A Maid’s Fury and a Desperate Plea

“Smack!”

“Ow! Stop hitting me, ow!”

“Smack!”

“Hey! You brute! Listen to me!”

“There’s no point in reasoning with scum like you!”

“Smack!”

“Ow↑ow↓ow↑ow↓oh!!!”

Seraphina was beyond tears.

Levian, fueled by a ‘Lethal Tempo’ of rage, was utterly deaf to reason. Wielding a long whip, her eyes blazed crimson, resembling a berserker in a blood frenzy. She relentlessly lashed out at Seraphina, who was utterly defenseless.

The damp basement was shrouded in profound darkness. With all light blocked, the only thing Seraphina could discern were Levian’s unsettling, vivid red eyes, glowing eerily in the gloom.

Whether the glow was due to magic or intense emotion, Seraphina had no energy left to ponder. After all, if the beating continued, Levian would surely whip her to death.

She desperately needed to find a way to make her stop.

As Levian raised her hand, poised for another strike, Seraphina’s mind raced.

Memories related to Levian replayed repeatedly in her mind. Reviewing them, Seraphina formed a very distinct impression of the maid.

‘This woman truly adores her mistress.’

‘Yet, due to her duties, she strenuously conceals these feelings.’

‘Could this be my leverage?’

“Smack!”

Before Seraphina could fully formulate her thoughts, the ferocious whip struck her tender skin with the speed of lightning. With a ripping sound, Seraphina’s dress tore apart.

“Oh!” Seeing the dress, personally crafted by her mistress, shredded by her own whip, Levian froze. The relentless lashing ceased.

“This… this was a dress Mistress made herself…”

“And I… I actually tore it apart…”

In an instant, the dark fury vanished from Levian’s face, and the long whip in her hand dissipated.

She bent down, picked up a torn scrap of fabric from the ground, pressed it to her face, closed her eyes, and wore an expression of pure bliss.

“Ah… aha… Mistress’s handmade garment…”

Like a woman utterly infatuated, she held the scrap to the tip of her nose.

“I can even… even smell Mistress’s scent…”

The scrap of fabric was rubbed against Levian’s face repeatedly, as if it weren’t a mere piece of cloth dropped on a damp, gloomy floor, but the most precious treasure in the world.

“Wuwu… I’ve diligently served Mistress for two thousand six hundred seventy-one years, seven months, and five days… and haven’t received even a single garment…”

“And you!”

In a flash, all tenderness vanished from Levian’s face.

“You piece of trash, appearing from who knows where, haven’t even been in the mansion a full day, yet you’ve already won Mistress’s favor!”

“Why!? How!?”

She glared at Seraphina, grinding her teeth, her facial features contorted into a knot of fury.

But then, just as suddenly, her expression softened back to its previous gentle demeanor.

She carefully folded the scrap of cloth, gazing at it reluctantly before placing it into the front pocket of her maid uniform—a spot directly over her heart.

“I’m sorry, Mistress, for letting you see my ferocious side.”

She clutched her pocket, or more precisely, the scrap of fabric within it.

“Now… since you can’t see, I can freely punish disloyal traitors!”

With a flourish of her hand, the long whip reappeared before Seraphina.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she raised the whip high above her head.

Just as she was about to bring it down again—

“Do you know why you can’t win Mistress’s favor, Miss Levian?”

At Seraphina’s words, Levian’s movement froze.

“Mistress has always treated you poorly, hasn’t she?”

Facing the whip poised to strike, Seraphina showed not a hint of fear in her eyes.

“Don’t you want to know why?”

“Don’t you want to change that?”

“Do you think I don’t want to!?”

Levian seized Seraphina by the collar, spraying spittle directly into her face.

“It’s all because of the Master’s orders! What would a stray like you, who’s only been here a day, know!?”

“I know they’re the Master’s orders, but think about it, does Mistress care about such things?” Seraphina dismissed Levian’s excuses for her own foolishness and rigidity.

“You claim to love Mistress, yet you foolishly obey the Master’s commands… Is your love truly less than your loyalty to him?”

“No, it’s not! Shut your mouth! You deceitful swindler! First you stole Mistress’s affection, now you’re trying to bewitch me…”

As if Seraphina had struck a raw nerve, Levian’s face instantly flushed crimson.

Perhaps even she hadn’t noticed, but the long whip in her hand was slipping. Clearly, her heart had begun to waver.

Seraphina keenly observed the shift in Levian’s demeanor and pressed her advantage.

“Bewitch? I’m speaking the truth!”

“My poor Mistress, with no one to confide in, no one to share intimate moments with, she’s left to the service of an unsympathetic maid like you… It truly breaks my heart.”

“You’re still insulting me!?”

“Oh, my poor Mistress, even without me, if things continue like this, she’ll eventually be snatched away by some scoundrel, won’t she?”

“Gah! Stop talking, I beg you!!!”

At the words “scoundrel,” Levian’s face instantly transformed.

It was a despair akin to the end of the world, like a heartbroken man witnessing his girlfriend being stolen by another. Her eyes widened, pupils trembling incessantly. She slowly shook her head, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath.

Simultaneously, the long whip in her hand vanished.

‘Phew, crisis averted.’

Seraphina closed her eyes and let out a long sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a deafening cry exploded next to her ear, startling her awake.

“Being taken by a scoundrel, I don’t want that to happen!!!”

To Seraphina’s utter surprise, the stern Head Maid suddenly collapsed to the ground, prostrating herself on all fours. She looked utterly undignified, like Seraphina being walked on a leash that morning, completely devoid of her usual severe authority.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!”

“Lady Iqiyah, Lady Iqiyah, Lady Iqiyah, Lady Iqiyah…”

‘Wow… how unsightly…’

‘Wait… doesn’t this scene feel a little familiar?’

Without dwelling on it, Seraphina cleared her throat and addressed the maid groveling before her.

“Miss Levian… to be honest, I’m not here to steal Mistress from you.”

“Is that so? Then you truly are a good person.”

Levian’s voice trembled slightly, as if she were crying. All her previous murderous intent had vanished. It seemed her emotional defenses had been completely breached.

Seeing this, Seraphina felt a wave of relief and continued.

“Also… Mistress’s unconsciousness wasn’t caused by me.”

“Think about it carefully: if I wanted to harm Mistress, would I have gone to all that trouble to carry her back?”

As she spoke, a sudden wave of regret washed over Seraphina.

‘Damn it, if I hadn’t bothered with Iqiyah back then, and just slipped away, perhaps none of this would have happened.’

‘But even if I had escaped, they probably would have caught me anyway, right? Hhh…’

“You’re right…”

“Alright, Head Maid, don’t be so pathetic. If Mistress saw you like this, who knows how she’d tease you~”

Seraphina knew that a little more comfort and a show of goodwill at this moment would likely win Levian’s trust.

Just as she anticipated, Levian, who had been kneeling, nodded and slowly rose to her feet.

However, what Seraphina hadn’t expected was that Levian, without a moment’s pause after standing, immediately circled behind her.

In a flash, a chilling memory flashed through Seraphina’s mind.

‘This woman isn’t going to execute me, is she?’

Yet, contrary to her imagined execution, she felt the ropes binding her suddenly loosen—first from her feet, then from her body.

‘Hey, this rope is still holding my body!’

Just as she braced herself to fall to the ground, a soft arm gently caught her. Levian, completely abandoning her previous ferocious demeanor, actually embraced Seraphina’s body, carefully lowering her to the floor.

Suddenly, Levian’s body accidentally brushed against Seraphina’s wounds, causing Seraphina to flinch involuntarily. This startled Levian.

“Are you… are you alright?”

“Hiss… you touched a wound, it stings a bit.”

‘She’s even using the formal ‘you’ now… Looks like she needs something from me.’

“Shall I help you clean it?”

“No, no need. Just help me stand up, that’s all.”

Levian carefully supported Seraphina, helping her to stand. Only after confirming Seraphina was steady did Levian slowly withdraw her hands.

Then, with her head bowed, she slowly circled, almost ghost-like, to stand before Seraphina.

“Lady Seraphina, you… seem very adept, don’t you?”

“You flatter me. I merely have a superficial understanding.”

Just as Seraphina felt a slight blush at Levian’s praise, Levian stood rigidly before her, then suddenly dropped to her knees, performing a perfect Japanese dogeza.

“Please, Lady Seraphina, teach me.”

‘Eh? Not a simple “I’m sorry”?’