IWS Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“It’d be best if you stopped causing trouble like this. There’s nothing good about being thrown into solitary confinement too often. Especially you, white-haired brat. If you cause trouble again, you’d better be prepared for disposal. You know what that means, don’t you?”

Hearing the unfamiliar term in the caretaker’s sudden warning, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.

Disposal?

I had no memory of such a term appearing in the original novel.

Since I wasn’t the one being addressed, I subtly turned my gaze toward Michael. He already seemed to understand the meaning, his delicate brows furrowing in displeasure.

‘Does Michael know what disposal means?’

Even just hearing the word, it didn’t sound like something pleasant. If it was meant to be a threat, the meaning wasn’t hard to guess.

They treated us like goods, calling us that without hesitation. If disposal applied to goods, then that could only mean…

Death.

Realizing this bitter conclusion, I unconsciously tightened my grip on Michael’s hand.

The caretaker was practically threatening us with death if we caused any more trouble.

“I hope that dumb little head of yours understood my words. Now, get in.”

Having finished his warning, the caretaker opened the door himself, shoved us inside, and left, locking it firmly behind him.

As I stared at the closed door, the word disposal lingered in my mind.

One thing was clear—Michael couldn’t afford to be sent to solitary confinement again. In the original story, he didn’t die inside this slave shop, but that wasn’t something I could take for granted.

The future can always change.

‘It’s fine. As long as I keep a close watch, it’ll be okay.’

Determined to keep Michael out of trouble, I turned my attention to the joy of finally returning to our room.

Cecil is doing well! Abel is fortunately also doing well! And of course, Lizzie too…!

“Mary…!”

Perhaps because I had returned so late, Lizzie, looking utterly horrified, ran straight toward me. I opened my arms, ready to embrace her with excitement.

Yes! Come here, my tiny, adorable little yellow kitten! I missed you so much—!

“Huaaang! Sorry, I’m sorry… Sniff... M-Mary… I-I’m so sorry… Hic... I-I was b-bad…!”

“Huh?”

Before she even reached me, Lizzie burst into tears, spilling out a flood of apologies.

Caught off guard, I couldn’t help but show a bewildered expression.

“Lizzie? What’s wrong?”

“Sniff… hic… M-Mary… Mary… I, I was b-bad… I’m s-sorry…”

What did she do wrong?

Then, I noticed Lizzie’s swollen, raw eyelids, and realization struck me.

‘Oh no! She’s still feeling guilty about me taking her place for that ‘education,’ isn’t she?’

Even though it wasn’t her fault, she must have carried that guilt for days, crying over it.

“Lizzie. Why are you crying? There’s absolutely no need for you to be sorry… You did nothing wrong at all… Ah, right! Look! See, I’ve come back without a single injury, just fine! There was nothing for you to worry about at all, really!”

“I, I… never, never… a-again… for-forgive me… Hic… From now on, I’ll listen well… study hard, not be picky about food, and also… also… just everything… I’ll do everything well… so don’t get hurt… I, I don’t want… Mary to be hurt… because of Lizzie… Sob…”

Watching the endless tears stream down her face, I felt completely at a loss.

“Lizzie…”

Her sincerity was touching, but… I hadn’t even been hurt?

‘Could it be because I came back too late…? Did she think something had happened to me and was worried…?’

“It’s because I came back too late, isn’t it, Lizzie. I’m really fine. You can stop crying now. I was never hurt, not even once. So don’t worry, okay?”

As I had never been hurt except for being pricked by needles, I tried to move my hand to comfort Lizzie, who was sobbing in my arms.

But just then, Michael gently tugged at my sleeve from behind.

Confused, I turned my head to look at Michael, who was holding my clothes tightly with an expressionless face, not letting go.

Hey, hey. What are you doing? I need to pet my little yellow kitten right now.

‘Why is he making that expression?’

Michael gazed at me with slightly furrowed brows, almost as if he were… displeased.

But he didn’t say anything, leaving me with no way to understand what he was thinking.

“Ah, right.”

Suddenly remembering the items I had received from Countess Wellesley for Lizzie, I reached into my pocket with one hand and pulled out a needle, thread, and ribbon to show her.

“Lizzie, look at this. I brought it to fix Moony.”

“H-huh…?”

Lizzie, who had been burying her head in my chest while crying, barely managed to lift her face. Seeing this, I took the crumpled rabbit doll from her arms.

From the moment I first saw it, the rabbit doll had already been quite worn out. One of its ears was barely hanging on by a thread, its side had burst open with stuffing spilling out, and the faded pink ribbon was half undone.

‘C-can I fix this?’

Looking at the condition of the rabbit doll in detail, my confidence suddenly vanished.

And where did its button eye go?

It must have fallen off while I was away because where its eye should have been, only some loose stitches stuck out.

“Wait just a bit. I’ll fix it right away.”

As I prepared to sit down and mend the doll, I felt a slight tug on my sleeve. Turning my head, I saw Michael still holding onto my clothing. When I sat down, he immediately followed and sat beside me.

‘What’s with him now?’

It wasn’t like he was so close that he got in the way of my sewing, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit bewildered.

For now, though, the most important thing was stopping Lizzie’s tears, so I focused on repairing the rabbit doll.

I reattached its almost-detached ear, stitched up its torn side, and embroidered a new eye where the missing button had been. Finally, I replaced its worn-out pink ribbon with a fresh one.

But when I looked at the result…

The doll looked even more bizarre than before.

‘Ah. What do I do? This doesn’t look like I saved it… It looks more like I forced something that wanted to die back to life…’

This was bad. Would she cry even more now?

I glanced at Lizzie nervously. She had been quietly watching as I fixed the rabbit doll.

“Moony… is all better?”

“Huh?”

“Does it not hurt anymore?”

“Of course! It won’t ever get hurt again! If it does, I’ll keep fixing it, so Moony will never feel pain anymore!”

Thankfully, Lizzie’s reaction didn’t seem too bad, so I handed the rabbit doll back to her.

She took it from me, hugging it tightly to her chest. Then, silent tears began to spill from her eyes again.

Ah… So she didn’t like it after all…

Well, of course. How could she possibly like something like this…?

Feeling a pang of regret, I moved closer to Lizzie and gently wiped her tears while quickly trying to comfort her.

“M-Mary… you’re not hurt anymore, right? Y-you’re really okay?”

“Huh? Oh! Of course~ Moony and I are both perfectly fine now.”

“T-that’s… a relief…”

Watching Lizzie finally stop crying, I let out a long sigh of relief.

At the same time, however, I couldn’t help but worry.

If Lizzie cried like this every time I left, her body would probably run out of moisture at some point.

Just as I thought I needed to come up with a solution, I suddenly heard a small mumble from behind me.

“Liar…”

Michael, who had spoken in a voice so quiet that no one else could hear, stared at me with subtly distorted eyes.

What now? What was he unhappy about this time?

No, seriously—this was so unfair. Which part of that was a lie?

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