If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 5
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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After marrying Count Calvino a long time ago, she had cut off all contact with her birth family, including her elder brother, Duke Kristin. However, nearly twenty years later, she returned to the Kristin estate, delivering a message that questioned how she could leave her only niece all alone, stating that she would protect her in place of her parents.
Agatha’s trust in finding a family to protect her in her parents’ absence shattered when she entered her aunt Stella’s house not long after.
“See how dreadful the consequences of your thoughtless actions can be, my dear.”
Every time Stella referred to her as “my dear,” Agatha felt a sensation akin to bugs crawling in her throat. That was an endearment only her mother, the Duchess, could use. It was not a name that vile beings who coveted her brother’s wealth, approaching their niece to manipulate and harm her, could dare to utter.
“Yes, Aunt Stella.”
Stella’s two maidservants brought up a middle-aged woman with them. Irene, who had served the Kristin Duchy for generations, had moved to the Count’s house with Agatha five years ago.
The maidservants tied a leash around Irene’s wrist, handling her as if she were a compliant dog and led her to the punishment post on the wall. What was typically used to hang outerwear casually was repurposed here as an instrument of discipline.
With her hands held high above her head in submission, Irene turned her head, her disheveled face revealing her concern about what her mistress would see. Stella, approaching closely, discarded the letter she had been holding and received a leather whip from one of the maidservants.
“Time for your punishment.”
Swish, crack.
“…!”
The suppressed whimper, forcefully held back and unspoken, sent a painful pang through Agatha’s chest. It was a cruel yet effective method Stella employed to render Agatha powerless right before her eyes – the act of punishing the servants Agatha cherished.
“Writing a letter without my permission, it seems you still have much to learn.”
Swish, crack.
The punishment had begun a little over a month after Agatha came to Calvino County. At first, Stella wielded the whip under the guise of education, but as time passed, the severity of the punishment escalated, losing sight of any reasonable standards.
It started with trivial excuses, like not wearing a cheerful face during breakfast or making an inelegant gesture while drinking water. Stella, using ridiculous pretexts, repeatedly subjected Agatha’s maidservants to her cruelty, resorting to flogging them.
As Agatha, who had once been so childlike, began to mature into a young lady, Stella’s cruelty intensified further. Going outside was strictly prohibited, and she was barred from attending any social gatherings that a noble young lady of her age would typically participate in.
If Agatha showed the slightest hint of displeasure or didn’t comply obediently, Stella’s whip would descend mercilessly on her maidservants, leaving them battered and bruised. After each punishment, Agatha would hug the injured maidservants, wailing that she would rather endure the flogging herself.
“Are you trying to write a letter to the governess I sent away in secret?”
Swish, thwack.
The repeated punishments gradually transformed Agatha into a passive and fragile individual.
They say that if you tie the legs of a baby elephant to a post, even when it grows up, it won’t think of escaping. It seemed that, according to Stella’s intentions, Agatha was slowly losing her sense of free will.
“Make sure you never think of doing that again.”
Swish, thwack.
Even after the fourth strike, Irene kept her mouth tightly shut, enduring the pain. It hurt Agatha more to witness this.
Agatha had been able to endure Stella’s cruelty so far because of the servants who had been with her since she was in the Kristin estate. Despite the harsh words and tears shed during the day, they provided comfort at night, allowing her to sleep peacefully.
But even that didn’t seem to satisfy Stella. In one instant, she banished Charlotte from the house, accusing her of daring to tamper with the Countess’s jewelry.
That wasn’t the end of it. Starting with Charlotte, Stella seemed determined to drive all of the Duchy’s people out of the Count’s mansion.
A month ago, when Agatha had gone on an errand for Stella, she had heard the news that Charlotte had been wrongly punished and expelled. She realized that her aunt, who never allowed her to leave the house, had sent her out for that very reason.
Knowing the truth, Agatha was engulfed in shock as if the ground beneath her feet had collapsed. However, she couldn’t show it. If she displayed even the slightest sign of distress, it would lead to more punishment, citing that she had shown an expression that “undermined the dignity of a noblewoman.”
Swish, thwack.
“Ah…”
With the fifth punishment, the ordeal had come to an end.
