Oath of Pandora

02 - House of Cards (1)

Slap.

The place where she had hit her was glowing red and I could see tears of pain, which Clara was holding back.

„HOW many times had it been!? Slacking off even though you should be thanking me for all I've done for you, ungrateful brats!"

Mrs. Margaret was shouting with the voice of a ferocious beast as she let her anger out on us.

„Madame! Please, she's just a child-."

„That's no excuse for such rude behavior! Stop shielding them Erika or they'll never learn their lesson and grow up to be proper adults!"

Erika was a nun. One of the Sisters who took care of us. And the kindest person of all the ones here, at the orphanage of „Lacuna".

It was located in a small countryside village, far from the capital. It was rare to even get visitors from the outside since not many people lived here and it wasn't really worthwhile.

So it was astonishing that someone like Sister Erika, who used to be a maid of a noble lady in the capital city, decided to come here and become a nun. No one knew of the reason why. But she seemed happy with her current life. And she loved the children of the orphanage.

Like a caring mother she took care of us, played with us and sometimes even told us stories about life in the capital.

She was a petite woman, with a small build and pretty face. Her eyes were green like the forest and her hazelnut brown hair, which we rarely saw, was cut short to her shoulders.

She was a really beautiful young woman with a heart of gold. The complete opposite of the Madame.

Though Mrs. Margaret was a noble, she was just from a small baron family, without even land of their own. Their status was clearly far lower compared to that of the capital's nobility. Otherwise they wouldn't be living in the countryside.

It was almost humiliating since they were closer to the level of commoners than high-ranking nobles. And the Madame was aware of that.

That's why she tried to display her power and influence at any possibility. It was a way to boost her self-esteem. But all it did was add to her foolish arrogance.

I glared at that self-centered person as the anger threatened to rise up inside of me. Looking at Clara who was in pain instead of me made me feel utterly useless.

Cain had disappeared shortly after seeing us. He told us he had excused himself already on the pretense of running an errand. And since the Madame slightly favored Cain, who was a handsome and seemingly obedient boy, she let him go through with some things.

If she only knew what hatred he was harboring towards her...

I was once caught sneaking around the left annex in the orphanage. It was the place where the Madame's office was located,  so we were strictly forbidden from entering. But my curiosity got the better out of me.

The nice-looking office with a shelf full of interesting books completely mesmerized me, so I didn't notice the presence of a person behind me.

It was the Madame herself.

I had received a full beating from her. But not by her hand. It was with a whip. I can still remember the painful sensation of the 12 strokes. That was the moment a certain fear of the Madame was instilled inside of me.

When Cain had heard of the incident and seen me in that state... It still gives me shivers thinking about that cold, blank look in his eyes. The twitching hands and his stiffened jaw.

'I'm gonna kill her' - That's the words he had calmly uttered after seeing the wounds on my back.

I had somehow managed to calm him down by averting his attention. Clara, who had tears streaming down her face nonstop, had applied ointment on me after, but slight scars of that time still remain. Sister Erika hadn't been with us at that time, otherwise her divine power would have healed me.