Chapter 23
Chapter 23
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Father's Punishment
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Part of me wanted to just pretend I hadn't seen a thing and bolt. After all that crying and tension, I was exhausted enough to drop dead.
But I couldn't do that.
Dad stared down at me intently before slowly countering.
"Why should I?"
The way he looked at me wasn't like a father gazing at his child—it was closer to a predator eyeing its prey.
Even so, he seemed aware I was his kid, just a little baby, holding back from butting in for the moment.
'Looks like when it comes to Mom, he really doesn't hold back.'
I didn't go for emotional appeals.
I didn't feel even a sliver of pity for the butler, and I knew it wouldn't work anyway.
"Butler bad. Caught, so gotta hit lots befowe give."
"What?"
"Lots. Pain."
I picked words that might convince him and spat them out deliberately. Dad covered his face with one hand.
This was the bastard who'd insulted our house multiple times right in front of our dead mom.
Plus, there was a good chance he had backers.
Separate from my own trauma about death, we couldn't just kill him off that easily.
Dad dropped his hand from his face.
Then he started laughing, shoulders heaving.
"You really..."
He reached out like he might pat my head but froze, letting his hand hover in the air before pulling it back.
I flinched on reflex, let go of his other hand, and took a step backward.
"You look just like Lucy."
Saying that, Dad's face twisted into a pained smile.
It was a playful grin, but it still looked sad.
I stared up at his face in a daze for a moment before he turned away first.
"Lock those two in the punishment cell and interrogate them. Just keep 'em breathing."
I was all for that! Let them both rot in the punishment cell and get beaten black and blue.
"No."
Dad had nodded toward Walter, his adjutant, but he paused, drawing out his words slowly.
"I'll handle it myself. Lots of pain."
Despite the playfulness in his tone, the way his lip curled up crookedly meant the butler and Yasmin weren't walking out in one piece.
As long as he didn't kill them, I didn't care about the details.
The butler, dragged off like a dog with his left arm twisted at a grotesque angle, glared at me in desperation. I pulled down under my eye with one hand and stuck out my tongue.
'I told you I'd be watching.'
Acting all big when my dad wasn't even back!
I don't even remember how I made it back to my room.
I barely recall collapsing into bed like I'd fainted, too out of it to care that my clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
When I woke up, it was nearly lunchtime.
"Finally awake?"
The nurse, who'd been wiping my forehead with a damp cloth while I slept, asked full of concern.
"Ung..."
Instead of bolting upright, I rolled around on the bed, writhing.
'Why does just staying alive have to be this damn exhausting?'
Not a single peaceful day?
Is a three-year-old baby's life supposed to be this hardcore?
I just wanna chill, do nothing but work out!
"Water's gone cold. I'll fetch some fresh."
"No."
The damp cloth wasn't the issue. I grabbed the nurse before she could head out with the basin.
"What's up?"
"Wha' happen to butler?"
"Reflecting in the punishment cell."
I hope they're reflecting with lots of pain.
"Dad?"
"Going over all the household matters the butler handled. If anything's off, he'll send the whole lot back to the main family as an excuse."
Exactly!
Dad must be rational as long as it's not about Mom.
If it's for incompetence, even Grandpa's side can't complain.
'They might be annoyed, but oh well?'
If you come to work and screw up the job, of course you get fired.
"Hey, Nurse. Actually, butler an' Yasmin been treatin' me like... total nuisance. Grabbed my shoulders this hard, hurt lots."
I seized the chance to spill every petty detail to the nurse about what the butler and Yasmin had done to me.
Want! Lots of pain!
Not just those two—even when I got to how the main family servants had been teaming up to spy on me and Dietrich—the nurse's face turned beet red.
"Those insane...!"
She started to curse but caught sight of my face and clamped her mouth shut.
"Why didn't you tell me? You should've said something sooner."
"Wha' if you get fired too? Don' wan' no nurse. Scary."
"Our sweet little lady!"
Sorry, but can you hug gentler?
I can't hold my breath that long.
She squeezed me so tight it was suffocating, but knowing it came from the heart, I stayed put in her arms.
How much pent-up frustration I'd had.
Now that Dad was back, payback time!
"I'll make sure to tell the master about this later."
"Ung."
"Scared? Upset? Master's back now—no more worries. He'll protect you."
She patted my back over and over.
It felt kinda strange.
In my past life, no matter how wronged I was, handling it myself or forgetting was the best option.
'Now I've got the choice to tattle to Dad.'
Lost in that itchy, ticklish feeling from soles to scalp, the nurse slowly released me and stroked my head.
"Ready to get up? Time to eat."
Ugh, too bothersome. Can't I eat in bed?
After yesterday's tension, I didn't wanna budge today.
"To celebrate the master's return, he wants the young master and lady to dine together."
Hearing that, I shot up like I'd been launched.
A meal with Dad.
Just thinking about it made my stomach churn, but I had no real say, did I?
Still, worth a shot?
"I'ld rather jus' eat in room today..."
"Shall I tell him? Say the young lady's not feeling well, so skip the meal and just come check on her?"
"No! I fine!"
Already awkward with Dad—sitting face-to-face in my room? Hell no.
Better to scarf a meal in the dining hall and split.
Then best not to be late—gotta prep quick.
Recalling Dad's murderous glare from yesterday, my shoulders shuddered on reflex.
I bolted to the bathroom in a frenzy.
"......"
"What's wrong?"
I arrived at the dining hall but hesitated instead of going in. The nurse, gripping my hand tight, bent down to me.
I really didn't wanna go in.
"Don't wanna go in?"
The question hit like mind-reading—I nodded without thinking.
"Yeth... Eek!"
"Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you that bad."
I thought my heart stopped!
Clutching my pounding chest, I hid behind the nurse and peeked up at Dad.
His face, grinning playfully like yesterday's scary mug was a lie, really drove home how much he resembled Dietrich.
'Smiling faces are identical.'
If Dietrich aged twenty years, he'd look just like that.
"Anna, you're dismissed. I'll bring Mariella in."
"Understood."
Don't leave me, Nurse!
Ignoring my desperate stare, she chuckled, threw me a fighting pose, and vanished.
'What am I supposed to 'do well' here...?'
Shoulders slumped, I trudged after Dad into the dining hall.
Dietrich, already seated, jumped up and tackled him in a hug.
"Father!"
"Sleep well, Dietrich?"
"Yes! You too?"
Taking Dietrich's full-body slam—a hug no one else in the house could handle—like it was nothing.
Only after getting held tight and head-ruffled to his heart's content did Dietrich turn to me, satisfied.
"Baby Ella, sleep good?"
"Ung. Ditri too?"
"Yep. Ankle's all healed. Doc says I can move free starting today."
That explained why he missed yesterday's chaos.
I eyed the arranged seats.
As expected, head of the table was Dad's spot.
The seats flanking him left and right—probably for me and Dietrich.
'Sit next to scary Dad?'
Anything but that...!