A heavy silence hung in the air before one maid hesitantly raised a trembling finger—pointing directly at me.
The Countess was about to lash out in anger, but then her sharp blue eyes landed on me. She froze, her expression shifting as she took in my trembling frame, my flushed skin burning with fever, and the red, swollen mark on my cheek.
Her voice, once filled with fury, turned dangerously calm.
"Who did this to you?"
I stiffened. She didn't accuse me. She didn't demand if I was responsible. She asked who hurt me.
I hadn't expected that. But it made things easier.
Slowly, I lowered myself to my knees, letting my tears fall freely. My fingers clenched into the fabric of my skirt as I bowed my head.
"N-No one did this, Your Excellency," I choked out. "I… I slipped while cleaning. It's my fault."
"Stand up."
I shook my head, keeping my forehead pressed against the cold floor. "What I say is true… I just arrived today. I—I was clumsy with my work…" My voice broke, making me sound even more pitiful.
The Countess turned to the head maid, her tone sharp with suspicion. "Did you assign her all the cleaning by herself?"
"I did not, Your Excellency," the head maid answered immediately, her voice steady.
The Countess's eyes darkened, her presence suddenly suffocating. "Then why is no one speaking? Why is everyone silent? Should I fire all of you?"
Panic surged through the maids. I quickly lifted my head, my voice shaking as I spoke. "It's my fault, Your Excellency. Please… don't blame them. They were busy preparing for my welcome party, so I—I took it upon myself to clean alone."
A thick, suffocating silence filled the grand hall.
The Countess's voice came quiet but sharp, cutting through the air like a knife.
"Welcome party?" Her piercing gaze swept over the maids. "Who gave the order to host a welcome party?"
A tense pause. The maids hesitated, eyes darting toward one another, fear written across their faces. Finally, one of them whispered, voice barely above a breath—
"It… It was Lila, Your Excellency."
The Countess's eyes snapped to Lila, who flinched under her gaze. The once-arrogant maid was trembling, her hands balled into fists as she knelt, sweat beading at her forehead.
"My personal maid… giving orders in my household?" The Countess's voice was deathly quiet, her blue eyes cold as ice.
Lila swallowed hard, her lips quivering. "Y-Your Excellency, I—I…"
The Countess's voice was sharp and unwavering as she stood before the kneeling maids. Her piercing blue eyes, once filled with anger, now held something far colder-disgust.
"What did you do at this so-called 'welcome party'?"
"Answer me. I won't ask again."
Lila, trembling, opened her mouth, but before she could utter a single excuse, a different maid stepped forward.
She had sleek black hair and sharp green eyes, her expression a mix of fear and determination.
"She forced them," the maid spoke clearly, her voice shaking but resolute. "She took the new maids to her room, made them drink, and beat them. She commanded them to follow her rules-forced them into submission.
If they resisted, she starved them. She banned them from eating and sleeping in the maid quarters until they obeyed her without question."
A murmur spread through the hall. The gathered maids shifted uncomfortably, some lowering their heads, others exchanging worried glances.
A murmur spread through the hall. The gathered maids shifted uncomfortably, some lowering their heads, others exchanging worried glances.
Then, one by one, they found their voices.
"Yes! Lila did this to us!" one maid cried out.
"She forced us to drink until we couldn't stand," another added, her voice trembling.
"She beat us whenever we didn't obey her," a third spoke up, tears pooling in her eyes.
"She took our food away and left us starving," someone else confessed, her shoulders shaking.
"She made us follow her rules and punished us if we didn't," another whispered.
As more maids began to speak, their words overlapped, a mix of fear and pent-up anger filling the room.
Lila's eyes darted around, desperation etched across her face.
"You—You're all lying! You followed my orders willingly! You—you're just as guilty as I am!"
But no one stepped forward to defend her. Instead, they backed away, distancing themselves from the one who had tormented them.
"Then it seems the truth has come to light."
The Countess turned her gaze back to Lila. Her tone was eerily calm as she took a step closer.
"You are dear to me, Lila. But it seems that has made you arrogant. Did you think that made you the master of this house?"
Lila's face was streaked with tears as she shook her head frantically. "Y-Your Excellency, I would never-"
"Who helped her in this?" The Countess's cold demand silenced any further protest.
The black-haired maid hesitated before reluctantly listing three names.
At once, the accused maids burst into desperate pleas, their words tumbling over each other in panic. "Your Excellency, she forced us too! We-we had no choice! Please, believe us!"
Lila whipped her head toward them, her face twisting in disbelief. "H-How dare you lie?! I never forced-"
The Countess raised a hand, silencing the chaos with a mere gesture.
"Guards."
The room tensed.
"Drag them all outside."
A wail of despair erupted from Lila as the guards seized her arms.
"No! No, Your Excellency, please! I didn't do anything wrong! You can't do this to me!"
The Countess didn't spare her a second glance. "Head maid."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Cut off their allowance immediately. Make sure they never
works anywhere else again."
"As you command."
The guards began hauling Lila toward the exit. She thrashed violently, her screams echoing through the hall.
Then, just as she reached the door, her wild, desperate eyes landed on me.
And then I did something she never expected.
I smirked.
Her breath hitched. For a moment, true terror flashed across her face.
"You-" her voice cracked. "You did this on purpose! That bitch set me up! Your Excellency, believe me-she-"
Her screams faded as the doors slammed shut behind her. Silence fell.
"And as for you three," she said coldly.
The maids froze, their faces paling.
"Y-Your Excellency, please! We only followed her orders—we had no choice!" one of them wailed, her body trembling.
Another clutched at the hem of the Countess's dress in desperation. "Mercy, Your Excellency! It was all Lila! She threatened us! We—we never wanted to—"
The Countess stepped back, shaking them off like dirt from her gown. "And yet, you still did it."
The weight of those words sank into the room, suffocating.
She turned to the guards. "Take them away as well."
"No—no, please! Have mercy! We won't do it again!"
The guards seized their arms without hesitation, dragging them toward the exit. Their desperate cries echoed off the marble walls, but no one moved to stop their punishment.
I watched as their figures disappeared beyond the doors, their fate sealed.
And then, suddenly, the weight of it all pressed down on me.
How does it feel?
To lose everything you built, piece by piece?
It must feel like standing on the edge of a cliff—so high up that even your regrets wouldn't survive the fall. In front of you, a pit of venomous snakes, their fangs glistening, inching closer. You're terrified of falling. You're terrified of being bitten.
And just as you're deciding which is worse—splattering on the ground or becoming a chew toy for cobras—
A massive anaconda slithers up.
You brace yourself, thinking, Great. Now I get to be swallowed whole too.
But no.
This anaconda doesn't bite. It doesn't squeeze.
It just yeets you off the cliff with its tail.
And the other snakes?
They just watch. Maybe even wave.
...And that's exactly what Lila felt in that moment.
'Exactly.'
'People only see what you let them. They cheer when you rise, sneer when you fall, and pretend they never knew you when it's convenient. In the end, you're just another story they tell—until they find a better one.'
I exhaled softly, the fever making my head swim. My limbs felt impossibly heavy, my vision blurring at the edges.
"Hey."
A voice pulled me back.
I turned sluggishly toward the sound, my gaze landing on Elias. His golden eyes, sharp and unreadable, met mine.
But before I could process what he was saying—
Darkness overtook me.