We're in a Contract Marriage, But I've Imprinted - Chapter 158
Melissa, having been treated as an illegitimate child and raised in lowly conditions at the Count’s household, had dared to make foolish claims that brought the head maid down even further.
While the reduction in her salary might seem minor, it meant she was excluded from important events at the mansion, which meant she could no longer command respect and treatment from other maids. When the maids dismissed her, naturally, the lower servants followed suit.
The head maid endured the humiliation and the vixen was finally kicked out. Receiving a slap in the face was an even more severe blow than before.
“The woman was the one who hit me. I only spoke out of concern for the Young Master, and was punished instead!”
“Shouldn’t you consider yourself lucky that your head is still on your shoulders?”
“How can you say such things to me, Young Master?”
“And who do you think you are?”
“I was like a mother to you…”
Ian scoffed at the head maid’s response, a bitter smile escaping his lips. Yes, he might have imagined something like this once as a child. What if he had been born a common Beta, loved and raised normally, just another ordinary person?
But as he grew older, he painfully felt the weight of being an Alpha. Now, hearing such emotional sentiments only served to evoke unpleasantness rather than nostalgia.
“If what you say is true, then all my mothers must have been selfish.”
“No, Young Master, please believe me…”
“How will you explain the letters exchanged with Lady Rosewood?”
“That was, I was deceived by the Lady as well. She told me she was the prospective Duchess. She said you had already approved of her and threatened me if I didn’t comply…”
“So you stole the Duchy’s secrets out of fear for your own safety?”
“No! That can’t be true! Look at how devoted I’ve been to the Duke’s family!”
The head maid shrieked in defiance, and Ian, annoyed by the noise, instructed the knight.
“Take her away and start the torture.”
“Young Master! Young Master!”
“There’s a slim chance you might survive, but if you confess everything sincerely, I might consider it.”
As the knight dragged her away roughly, the head maid screamed and struggled. But the seasoned torturer efficiently tied her to a rope hanging from the wall and readied a whip.
As the whip was mercilessly applied, clothes were torn, blood flowed, and the anguished screams filled the underground prison. Ian watched intently from a short distance, his eyes gleaming with a relentless focus.
He needed to make sure that if his Omega returned, she would be informed of the precise manner in which the head maid, who dared mistreat his precious person, was punished. He felt that only by detailing such punishment would it ease his wife’s feelings.
The more the stench of blood filled the air, the more Ian’s expression twisted strangely. He couldn’t stop the cleaning, believing that by punishing those who had tormented Melissa, she might somehow return.
* * *
Returning to his room, he was treated for his wounds while lost in thought. The head maid, unable to withstand the torture, eventually revealed everything she had told Monica.
Monica had demanded three things from the head maid: to isolate Melissa within the Duchy, information on the date when the contract would expire, and details about the coachman who would be driving the carriage on that day.
Ian was seething with anger and frustration at the realization that such manipulations had been set in motion within his own house. He had thought of Monica as merely a noisy fool, only to be blindsided by her meticulousness, which he hadn’t even realized.
He also had to admit that he had been underestimating Monica. The head maid had selected a coachman, already marked for the carriage Melissa would ride, and passed on his information to Monica.
In this process, the head maid received a substantial amount of money, and the coachman, who had a sick wife at home, likely couldn’t refuse such a sum. Ian’s primary concern was the coachman’s fate. Had Monica truly given him a fortune? It might have been quicker to silence him with death.
Hoping that the coachman was still alive, Ian inspected his roughly healed wounds and spoke to the doctor holding the bandages.
“Can we stop bandaging now?”
“It would be better to be cautious until the very end.”
Ian reluctantly nodded at the doctor’s advice, but he was burning with frustration and impatience. He wanted to search for Melissa himself, but his current condition forced him to stay within the mansion.
However, a glimmer of hope had emerged.
He believed that if she was alive, they could return to their former life, or rather, he would openly express his love without hiding it, unlike before.
Unlike other Alphas or Omegas, they would be happy together for a long time, for a lifetime, and he had no doubt about it.
* * *
However, Ian was unable to fully realize his resolution. As time passed, the traces of Melissa faded, and the side effects of the imprint turned each day into hell.
“Why is there still no news!”
Even today, there was no contact from the knights who had gone out on the search. According to his orders, if they found anything, they should have sent a hawk with a blue paper to notify him of her status.
The wounds he had cut on himself had long since healed, so why was there still no word?
“Who is leading the search party? Did we send someone competent?”
At Ian’s sharp demand, the knight commander and the butler could only bow their heads in silence.
“….Damn it!”
Unable to contain his rising fury, Ian swept the items off his desk with his arm.
“Hah, huff.”
When it came to anything related to Melissa, Ian could no longer control his emotions. The man who was once cold and arrogant no longer existed.
All that remained was an impatient, hot-tempered man, anxiously waiting for news of her.
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