WCMBI - Chapter 258: Unbearable Feelings

I attentively embraced her while noticing the differences from before, waiting for her sobbing to subside, understanding her shock at losing the child more than anyone else.

"I'm sorry," she said after seemingly exhausting all his tears. With a tear-soaked face, she continued hesitantly, "I'm sorry. I lost my composure for a moment. I didn't think Dia would disappear. It's all my fault. I'm sorry, Mel."

He kept apologizing for a short while. I gazed intently at him and then glanced at Dia. The child widened his eyes, seemingly surprised that his father was crying, and looked at us.

Seeing the teardrops in the corner of Dia's eyes, I felt a renewed sense of fear and guilt towards him.

"First, please hold Dia to reassure her," I said.

"Dia!" he exclaimed, and Dia sobbed as she clung to him. It was his turn now, and she began to cry with a deep, rumbling voice. I simply stood by, maintaining a certain distance. I couldn't intervene between the two like Ian did earlier.

After a while, it was apparent that neither of them had any intention of stopping their tears. If Ian continued to let Dia cry like this, she would undoubtedly become overheated and unwell.

So, I approached carefully and grabbed the edge of Ian's sleeve, pulling him gently. He trembled with the slightest contact, but I couldn't leave things like this and kept tugging him along, pretending not to notice his reaction.

Silently following, I looked at the group of servants who had rushed over, holding lanterns, as we entered the mansion's main entrance.

"Your Excellency, young master!"

Amidst the sea of familiar yet strange faces, the chief butler, whom I stumbled upon, approached, perspiration glistening on his forehead, only to be struck with awe and take a startled step back upon noticing my presence. It was not as if he had seen a ghost, so why such an extreme reaction? Puzzled by his behavior, I was interrupted by the hurried arrival of the maid, Dia.

"My lord! Pray tell, where did you vanish off without a word?"

Her outburst left me seething with anger. Has she gone mad? How dare she raise her voice at anyone?

A swift motion ensued as I seized her by the hair, consumed by fury, and roughly flung her to the ground. Unaware of the reason for her own collapse, I resorted to magic this time, delivering a sharp slap across her cheek.

[Thwack!]

"Mel..."

Ian, who held Dia in his arms, called me with a look of astonishment, but I didn’t mind him. What mattered now was rectifying the unseemly conduct of this woman, akin to an untrained animal in her duties.

Having experienced death and rebirth, and having lived in the Marquis’, my thoughts had undergone various transformations, and one of them was the resolve to express my anger in a timely manner.

In the past, I had endured even the most unjust of circumstances in silence. The one who had taught me to endure like a mouse was none other than my mother.

However, I would no longer live that way, and I could never forgive anyone who endangered my child.

[Thwack, crack, thwack!]

I chastised the maid, who desperately tried to bow or evade, by magically restraining her firmly. Then, acting on a sudden impulse, I teleported both Ian and Dia simultaneously. I momentarily scolded myself for not considering the child and continued with the punishment.

The maid's cheeks were swollen to the point that blood seeped from her mouth, yet she couldn't even shed tears properly. As she trembled with fear, I approached her slowly and spoke.

"Why should the successor to a Duke seek permission from someone like you?"

"I, I lied..."

"Is it fitting for someone tasked with caring for a child to neglect their duty and betray their trust, especially when that child is none other than the Duke's heir?"

"I, I beg for forgiveness."

"If anything were to happen to our dear Dia, your life would not be enough to repay the debt. Understand?"

"I-I have committed a grave sin. Please, I beseech you for mercy."

Even though the maid prostrated herself, sobbing and groaning, my anger did not abate.

This mansion was still in utter chaos, not just with the maid but with the other servants as well.

Of course, it was not my responsibility as the Duke. Instead, I turned my gaze slowly to all the surrounding employees, staring them down one by one, as if warning them, "Your turn is next.