Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Her cheeks were itchy. Turning her head, the red-haired girl stood with her mouth open.

She was going to swallow a bug. Hizen thought of this and spat out.

“What are you looking at?”

“…What?”

“Follow me.”

“Oh… yes! I’m sorry!”

Leasis hurriedly followed Hizen. His blue eyes looking at her shined coolly.

“Don’t lose your pride. You are my only maid. The only one that can give you orders and punishments is me, Hizen Ben Dratius.”

A voice wild like a beast rang in her ears. It was a kind of warning. For the first time, he had called Leasis ‘my maid’. She had taken a step into Hizen’s life.

“Don’t look down easily. Apologize only for what you really did wrong. If someone gives you unjustified punishment, I won’t stand still.”

Leasis wanted to answer that she would, but she could not say anything. Hizen had set a fire. His fire spread everywhere and she seemed to have gotten sick. Her heart, throat and head were burning hot. She could not think of anything.

Hizen glanced down at her. He could not figure out what she was thinking, just looking at the back of her head. Of course, there was no need for her to answer.

“It’s an order.”

As her ears got hot, Leasis lowered her gaze even further. She could not even see the pattern carved on the marbled floor. Her eyes, which would never miss even a little dust, could not see anything.

In the meantime, Max raised his thumb.

“Miss Leasis, that was amazing.”

“Oh, no.”

“No way. Commander-nim, wasn’t Miss Leasis great today?”

Hizen disregarded Max’s question. His steps were a little light.

*

In a huge palace was a girl in front of a beautiful mirror. She was a black-haired girl with a doll-like appearance.

“I don’t have the dress I ordered in the morning. I think I was too nice.”

The black-haired girl smiled kindly. The imperial maid in front of her had her knees shaking.

“I-I’m so sorry! Your Highness Princess Ashley, please forgive me once…”

Ashley looked down at the maids. The gaze struck their faces like an arrow.

She could only hear the tense breathing of the maids through the silence. Ashley raised her hand.

Slap!

She slapped in the face the maid who was shaking. It was a relentless slap. The maids’ faces in the room turned pale.

Ashley was more sensitive than usual these days. It started the day the Imperial Elite Knights refused to escort her.

Her displeasure was conveyed to the maids, who were forced to panic all day long.

Ashley’s red lips opened.

“You’re arrogant. I can’t believe you’re ruining my mood.”

The maid’s cheeks were getting swollen. Ashley slapped her cheek again with a fierce look.

Slap!

The maid fell on the floor. Her mouth burst and blood flowed, but Ashley did not blink at all. It was as natural as breathing for her.

Ashley looked down at the fallen maid and thanked her arrogantly for watching this much.

She pointed to a red dress that fell on the floor. The maids who were frozen next to her hurriedly raised themselves.

The maids were busy moving their hands. They dressed her with the dress and braided her hair.

But then, Ashley threatened her.

“Aren’t you up right now? How dare you put that dirty body on the floor of my room.”

The maid got up in a hurry and tightened her head. She naturally hid herself among the other maids.

Ashley changed into a beautiful red dress. It was a long dress that was popular these days. She was excited, standing in front of the full-length mirror.

“Let’s take a look.”

However, Ashley’s expectations fell. Her long, rich eyelashes trembled with anger. The red dress did not suit her at all.

The black hair and red dress, which symbolized the blood of the Harknon’s Imperial Family, played against each other. Her girly figure and the elegant long dress highlighted her shortcomings.

Rather than looking good on her, she looked as if she had stolen someone else’s clothes. The maids’ expressions changed subtly at the sight.

‘How could it not fit like that? Anyway, what if she gets angry again.’

Ashley in a red dress was ridiculous even for the maids. She was a stupid little girl. A senior maid watching nearby also cursed inside.

Ashley pretended to be calm and asked for another dress. A quick-witted senior maid stood next to Ashley with a pure white dress. She gave a hint to the maids standing next to her foolishly. Hurry up and change it!

The nervous maids nodded. Their hands trembled with fear, but they carried it on in a hurry.

“Ah!”

But at that moment, a maid who was tying a dress knot spit out a short groan. A fingernail mark slightly came out on Ashley’s fine skin like white jade.

The maid froze. Ashley turned and looked at her. She had a devilish smile.

“What are you doing now?”

“I-I’m sorry… Yikes!”

Ashley gripped her hair. She smiled and waved her hand holding the hair.

“These days, I’ve been letting you down, and you’re making fun of me, aren’t you? Huh?”

Her head hurt as if torn off. The young maid cried.

“S-Spare me!”

Ashley did not blink. She threw the maid down on the floor.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

Thump. The maid’s head hit the furniture badly and started bleeding. The surrounding maids trembled. Ashley pointed to her dress, the furniture covered with blood, and the maid.

“This, that, that bitch. Get them all out of here right now.”

“Yes.”

The superior maid politely nodded. She glanced at the surrounding maids. Get this kid out of here.

The quick-witted maids moved while the frightened young maid shed tears. She tried to hide her sobbing in the midst of her pain.

Eventually, she was driven out of the palace. The faces of the maids watching from behind turned white.

The recently expelled maid was only 12 years old this year, the youngest of all maids. But this one was young enough to be about 10 years old, and was a poor maid who was recently sold by her drunk father.

Their minds became uncomfortable. They could not help her, but inwardly prayed for her future.

Meanwhile, Ashley was alone in a different world. She began to take off her dress roughly.

“Fuck! Why isn’t this coming off?”

Her attention was all focused on taking off her dress. She got all sorts of irritation with the dress that did not come off easily.

“It’s annoying, it’s annoying! Burn this dress!”

Ashley’s rough touch tore the dress a little. The maids moved their hands as much as they could not to offend her.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Fortunately, the dress came off without further trouble. Ashley asked after changing her dress.

“What is Count Dratius-nim doing now?”

“He should be at the training ground.”

“Really?”

A smile spread over Ashley’s face. She looked at a fine folded piece of paper on the table. It was a letter she had written carefully all night long.

“That should be fine.”

“Your Highness. I’m sorry, but… Count Dratius-nim is extremely reluctant to let anyone enter his room. Why don’t you ask Sir Max, the Vice Commander?”

“Hmm. That would be a good idea.”

“Well, Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Actually… something happened at the group affairs meeting.”

*

The afternoon training session came.

Leasis was excited. She was looking forward to seeing the training of the knights.

But Hizen was adamant. It was not fair for the maid to observe the training. He stressed that she should fulfill her duty as his maid.

It was regrettable, but she had no choice but to accept it. Now, she should be satisfied by just taking a step closer to him. She could not mess things up with greed like before. She still had a lot of time to slowly show him her skills. Leasis started cleaning the Vice Commander’s office.

Creak.

Someone came in without knocking. She was like the main character of a fairy tale book. She was a little short, but she was a beautiful girl that looked unreal.

The jet-black hair proved her to have the blood of the Imperial Family. She would probably become the Empress. Leasis was nervous because it was her first time meeting someone from the Imperial Family. She bowed her head in a hurry.

“Good morning!”

“Oh, my. You’re the maid of our Count Dratius-nim, aren’t you?”

Our Count Dratius-nim? Her red eyes blinked with wonder. The black-haired girl grinned.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ashley von Berba.”

She was reluctant for some reason. She felt like a spider larger than her palm was crawling all over her body. Ashley spoke in a soft voice.

“I heard you turned the group affairs meeting upside down with a brilliant idea? That’s great.”

“Thank you.”

“I heard that the Count-nim was also on your side. It’s true, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did you two leave the Imperial Palace a few days ago?”

The nuance was strange. Leasis, who hesitated slightly, affirmed.

“Yes.”

“Did you like it?”

She did not answer right away because the question did not seem to have good intentions. Ashley took a step closer to her.

“Why can’t you talk? Did you swallow you tongue?”

“…”

“Tell me. Was it good to get the Count-nim’s attention?”

Leasis saw it clearly. The nature of the princess hidden in her beautiful dress, and the maids shaking their heads behind her.

But she did not want to lie. Even more because it was about Hizen.

“Yes.”

Her positive voice was clear. And her red eyes were even clearer than that.

“It was good.”

“…What?”

Ashley opened her eyes wide. The maid, who had just lowered her head, was facing her. With a shameless smile.

Ashlee, embarrassed, folded her arms. She managed to pull herself together and snorted.

“Are you being sarcastic to me now?”

“No.”

“But why are you so arrogant?”

“I just answered the question.”

“Ahh, really? You’re a good maid.”

The maids standing behind trembled. It was almost time for Ashley’s patience to run out.

As expected. Ashley raised her hand with a sullen face.

Swish!

Leasis lightly avoided the slap. Ashley shouted, staggering in the air.

“How dare you avoid this!”

“There’s no reason to hit me, Your Highness. Why do I have to be beaten by Your Highness?”

“You offended me…”

“It doesn’t follow the Imperial Court rules to punish me now. It’s just a simple vent of anger.”

“What?! How dare a maid discuss the Imperial Court rules in front of me?”

Leasis was mild by nature and hated hurting others. She wanted to help others even if she hurt herself.

However, she was surprisingly strong. She had been beaten at the orphanage for over ten years and grew up poorly, and she had had a great deal of trouble. In addition, it had become harder these days.

Hizen’s eyes, which were colder than a snowstorm, were always looking straight ahead. There was nothing scarier than Hizen to Leasis. She was sure that it was true now and would still be in the future.

So she was not scared of the Princess. She was more afraid of Hizen being disappointed if she disobeyed an order.

[Don’t lose your pride. You are my only maid. The only one that can give you orders and punishments is me.]

[Don’t look down easily. Apologize only for what you really did wrong. If someone gives you unjustified punishment, I won’t stand still.]

Leasis was an outstanding maid. She fulfilled her master’s order accurately.

“Your Highness. If you want to punish me, please follow the proper procedure.”

“How dare you!”

“Let me ask you first. Did you come into the Vice Commander’s office with Max-nim’s permission?”

“Permission? Ha. Who cares? Do you know who I am? I am Ashley von Berba, the Princess of this great Harknon Empire! The owner of this Empire is my father!”

“I am very sorry to say that, but please go back today. As far as I know, the Imperial Elite Knights’ quarters are off limits to members of the Imperial Family.”

It was a perfect defeat. There was no mistake in what she said. It was the first time for someone to be so determined in front of her.

Princess Ashley trembled. Unable to find anything to refute, she clenched her fists.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“You… dog shit!…”

Princess Ashley raised her hand while spitting swear words. At the same time, someone came into the Vice Commander’s office.

“Princess Ashley. I cannot accept any more rude behavior.”

“C-Count Dratius-nim…”

Her face turned white as if she had seen a ghost. It was Hizen who had come to find macarons hidden in the Vice Commander’s office.

But Hizen looked happy. He smiled rarely. Leasis was of more use than he had thought. He could not believe she was making the Princess shut up. The brave dog was feeling strong protecting the house. There was no choice but to say good things.

“Good job.”

“…Yes?”

“Dog shit also has some use for medicine. It’s quite useful.”

She did not know if it was a compliment or an insult. Leasis was confused, and the surrounding maids were admiring him. Hizen’s smile was dazzlingly beautiful.

Her red eyes grew bigger. It was as she had expected. Hizen was much cooler when he smiled than when he was still or angry. The lighting in the room seemed to have changed suddenly. It was bright and beautiful.

Those in front of me! Princess Ashley grasped the hem of her dress.