Chapter 15
The back of my head hurt. As I slowly started to wake up, my body felt like it was floating—then suddenly, I crashed down hard onto the floor. There was no time to scream. It felt like my whole body had broken.
“You’re not confused, right?”
“Not at all. I’ve been watching since the marquis’s house.”
I heard deep voices of men. My mouth was dry. I gritted my teeth and tried to move, but I stopped. My hands were tied behind my back and everything was dark—I was blindfolded. I had been kidnapped.
‘Could it be Linus? Has he already woken up?’
I remembered that once Jang Hyunji put someone to sleep, they would sleep deeply for at least a day. I didn’t know how much time had passed since I passed out, but I left before noon. I listened carefully to the men talking.
“Why would a rich lady sneak out through the back door like a thief?”
“Who knows? It made our job easier, though.”
“Should we thank her, huh?”
“She’s awake?”
“I saw her move earlier.”
Even though I couldn’t see, I could feel their eyes on me. I held my breath like I was dead. I didn’t know how to react. The men spoke with rude words, and the ground I was lying on smelled awful.
Did Linus really hire guys like this?
He hates rude people more than anyone.
“We’ll know for sure once we step on her.”
What?
Thud! Something heavy and hard kicked my stomach. I lost my breath and groaned without meaning to. One of the men laughed while kicking me again.
“See? I told you—it’s her.”
“Ugh, cough!”
“Hey, you’re the Marchioness of Baldwin, right? Huh?”
“Who are you?! Who told you to—ugh!”
Slap!
It felt like my skin broke. My cheek burned, and something wet ran down my face.
“Still don’t understand what’s going on? Just answer. Are you the Marchioness of Baldwin?”
“No…”
Blood filled my mouth. I could tell the stuff dripping from my nose was blood too. It tasted bitter and metallic.
“No? She says no.”
“What do you mean, no? It’s her, for sure.”
“I thought we got the wrong person! If this goes wrong, we’re dead!”
They were scared I might not admit who I was. But I had already decided to leave everything behind—I wouldn’t say I was the Marchioness of Baldwin, not even to save myself. I wouldn’t break because of some pain.
“You’re Florence or Flower or whatever—just admit it!”
One of them got mad and kicked me again. I couldn’t even scream. I just curled up like a worm.
“Just beat her up. They only told us not to kill her.”
“If we’re not careful, she might die.”
“Then be careful.”
I curled into a ball. The kicks and curses rained down like hail. I screamed and shrank.
“Ahhh! Aah! Stop!”
“Shut up!”
“Ah!”
I made weird sounds, like when someone squeezes a bag full of air. After a while, I couldn’t even tell where they were hitting me. My whole body felt like it was on fire.
Only when my face got kicked did I know where it landed. It felt like my face was breaking apart. I tried to speak, and I heard cracking sounds from my jaw. Some light came through my swollen eyes—maybe the blindfold slipped.
“Linus… is it Linus?”
“You can still talk? I guess we didn’t hit you enough.”
One man’s mocking voice sounded close. But all I could feel was pain—I couldn’t tell how far away he was. I didn’t even know if I was really speaking—my face was too swollen to move properly.
“Did Linus tell you to do this…?”
“Who’s that?”
“Ugh! Aah!”
Someone yanked my hair so hard my neck snapped back. It felt like all my hair would rip out. Hot breath hit my face. I opened my eyes a little and saw a man’s lips smiling.
“You were pretty before, but now your face looks like smashed bread.”
The guy holding my hair laughed.
I couldn’t even feel angry anymore—I just kept thinking: who hired these men? Who would want to kidnap me? If it were Linus, he’d probably keep my body alive. But something didn’t add up.
Before I left, Linus was clearly asleep. And these men said they followed me from the Marquis’s house. If they were planted in case I ran away, Linus would have caught me himself.
‘If it’s not Linus…’
Who hates me enough to do this? A few faces passed through my mind.
“Honestly, she looks cuter all beaten up.”
“Your taste is messed up.”
“You’re joking, right? I’m gonna throw up.”
They kicked my head lightly with their feet while laughing. I had no energy to fight back. My whole body hurt so much I couldn’t even move my fingers. Asking about Linus was the last strength I had.
“Tough girl. Not crying at all.”
“I like tough girls.”
It wasn’t Grace. She would’ve ordered her maids to torture me instead—she hates dirty, rude people. Blake? My father? No. None of them fit. These men said they followed me from Baldwin’s house. So it wasn’t Seymour’s family either…
“Tough girl doesn’t like you.”
“Why do you care?”
Besides Linus and my family, who would want me dead—or at least kidnapped? Jang Hyunji’s memories were useless now. That woman thought everyone loved her.
As if. You idiot.
The second you step away from the people protecting you, this is what happens.
I hated that I couldn’t laugh in her face. My mouth curled up anyway. The beating stopped. I could feel the men staring at me strangely. I didn’t care—I shook with laughter.
“Kuh, ptoo…”
“Holy crap, is she crazy?”
“Heehee… haha…”
“She’s laughing? Is she insane? Is she a pervert?”
“Hey, step back…”
“Ahaha…”
I wanted to laugh out loud, but I couldn’t. The men slowly stepped back. I took deep breaths and slowly straightened my body. It hurt terribly—my back felt like it was being torn open—but right now, I felt something better than pain: joy.
That stupid girl, Jang Hyunji, who thought the whole world loved her.
But not everyone did. Some people hated her so much they wanted her dead.
I was glad. This wasn’t about me—it was about her. I’d only come back yesterday afternoon, so the grudge must have been against Jang Hyunji.
My eyes were too swollen to open. My breathing was rough. I could hear the sound of blood rushing. I couldn’t believe all those noises were coming from me. It felt like someone stirred my insides with a knife. My hands and feet wouldn’t move—maybe all my bones were broken.
But this was nothing. Compared to the pain I endured every night for five months, this was light.
I looked to the side. The strong men, wearing shoes stained with my blood, now looked scared. Even though they beat me up, I didn’t hate them. They were just tools of someone who wanted Jang Hyunji dead.
When I smiled, one man turned pale and gasped.
“Did we just pick up a total lunatic? Is she really the Marchioness of Baldwin—or Blooming or whatever?”
“I told you, I’m not deaf.”
The men stepped back, glancing at me nervously.
“…Who…”
“What?”
My voice was small, like a groan. I tried to clear my throat but coughed up blood. My bruised cheeks stung.
“Who… did this…”
Who hated her that much?
Who wanted her dead as much as I did?
