Chapter 3
Two girls, one in a pink dress and the other in a deep green one, were excitedly gesturing as they passionately talked about the Duke of Winstaine.
“On days when the battle didn’t go well, they say he’d torture his commanders for days on end.”
“You think that’s all? He kidnaps beautiful boys, locks them up, harasses them, and if he doesn’t like them, he kills them on the spot. They say piles of bodies, torn to pieces with their guts spilling out, fill his castle.”
“Oh my god, how can a person do something like that?”
Sara clapped both hands over her mouth.
“That’s not even the worst part. He collects the blood they spill and bathes in it. He believes it makes him stronger.”
“Ahh, I can’t listen to this anymore. It’s too horrible.”
Diana shuddered. The girl in the pink dress tilted her head.
“I’m surprised you’re this shocked. It’s super famous. How come you didn’t know?”
“No one ever told me. And no one in my family really talks about these things…”
“I’ve heard about it.”
Benjamin cut Sarah off. Her eyebrows shot up.
“What? Then why didn’t you say anything until now?”
“What for?”
He shrugged indifferently, completely ignoring her hurt expression.
“When did you hear about him?”
“The Duke of Winstaine came to the capital a few years ago. That’s when my friends told me. It was right after the war with Hamad ended. I heard he wore a mask. They said his face is horribly deformed, so he wears it to hide it.”
“That’s right! I heard his face looks like a monster’s. That’s why he never takes the mask off. If anyone sees what’s underneath, he chops them into pieces.”
The girl in the deep green dress chimed in supportively.
“Goodness…”
“They say no one in the capital has ever seen his face.”
The Duke of Winstaine…
That’s terrifying…
Grace, who had been absentmindedly listening to their conversation, unintentionally shifted her foot. She stepped on a fallen twig on the ground.
With a snap, she lost her balance and fell, landing hard on her backside.
Ah…!
The ground was soft, so it didn’t hurt much. But the sound of her fall must’ve been loud enough for them to hear.
Grace trembled in panic.
“Who’s there?”
As expected, Benjamin’s icy voice cut through the air.
“Stop hiding like a rat and come out. Now.”
“……”
“If you don’t come out immediately, your punishment will be doubled.”
Doubled. That word alone made Grace freeze in fear. She shakily emerged from the bushes. When Benjamin saw her, his lips twisted into a cruel grin.
“Well, well, look who it is.”
“Didn’t know you knew how to spy on people, huh?”
Sarah scoffed. The girls in the pink and green dresses looked back and forth between Grace and the Reinhardt children with wide eyes.
“Her hair and eyes… they’re the same color? How…”
The Reinhardt family was publicly known to have four children. But this red hair and red eyes—hallmarks of the family—where did she come from?
“She’s an illegitimate child. The trash of our family.”
Benjamin spat the words like something foul. The girls all let out a collective gasp.
“Come here.”
Benjamin gestured like calling a dog. Trembling, Grace approached him. Without hesitation, he yanked her hair.
“Ah… Aah!”
“Who told you to sneak around like a rat? Do you have a death wish or something?”
She groaned in pain, as if her scalp would be torn off. But Benjamin didn’t let go.
“I… I’m sor…”
“……”
“Sorry… I’m sorry… agh…”
“Can’t you speak properly?”
The girl in the pink dress looked at Grace curiously as she stammered.
“She’s not completely mute, but it’s close. She’s basically an idiot.”
Jeffrey answered.
“She’s our dog. She does whatever we tell her. If we say bark, she barks. If we say crawl, she crawls.”
“Wanna make her do something? Play with her all you want. We’ll allow it.”
“Hmm… I don’t really have anything in mind.”
The girl in green said indifferently.
“Really? Then we’ll show you something fun.”
Benjamin twisted his lips into a smirk, glanced at the table, and threw a piece of bread to the ground. It rolled across the dirt and stopped.
“Go on. Crawl over and pick it up with your mouth.”
“……”
Grace stared at the dirt-covered bread. She remembered the last time they forced her to eat a biscuit that had been rolled in mud.
“What are you doing? Didn’t I tell you to do it?”
Benjamin raised his hand, his face scrunched in anger, ready to strike.
“……”
Grace already knew how hard that hand could hit. Tears welled in her eyes as she slowly began to crawl. But after just a few steps, she tripped forward.
“Ugh!”
“Dogs don’t walk on two legs. Crawl.”
Benjamin had kicked the back of her knees, making her collapse. As she instinctively tried to get up, his voice stopped her, and she lowered herself again. Grace began crawling as she was told.
“She really is like a dog.”
“She still needs some training to behave properly, though.”
Laughter filled the air behind her. Grace clenched her teeth and kept moving forward.
Just a few days ago, her knees had hurt from crawling, but she had learned that the punishment for being too slow was far worse.
Finally reaching the bread, Grace bit into it. Dirt clung to her tongue. She shut her eyes tightly at the disgusting texture.
Please, please don’t make me eat it. The gritty, dry soil rubbing inside her mouth was still unbearable.
“Not bad. You brought it back pretty well.”
As she crawled back near the table, the girls burst into laughter. Their eyes sparkled like they were watching a perfectly obedient pet.
“Spit it out.”
Benjamin ordered. Grace, relieved, dropped the bread onto the ground.
“Hmm, how about this now?”
Benjamin picked up an apple and started walking away from the table. He headed toward a small lake—a place prepared for boat rides during summer.
Striking a dramatic pose, he threw the apple into the lake. It splashed into the calm water, creating ripples before sinking.
“Go fetch it.”
He pointed at the lake.
“I… I can’t…”
Grace shook her head. She couldn’t swim. If she went in, she wouldn’t come back out. She had overheard stories of servants who had drowned near the lake.
“What’s this? You don’t want to?”
“N-no… please…”
“You’re defying me again? I said fetch it. You need to pay for spying on us like a rat.”
“I… I’m sorry… I won’t do it again!”
Grace desperately begged for forgiveness. Even if it had been wrong to watch them in secret, she didn’t want to die. Her eyes were filled with fear.
“You’re really not learning. Guess we’ll have to fix that.”
Benjamin suddenly shoved her forehead hard. Grace barely caught herself, avoiding slamming into the ground.
“First, you sneak around. Then you ignore orders. Yeah… punishment is in order.”
“What a shame, having to show our pet’s bad behavior.”
Sara joined in with a teasing tone. Grace understood now. Benjamin wasn’t doing this to make her act like a dog—he just wanted an excuse to torment her.
“Jeffrey. Hold her.”
As soon as Benjamin spoke, Jeffrey stepped forward and pinned Grace’s arms behind her.
“……”
Grace trembled, unable to even protest. Benjamin grabbed a pepper shaker from the corner of the table. He walked up, grabbed her hair, and yanked her head back.
“Talking doesn’t work with you. So we’ve got no choice.”
He opened the shaker and tilted it toward Grace’s face.
EstelleStars
This hurts so much to read. I want to beat those kids up