Come and Cry at My Funeral - Chapter 33
Does she think presenting such a hideous thing will intimidate me, the Elder Madam?
Electra suppressed her rage with a twisted smile and shouted.
“Ha! Do you think I can’t handle it?”
Even Izar’s own mother had to hold her breath in front of her. And now, some bastard suddenly appeared and dared to defy her so blatantly?
If that’s what you wish, I’ll beat you with those briar branches until every thorn falls off.
“Lift your skirt and get on the chair.”
Mrs. Merope closed the door just in time.
Now, only Electra, Mrs. Merope, and the shepherdess were in the room.
The shepherdess silently lifted the hem of her white dress up to her calves.
As soon as she got on the chair, Electra swung the ‘cane’.
The impact on the legs and the scars brushed by the thorns streaked across the skin.
“Where did you learn such bad manners! To mock people with such tricks!”
“Ugh…”
“Hm? Oh, of course, it must have been your mad mother!”
Whack, whack!
The resilient branch struck fiercely.
Several thorns embedded themselves in the skin, but no time was given to remove them.
Once thornless, the branch would be discarded. This venomous girl had broken off plenty.
Bloodied branches were discarded one after another on the floor. Looking down at that sight, Freesia bit her lip harder.
‘Have I been foolish?’
Why did her mind turn the moment she went out to the garden?
There was no way to describe it other than madness.
Her vision blurred, and like a madman, she cut and cut the branches of the briar bushes.
A miraculous chance of an extra year had been given to her.
She must use this time well and live with all her might. This time, she resolved to live a life worth crying over once she’d die.
“Huff.”
Dizzying pain stretched from the inside of her knee up to her thigh, making it so difficult to breathe.
“Gasp, ugh!”
She nearly fell forward but managed to keep her balance. The smell of her blood mixed with the scent of flowers was dreadful.
Even now, she did not want to die.
Yet strangely, at this moment, she didn’t want to live either.
No matter what she’d say, it wouldn’t reach anyone.
“Ugh…!”
If I must pretend to be unscathed and maintain a calm facade amidst this overflowing malice.
I’d rather be shattered now, by the thorns of the hawthorn tree where my unnamed child sleeps.
Whack!
The harshest beating yet struck down on my legs. At that moment, Freesia, who had been keeping her balance, finally lost it.
“Ah…!”
With a dull thud, she crumpled to the floor in an instant.
But there was no time to curl up from the numb pain rising.
“This insolent, filthy bastard!”
A person fevered with rage cannot easily stop the beating. The sound of the cane hitting her body and the muffled sound of her suppressed groans filled her ears.
Violent pain caused her muscles to stiffen and then tremble as if fevered.
After that, Freesia’s sense of time began to numb.
“Would’ve been better off dead with your mother! Yet you dared to bring such disgrace into my house?”
Bright sunlight filtered through the curtains. It was so brightly lit outside, yet she was still crawling on the floor.
Just like the past, like vermin.
She had been so full of confidence that she could do well, yet in the end, she had changed nothing…
“Ugh…”
Gradually, the beating moved up her legs. Only then did Freesia raise her hands to cover her head. Legs and other parts might be tolerable, but a hit to the head could be disastrous.
However, Electra saw through her intention and kicked her hands away.
“Put those hands down right now!”
“…”
“This b***h, pretending to be weak…”
It seemed like a sharp sound was about to tear through her ears any moment.
Out of fear, she tightly shut her eyes, facing the floor. She could only hope to be hit in a place that wouldn’t drive her mad.
But suddenly, the beating stopped.
‘What…?’
Exhausted, Freesia couldn’t even lift her head. Her ears were too numb to make out any sounds around her.
“Y-Your Grace! When did…!”
Mrs. Merope’s panicked voice echoed as if underwater.
‘The Duke…?’
Only then did she realize that the door behind her had been flung open.
Mrs. Merope had locked it, and no one but Electra could order it to be opened.
However, she glimpsed a tall man standing against the light.
‘That person… shouldn’t have returned at this time.’
Under normal circumstances, he would have returned much later, even after the tea party had disastrously ended…
But even in the darkness, those bright golden eyes were unmistakable.
“What exactly are you doing right now.”
His voice, chillingly cold when angry, and those golden eyes, always made her want to ask him something.
Izar, why didn’t you recognize me when I was struggling in hell?
I never volunteered to be a stain on you.
And if you were going to ignore and cold-shoulder me like this…
Why did you save me at the lake?
