Crazy, mother-in-law?

I didn’t expect that absurd nonsense to come out of that woman’s mouth again.

“Don’t misunderstand. All I want is the qualification to take care of you for life, so at most you’ll be called ‘Duchess Dowager of Daiern’ outside. I swear I have no intention of taking the duchy.”

Isn’t that too dangerous? She whispered softly, extending her long finger to point at my belly.

“Unless it’s ‘my grandchild’ and ‘my heir’.”

At that moment, if my hands and feet had been free, I would have certainly broken my principles and slapped her cheek.

It was a disgusting plan enough to make one lose their mind. But all I could do now was glare at her.

Dorothea, knowing this too, continued speaking with a sneer.

“Ahahahaha. That fierce look is quite a lustful gaze. Anyway, you must be quite excited at the prospect of being able to roll around with that love-spouting partner to your heart’s content? But unfortunately, your husband won’t be Joseph. Because…”

My jaw was clenched.

“My cute subordinates are already drooling at the sight of your face.”

Dorothea forcibly fixed my gaze and grinned widely.

“Which one will become your husband?”

If there was any consolation, it was that Dorothea had no intention of immediately implementing that filthy plan.

Because if news of my marriage spread in high society before the end of Carlos Nikolai’s mourning period, it could cause problems.

It could be said to be the only moment I benefited from that husband, but that doesn’t mean I could feel relieved in this situation.

‘My children are dead…’

Kardiel, and Chersion too.

They can no longer smile by my side.

This was a reality that wouldn’t change no matter how hard I tried to deny it.

Every day when I open my eyes, the scenery of Daiern Castle unfolds, stained with blood and resonating with the stench of rotting corpses.

But if I close my eyes, the image of two children with empty eyes that couldn’t contain anything flickered.

In this situation… just being alive was hell.

It would have been better if a part of me had been torn away. No, just a part?

If I could save only the children, my body, my heart, my soul.

…Even Daiern.

I could give everything.

“Damn it, the makeup is coming off! If you don’t stop those annoying tears right now, I would have made Flower Petal look the same!”

What little sensation remained held my sanity together.

Yes, I still have someone to protect.

Euphemina, whom I hadn’t seen even once in the past three days.

‘I must save at least that child.’

And if she was alive, I wanted to see her.

Whether she was safe, if she was hurt anywhere, what had happened.

So I tried my best not to go against Dorothea’s words.

Because I wasn’t the one in control. There was nothing else I could do now.

Then Dorothea began to treat my body, which had lost its will, as her possession in earnest.

She fed me regularly, washed me clean every day, and changed my clothes.

If it had stopped there, I would have thought she was preciously storing me as a tool for her purpose.

“Ah, truly, the more I look at your face, the more I like it.”

Creepily, she was very fond of my face.

“If only I could tear off this face and have it for myself… No, I’m greedy for the body too, so wouldn’t it be better if I could switch brains?”

And so her new hobby became playing with dolls.

On the third day.

My appearance, slumped in the mirror, perfectly suited her perverted tastes.

An embarrassingly tight, risqué dress bound my body like ropes, and excessively ornate jeweled accessories covered my entire body like a densely woven net trap.

The makeup that had been washed away by tears was reapplied lavishly, and my hair, which I had only let down before marriage, was brushed all day long by her hands.

“It wouldn’t be bad to cut off this luscious hair and make a wig. After all, hair keeps growing.”

Eventually, it became time for the surrounding light to dim.

Left alone in the room, I was slumped in the chair with my gaze lowered.

It was because Dorothea had left to enjoy her new castle and new lover.

‘If only I could at least sleep, it would be good.’

The cruel part about Dorothea was that she was using muscle relaxants and stimulants simultaneously.

As a result, I couldn’t even lose consciousness except for the moments she allowed.

It was then that someone invaded my quiet room.

“Mom…”

Suddenly, I became wide awake.

Although I couldn’t turn my head, I couldn’t mistake the owner of this voice.

‘Euphemina…!’

Are you safe? Are you alright? Where have you been and what have you been doing until now?

Countless questions swirled in my head only to pour out through my eyes. Even my gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, became blurry.

“Something’s wrong with me…”

Euphemina, who had approached without me noticing, stood in front of me. It was heartbreaking that I couldn’t see my daughter’s appearance clearly because of my wavering vision.

No, even if I could see clearly, all I would have been able to see was the child’s hem and hands.

“This isn’t what I wanted.”

How fortunate I am that my hearing is intact at this moment.

Above all, I could hear Euphemina’s voice clearly.

“I just didn’t like the idea of mom abandoning me and marrying Lord Joseph. I also didn’t like that Kar brother and Chelsi were accepting mom’s remarriage.”

Euphemina continued speaking in a flat tone.

However, just because her voice was dry didn’t mean the child’s emotions were withered.

As a mother, I could tell how confused she was currently feeling.

“So I just wanted to punish the three of them…”

Euphemina, who had come close, lowered herself to sit down. Finally, I could see the child’s face.

“…But this is my fault, isn’t it?”

Ah.

As I thought, I was right.

Dorothea’s words were wrong. This wasn’t what Euphemina wanted.

My daughter was just deceived by Dorothea. That’s what I was certain of.

Even through my blurred vision, Euphemina’s face was a mess, enough to distinguish.

Her lips were split and scabbed over, her cheeks were swollen, and her eyelids were bruised red and blue.

Without asking, I could tell what Dorothea had dared to do to my child. I…

At that moment, I cursed my own condition of being unable to speak.

‘No. It’s not your fault, Euphi!’

That’s what I wanted to say.

Euphemina is only fourteen years old.

Of course, she can think and act for herself, but she doesn’t yet know how dirty and scary the world can be.

Such a child’s anxiety and fear would have been a tempting prey for the evil person who was waiting for an opportunity.

Moreover, for Dorothea, who had been part of the dark forces for decades, deceiving an innocent girl would have been as easy as blinking once.

So, Euphi.

This is not your fault.

‘Leave me and run away.’

Having confirmed that Euphemina was safe, I felt relieved despite the pain in my heart.

At the same time, I hoped that at least Euphemina would escape from this hell. Only then…

‘I could end my life with peace of mind.’

At that moment, Euphemina, who had suddenly stood up, locked the door and pulled furniture to create a barricade, saying,

“I’ll get you out, mom. There’s someone who can help us.”

Then, a familiar scratching sound, clunk, was heard from behind, out of my sight.

Ah, it was the sound of a secret passage opening.

An escape route for emergencies, found everywhere in such an old castle.

Eventually, the footsteps of someone who was clearly an adult male came from that direction.

‘Could it be…!’

Joseph?

For a moment, hope that had been buried seemed to raise its head.

He finally returned. As he promised, it was the third day.

Of course, it’s much earlier than the time he originally said he would return, but…!

Good is good. Anyway, now we can safely evacuate Euphemina…

“I’ve come to help you, Your Excellency the Regent.”

But unfortunately, the person who emerged from the secret passage wasn’t who I had hoped for.

Prince Raphael, whom Dorothea had said she put to sleep because she was afraid of future troubles.

It seemed that he, who had been locked up at the top of the castle, eating only food laced with sleeping pills, was finally able to regain his senses with Euphemina’s help.