I Raised Him Modestly, But He Came Back Obsessed With Me - Chapter 76

They both stared at the open wall with surprised faces. Cersinia was so surprised that she forgot to breathe. She calmed her beating heart before turning toward the voice. A maid was standing in front of her. The maid looked at her with a look that made it clear that she didn’t like Cersinia. And looking at the expression on her face, this person seemed to be aware of the secret door for the first time today.

“What kind of…”

The maid muttered with a puzzled face. Beyond the door, there was deep darkness. Dark darkness which was perfect for hiding something secretive. It was impossible to tell what was in the darkness. The only thing that could be seen was the begining of two sets of stairs. They seemed to go downstairs and it could only mean that they led to a basement.

‘A very deep, dark place is hidden so that most people cannot find it.’

A very deep and dark place, just like what Limapheus said. Cersinia’s crimson eyes sparkled upon seeing that.

‘This must be the place Limapheus spoke of.’

“W-What happened… Please leave at once. Outsiders are not allowed in this place.”

Now that the maid had come to her senses, she spoke with a sharp voice. Cersinia stepped down the stairs, ignoring the maid’s words. She came all the way here, so there’s no way she would just go back.

“I told you to get out of here!”

When the maid was ignored, she pulled Cersinia’s collar.

“Who are you to come into this place! Why are you pretending to be the hostess of this mansion!”

The maid said in a disgusted manner, making Cersinia know she loathed her. Cersinia put up with it because she didn’t want to worsen the situation by pushing the maid out of her way.

“I have something to check just for a second. I’m just going to see it and quickly come out.”

“No, you can’t! You’re only a bitch who came from God know where!”

‘Bitch? I was just going to leave her alone.’

Cersinia turned around, annoyed by the maid’s harsh words. Then the maid, startled as she didn’t know Cersinia would suddenly turn around, let go of the collar she had been holding.

“Huh?”

Cersinia was perplexed. And because the maid let go of her, her body leaned back sending her flying down the stairs.

“Kyaaa!”

With the maid’s scream loud enough to tear her ears, Cersinia helplessly fell down the stairs.

Thud. Thud.

With a crashing sound, she slipped and fell. Everything happened so quickly that Cersinia herself couldn’t even react in time.

“Ugh!”

The stairs, which she couldn’t see properly because of the dark, were quite high, so she only reached the bottom of the stairs after rolling for a long time.

“Ouch. That hurts…”

A groan of pain escaped her mouth. All of her body screamed in pain but she felt a more intense pain around her arms, sides, and shoulders. Thankfully, she covered her face with her arms so they took most of the impacts.

“I-I didn’t do anything wrong! It happened because you suddenly turned around…”

Cersinia didn’t even say anything, but the maid was already shouting in fear.

“I won’t say anything, so just let me look here for a moment and go out.”

Cersinia rose from the cold floor. She definitely sprained her ankle.

“Don’t pretend to be generous. You don’t have the right to command me in the first place!”

Perhaps her words seriously irritated the maid. The maid shook her fists and shouted out. Cersinia raised her head. Standing in front of the open door, the maid was fidgeting, worried about the situation. It seems like it would be impossible to have a normal conversation.

“Yes, yes, I know.”

Cersinia ignored her because she no longer had the energy and felt like dealing with her would be a waste of time.

“I’m being serious!”

The ignored maid angrily yelled as she tried to rush at Cersinia.

“I can’t believe I’m looking over you just because of my master.”

Cersinia’s eyebrows shot up at the was seriously starting to irritate her. The maid grabbed the place to close the door.

“Wait…!”

“That’s where you ought to be.”

With those words, the maid pulled the doorknob as hard as she could.

Thud.

Unexpectedly the wooden door closed with a heavy sound, probably because it was thicker than it looked. The light that had been coming through the open door disappeared, and the basement submerged again in darkness. Isolated in the basement, Cersinia widened her eyes trying to see, but it did not help.

“Huh…”

Soon after, a burst of laughter came out. She knew why the maid acted like this, and all of the time, she did see distasteful the maid had been giving her. It was obviously jealousy. When Cersinia realized her own feelings, it was easier to catch on those things.

‘Did I look as ugly when I looked at Lady Aronia?’

She hoped that her own behaviour in the past days wasn’t like that.

‘From Aronia to the maid…’

Anyway, she felt slightly guilty. She didn’t realize that so many people like Ben. Cersinia grinned and stretched her hand out in the air. She needed light.

Fwosh.

A flame quickly ignited in her palm. She roughly scanned the basement with the flame in her hands. Fortunately, candles were placed on the very few candlesticks on the wall. Without hesitation, she threw the flame at the candles. The flame fell on the candle without an inch of error, and the place soon came into live.

Cersinia soothed her dress. Since the door was already closed, she went around to take a good look. The closed door will most likely break down with just one kick, so she didn’t worry much about being trapped.

It was only after she had brushed her tangled hair roughly with her hands that she checked the stairs she had rolled from. Each of them was quite high, as expected. Even if she roughly counted it, she could see more than 20.

‘I rolled from there, so it can’t be helped to get hurt.’

As she tried to take a step but only ended up limping because of her throbbing ankle. Every time her shoulder moved, it was accompanied by a tingling pain.

“Fortunately, there is no one suffering other than me.”

Cersinia thought. She was also already thinking about taking a steam bath first thing when she goes back, then proceed to examine the room. The room was cold and humid. Drops of water dripped from the damp ceiling and so created puddles on the floor. It was hard to believe that a place with such an eerie atmosphere was located in the Grand Duchy. Even the servants who work in the mansion seemed not to know about the existence of this room.

‘Why go to such an extent just to hide a basement?’

Cersinia, who had been scanning the room meticulously, came to a standstill. She thought it was just an empty basement, but an unexpected room appeared in front of her.

“This…”

Cersinia was astonished by it. A room where dozens of bars are rising out. It was a prison. The room where she stood was a hallway, and to her right were countless bars. The prison was divided into thick walls, and one prison space was about 3.3m². She grabbed the bars that tightly, they were so thick that she couldn’t wrap her fingers around them.

“Why is this place…”

‘Is it common for nobles with high status to have a prison in their mansions?’

‘I don’t know why Limapheus mentioned this place.’

She walked a little further forward. But the prison was empty as if it had never been used. But maybe it looked like that because she was still in the middle of the hallway?

Along the prison that had been empty so far, a prison with an extra bed that was small enough for one person to lie down appeared. There was not only a bed but also a bathroom, broken paper swords were strewn all over the floor, and shackles hung from the ceiling.

‘Shackles?’

‘Is it to tie up the sinner?’

Confused, Cersinia looked further and found something hanging next to the bars.

“Why a whip…”

A leather whip was hung on the prison’s outer wall, it seemed to be used to punish criminals. The long, thick whip looked like it would tear any flesh apart with just one hit. She was certain anyone who would get hit with it would subtain deep and long wounds. At that moment, Ben’s back, which was filled with similar wounds, flashed in her mind. Cersinia covered her mouth with her pale hands.

“Don’t tell me…”

Her whole body trembled. Ominous goosebumps ran up her spine. All of the hair on her back stood up and her blood froze. The wounds that filled Ben’s back. Dark red scars that looked like the claws of a beast or had been caused by a sharp, thick knife.

“It is a wound from training. It’s nothing.”

Ben spoke urgently. Like he just thought of an excuse.

“Cersinia, it’s really nothing.”

As she realized it, Cersinia grabbed her sleeve anxiously.

“It can’t be nothing.”

She exclaimed with a distorted face, holding her throbbing chest.

“You devil who doesn’t even know grace. How dare you to Master, Master…”

The old man muttered, feeling the presence of someone approaching him, and opened his eyes. The old man, who met her eyes, which twinkled like a flame that couldn’t be hidden even in the dark, recited with a grin.

“Cersinia. You’re that Cersinia.”