaves evidence of everything she does, right next to him?!”

The teacup flew against the wall. The sound of it shattering pierced the air.

“We might as well hand over our lives on a silver platter!”

“Looks like this year is a lost cause.”

Lady Howard left the room, muttering curses under her breath, apparently convinced that there was no point in further discussion. The doctor, too, slowly began to edge his way out, sensing the tension.

Left alone with Beth, Howard tried to steady his heavy breathing.

“My dear.”

A sudden chill ran down Beth’s spine.

Memories she thought she had forgotten rushed back all at once.

‘My dear.’

“Listen carefully.”

‘Listen carefully.’

Howard’s eyes gleamed.

“I never forget the past. I remember the day your mother ended up like that—all because of you.”

His rough hand moved to her slender neck. Just as one might find the pulse before severing an animal’s sinew, Howard pressed his thumb against the spot where her pulse beat furiously.

“If you don’t want to see that happen again….”

Even as she held her breath, Beth couldn’t stop the frantic beating of her pulse.

“Speak up. You’re Beth James, who’s soon to be Beth Howard.”

* * *

In the end, neither the doctor nor Howard could coax a single word out of Beth, not even a desperate cry. Defeated, they left the room.

The room was once again engulfed in deep darkness.

Luca had not returned.

Instead, the tailor and Howard visited Beth almost daily, each taking their turn tormenting her.

The tailor would present her with extravagant dresses, utterly unsuited to her current state, while Howard would grip her face, demanding she speak.

But even these visits didn’t last more than a week.

Realizing that nothing would come from Beth’s lips, Howard eventually stopped visiting.

Trapped in a room where time seemed to stand still, Beth had nothing to do but sleep and wake. Even that was not by her own choice.

There was always a sleeping pill in her evening meal, and the maid wouldn’t leave until Beth had consumed it.

Beth groggily rose from her bed and crouched in a corner. At that moment, she heard a creaking sound, followed by the faintest footsteps.

“It’s Luca….”

Her voice was barely a whisper, a dying breath.

Beth staggered over to her.

Her eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, quickly found Luca’s face. Her delicate features were marred by bruises, and her skin bore countless scratches.

[Who did this to you?]

“The only person who could do this here is Count Howard.”

Beth slowly curled her outstretched fingers.

Luca began to roll up the cuffs of her trousers. Beneath the long hem of her pants, a fine string was wrapped around his ankle.

“I happened to go to the maid’s quarters and found this there.”

Luca was lying. She had pulled the decorative string off the clothes of the person who had been beating him in the cellar.

“The string is long enough that you can hang the brooch from it and hide it beneath your clothes.”

Beth numbly accepted the silver string.

Luca gave her a wide smile, a pure and clear one even in the darkness.

“It lives up to its name.”

Beth crawled back to the side of her bed. She quickly retrieved the brooch she had hidden between the mattress and frame. Clutching it tightly in her hand, she moved to lean against the wall opposite Luca.

She brought her knees up to her chest, hiding the brooch in her hands. Seeing her attempt at a smile, Luca grinned broadly in return, only to wince as the movement pulled at the cuts on her face.

Beth closed her eyes.

She has to speak. She has to speak.

She opened her mouth and forced out a breath, but only a faint rasp emerged.

Beth drove the sharp end of the brooch into the skin under her fingernail. The sharp pain brought her focus back, and she strained her throat again.

But still, only a metallic sound came out. The brooch dug deeper into her nail bed.

Beth spent the entire night stabbing herself under the nail.

Day turned to night, and night turned to day.

Luca was dragged away by a maid, only to be brought back battered and bruised.

Throughout these terrible, monotonous days, Beth never let go of the brooch.

She didn’t stop until the maid delivering her breakfast caught sight of her blood-soaked hand and gasped in shock.

She have to speak.

She has to speak.

Beth repeated this to herself endlessly.