I Raised the Fallen Lop-Eared Rabbit into a Yandere 8

Chapter 8: Acting

When Adele came out of the bathroom again, the night was already deep.

Lina sat obediently on the bed, the biography she had finished reading once beside her.

“Teacher, are we still having the evening lesson today?”

Adele, who had changed into a white nightgown, said while drying her hair, “Yes.”

Lina clutched the edge of the quilt and asked in a small voice, “What will we be learning?”

She was still a little scared.

Scared that Adele would force her to learn some strange things.

As if seeing through her thoughts, Adele said in a gentle voice, “I will never force you. In the book I gave you, there seems to be a chapter specifically about the qualities a qualified, powerful court official needs to possess.”

Lina had a very good memory and read quickly. In just half a day, she had already memorized all of Queen Gila’s deeds.

Of course, she also remembered the chapter Adele had mentioned.

Wisdom, courage, strength…

It was completely different from the content her previous instructors had drilled into her.

“A powerful court official…” Lina keenly caught those words. Seeing that Adele didn’t explain, she didn’t press further, just nodded silently.

“Tonight, I will teach you the first lesson: be cautious in all things.”

Adele silently pulled back a corner of the curtains, then beckoned to Lina.

Lina was very smart. Just by observing Adele’s actions, she knew she should approach quietly.

She pressed herself against the window and glanced down.

!

There was a person lying in the bushes on the first floor.

Lina sucked in a sharp breath, covering her mouth before she could make a sound.

Surveillance!

Someone is watching them!

Lina looked up in a panic and met Adele’s calm gaze.

She mouthed the words, silently asking, “What do we do?”

Adele raised a hand to brush away the stray hairs from her forehead and whispered, “Act.”

“Act what?”

“Act like I’m hitting you.”

“Ah?” Lina subconsciously took half a step back, her entire body immediately on guard.

So it was all an act… just like the comments said, it was all a trick… I’ll never believe her again… wait?

Adele had produced a fresh slab of pork from somewhere.

Lina: ?

“I won’t hit you, I’ll hit this.” Adele led Lina to the side of the bed and said softly, “We have to put on a show for outsiders. Otherwise, it would be bad to arouse suspicion. Since Herte has sent someone to watch, we can just play along.”

Lina nodded. “I’ll listen to whatever Teacher says.”

“The words I’m about to say are all intentionally for the person downstairs to hear.” Adele’s eyes were full of concern. “Don’t take them to heart, okay?”

“Okay.”

Adele pushed the glass window open a tiny crack, placed the pork on the wooden table by the window, and then drew out a horsewhip she had prepared beforehand.

This type of whip was a modified version, originally popular among the elite. Their horses were very delicate, and a barbed whip would leave scars and affect their appearance. So, the nobility removed the barbs from the front of the whip and replaced them with three layers of cowhide, fixed with metal rivets. When it struck the skin, the sound was loud, and it hurt without breaking the skin.

Having dealt with Herte twice, Adele knew the man was suspicious and sinister. So when she went to the market to find a pawnshop, she had bought a piece of pork on the side.

She had originally intended to put on a show for the night-watch maids and have them pass the message to Herte.

Since someone was watching, they might as well watch the show together.

Crack—

The crisp sound of the whip was mixed with Adele’s scolding.

“How many more times do I have to teach you! Why can’t you learn!?”

“I’m so disappointed in you! Get on the floor and kneel! Don’t even think about sleeping in the bed tonight!”

“If you dare make a single sound, I’ll break your legs!”

Adele deliberately directed her anger toward the crack in the window. The poor piece of pork was whipped over and over, making the person hiding downstairs feel a chill run down their spine, cold sweat pouring down.

She couldn’t see the scene, but just from the sound, she felt like the young miss was about to be beaten to death.

The two night-watch maids, hearing the commotion, were so scared they clung to each other.

Help!

And although Lina wasn’t being hit, she wasn’t in a good state either.

She hugged her knees, curled up at the foot of the bed, her two ears rolled into a ball, not wanting to hear any of the whipping sounds.

Before Adele came, Herte had hired a total of five instructors for her.

One of them knew nothing and was just there to make up the numbers.

In order to evade Herte’s surveillance and successfully swindle him out of his money, he had not hesitated to brutally and haphazardly beat her.

Even with the elves’ secret medicine, human joints, in the end, cannot withstand repeated torment. That’s why now, whenever it’s a damp and rainy day, her arms and knees ache unbearably.

Lina buried her face in the crook of her arm. She knew Adele was doing this to help her deceive her father, but those terrible memories still easily shattered her already fragile spirit.

“It… it hurts…”

The horsewhip striking her body, it hurt so much.

Not being able to eat her fill, it hurt so much.

Being born to be a sacrificial offering, it hurt so much.

Lina wanted to cry again. She hated this version of herself, completely useless except for shedding tears.

The stress responses came one after another.

Rapid breathing, trembling all over, racing heart…

It’s so awful…

Lina curled up helplessly in the corner. She was used to enduring like this; no one would come to save her anyway.

But tonight, her constantly falling soul, sliding toward the abyss, was caught.

Adele had come to her side at some point.

“Did the noise just now scare you?”

Having received permission for a hug not long ago, Adele boldly embraced Lina from behind, gently comforting her. “Don’t be afraid, that was all fake. I won’t hit you, and no one will hit you in the future…”

She held Lina in her arms, murmuring softly.

These whispered reassurances seemed to actually work. Lina’s rigid body gradually softened, and her trembling limbs began to warm up, no longer ice-cold.

Lina nestled silently in Adele’s embrace. She felt she was truly going mad, to be caught by the instructor she detested most, just moments before plunging into the abyss.

She detested the title.

But it seemed… she didn’t detest Adele.

The familiar cool fragrance enveloped her, light and faint, completely non-aggressive, yet exceptionally captivating. Lina took a deep breath.

It wasn’t enough.

She needed more.

She needed to be held tightly by Adele. Only then… would it not hurt.

Lina took the initiative to turn over. “Teacher, let me act with you.”

If I perform this scene well, can you reward me with a tighter hug?

The person in her arms was very obedient. Adele’s breath hitched. “I know you’re scared, you don’t have to force yourself… What we just did was convincing enough.”

“It’s not enough.” Lina’s peripheral vision caught sight of the horsewhip, the same horsewhip that had once hurt her.

She was very scared, and she really didn’t want to recall all the past humiliations, but she wanted to do better in front of her teacher.

A good child will get more rewards, right…

With that thought, Lina composed herself for a moment and began to recite scriptures.

Adele: !?

“The last instructor said that the scriptures must not be forgotten. We always had to practice them during evening lessons. It makes it more believable…”

Lina hadn’t fully emerged from her state of stress. She was still trembling slightly. Adele couldn’t hear any of the scriptures; her attention was completely captivated by the tremor at the end of Lina’s words.

Adele still hadn’t fully processed everything that had happened in the illusion. At this moment, her mind was in even greater turmoil.

This is a bit bad…

Adele’s fingertips trembled slightly. Her breathing, affected by her chaotic heartbeat, gradually lost its rhythm.

If Lina were the version from the illusion, she would accept it even if she acted recklessly.

But as it was, she was so innocent.

Adele felt like she was about to commit a crime.

“O-okay…” She couldn’t take it anymore and manually cut her off. “Stop reciting.”

“Mmm—” Lina looked up, bewildered. “Teacher, I still remember a lot. I can continue.”

“I can’t continue.”

…

The person on the first floor got the confirmation they needed and quickly retreated.

When Adele came out of the bathroom for the second time, Lina was still awake.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet?” she asked casually.

“You’re bathing here, so you must be planning to stay the night. I was just warming the bed for you.”

Lina was lying on her stomach in the covers. Her golden ears twitched, and a smile flickered in her sapphire-like eyes.

It would have been better if it weren’t so cautious.

Adele’s heart felt soft and mushy. She knew Lina couldn’t accept her identity so quickly and refused, “I should probably sleep outside.”

She was about to leave when she heard the person behind her say in a small voice, “Teacher…”

Don’t go.

Adele understood her unspoken plea and got straight to the point. “Do you want me to stay and keep you company?”

“Mhm.”

Lina nodded obediently and took the initiative to lift a corner of the quilt.

A very innocent invitation.

Adele was ecstatic. This was tantamount to a form of acceptance.

“Alright, I’ll stay with you.”

The comments in front of Lina’s eyes began to scroll frantically again.

【Little rabbit, you’ve fallen for it.】

【This is letting the wolf into the house.】

【When you’re fast asleep, she’ll mess with you, and you won’t even know.】

【Actually, I feel like that instructor really has no ill intentions…】

【Who can’t act? True madmen love to give people hope before destroying it.】

Lina averted her eyes, no longer looking at the discussion, and instead asked in a small voice, “Teacher, did I do a good job just now?”

She simply wanted to be praised by her teacher.

That was all.

“You did very well.” Adele deliberately ignored those amorous thoughts and said, “For you to be able to overcome your psychological trauma and help me out, I should be thanking you.”

She spoke tactfully, but all Lina wanted was to be held tightly by her.

“Then… can Teacher reward me?”