Semua Bab The Missing Daughter of House Lundren Returns as a Regressor: Bab 1 - Bab 5

If despair had a scent, it would be sweat, piss, and damp, stale air.If hope had a face, it would look like stone walls lit by moonlight seeping in from a single rectangular frame with thick iron bars a meter above one’s head.And if death made a sound, it’d be a sharp, echoing sound of heels clacking along the dirty stone floor at a relaxed pace.Sylvia despised all three. She sat on the floor, hugging herself, with a moldy patch of straw between her and the grimy stones.Goosebumps had risen all over her skin from the freezing winter night and the incessant blowing of the wind through the small window. The dress she wore provided some warmth due to its many layers, but it was hardly enough to stave off the cold.She’d lost count of how long she had been detained. No one came to visit her, and the guards on patrol simply passed her by.Cold, starved, and humiliated—Sylvia believed herself to have reached a new low. Despite that, she held a sliver of hope that her husband, Duke Alec

To Lady Clementine’s question, she preferred not to give an answer. There was no way she would debase herself to satisfy her husband’s mistress.How could she possibly let her know that her only blood relatives, her very own brothers, had tried to have her kidnapped and killed?It was His Grace who saved her from such a fate. Saving each other’s lives tied them together as if fate itself had predicted it all, which was why Sylvia didn’t think twice when the duke proposed to her.“Don’t bother with the trial. The duke has already made up his mind. For the sake of our time together, here’s a gift. Please do us all a favor and kill yourself.”Lady Clementine’s parting words rang in her head. In her hand, she clutched a small vial containing a colorless liquid. It sloshed around the glass as she swirled it around.With a tight grip on it, Sylvia swung her arm upward, preparing to throw it against the wall. A pitiful sound reverberated in her throat. Her eyes stung.Which were the truth, a

Bang! Bang! Bang!Sylvia jolted awake in the early hours of the morning, panting like she’d been running.The door slammed open, and light from a single candle spilled onto the unorganized boxes and tall shelves around her.A short and thin man walked in; his many years were marred on his face. His crooked back made him look even shorter, and the garments he wore were old and patched in various parts.“Sleeping in, eh?” Shote said in a hoarse voice.He coughed aloud as if his lungs would spill out of his mouth at any second.“You look as pale as a sheet there, girl. He-he-he. Did ya have a nightmare?”Sylvia blinked in response. Cold sweat had wet her neck and back.The storage room smelled of mold, spices, and dust. She’d tried to keep it clean as much as she could, but there was a limit to what she could do given her workload.“Hmph. I’ll let you off the hook today, but I better not catch ya slacking!”With that warning, the old man turned and left, slamming the door behind him.Syl