Although Moen didn’t know how Ann’s mind had changed over the years — enough to transform *righteous nurture* into a full-on *confinement play* — one thing was certain: he had to escape.

Because he had no idea what other terrifying and jaw-dropping plays Ann might come up with next.

A few days of being locked up like this, and he already felt he couldn’t take it anymore.

His heart was drained, and his body... even more so.

Moen wanted to live. More than that, he wanted to live freely.

And if possible, he wanted to live not just freely, but happily.

As a blond-hair villain, he had no intention of giving in just yet.

“Come on. Fight, fight, fight!” he muttered to himself.

---

The best thing about recognizing his surroundings was that it gave him some peace of mind.

The one thing Moen feared most was Ann locking him up in some complex, unfamiliar place—where he might not even be able to figure out an escape route.

Fortunately, Ann, as his personal maid, had limitations to her actions.

For her, remodeling an abandoned basement near the duke’s mansion into a prison must’ve already been her best.

Otherwise, Moen had no doubt that Ann would go so far as to build a castle on an isolated island in the middle of a lake to trap him forever.

Turning him into the "princess" of such a castle, unable to ever see the light of day, was probably her ultimate dream.

“Too bad,” Moen murmured to himself. “I’d much rather be the prince.”

He groped around amidst the junk in the corner and pulled out a rusty hatchet. Gripping it tightly, he cautiously advanced toward the exit based on his memory, keeping an eye out for potential traps.

Fortunately, there were no traps.

This let Moen breathe a sigh of relief. He currently had neither the ability to identify traps—especially magical ones—nor the means to disarm them.

If Ann had been a little crueler, she could’ve installed all kinds of triggered traps or alarm systems in the exit corridor, and Moen would’ve been doomed for sure.

But on further thought, this place was still technically on the duke’s estate.

If someone from the manor accidentally stumbled in and triggered a trap, it could cause a significant commotion.

Given that Ann had secretly imprisoned the duke’s son, she certainly wouldn’t want to attract that kind of trouble.

“Come to think of it... do the other maids in the mansion know about this?” Moen wondered aloud.

“Are they being kept in the dark by Ann? Or... accomplices?”

---

Moen didn’t move very quickly, but it was clear he was almost at the end of the passage.

When he turned a corner, a sudden burst of light nearly blinded him.

But there was no way he would close his eyes. Even if his vision blurred and tears streamed down his face, he kept his gaze fixed on that dazzling source of light not far ahead.

It was like a dying man catching sight of hope.

An exit! That was the exit!

He was just about to escape!

At that moment, Moen's mind flashed with thoughts of the open sky, the endless sea, and galloping freely across vast grasslands on horseback.

Ah, freedom. This was what freedom felt like. Freedom was right there...

*Tap, tap.*

The crisp sound of footsteps suddenly echoed.

And along with those sounds, a shadow flickered across the glowing light ahead, blocking most of its brilliance.

A moment ago, Moen had been basking in the heat of freedom. But now, it was as though he’d been teleported to a snow-covered iceberg... topped off with a bucket of cold water over his head.

He hurriedly ducked back around the corner.

At this critical moment, those footsteps could only belong to one person: Ann.

But how? Why was she back so soon?

Moen roughly calculated the time: from the moment he’d picked the lock and made his way here, no more than half an hour had passed.

Half an hour!

For a lovestruck young lady, wasn’t half an hour not even enough time to finish drawing her eyebrows?

Yet Ann had somehow managed to bathe, change clothes, and get everything done in such a short amount of time?

Could this... could this be the mark of a true professional maid? In half an hour, she can bathed herself entirely, and ready to eagerly serve her master?

**This "charming appeal" was entirely unnecessary!**

“Damn it.”

At this point, Moen had to admit that perhaps he’d rushed things.

Maybe it would’ve been wiser to wait a bit later.

But now that he’d started, there was no turning back.

Even if he voluntarily returned to his “cell” and locked himself back inside, acting as though nothing had happened, Ann would still likely notice something was off.

He had to come up with another plan.

Moen scanned around carefully. In the dark corner, he spotted an old cabinet.

“Maybe...”

An idea sparked in his mind. His eyes lit up.

---

*Tap. Tap. Tap.*

Amidst the silence, the sound of steady footsteps grew closer and closer. Each step felt like it was landing squarely on Moen’s heart.

Moen struggled to steady his breathing, to keep his heartbeat from racing too fast. He tightly covered his mouth and nose, briefly holding his breath.

Right now, he was hiding inside the cabinet.

The discarded cabinet was about the height of a person—just big enough for him to fit inside.

He had no idea who’d left it there, but it couldn’t have been more useful.

After all, there was the only way here. Without a hiding spot, he would’ve run straight into Ann.

And that... would’ve been a total disaster.

“Thank you, my merciful Cabinet God,” he silently prayed.

“Bless me with a cabinet to hide myself in every scene of almost getting caught.”

“She’s here.”

Feeling the proximity of Ann’s presence, Moen peered through the thin slits of the cabinet, keeping an eye on her movements.

Ann slowly came into view.

She still carried herself with the same composed elegance, each step measured to perfection.

Freshly bathed and clad in a clean maid’s uniform, her hair wasn’t styled into its usual neat bun. Instead, it hung wet and loose down her back, adding a subtle air of allure.

But to Moen, there was nothing alluring about her.

At that moment, he didn’t see her as a beautiful, gentle maid; to him, she was like a ferocious, man-eating monster. And he... he was the poor soul forced to hide in a cabinet to escape her clutches.

If discovered, he was as good as dead.

This thought made Moen’s heart beat even faster.

He barely blinked as he watched Ann move, step by graceful step, from the right side of his field of vision to the left.

“Hm-hmm-hmm...”

Ann seemed to be in a good mood, softly humming an unknown tune.

Moen recognized it.

He remembered how, back when he couldn’t fall asleep as a child, Ann would hum softly to help him drift off.

How nostalgic. It seemed like forever since he’d last heard her hum...

Wait. Now wasn’t the time to be getting sentimental!

Miss Ann, please stop humming your lullabies. Weren’t you dying to see me? Then hurry up! I’m right there in the deepest side waiting for you!

Inwardly, Moen begged for Ann to pick up her pace. Every second of her slow, deliberate steps felt like torture.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Ann let out a small sound of surprise and stopped.

Seeing this, Moen’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

What? Did she discover him?

How? He was so well hidden—how could she possibly have found him already?

It’s over. It’s over. If she caught him mid-escape, he’d surely pay the price—with his limbs chopped off and turned into some grotesque human puppet!

My freedom... my galloping across the plains... my life... all over!

But then Ann broke her silence:

“How strange... My shoelace came undone. I could’ve sworn I tied it earlier...”

She bent down to retie her shoe.

“...”

"So it was just a shoelace?"

Moen let out a long exhale, his tense body relaxing slightly. For a moment there, he’d thought he was done for.

Thankfully, the catastrophic endings he’d envisioned didn’t come true.

After tying her shoe, Ann straightened up and resumed her steps.

Before long, she disappeared from Moen’s field of view entirely. Even the sound of her footsteps faded away.

“She’s gone?”

It seemed so.

“So… that means I survived?”

Moen couldn’t contain the wave of joy that washed over him—a joy that only came after narrowly escaping disaster.

He had genuinely thought he was doomed just now.

“Surviving a calamity means blessings shall follow. It’s all smooth sailing from here!”

Relieved and ecstatic, Moen prepared to push open the cabinet and leave this dreadful place.

But then—

“Wait, hold on...”

Moen’s grin froze.

“Why... why isn’t the door budging?”

Could it possibly be...

With a stiff neck, Moen slowly tilted his head and looked up—to see something horrifying.

Through the gap he’d been peeking out of earlier, there was now a beautiful, unblinking eye... staring right at him.

The moment their gazes met, the eye curved into a mischievous crescent.

“Master~ What are you doing in a place like this~?”