There is No Key to His Cage - Chapter 12
It was clearly morning, but she couldn’t open her eyes.
They felt as heavy as if someone had placed stones on her eyelids.
“Hah….”
Regret welled up intensely.
Why on earth did she cry like that in his arms yesterday?
She wasn’t even the type to cry easily.
And of all people, to sob in his embrace.
“How foolish….”
As she turned to her side, her whole body ached as if it had been hammered.
Why were her shoulders and neck so stiff?
“Did that bastard beat me while I was sleeping?”
That would make sense.
He must have tormented her while she slept.
“But how many hours did I sleep….”
She barely opened her swollen eyelids to look at the clock.
She had definitely closed her eyes when the sun was setting, so she probably fell asleep around 6 PM.
And now it’s 10 o’clock.
“16 hours?”
Elena threw off the blanket and sat up abruptly.
How could a person sleep for 16 hours without waking up even once?
She was so surprised her mouth wouldn’t close.
This was probably the first time she had slept this long since she came into this world.
No, she hadn’t slept this much even in her previous life.
As she was marveling at the wonder, there was a knock on the door.
Knock knock-
“Come in.”
“My lady!”
The person knocking was none other than Jane.
Seeing Jane first thing in the morning seemed to put her in a good mood for no reason.
“Jane!”
“But my lady, your face….”
Jane approached closer, frowning so much her eyebrows nearly touched.
She must have been surprised by how swollen her eyes were.
Elena stretched out her hand towards Jane with an awkward smile.
“What did you bring?”
“A simple breakfast. But my lady, have you been crying?”
For a moment, Elena pressed her lips tightly at Jane’s words.
She had cried in Jane’s arms before, and if she said she cried again, wouldn’t Jane think of her as a crybaby?
“No, I didn’t cry. It’s just because I slept a lot.”
“That’s not how eyes look when they’re swollen from oversleeping….”
Jane tilted her head, putting her hand on her chin like a detective.
“Ah, I said I didn’t! Anyway, I’m hungry. I want to eat quickly.”
Elena hastily picked up the tray as if she hadn’t eaten for days, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Then she took a big bite of the well-baked bread with a deep brown color.
“Mmm, delicious. This house really makes good bread.”
Jane smiled, her eyes forming crescents as if she found Elena’s words amusing.
“There’s plenty of bread, so eat a lot, my lady.”
“Okay!”
Elena picked up the butter knife and spread caviar on the bread.
Her mouth watered at the appetizing pink color.
“The Grand Duke said you always spread caviar on your bread, so I brought some.”
“That guy?”
Did he peek at her while she was eating? How did he know?
Had she eaten it that deliciously?
“Yes, and the soup is made with carrots and beef mixed…. Oh! He also said you like salad with rice in it….”
Elena opened her eyes wide and made an unpleasant expression.
How on earth did he know all these details?
She felt like she was being stripped naked, and her face was about to turn red.
“Th-That’s right….”
The soup with cheese and beef tasted like the instant soup she used to eat in Korea, and she liked the salad with rice because it reminded her of rice.
The staple food here was always bread, after all.
“The Grand Duke takes such good care of you, my lady. He personally manages everything from what you eat to what you wear!”
Jane put both hands on her cheeks and blushed like a teenage girl.
Yeah, he’s quite the romantic of the century, isn’t he?
“Whatever. I hate that man. I really, really hate him.”
Elena tore into the bread roughly as if she were chewing steel.
Her eyes blazed with fire.
“Still, don’t hate him too much. The Grand Duke will probably regret treating you like that.”
If she could stop hating him just because someone told her not to, she would have done so long ago.
Her fondness for him was already converging to zero!
“Forget it, Jane. That man is not the type to feel remorse.”
Jane smiled slightly as if she couldn’t help it.
Then she gently picked up the tray with the empty dishes.
“I understand, my lady. I have some work to do, so I’ll be going now.”
“Already?”
Elena shot a bright-eyed look like a lost cat.
Jane was the only person she could talk to here.
“Yes, I heard there’s a small problem in the banquet hall. I need to go check quickly.”
“I see….”
She couldn’t keep a busy person.
She had no choice but to let her go.
“Then….”
Bang-
After Jane left, she was alone again.
Is this what it feels like to be in a single-patient room?
Being alone in a large space like a patient made her heart feel empty.
“Hah….”
Elena sprawled out on the bed aimlessly.
They say you’ll turn into a cow if you lie down right after eating, but she wasn’t in a position to care about that now.
She couldn’t even go outside, let alone leave this place.
“He takes good care of me, huh….”
Her mind was full of questions.
From the words, he left yesterday to his actions.
And Jane even added fuel to the fire.
“Does he really love me or something….”
If that’s really the case, why on earth?
She had no connection or encounter with him.
Moreover, it was strange that although it was clearly their first meeting, he acted as if he knew her well.
Did she have some acquaintance with him before the possession, that is, before she was seven years old?
“Hah… forget it.”
Elena opened her closed eyes and looked at the ceiling painting.
A beautiful picture of baby angels circling the sky as if bestowing blessings.
Just a few days ago, she was as free as that.
“Is this how my life ends….”
She couldn’t help but sigh deeply instead of coming up with escape ideas.
The knights and servants throughout the house were watching her with eagle eyes, and even Jane was on Decarus’s side.
Nothing in the world goes as one wishes.
“If Aiden were here, would it be a little different….”
She thought that if he were with her, it might have been a little better.
Even though she wondered what help he could be since he couldn’t even fight.
“Hah, forget it, Elena. You need to be stronger in times like this.”
If she endured with firm determination, surely good things would happen.
She would definitely escape from here somehow and meet Aiden.
Elena got up from the bed abruptly and headed towards the door.
Creak-
“Excuse me….”
“……”
As soon as she opened the door, knights in silver armor were standing with their backs straight.
No matter how many times she tried to talk to them, they remained expressionless and said nothing.
“I want to go out….”
“His Grace has forbidden the lady from leaving.”
The robotic, mechanical response made her sigh involuntarily.
How could she be free even in this mansion?
“I won’t tell Decarus. Okay?”
“We’re sorry, my lady.”
“Hah….”
Creak-
She had no choice but to close the door at his firm refusal.
If only she could get out of here, she might be able to find a way to escape.
“Ah!”
Elena, who had been spinning in place for a while, suddenly seemed to have a bright idea.
Creak-
“Excuse me….”
The knight seemed a bit surprised at the same pattern as before.
“My lady, His Grace….”
“No… I need to use the bathroom.”
Surely no one would follow her to the bathroom.
She was proud of herself for coming up with this idea in such a short time.
Maybe she was a genius after all.
“Ah….”
He gently opened the door as if he had no choice.
The air in the corridor was quite different from the air inside the room.
“You’re not going to follow me to the bathroom, are you? Like some pervert.”
Elena turned around and spoke haughtily like a princess.
“Pardon?”
You have to set boundaries like this to prevent them from acting recklessly.
This was one of the skills she had learned while wandering around.
“Ah, no, of course not.”
Even though he had originally planned to follow.
He blushed, seemingly embarrassed.
“Then please return quickly, my lady. Otherwise, I’ll truly be killed by the Grand Duke.”
“Ah, right. Right.”
She lazily raised her arm and waved her hand dismissively.
Her footsteps felt light, experiencing this freedom after so long.
“Let’s first try to understand the internal situation.”
If she went outside, she would obviously be caught by the soldiers guarding the front.
So she decided to start by searching his office.
After all, she might discover his weaknesses or state secrets.
Then she could use those to blackmail or negotiate her way out of here.
“At this time, he should be in a meeting….”
Elena headed towards the office, avoiding the eyes of the maids.
Fortunately, since he was absent, there were no knights guarding the front.
Click-
“Hmm….”
She tried turning the long golden doorknob, but as expected, it was firmly locked.
“I thought as much, so I brought this.”
She didn’t expect the iron rod she had picked up in the room would be this useful.
Someone as thorough as him wouldn’t leave the door open when he left.
Click-
“As expected.”
For a gypsy, opening a door like this was as easy as pie.
She had opened doors with an iron ring even when sneaking into empty houses before.
Creak-
As expected, the room was empty.
The bed she had messed up yesterday was neat as if he had tidied it up.
Unlike his unpleasant personality, he was surprisingly tidy.
Elena went straight to the desk and rummaged through the drawers.
“There must be something here.”
But perhaps she was too confident.
Even when she opened the drawers, nothing came out.
The only useful thing was a bag of delicious-looking chocolates.
“Hah… this isn’t it.”
She sat in the chair and looked around.
Usually in movies, these huge mansions always have a secret door.
“Secret door. Secret door….”
Where on earth could he have hidden it?
Elena rolled her eyes, carefully examining the furniture.
Picture frame, clock, sofa, bookshelf….
“Bookshelf?”
Suddenly, Elena’s eyes sparkled and shone.
Usually, when you press or push a bookshelf, a secret space appears.
“Here it is.”
Elena hopped in front of the bookshelf.
With a pounding heart, she pulled out books one by one, feeling around here and there with her hands.
But it didn’t budge, let alone open.
“What’s the problem?”
After pondering for a while, Elena snapped her fingers.
“Should I try pushing it?”
But in fact, she doubted if she could push this large bookshelf.
She had never even lifted furniture bigger than her own body.
But it would be foolish to give up without trying.
Elena put her back against the side of the bookshelf and pushed with all her might.
“Please….”
At first, it was so stiff that it only made a loud noise without moving.
But as if her wish had reached it, the bookshelf slowly started to move.
After struggling and barely pushing it open, a small door appeared in the gap.
“This is it.”
The secret space that finally revealed itself was just big enough for one person to barely enter.
Elena took out a rubber band and tied up her flowing hair.
“Well then, let’s see.”
