CBOM 46

chapter 46

Sofienne ground her teeth.

“Kya-haha, what are you going to do if you glare at us like that?”

‘Those filthy insects.’

Since she’d been locked up in the storage room, her life had become hell.

The single meal she was given each day was something even beggars would refuse, and the room was cold and dark.

When she was alone, the silence pressed down on her so heavily that she felt she might go insane.

Then, at some point, the maids who came to check on her changed — they were the same subordinates who had once worked under her. That’s when things became even more unbearable.

“This is so funny. Look at her face.”

“Hey, did she eat this?”

“Oh no, she must’ve been starving. That was garbage we were going to throw away.”

Cackling laughter — like that of demons — rang in her ears.

Sofienne lay face down, holding her breath.

At first, she’d screamed and resisted, but the more she fought, the harsher the beatings became. Eventually, she stopped wasting her energy.

She decided it was better to curry favor with Essie, who checked on her sometimes, and with Grace, who visited her every dawn.

“She’s not reacting. This is boring.”

One of the maids muttered as Sofienne stayed still.

“Yeah. How do we make her react? Does she think we’ll just leave her alone like this? Has she forgotten what she did to us?”

They snorted.

They’d endured because they needed to survive — but dealing with Sofienne’s vicious temper had never been easy.

She could throw tantrums several times a day when things didn’t go her way.

“She used to act like a noblewoman even though she’s a commoner. Look at her now.”

“She’s disgusting. I wonder what Lord Livaine will do with her.”

“I hope he keeps her locked up. As long as we’re assigned to her, we can torment her until she dies.”

Hearing their chatter made goosebumps crawl up Sofienne’s spine.

A few days ago, Grace had said she’d reassign Sofienne’s attendants.

Why hadn’t she done it yet? The thought made Sofienne worry that she might live like this forever.

“What makes you think you’re so much better than me…”

Sofienne ground her teeth and muttered.

“What?” one maid snapped.

“You all bullied Leto too. You did everything I told you to. From his point of view, you’re no different from me.”

“We only did what you ordered us to!”

“Do you think Lord Livaine will just let you go? I might be the first, but you could be next!”

“No! We’re not like you!”

The first maid shot back immediately — but the doubt was there.

For now, Livaine trusted them and kept them close, but lately, he’d been getting closer to Leto.

Even as she spoke, the maid couldn’t hide the anxiety on her face.

“Heh.”

Sofienne let out a mocking laugh.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you? Feeling guilty about something?”

“Shut up!!”

The maids started kicking her mercilessly.

Pain tore through her body, but Sofienne just smiled, her face twisted with malice.

“You’ll be next…”

She spat the words out until the end — just to spite them.

Sofienne must have passed out from all the beating, because when she opened her eyes again, it was already the next day.

Her body ached everywhere. The maids must have kicked her harder than usual out of rage.

“Ugh.”

She gritted her teeth at the pain and barely managed to sit up, leaning against the wall.

If only Grace would get rid of those wretches, she could move again.

As if on cue, Grace appeared at dawn and informed her that her attendants had been changed.

“For now, Essie will be checking on you.”

“Th-thank you so much…!”

Sofienne burst into tears — pretending to be grateful.

“Enough. Don’t even dream of doing anything stupid.”

Grace’s warning was sharp, and Sofienne nodded furiously.

Of course, she wasn’t scared in the slightest.

Grace was too soft. If it had been her, she would’ve killed the prisoner, not just locked her up.

“Yes, yes.”

But Sofienne acted obedient, as if she had no such thoughts at all.

Sofienne began plotting her escape.

She would take the jewels she’d hidden in her room — with those, she could survive anywhere.

She wasn’t going to give up on Leto so easily either.

After everything she’d done to reach him, she wasn’t going to step aside now.

So, for a while, she behaved herself.

“She’s being quiet.”

Essie came every day to check on her, but that was all.

Unlike the previous maids, Essie didn’t harass her — she just verified Sofienne’s condition and left.

Today was the same.

Thanks to that, Sofienne’s body had recovered considerably.

Clack—

When she heard the lock click and Essie’s footsteps fade away, Sofienne’s eyes snapped open.

Using a piece of spring she’d secretly removed from the bed, she picked the lock open.

“Ha… ha-ha.”

She laughed for a long time — the thought of freedom made her giddy.

Then, making sure no one saw, she hurried to her old room.

As she swept jewels into a bag, she noticed something.

The drawer that she’d sealed with a special magic lock — one only she could open — was broken.

“…No way.”

Had someone gone down to the basement?

If so, they would’ve seen the body.

“…Though even if they did, they wouldn’t know whose body it was.”

Still, her hands trembled in unease.

She told herself it was good she’d decided to escape now.

After stuffing the last of the jewels into her bag, Sofienne headed straight for Leto’s room.

Knock, knock, knock—

“Come in.”

Hearing the bright voice from inside, she smirked bitterly and opened the door.

“So, you’ve been living quite comfortably, haven’t you?”

Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Leto turned pale when he saw her — as if he were looking at a ghost.

“I’ve been suffering all this time, and you’ve been happy, haven’t you?”

“…S-Sofienne? H-how did you—”

Leto stumbled backward as she advanced.

“D-don’t come near me!”

But Sofienne didn’t stop.

“Come with me.”

“W-what? Where?”

Leto swallowed hard.

“Only I can make you happy. Come with me.”

If this had been before — before he’d met Livaine, Grace, and Essie — he might have taken her hand.

But now, he knew Grace had been right.

Sofienne couldn’t make him happy.

He never wanted to return to that hell again.

“No.”

“What?”

“You’re not the one who can make me happy!”

“Ha. They’ve completely ruined you, haven’t they? After everything I did to raise you.”

For the first time, Leto raised his voice — not quite rebellion, but close.

Sofienne laughed in disbelief.

“Come here!”

She spoke forcefully and lunged toward him.

But Leto dodged at the last moment, flung the door open, and bolted.

“Come back here!!!”

Sofienne screamed, her face contorted in rage.

Leto ran until his lungs burned.

Then he started screaming — desperate for someone to hear him.

Grace, who never slept deeply, immediately shot up from bed.

“Essie! Essie, wake up!”

“Mm…?”

Essie stirred, half-asleep.

“Essie!”

“Wh-what…?”

Groggily blinking, she looked up at Grace.

“I think something happened to Lord Leto!”

“Huh? Lord Livaine?”

“No — Leto!”

Before Grace could finish speaking, a faint, frantic voice echoed through the halls.

Essie’s eyes flew open.

She couldn’t make out the words, but someone was clearly crying out a name.

“Sofienne, no way…”

“B-but I locked the door tight…!”

Panicked, Essie jumped out of bed, still in her nightclothes.

Grace did the same, and the two ran toward the noise.

“My lord!”

They didn’t have to go far — they soon saw Leto sobbing, trapped in Sofienne’s grasp.

“Sofienne!”

“Damn it.”

The moment Sofienne spotted them, she grimaced and tried to flee.

But Grace wasn’t about to let her go.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Grace hurled her shoe with perfect aim — striking Sofienne squarely on the back of the head.

Whoosh—Thud!

The sound was loud and satisfying.

Grace had thrown it with all her strength.

“Ah!”

Sofienne collapsed instantly, releasing Leto.

Essie rushed forward and pulled the trembling boy into her arms.

“…Tsk.”

At that moment, Grace sensed it — a dark shadow watching Sofienne.

It hadn’t moved while Sofienne was near Leto, which meant the target was clearly her.

“What do we do? She looks unconscious.”

“…Take her back to her room. We’ll deal with her tomorrow.”

“…To her room?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fine. Looks like she has no intention of leaving without Leto anyway.”

“…True. She could’ve escaped alone, but instead she caused a scene by going after him.”

“Still, just in case — let’s ask her former maids to watch her.”

“Got it.”

Essie nodded.

Leto, still shaken, clung to Essie and sobbed uncontrollably.

“It’s okay. It’s okay now.”

Essie held him gently, patting his back with a pained expression.

At least Sofienne was down — that seemed to calm him a little.

“You stay with Lord Leto. I’ll handle the cleanup.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Essie carried Leto away while Grace dragged Sofienne by the arms and dumped her unceremoniously into her room.

Then she called the maids back to watch her.

They’d been bitter about being reassigned before, so when Grace woke them up at dawn with this “opportunity,” they eagerly accepted.

Watching them hurry off, Grace smiled coldly.

If they wanted to run toward their own graves, so be it.