Chapter 41: Self-Exposure
After Lina left, the room fell silent.
The girl stood in place, her head bowed, as quiet as a cicada in winter.
Adele placed a soft cushion on the stool and deliberately softened her voice. “Come and sit.”
The girl, like a startled bird, trembled at Adele’s voice. She timidly raised her head, cautiously approached, and said in a small voice as she sat down, “Thank you.”
Adele pushed a glass of hot water to her and asked, “What’s your name?”
The girl buried her head, constantly picking at the hangnails on the edges of her nails. “I don’t have a name…”
No name?
Adele was surprised and asked again, “Where is your home? Do you remember?”
The girl glanced at her in a panic. Her blue eyes, similar to Lina’s, were moist. She still shook her head, her hand-picking motion becoming more rapid. “I don’t have a home.”
A little red seeped from the edges of her nails.
Adele’s brow furrowed slightly. “Stop picking.”
The girl’s body trembled slightly, so scared she froze.
Adele knew in her heart that she should be angry now, should be stern, should press the person down on the stool and interrogate her, using thunderous means to pry out the truth. But when her gaze swept over the girl’s thin wrist bones, she couldn’t bring herself to be harsh.
She couldn’t bully a girl covered in wounds.
She couldn’t do it.
Adele sighed softly and explained, “What I mean is, don’t pick your hands raw.”
The girl’s toes curled awkwardly. She gave a low “Mhm.”
“Have you never had a name? Or have you forgotten?” Adele asked.
The girl said, “I’ve never had one, and I don’t have a home…”
Seeing her pale face, Adele took a deep breath. “Forget it. You should rest and recuperate first.”
She directly called for a servant to lead the person away.
Adele watched the small figure disappear around the corner of the corridor and said to Dilys, “Arrange a single room for her. Let her rest well. Give her good food, drink, and medicine. Just one thing: keep an eye on her. If she makes any rash moves, take her down directly.”
Dilys said crisply, “Rest assured, I understand.”
Adele gave a “Mhm,” vaguely feeling unsettled.
Dilys glanced at her, took out a small box, and said, “The toy Miss ordered has just been delivered. She said it’s for you to play with together. There are still things to do in the kitchen, so I have to go and deal with them. Could I trouble you to take it to Miss for me?”
“Of course.”
The moment Adele took the box, Dilys slipped away.
After returning to her room, Adele finally opened the box.
She only took one look before closing it with a “snap.”
“…?”
This bad rabbit!
…
Lina leaned against the corner of the wall. After Dilys went downstairs, she asked, “How did it go?”
“I handed it directly to the lady.” Dilys said, “What kind of toy did you get?”
“You didn’t peek?”
“Of course I didn’t peek.” Dilys patted her chest. “When I do things, I do them properly.”
Lina smiled lightly. “It’s a chain I got.”
“Ah?” Dilys’s face was full of question marks. “What chain? A dog chain?”
Lina patted her shoulder. “You don’t have to call us down for dinner tonight.”
“Oh… okay.”
*
Adele drank three glasses of water before opening the box of “gifts” again.
She picked up the leather collar and measured its diameter with her fingers.
For a rabbit’s neck, the size was just right. A little tight, but not enough to suffocate.
Adele’s two temples throbbed.
The leather had been tanned and polished for a long time. In the light, it had a reserved, oily sheen, like aged amber, exuding a faint fragrance.
Connected to the leather was a cold, white silver chain, with a substantial weight in her hand.
Adele’s fingertips were slightly numb. What came to her heart before the stimulation was astonishment.
Panic almost shot to her head. Does Lina really have a masochistic tendency?
How could this be!
A person who had been severely abused in their youth, who had finally escaped the mire, should not yearn to be bullied…
Adele squeezed the leather in her hand. The metal chain dug deep into her palm. Her conjecture became even more terrifying:
Having been soaked in pain for too long, a person who cannot escape will learn to accept the pain, to get used to the pain. If Lina’s underlying color is pain, then it’s not incomprehensible that she would seek security in pain…
Adele’s chest felt tight. She only felt waves of suffocation. She suddenly realized that she had underestimated the pain in Lina’s heart.
The wounds on the body are easy to heal, but the brokenness of the spirit is quite fatal.
“No…”
Adele subconsciously resisted this conjecture.
Lina was clearly a bright and obedient little rabbit.
Maybe… maybe she was overthinking it.
Maybe this was just a kind of… a kind of adult fun?
Was Lina just curious? Just wanted a little novelty? Simply wanted to play something exciting?
This is very normal.
Adele lowered her gaze, her eyes falling on the “toy” in her hand.
If it was just “playing,” then what about her? What should she do? Obey Lina’s hint, play the role of the one with absolute power, and then dispose of her as she pleased?
The word “absolute” came to mind. Adele couldn’t help but hold her breath.
Her desire for control, which she had been trying so hard to suppress, began to scream wildly again.
She just wanted to hold Lina in her palm, to keep her in a place where she could see her, so that her every move could not escape her sight. Only then would Lina be safe, and the danger from the nightmare would never happen.
Adele weighed the metal chain in her hand. She could imagine:
Lina kneeling before her, not forced, but taking the initiative and submissively lowering her head, completely exposing that fragile neck, waiting for her to personally buckle this leather collar, to become her little rabbit alone…
Her eyelashes would tremble, her breathing would be chaotic, her ears would turn pink. With just a gentle tug of the chain, she could be completely controlled…
Adele trembled violently, as if a current had passed through her scalp. A very familiar numbness exploded near her lower back.
She held onto the bookshelf beside her. The cold surface of the cabinet brought back a sliver of her sanity. She didn’t dare to think any further.
Her heart was pounding wildly, desperately hitting her ribs.
Thump thump.
Thump thump.
It shook her so much her ears were ringing. The afterglow had not yet dissipated. Her suspicion of herself grew deeper.
Could it be that she herself was really a control freak?
Adele could deceive others, but not herself.
She was not entirely repulsed by that… feeling of having Lina in the palm of her hand.
Besides being gentle and restrained, there was also frivolity and roughness.
But, the thought of Lina’s past made Adele’s heart ache.
Was she going to bully Lina too?
Even if it was just a “game,” just a role-play?
She was so conflicted. On the one hand, there was a deep-rooted fear and pity. But on the other hand, there was Lina’s expectation. What if the rabbit ball just liked it this way? As her lover, could she really not satisfy her? What’s more, she herself also felt a trembling excitement.
When a problem cannot be solved, people will subconsciously want to escape.
Adele was the same.
She had to hide this chain!
Immediately! Right now!
It was as if as long as it disappeared, those terrible associations, those dark desires, could be erased along with it.
Adele’s gaze swept around the room in a panic.
The bookshelf? Lina reads every day.
The wardrobe? Too easy to expose.
Under the bed?
Adele’s gaze was drawn to the space under the bed. She got down on her stomach and was about to stuff the chain inside when she saw two coils of rope.
?
Adele pulled the ropes out. In the flying dust, she remembered that when she had first arrived, in order to make Lina’s living space warm and comfortable, she had long since ordered all the ropes, sticks, and so on to be thrown away.
Where did these two coils come from? And what were they for?
Adele felt that under the bed was not hidden enough, so she turned to the low cabinet in the corner.
It was an old-fashioned miscellaneous cabinet, filled with small things that were not usually used. No one would touch it for ten days or half a month. The surface was already covered with a thin layer of dust.
Adele squatted down and pulled open the cabinet door. The smell of old wood mixed with dust faintly drifted into her nose. She pushed aside the miscellaneous items, preparing to stuff the chain inside, but a touch of snow-white suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
The abrupt white was particularly eye-catching in the gray, dusty miscellaneous items.
Adele touched this touch of snow-white, then pulled it out.
!
It was her shirt!
It was her shirt that had been missing for half a month!
Adele clearly remembered that she had looked for it several times.
Lina had also helped her look for it and had even comforted her with “out with the old, in with the new.”
But at this moment, how could this “missing” shirt be in the cabinet?
Adele almost subconsciously brought the shirt to her nose and took a deep breath.
The deep scent of wood and the gentle scent of soap intertwined, and nothing else.
Who on earth had stuffed it in?
Adele turned the shirt over and over. Finally, a golden-yellow strand of fur fell out.
This color, this length…
In an instant, Adele had locked onto the “criminal”!
The ropes under the bed, the shirt in the cabinet—what on earth was this bad rabbit up to!
Adele suddenly no longer wanted to hide the chain.
To interrogate a criminal, of course, you need tools!
…
Lina deliberately waited for half an hour, giving Adele plenty of time to prepare herself mentally.
She stood at the door, straightened the “custom-made” outfit on her body, and then pushed the door open.
“Why didn’t you knock when you came in?”
Adele had taken off her water-blue vest beforehand. Over her black trousers was only a snow-white, rose-collared shirt. She hadn’t unbuttoned it, but she had rolled up her sleeves. A silver chain was wrapped around her arm, her long fingers hooked around that circle of leather that made one’s imagination run wild.
A small opening had been torn in the ascetic shell, and a wicked frivolity had leaked out.
She was not a teacher now, but a master.
Lina saw the thing in her hand with one glance. Her cheeks were slightly warm. Her lips moved several times, wanting to speak but holding back. In the end, she only closed the door with a backhand motion and stood obediently at the door.
“A maid entering her master’s room…” The square-toed leather boots stepped on the floor, making a crisp “smack” sound. Adele walked slowly, but steadily, and with a rhythm. Every sound was like it was stepping on Lina’s heart. “Doesn’t need to knock?”
Lina lowered her head. Only when the familiar cool fragrance approached did she mumble, “Teacher…”
“Teacher?” Adele was already a little taller than her. Now, wearing heeled shoes, she was a whole head taller. “I don’t seem to have ever taken a maid as a student.”
The oppressive feeling came down on her head. Adele, with one “maid” after another, made Lina’s legs go so weak that she could barely stand. After holding it in for a long time, she finally remembered to answer the previous question. “You have to knock.”
“Oh—” Adele walked around her. As she passed her back, she lightly slapped the rabbit ball’s tail with that circle of leather without warning. “Knowingly breaking the rules.”
Lina was so startled by the slap she trembled, completely powerless to resist, and said, “I was wrong.”
Adele walked back in front of her and hooked her belt with the hand that wasn’t holding the chain. “The clothes…”
She frivolously pulled the person in front of her. The movement was not rough, but quite rude. “They don’t fit.”
Lina let out a short “ah.” Her two ears shrank into two balls, lying limply on top of her head.
Meeting those dark green eyes so close, Lina’s eyelashes trembled nonstop. Before they even kissed, her breathing was already chaotic.
She wore a shirt that was a size too small on her upper body, and a skirt that was half a size too short on her lower body. The lace ribbon tied at her waist would fall off with a single pull.
She had packaged herself as an exquisite gift.
Ready to eat.
“Are there no clothes that fit in the storeroom?” Adele’s gaze was calm, as if she had not been tempted by her.
Lina played dumb. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, or you deliberately dressed like this?” Adele’s toes moved slightly, then pressed down on the top of Lina’s foot.
Before she stepped down, she said, “There’s a price to pay for lying. Do you want to try?”
Lina seemed to be able to feel the weight that was about to fall.
Step on me.
She almost said those two words. The words turned on her tongue and became, “It wasn’t on purpose.”
Lying was her provocation.
She hoped Adele would punish her for it.
Adele looked at her deeply.
Lina closed her eyes, expecting a more excessive action.
But Adele moved her foot away and once again walked behind her.
Lina’s expectation was once again dashed. She frowned slightly. Just as she was about to say something, her tail was slapped again.
This time it was a little heavy, so painful she sucked in a breath.
Adele didn’t give her any chance to rest. She pinched her face from behind and asked in a cold voice, “Were you just expressing your dissatisfaction to me?”
The warning that was poured into her ear made Lina’s scalp tingle.
She wanted to control her voice, to keep it from trembling. But the more she tried to control it, the more she trembled.
“N-no.”
“What right do you have to make demands of me? You accept whatever I give you.” Adele loosened the force in her hand and caressed Lina’s warm, soft cheek. “Be good and you’ll be rewarded. Make a mistake and you’ll be punished. You understand?”
Lina nodded obediently.
“Dressed like this, can you still work?”
“…I can.”
“You can?” Adele stood behind her, her other hand touching the edge of her skirt. “It’s exposed with just a bend. What kind of work can you do?”
“I…” Lina’s words were cut off.
“Answer me.” Adele pressed, “Can you do proper work?”
“N-no.” Lina was so ashamed by her repeated questions she had turned into a red apple.
The lop-eared rabbit was about to catch fire.
Adele was afraid that she would faint from the stimulation, as she had before. She temporarily let her go and walked to the bed alone.
“Since you can’t do proper work, then what’s the point of staying? I don’t keep idle people.”
“I can do improper things!” Lina blurted out.
Adele stared at her, slowly unwrapping the chain from her arm. “What improper things? Tell me about them.”
“Miss Lina isn’t here. Then let me entertain you. Whatever she can do, I can do too.”
Adele almost couldn’t hold it together.
This bad rabbit!
She has quite a few tricks up her sleeve!
How can there be this kind of plot!
She would not cooperate. What if Lina, in hindsight, thought she would cheat?
A wicked thought came to Adele’s mind. “She can help me solve my problems. Can you too?”
Lina rubbed her beaten tail and said, “I can.”
Adele picked up her own shirt. “Since that’s the case, you tell me, why is it in the low cabinet?”
Lina’s pupils quaked.
???
This shirt she had used for self-pleasure, how had Adele found it!?
Lina’s throat moved. She even began to suspect herself, had she washed it clean!
What if something had remained, and Adele had tasted it? Wouldn’t she be exposed!
Adele’s eyes narrowed.
Something’s not right.
Something is very, very not right.
What is this rabbit ball so guilty about?
What did she do with this shirt?
A “flash of inspiration” appeared in Adele’s mind.
The image of “Teacher and Student Bathing” appeared before her. Lina had read that kind of picture book so early on. She must have an idea of female homosexuality. She was at the prime of her youth. Even if she was just following her instincts, could it be that before the two of them had a relationship, she had already…
Adele’s gaze fell on her own shirt.
She wouldn’t have taken her own clothes…
Lina was still making up a story in her head.
Adele bluffed her and said, “Did you use my clothes to put a curse on me?”
Lina instantly took the bait and said urgently, “How could I possibly harm Teacher! I just used the clothes to masturbate!”
The air instantly fell silent.
Adele’s hand, holding the clothes, trembled slightly. “What?”
Lina abruptly covered her mouth.
It’s over!
