The fear engraved in Shada aroused all her alarms.

It seemed that she had returned to the days where the Princess vented her anger on her again; stripped and whipped.

All of the courage and pride she had mustered up in the short time away from her disappeared in an instance in front of that vicious expression.

Shada, trembling, put her head down.

The Princess approached her briskly, looked down at her, and smirked.

As her stunning face twisted, the emerald earrings on her ears fluttered and made a noise.

It was the moment before she was about to open her mouth when a hurried butler intervened between them.

“Welcome, Princess. My master is away at the moment.”

‘If you had contacted us in advance, there would have been no confusion,’ was left unsaid.

The Butler, Franc, spoke apologetically and discreetly glanced at Shada.

Get the hell out of here.

Shada backed away, but when the Princess’s ice-like eyes pierced her, she stiffened on the spot.

“Butler. Why is that girl still here?”

“She is a maid hired by the master.”

After all, it was Count Kirchner’s will, which meant that he could not object to it.

But the Princess responded with nervous irritation. “Isn’t it your job to clean up strange things if your master has them next to him?”

“I’m sorry. I just follow my master’s will.”

“Ha!”

The Princess stamped her feet in a fit, and Shada experienced deja vu. The Princess had a habit of having a temper tantrum when things didn’t go the way she wanted them to.

In that state, Princess Julia ran around like a madman even more than usual.

Count Kirchner was the only thing that made her quiet.

This is because even her father, the king, indulged the Princess and said, “If she doesn’t cause a serious accident—my royal daughter can do what she wants.”

While staring at Shada, the Princess suddenly smiled sweetly, increasing the ominous aura.

“I will have tea until Huey comes. You.”

Princess Julia didn’t even know Shada’s name, although she had tormented with all her heart and soul.

Shada bowed her head, clenching her sweaty fists.

“Get me my tea. Just like before. Do you understand?”

“… Yes.”

She hated it but nodded in a numb daze as the past flashed over her eyes.

There was no justification to refuse.

Shada was so anxious; she felt as if she was being dragged to a death sentence. She fervently prayed for the Count, who she was too embarrassed to face just moments before, to return as soon as possible

Shada pushed the tea tray and started to serve with shaking hands. She resembled a prisoner being led to the guillotine.

As Shada poured the tea and stood stiffly, the Princess tilted her teacup.

Her eyebrows frowned as soon as she took a sip.

Shada winched and closed her eyes, anticipating the loud shattering noise.

“It’s terrible! How can you serve me something so bitter?”

“I apologize.”

Still, her reaction wasn’t as violent as she expected.

Shada thought the Princess would throw the cup in her face.

As she quickly knelt and bowed her head and prostrated to the floor, Princess Julia looked down on her with an arrogant face and started to trample Shada’s trembling hands.

Shada stopped herself from shouting but couldn’t stop groans of pain escaping her lips.

Hearing her whimperings, the Princess’s red lips turned into a smile and paused for a moment to mock her.

“Humph! Remember, you are trash, and wherever trash goes, it is thrown away.”

“Princess.”

As the Butler intervened, Julia narrowed her eyebrows and looked at him—meanwhile, in the back of her mind, the urge to smash Shada’s hands again was intensifying.

Shada clenched her teeth tightly in an effort to be silent.

“She is an employee of the master. If anything goes amiss, even you will have to face the consequences.”

“I am the person who will soon be the mistress of this place. You think I can’t discipline a maid like this?”

“Of course I do. But until that day, everything in this mansion still has only one master.”

Though unruly, Julia also knew basic common sense and manners.

But she didn’t bother to entertain those thoughts.

She now knew that she was at a disadvantage in regard to finding fault with Shada’s behavior, but Kirchner was her fiancé, and she was a princess of this country.

There’s no way she would be reprimanded because of one insignificant girl.

But she decided to put her feet away for now.

Shada grasped the back of her hands and held back her tears silently.

“Okay, then I leave this bitch’s punishment to the butler.”

“Thank you.”

“But I’d like to be certain that this girl who insulted me, gets the appropriate discipline. Even in a mansion without a hostess, there must be a whip, right?”

The Princess chuckled at the stiff-faced Butler.

“Finally, I didn’t want to dirty my own hands and save my energy, so this is great. I want to witness it! Go ahead and teach that thing what happens if you run wild without knowing your place.”

Princess Julia’s beautiful face was brimming with envy and cruelty of an irate woman.

Jealousy.

Yes, those were definitely the red-hot eyes of jealousy.

Shada’s womanly intuition read the Princess’s feelings in her sharp eyes.

Many times I’ve seen how scary a woman gets when she has those eyes.

But why? Shada is, at best, just as she said, an insignificant and tacky maid.

Conflicted, the Butler kept looking at the Princess poisoned by hatred and the maid.

“Princess… … .”

“Hurry up.”

“……”

“Oh, there’s no whip?”

As Julia laughed loudly, the maid standing behind her handed her a rod.

As if she had brought it with the intention of knowing she would use it.

Shada turned white.