Her condition required bed rest for two to three days, but that wasn't in her agenda. Staying stuck on the bed wasn't her cup of tea.
Moreover, she didn't wish to delay her meeting with Adrian further.
Seated on the couch, Odette had the touch of her signature smile on her face. She held on the teacup, taking a sip out of his elegantly. Even the makeup couldn't hide her sickly features.
"Bring them in," she ordered. To her disappointment, the voice came out to be as strong as she hoped for.
Upon hearing those words of hers, the maid opened door, and one of the senior maids walked in, followed by two boys— Adrian and Dennis.
Odette's eyes fell on Adrian first, and she noticed how his shoulders were bandaged. His clothing remained the one he had worn that day, and it appeared that ever since that day he hadn't bathed.
Her eyes then moved on to assess Dennis, and his treatment was slightly better than Adrian. He had bathed and was also given a change of clothing.
The position between Adrian and Dennis had been established. Therefore, the treatment they received from others would be based on that with Adrian getting the shorter end of the stick.
Nevertheless, Odette did not have any desire to interfere with that, and in fact, she believed that it would work as effective catalyst.
Seeing that Adrian and Dennis did not bow, the senior maid slapped at the back of both of their head. The impact caused Adrian to stumble a few steps forward while Dennis remained rooted to his position despite of that.
Both of them bowed to Odette.
Placing the tea cup in her hand down, Odette scrunched up her nose and commented, "It really stinks at here!"
Then, glaring at the maid, she expressed her dissatisfaction: "How long have you been working here? Shouldn't you have basic knowledge on what your job entails?"
The maturity in her voice or that intimidating gaze didn't come as a surprise to those around her. The children in Albinius family tend to grow up earlier compared to their peers, and Odette, despite her innocent smile, was extremely terrorizing.
At her young age, she was unpredictable and heartless. She could be praising someone and, the very next second, would stab that very person. Therefore, everyone was particularly careful around her.
The maid instantly bowed— her body somewhat trembling. Stories of how Odette played with the maids at slight displeasure travelled far, and she didn't want to be the next target.
"I apologize, Lady Odette. The doctor gave instructions on preventing the wounds from coming in contact with water. That's why, he wasn't bathed. Please overlook it this time around, Lady Odette," the senior maid pleaded.
This was due to the maids' negligence. No one thought Odette would care about the slave's cleanliness this much.
Probably, the seven year old Odette would get convinced, but the current her found this to be a pathetic excuse.
He wasn't even given a change of clothing!
Obvious signs of amusement crossed Odette's eyes, and a chuckle escaped her lips. The maid shuddered.
"What made you assume I cared about the health of a mere slave?" Odette raised an eyebrow.
A cold look settled in her eyes, and a bone-chilling effect was left on everyone. The smile on her face caused everyone to grow further terrified. The maid kept her head submissively bowed down, praying for this nerve-wracking moment to pass quickly.
Odette hated being lied to. On top of that, it made her annoyed when one slacked off from their assigned work.
The pounding headache caused Odette to feel more irritated than usual, and she badly wanted to take out her anger on someone.
She wanted to torture the maid before, have her cry out and beg for mercy as she bled. Funnily enough, her last thread of sanity was maintained by those innocent blue eyes staring at her. It stopped all the sadistic thoughts inside her.
"What do you think about being whipped fifty times?" Odette suggested cruelly while her eyes twinkled.
The senior maid was quick to fall down on her knees and bow multiple time. Her head hit against the floor as she begged for mercy. Being whipped fifty times wasn't a joke. The matters were worse when the ones responsible for whipping were pure sadists.
She had heard terrifying stories of how many died or prayed for death under those harsh lashes. At her age, this was clearly sending her to death.
The maid had tears falling down from her eyes as fear settled into her bones. She didn't know her irresponsibility would lead to such grave consequences.
Odette's eyes shifted towards Adrian. She saw the horror in his eyes. The boy was shaken up, and this made the corner of her lips curve upwards further.
"Lady Odette, please overlook it this time around. No, you can give me some other punishment, just not this. Please, I wouldn't survive this.
Have mercy on me. I apologize for my carelessness. This wouldn't be repeated. Please be lenient on me, Lady Odette. I have a family that depends on me as well." The desperation was evident in her voice.
Odette smirked.
This brought back unwanted memories. Her wailing made Odette think back to all those times she was in anguish and cried for help. No one was there to help her back then.
Recalling those days made Odette only further agitated.
Therefore, she ordered, "Fine, since you have objections, I can change it."
The maid was about to feel joyful when Odette crushed that by adding, "What about being sent to the cage?"
"W-What?" the senior maid stuttered, unable to process the situation.
Cage— the simple word made everyone tremble in this mansion. It was the favorite sport of Damian Albinius. He took pleasure in locking up victims with a ferocious, hungry tiger and watch the beast shred the person before devouring them.
The idea of that made the maid feel sick. Being whipped was way better than that. At least that gave her some hopes for survival.
"No, no, please. Lady Odette, please, you can't do this to me."
Getting exasperated by it now, Odette enunciated, "Someone drag her out before I send off all of you to the cage."