- "The way you have decorated this splendid garden is wonderful, Miss Berenice"
- "I agree with Miss Dinora, there is no doubt that she has exquisite taste in roses" - Gossiping and drinking midday tea accompanied by their personal maids, the young ladies of the distinguished noble families of the Lichen race met every month. Playing on that occasion that the hostess of the party was the young lady of the Rivera house.
The years had passed and the nine-year-old girl had become an eighteen-year-old lady, just one year after making her debut in society.
Thanks to the efforts of Captain Eusebio, the Rivera house had grown from a simple lineage of gentlemen, to the rank of a barony. But secretly, all that had been possible in Aurora's existence.
Preferring to use her as a bargaining chip as opposed to his original plan, Eusebio blackmailed Eduardo into revealing the existence of his bastard granddaughter. Just two years after giving birth to her first daughter, Emilia had conceived a healthy boy who was betrothed to the royal family of Antioca as crown prince.
Those ties that the Albert house had achieved were tempting for Eusebio, who did not hesitate to have an object that would allow him to manipulate the crown in the future through Eduardo's grandson.
With that change of environment, the young Berenice became more careful about her performance in public, trying to keep the mask of a prominent lady and worthy of being the daughter of the notable Baron Eusebio.
- "No one can deny her qualities as a lady, she even knows how to surround herself with beautiful living roses" - Raising the fan to her face, a young woman looked sideways at the silent Aurora, who kept her face immovable as always after years of serving at the Rivera mansion.
With her hair already grown to her waist and her eyes covered by a pair of discreet crystal glasses, the little girl had left behind that fragile appearance to become quite a beautiful young woman at fifteen years of age.
Indeed, as the young lady of the nobility put it with a scathing tone, that maiden was comparable to a rose. But that comment made the always perfect Berenice gnash her teeth for a moment.
- "You have a very good eye, Miss Lucrecia, certainly my maid has been the best gift my father could have given me. I have had her since my childhood and I can testify that she is a very intelligent girl for a commoner. As obedient as a dog that knows how to give its master its paw" – Extending her hand in the direction of Aurora, Berenice ordered the maiden between the lines to come closer and place her hand on hers. Causing with it the laughter of all the noble ladies who were present at the tea party.
- "It seems that the ladies have a pleasant talk, they would like to receive us to share tea" - Rising all at the same time to bow, those ladies bowed their faces, extending the hem of their skirts as a sign of respect.
Accompanied by Baron Eusebio, a man with a gallant figure and delicate face entered the garden where the tea party was taking place.
Maximilian of Antioca , was the third prince in the line of succession for the kingdom's crown. Nicknamed the blinder of the battlefield, his gentle face was a far cry from his demeanor on the front lines as he swung his sword at the enemy.
With his sister Eleanor as a direct candidate to ascend to the throne, the young prince felt identified with Captain Eusebio. Two men of the Lichen lineage who, despite their achievements, were considered shadows, shared an ambition to acquire the power to place themselves over their respective adversaries.
- "Father, if you had told me that the prince would come, I would have prepared a better reception"
- "Don't worry miss, my visit here was mere coincidence. With such beautiful ladies present, it is more than enough for me to feel welcome" – Placing a kiss on the back of Berenice's hand, the prince bowed a little, holding his left arm behind his back for the bow.
The ladies present hid their jealousy for the young lady of the Rivera house, who was already known as a potential candidate for Prince Maximilian's wife.
- "Miss Berenice, could you tell me the name of the maid who accompanies you?" - With that sudden request, the young lady turned her face with bloodshot eyes towards the maiden. Who respectfully presented himself at the prince's request.
- "Certainly you have known how to choose your servants, Eusebio. In all my years I have never seen a commoner who was aware of the etiquette that must be observed with royalty "
- "Your words flatter me, young prince" - Clenching his fists at the obvious disrespect that fell on his beloved daughter, Eusebio asked the prince to accompany him to his office to finalize the details for the safety of the celebration for him. day of the founding of the kingdom.
- "I think we should end our meeting today" - Understanding the situation, the ladies of the nobility who were present paid their respects to young Berenice and left with their maids. Leaving both Berenice and Aurora alone.
- "It entertains you?"
- "No, my lady"
- "Do you covet a man you shouldn't even look into his eyes?"
- "I would never dare…"
- "Do not lie!" – Holding his arm tightly, Berenice dragged the maid towards the pond that was behind the mansion.
- "Do you remember this place? Answer to me!" – Raising her voice angrily, Berenice forcefully pulled Aurora's arm making her fall to her knees on the mud on the edge of the pond.
- "Lick the mud off my shoes. Clean them without leaving a single speck of dirt on them." – Extending her leg up to Aurora's face, the maiden began to lick the mud between the arches caused by that unclean taste on her tongue.
That infamous lake not only brought back the memory of the night Eusebio tortured her after witnessing Berenice's play in the doll's house. But years later, when he was barely twelve years old, a bitter moment occurred in what was his only birthday celebration.
From the age of five diligently and without fail, Aurora served as the personal maid of the young lady of the Rivera household. Impeccable and worthy of service, the girl grew up alongside her young lady.
As promised, the maiden Eunice protected little Aurora in order to preserve a little of her innocence in that hellish place. During the nights when the servants would cost, Eunice would take the little girl to her bed to hold her so that she would fall asleep.
Night after night, crying silently so the other maids wouldn't notice, Aurora would stick her face to Eunice's chest, hugging him until the tears stopped flowing and she fell asleep.
It was thanks to that maternal care that the conscience of the fragile Aurora was able to continue standing after submitting to the atrocities that she witnessed inside Miss Berenice's playroom. Who had no qualms about giving free rein to his bloodthirsty behavior.
One morning at the beginning of the cold season, Aurora had matured physically, leaving behind the little girl. While doing her laundry, the young maiden tried to hold back her hair while keeping her body bent while scrubbing the clothes.
- "Your hair has grown very beautiful, my little Aurora" - With a serene countenance where a discreet smile hinted at warmth, Eunice had sought a way to escape from the gazes of the other servants to allow Aurora to express part of her emotions.
- "It's a bit annoying, I think I'm going to cut it off"
- "Do not do that! It's so cute that it would be a shame if you cut it off."
- "But I have nothing with which to tie it. Slaves don't get pay and I can't afford to get hair accessories."
- "Not the slaves, but I do" - Taking a small box out of her clothes, Eunice placed a small present in Aurora's hands that surprised the girl.
- "Happy Birthday"
- "But today is not my birthday. I don't even remember the day I was born."
- "Maybe you don't remember. But on a day like today, you came to this mansion. So we can use that date to celebrate your birthday. And so for the years that remain" – Holding back tears, Aurora felt loved at that moment.
Her biological mother had thrown her away, while her adoptive mother fell into a deep sleep without being able to say goodbye to her; so that maiden in front of her was the closest thing to what she could call a mother in that place.
- "Come on, let me help you" - Opening the small gift box, inside it was a hair ornament that had a pair of crystals that simulated raindrops, adorned by a navy blue ribbon. The meaning of that hair ornament symbolized commitment.
Each drop was the reflection of Aurora and Eunice, under the commitment to be mother and daughter despite not having blood ties.
- "Maybe I don't carry you in my womb, but these years I have learned to carry you inside my heart" – Those words had a deep meaning for Aurora, when she learned the secret hidden in the body of the maiden Eunice.
In one of young Miss Berenice's many outbursts, the maidens ended up injured and even more than one lost her life. Among them, poor Eunice had lost her womb because she was thrown down the stairs, piercing her belly with the splinters from the railings that broke when cushioning her fall.
Unable to become a mother, Eunice poured out that impossible love on the little girl she was protecting within the walls of that hell. Fighting at all times to preserve the soul of whom I consider a daughter that the goddess gave her to mitigate her pain.
The following days that Aurora used that ribbon, her countenance looked more radiant despite the sea of rigid faces that accumulated in the corridors of the Rivera mansion. When it was time to serve the infamous young lady, Aurora was careful to take off her ribbon and keep it very carefully in her drawer so they wouldn't see it.
But misfortune never warns when it has to knock on the door and one fateful afternoon, the young maiden understood once again that the goddess had been merciless with her.
Leaning over to serve Miss Berenice tea, Aurora used to hold her hair up with her hand so it wouldn't get in the way of her eyes. But that afternoon she had forgotten to remove the ribbon, instinctively reaching her hand to hold her hair back.
- "It's a nice ribbon. Who gave it to you?" - With a shiver that ran down the back of her neck, Aurora looked up meeting the sagacious eyes of Berenice, who maintained a severe face while waiting for an answer from her maid.
- "I asked you a question, aren't you going to answer me?" – Already sixteen years old, Miss Berenice's appearance was that of a lady of nobility. With her long curly hair pulled back into a ponytail, revealing her beautiful face, her ruby red eyes gazed disapprovingly on Aurora's emerald greens.
- "Vincent!" – Giving a scream that hit the walls of the mansion, Miss Berenice did not hold back and let her mana flow in a threatening manner. Causing everyone in the mansion to experience dizziness and nausea.
- "My lady, please, I beg you, contain your anger or the mansion could collapse"
- "Do you dare to give me orders?"
-"Never my lady, I only appeal to your noble heart" – Holding back for a moment thanks to the biting tongue of that servant, Berenice got up from her chair and violently grabbed Aurora by the hair. Throwing it at the butler's feet.
- "This maiden has committed theft"
- "My lady, I have never stolen!"
- "Then answer for the last time. Who gave you that ribbon?" – Knowing that Eunice's safety was in danger, the young maiden bit her lips, bowing her face without saying a word.
Exasperated by that situation, Berenice kicked poor Aurora countless times in the stomach, causing her to spit up blood.
- " Take this trash to the stables and tell the foreman to tie it up with outstretched arms. Whip her a hundred times until her skin splits open."
- "But my lady, the captain has said that..."
- "I'm giving you a bloody order!" – Breaking the windows of the room by the explosion of mana, one of the splinters injured one of the butler's eyes. Who, putting his hand to his face to stop the bleeding, violently grabbed Aurora, leaving the room.
- "Look what you've provoked stupid damn!" – Angered by the pain, the butler dragged the injured maiden, who did not stop feeling how her belly was burning and stinging strongly.
As ordered by the lady of the Rivera house, Aurora was tied up in the stables and whipped until the pain in her body caused her to completely lose consciousness for four days.
By the time she was able to open her eyes, she found herself unable to move her body due to injuries, finding herself bedridden in the maids' room.
Her vision clouded with pain, the young woman searched in all directions for Eunice's face without success. Unable to get any response from the other maidens, who remained silent, completely ignoring him.
As the days passed, Aurora recovered under the care of a doctor who had been called by Captain Eusebio. Who for the first time stood up to his daughter, being so severe that he confined her to his room.
Now fully recovered, Aurora dressed in her maid's uniform and prepared to serve once more in the mansion. Being approached on her way out of the maid's room by the butler Vicente.
- "Young Miss Berenice is waiting for you in the back garden of the mansion. She has ordered me to escort you to her" – With a patch that hid the injury on his face, the butler looked at himself with an expression of satisfaction that he had never shown in all the time he served the Rivera house. That was completely strange to Aurora, who knew perfectly well that the servants inside the mansion should always show their faces without an iota of emotion.
Walking through the corridors of the first floor, the young woman noticed that the faces of the servants showed emotions for the first time. Some with mocking smiles, others with indifference; certainly that was something that was out of place and made him feel afraid.
- "Aurora my dear friend. I'm glad you recovered from your injuries. You know, this time that I was in confinement helped me a lot.
After father explained things to me, I realized that I have been very ungrateful to you. So much so that I wholeheartedly regret the hard time I caused you" – Hugging the young maiden tightly, the young lady of the Rivera house seemed a completely different person compared to what the maiden remembered.
Thinking that this was a hallucination and she was still bedridden, Aurora pinched her arm to make sure it wasn't a dream. But it was real, Miss Berenice was completely different.
- "Thanks to the fact that I was locked up all these days, I was able to concentrate on my studies of lineage magic. It was surprising, I never thought my power was so magnificent and I could only discover it thanks to you" – Extending her arm in the direction of a terrestrial bird that was nearby, Berenice cast an incantation without reciting a spell. Instantly transforming that defenseless animal into a soulless puppet.
Like the wooden dolls in shows, that living being changed completely as if its joints were made of wood, moving at angles that he never thought possible.
- "My lineage art according to my teacher is called master of the puppets. Any living being that is in my mana wave range will become a puppet that I can manipulate at will. It's amazing! Do not you believe it?" – With eyes wide open in horror, Aurora took a few steps back, being stopped by the butler, who tightened his hands on the teenager's shoulders.
- "The young lady has worked hard to give you your first puppet show, I think that the least you can do in the face of such an honor is to accompany you to the end" - With a smile cold as ice, Vicente's expression did not hide his joy unhealthy on the unfortunate Aurora, who was dragged to a table that was arranged near the pond.
Seated at the table, the women who served as living dolls were arranged as they had been for Miss Rivera's macabre tea games years ago. Unlike before when they still hid the expressions on their faces, now the desperation was clearly seen on them as they remained tied to the chairs.
- "Look Aurora, even a bigger animal is no match for my ability to master puppets" – One by one the women screamed in pain as their bodies turned into pieces of wood. The flesh and blood that gave life to their beings was soon replaced by the cold touch of planks shaped like a doll.
The souls of those unfortunate women had not left their bodies despite the fact that they no longer had a heart beating in their chests. They had turned in an instant into what for years had served as pantomime games.
- "You see, they are finally perfect dolls. They will be here for me, always beautiful, never aging to delight me with much play time. Wonderful, it is something simply sublime. But there is still more my dear friend." – Walking slowly up to a woman who kept her face covered by a veil, Berenice gave small jumps of joy while she did not take her eyes off the maiden.
– "As I told you, I was very hard on you for that annoying ribbon of hair. I realized that my punishment on you was very severe when you were never at fault. That is why, from the bottom of my heart I ask your forgiveness. I also apologize for being such a bad friend and not remembering to celebrate your birthday.
It was very unfair of me that all these years you saw me happy receiving so many gifts and I never bothered to give you anything. But not anymore, I know it's a little late but here is my gift for you" – Removing the veil from the woman's face, Aurora cried out desperately begging Miss Berenice for mercy.
Hands bound and gagged, Eunice tried to free herself from her restraints, tearing the skin on the wrists of her hands.
- "Please my young lady, have mercy. She hasn't done anything wrong."
- "Hasn't he done anything wrong? You know perfectly well that a slave has no right to own anything. But this woman knowingly defied that law and gave you a ribbon, the same one that you are wearing right now in your hair" - Placing her hand on Eunice's head, the young Miss Rivera was turning each part of the maiden's body in those of a wooden doll.
With tears of sorrow, Eunice's eyes clearly saw the intention of her heart for the girl she had considered her daughter: "This is not your fault."
Finishing the transformation, Berenice ordered the servants to take the doll and bind it with chains to throw it into the pond. While walking to where another of the unfortunate women who remained inert at the table was. Ripping off his head, showing it to Aurora, while throwing it at her feet.
- "I release you" - The head, which until a few moments ago was a simple piece of wood, soon recovered its real shape, as did the body that remained tied to the chair.
- "This is the potential of my ability. Puppets who do not feel fear, soldiers who can fight on the front lines without stopping. And easily return to its original form if I so desire" – That demonic ability was to the liking of Captain Eusebio, who saw the potential that his only daughter had for war.
Aurora fell exhausted to the ground, crying with bitterness at the fate that Eunice had fallen prey to due to her mistake. In the brief time that he had lived in that world, misfortune had knocked on his door so many times that he felt as if his soul was gradually losing what remained of its humanity.
- "Remember it stupid. Remember that day until you expire your last breath. You live for me, your duty is to serve me and never covet beyond being a simple dog under my desires" - Keeping her head touching the cold ground, Aurora cried silently while keeping her gaze in the direction of the pond where the doll that contained the Eunice's soul
Meanwhile, watching them from the second floor of the mansion, Prince Maximilian remained leaning against the window frame. With a stoic countenance and a frown, he turned around in the direction of the steps where Baron Eusebio was already waiting for him.
- "All the arrangements are ready, on the last day of the celebration we will proceed as my lord has indicated"
- "I don't want you to make the slightest mistake Eusebio"
- "Of course not my lord. You can fully trust me."
- "Trust? That's a big word for a man as ambitious as you. When everything is resolved, rest assured that I will keep my promise" – Turning around, leaving Eusebio behind with his face red with anger, the prince left the mansion waiting for the agreed date.