The Reborn Lady is Loved by her Foster Brother: The Scariest Villain - Chapter 25

 Bright and warm.

‘Is this a dream?

Yes, it is. I am sure that I am still trapped in that dim and cold prison, and I am having a gentle dream.

If so, then I don’t want to wake up. I want to stay in this soft dream a little longer.’

Ortansia pulled the blanket tighter around her, resisting waking up.

The soft silk blanket gave her a certain sense of security.

Fresh breeze blew in through the window, which has been opened for ventilation, and the sound of birds crying could be heard outside.

Are the pattering footsteps walking around the room from Pamela?

She gently reached out to touch the stuffed bear that she always slept with.

When she pulled it closer, she could smell Ortansia’s favorite smell.

‘What a realistic and happy dream.’

Surely if she opens her eyes, what will appear in her field of view will be a hard, cold stone wall and a rugged iron grill.

She didn’t want to open her eyes. But maybe… Ortansia can wake up from her bad dream and get back to her normal routine.

Pamela should be right there.

When Annabelle calls out, “Time for your lesson,” she would rush to her feet and smile at her.

Would she be able to have dinner with her father today?

She wanted to talk to him so badly.

‘And to my brother…’

She remembered the cold expression on Gerard’s face in her mind.

At the same time, the flashbacks of screams, shouts, sounds of sword fights, and the large amount of fresh blood soaking Gérard’s costume….

‘It wasn’t a dream!’

Remembering the scene, Ortansia screamed and jumped out of bed.

Just then, Pamela, who was changing the flowers in a vase by the window, was startled and knocked the vase over.

Fortunately, it did not break, but the spilled water trickled down and soaked the carpet.

Immediately Ortansia tried to get up from the bed, saying, “I have to help…”

“Oh, miss..!”

Pamela rushed to her with tears in her eyes.

“Hahi!”

Ortansia involuntarily braced herself.

Pamela, who rushed towards her with a strong momentum… hugged Ortensia with a force so strong that it seemed like she would collapse.

“Oh my lady, my lady! Thank God, I thought you’d never wake up again.”

“Pah, Pamela,…… it’s painful!”

“Oh, my God!　I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

When Ortensia cried out, Pamela hurriedly released Ortensia’s small body. And then she wiped her tears, she stood up immediately as if she suddenly realized.

“I am so sorry! I’m going to report to everyone that the young lady has awakened!”

As soon as she said that, Pamela left Ortansia’s room with a clatter of footsteps.

When her back was out of sight, Ortansia fearfully looked down at her body.

‘I am alive ……, right?’

Wagging her fingers and flapping her feet, Ortansia checked to make sure that everything about her body was in working order. As she did so, she heard a sudden noise outside the room.

“Ortansia!”

The first person to enter the room, kicking in the door, was Ortansia’s father, the Duke of Verite.

“Father!”

“Oh, Ortansia. Thank goodness ……. I am more than happy that you are back safe and sound.”

“Father, I…”

Ortansia tried to explain what had happened to her.

A dark, cold prison. The screams of the sacrificed, the eerie magic circle, the fresh blood on the floor.

“It’s okay, Ortansia. You don’t have to say anything.”

He hugged her gently, as if to reassure her.

“Gerard told me everything about what happened in that place. The people who locked you up are gone, too. It’s all over, Ortansia.”

“It’s over?”

“Yes, so you don’t have to remember anything. You can rest for a while. Don’t worry, there is no one here who wants to hurt you.”

Ortansia hugged her father tightly.

…There is no one here who wants to hurt you.

The duke’s mansion, which not so long ago had frightened her so much, felt like the safest place in the world.

She thought she had been surprisingly calm, but it seemed that Ortansia was more traumatized by the kidnapping than she thought.

First of all, she was afraid of dark places.

She couldn’t help but be reminded of the prison, which in turn brought back horrifying memories.

At night, she asked Pamela to help her go to bed without dimming the light.

Even so, she had a hard time falling asleep, and even when she did, she often woke up screaming from the nightmares that came over her.

　In the nightmare, Ortansia was in that prison. And just like in her memory, she was taken out and restrained, and unlike that time, Gerard’s help did not come.

“Why didn’t you help me?”

“Why only you?”

“I won’t forgive you.”

After nightmares, she dreaded going to sleep.

She had to wrap herself in a soft blanket, hug a stuffed animal, and wait for morning, shivering.

She was not feeling well, she had dark circles under her eyes, and was a mess.

But there were a few good things about it.

　The day after Ortansia returned to the duke’s mansion, Annabelle, who is in charge of her education, visited Ortansia in her private room.