"Haha, so it's you, Toad?"
The maid flinched.
Even though she had a hammer in her hands, she didn't appear to be the slightest threat to me. Her face was still a mess, with traces of blood still smeared on it.
'You must be in a big hurry, Toad.' I thought and couldn't help feeling amused when I saw her.
There was not only one her, but she came along with many others who glared at me behind a beautiful middle-aged woman.
"Madam Pamela, to what do I owe this honor?" I curtsied gracefully, mimicking the grace of a noble lady.
However, it seems that this action actually triggered her anger.
"You wench. I've heard everything that happened from Darlene. What do you think you were doing? Do you want to get punished?!"
"Aha, so Toad, your name is Darlene?"
"Did you just… ignore me?"
As expected of a Beta descendant. Even though she was old, her voice shrilled sharply, shaking her opponent's chest. No wonder she used to be my role model growing up until I met her in person yesterday. All my admiration for her was like being reset back to default.
She glared at me with contempt.
"Do you know what you did to Darlene? How dare you dirty the Alazzar family name by acting like a lowly b-tch who beats up the family's loyal servant!"
Standing behind Madam Pamela, Darlene smiles smugly.
'Whoa, she kept coming back alive like a roach even after getting beaten up like yesterday and earlier.'
"Hey!"
"Ah, no. I was just thinking about how to convey to you that the maid had hurt me. Looks like I'll have to say it head-on like this."
Madam Pamela's brows twitched. "Did you talk about how she disciplined you?"
"Ah, do you call it disciplining when she pokes a needle into my forearm?" I felt a bubbling anger in my stomach.
I know she didn't do it just today. When I checked the condition of this body's forearm, I knew she did it daily.
As this body is wolfless, like my original body, its self-healing ability is very slow. Or the function may not even work properly, leaving a mark.
"You must have made a fatal mistake. That's why she resorts to that method. I heard you refuse to greet me and cook me breakfast since yesterday. Don't you deserve to be disciplined?" Madam Pamela smiled so gorgeously.
"Hmm, are you saying you approve of everything Darlene does to me? Including dunking a bucket on my head."
Madam Pamela's chest rose. "Yeah, of course!"
"So, every little detail is done according to your orders. Darlene is just tasked with doing that. Is that right?"
"That's right! That's because you kept breaking the rules in this house, so I had to discipline you through Darlene!"
Again, I caught Darlene smiling arrogantly.
I should have thrown the vase at her mouth, not her face. Some day, I would love to stretch that mouth to my feet.
I clapped like a seal, following their confusion.
I spoke with delight. "Oh my~ that's too bad then,"
The confused Madam Pamella responds. I caught the hesitation in her eyes. "…What is it?"
"I mean, what if outsiders learn that you punished me, your son's mate, to protect a mere maid? I'm also just disciplining a maid who acts like the madam of the house in your stead, Madam Pamela."
"…What?" Madam Pamela shifts her glare at Darlene.
"Wha-what are you talking about, Miss? How dare I act like that—that's not true, Madam. She's spouting nonsense, Madam, please believe me."
"But you did, Darlene. Don't try to deny it. I can even show you the footage as there is a hidden CCTV camera in this room as evidence." I pointed to a corner.
Of course, that is another bluff.
However, it was enough to rattle the people in front of me, including Madam Pamela.
"What are you talking about now?! What camera?!" Darlene started to get furious.
On the other hand, Madam Pamela's stern gaze was still fixed on Darlene.
I smiled, then added. "What's wrong, Darlene? You always emphasize that I must obey your orders no matter how ridiculous because you are Madam Pamela's representative in this house. You also often say Madam Pamela will believe you even if you lie to her."
"What the hell are you—when did I say all that?!"
"You talk big as if you had Madam Pamela in your hands. That's why I punished you."
Although I wasn't the one who heard it, she must have spoken that way toward Hazel along the way to assert dominance against her. She thought Hazel wouldn't dare tell Madam Pamela all of this, as she believed Madam Pamela trusted Darlene more.
"Look, Madam. Even the fact that you come here this early in the morning just because of a report from Darlene, doesn't that tell you something? Aren't you too kind to follow Darlene's words so she dares think you are her puppet?"
Those words were the final straw for the prideful Madam Pamela.
"Get Darlene out of here. Send her to that place."
"Ma-madam! Everything this woman said was a lie! I never thought of myself as your representative or—Slap!"
Madam Pamela strikes Darlene's face. The sound was deafening.
"Ma-madam, no, I,"
She whispered something to her, and the other maids dragged Darlene, who was in shock, out of the room.
I covered my mouth with both hands as if surprised, to cover the smile on my face. I hope everyone else who remains will follow Darlene's tail to leave this room. To think that all of them are my enemies makes my head dizzy.
"You, don't you think that you are free from punishment? You're still breaking the rules because you didn't greet and cook me breakfast."
"Gosh, really? What an old-fashioned crap. Even the Luna predecessors will rise from their graves when they hear that this kind of custom exists in the present." I shrugged after saying those words.
Everyone's astonishment evoked silence. Even Madam Pamela was speechless.
"What… did you just say?"
"Exactly as I said, Madam. Ah, I heard the old wolves are starting to lose hearing ability. Do you want me to say it again?"
"You, you, you're out of your mind!" She swings her hand and slaps across my face.
"I knew you were a nightmare! You shouldn't be my son's mate! You are just a dirty hole to satisfy my son, nothing more and nothing less. So know your place!"
'Ouch. Why does everyone kept mention that?'
Even though it was directed at Hazel, I felt the impact on my heart.
The fact that Alpha Sharx did nothing to protect his mate, Hazel, from all this bullying strengthens Madam Pamela's statement just now. That's why Madam Pamela never stopped pestering her, and the people in this mansion followed suit with that attitude.
'For once, I feel the camaraderie with that b-tch as she is not trying to ally with any people in this place. These people are disgusting.'
"As punishment, you are prohibited from attending my son's inauguration banquet. I will make sure you won't be able to attend the event, even if I have to paralyze your legs temporarily."
Oh, crap.
I need to go there, though.