Sveta tried to pull her arm free, but he didn’t budge. Awkwardly bent forward, she straightened her back.

“As you can see, I’m doing laundry.”

“And why would you.”

He stood there, immaculately dressed and with every detail of his appearance flawless. This made her feel even shabbier by comparison. Shame and indignation surged inside her.

Thinking of the maids peeking from behind the windows, she felt a hot fury well up inside her.

“Do you truly want to know?”

“I wouldn’t ask otherwise.”

Sveta shot him a resentful glare. It wasn’t his fault, yet she was angry with him. She didn’t know why.

Displeased by her defiance, he tightened his grip on her wrist. The pain only made her lift her chin higher.

“There’s no one else to do it for me, so I have to!”

“……”

“Isn’t that right, Mary?”

Sveta raised her voice and called out to the laundry room. Immediately, the sound of maids scurrying out of sight echoed through the room.

The duke flicked his finger towards the window. This small gesture alone caused all the maids to rush out and line up.

“Explain.”

With a submissive posture, Mary folded her arms neatly and stepped forward.

“The young lady insisted on doing it herself. I offered to help, but she insisted.”

The maids around her all nodded in unison.

“What…!”

Sveta’s words caught in her throat. She never thought they would lie so shamelessly.

She turned a pleading gaze towards Aiden, as though praying for help, but the eyes that met hers were cold and unfeeling.

“I would have expected more dignity from a baron’s daughter than this.”

His low murmur made the maids exchange knowing glances. They had caught it—he did not believe his mistress.

Mary tilted her foot just enough for Sveta to see. She had already changed her shoes, the soles mockingly spotless.

Sveta lifted her gaze to Aiden, her eyes brimming with betrayal. For the first time, she hated him. That expressionless face, carved like stone, seemed nothing but cruel.

When she finally spoke, her voice was no more than a faint sigh.

“Do you truly mean that?”

“Do you ask because you don’t already know?”

He gazed down at her with the severity of a god delivering judgment. His gloved hand clamped around her wrist, unyielding as an iron shackle.

“Let me go!”

The moment she jerked her arm back with all her strength, he released her.

“Ah…!”

Sveta dived headfirst into the wooden tub. The water exploded violently as her body sank deeper and deeper.

The icy water squeezed the air from her lungs. Suffocation gripped her tightly, dragging her into a nightmare from which she could not escape.

Harsh, merciless memories rose from the depths, her brutal past closing in and consuming her completely.

◯◯◯

“Confess! Admit you stole it!”

Jace Gould roared into her ear. His voice was raw and merciless. He seized her by the collar and shook her violently.

Her flame-coloured hair, drenched and heavy, swung feebly, like a dying ember on the verge of being extinguished.

Then, with brutal force, he pushed her back under the water.

“Mm—mmph! S-stop…!”

She struggled with all her might, but a child’s body was no match for a grown man’s strength.

Jace hauled her up again.

A shrill ringing filled her ears, followed by another thunderous roar that shattered her eardrums.

“Didn’t you steal my daughter’s necklace and ring? You worthless slave who doesn’t know your place! Didn’t you steal them?”

“No, no, I—!”

“Then why were they under your pillow, huh? Why?”

“I don’t know, I—ahhh! It hurts!”

Jace beat her head with the dangling trinkets clutched in his hand. Then, once again, he shoved her underwater.

Her vision drowned again and again, flooding with each plunge.

“You’ve got thirty minutes. Think carefully!”

By midday, Jace tossed her limp body back into the tub and stormed out.

‘I’d rather die…’

Instead of rising, Sveta closed her eyes weakly. The icy water filled her lungs.

“No!”

No sooner had Jace left the t*rture chamber than Beth burst inside. She pulled Sveta out of the tub and caught her frail body as it slumped into her arms.

Beth’s round cheeks were soaked with tears. Her freckles, like scattered grains of sand, blurred as they shifted.

“I—I didn’t steal…”

Sveta coughed and sputtered, unable to finish. Beth only cried harder.

“Just say it. Say you did. That you stole it. Then you’ll live… please. Do it for me.”

“But…I didn’t steal it.”

Beth clung to her desperately, her small shoulders trembling without pause.

“Sveta, you’re more precious to me than any jewels. So please. Please?”

“But—”

“How could I live without you?”

“You… couldn’t live without me?”

“Of course not, Sveta. You’re my precious twin soul. So… please?”

When Jace returned, patting his belly after a meal, Sveta told him the lie—that she had stolen it.

Jace was enraged. He dragged her out and tied her to the post in the middle of the training yard. She was left there for a whole week.

She remembered it raining heavily at the time. She remembered shivering beneath the pouring rain for days on end. If Beth hadn’t saved her…

A large hand slid beneath her nape. In an instant, her body was lifted, and she could feel the cold air biting her skin.

“Are you all right… Sveta?”

“……”

It must have been a mistake. Or perhaps it was a hallucination. Otherwise, how could this marble-cold man have looked concerned?

Droplets clung to her lashes, blurring her vision. With great effort, Sveta lifted her hand and brushed the edge of Aiden’s face. Water streaked across his flawless cheek as she closed her eyes, hot tears slipping down her face.

She could have sworn he was mocking her.

Mary was shaken.

The perfect master — the man who had seemed like a stern judge — had been undone in an instant, completely swayed by the harlot’s pitiful display when she stumbled into the water.

‘Are all men like that? So easily swayed by a pretty face and wearing such desperate eyes…’

Her thoughts churned in turmoil until the head maid summoned her. Even as she made her way to the office, she struggled to contain her anger towards the mistress.

‘She slipped away like a loach, and in the end, I was blamed!’

Although she had braced herself for a telling-off, she wasn’t truly worried. She had already conspired with the other maids and rehearsed their story until it was seamless.

However, the words that left the head maid’s mouth were nothing like what she had expected.

“You’re dismissed, effective today.”

“…Pardon? What do you mean, Head Maid?”

Mary’s eyes went wide like a fish, but the head maid declared solemnly:

“There will be no letter of recommendation. Each maid in the laundry room who tolerated this behaviour will be dismissed in turn.”

It had been nothing but petty spite. It was only laundry. By all accounts, it was the mistress’s fault. Mary and the others were innocent.

How could they be cast out like this?

We did nothing wrong!

Mary’s voice broke with desperation.

“But Head Maid, this… this is too unfair. I’ve been diligent in everything I do!”

Perhaps her plea touched something, for the head maid spoke more gently.

“In recognition of your diligence, I’ll tell you this much: a blind baroness needs a laundress. Two of her maids resigned yesterday. You should go and see her. I’ll give you the address.”

“But…”

“The pay isn’t much, but they don’t pry into your past. Consider yourself fortunate.”

“……”

‘After all I’ve worked for… how could this happen to me?’

Mary’s nose wrinkled and folded upon itself as she began to cry.

The head maid watched her for a while before saying:

“Still, you’ll need to finish today’s work. Your replacement has just arrived, so make sure you hand everything over.”

“…It’s too cruel. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“That isn’t what matters.”

The head maid shook her head as though pitying her.

“What matters is that you angered the master.”

Her dismissal was the duke’s will. Mary could hardly believe it. His eyes had been fixed on his mistress the entire time. He hadn’t even looked at her properly. And yet… how?

“Now, return to your post.”

With stern finality, the head maid pushed Mary out the door. It was like a last sentence being handed down.

◯◯◯

“Fortunately, her life isn’t in danger. She didn’t swallow much water.”

Ivan’s face was deeply relieved.

Aiden studied the woman lying motionless before him.

Her cheeks, which had always flushed whenever she looked up at him, were now as pale as his aide’s. Her once vibrant, fiery locks now hung lifelessly, like fallen autumn leaves. She looked as if she might crumble to dust at any moment.

“Why hasn’t she woken up?”

“Because I gave her a sedative. Are you that worried?”

Aiden said nothing. Ivan’s round eyes repeatedly travelled from Aiden’s head to his feet, his plump cheeks twitching as if he were witnessing something extraordinary.

“Never thought I’d see the day. You, standing here in wet, filthy clothes.”

Aiden pressed his lips together, finally taking note of his own state. He took off his sodden gloves and loosened the tight cravat around his neck, then removed his vest. The sharp ridges of muscle beneath his wet shirt were exposed.

“Well, well. That never gets old.”

Ivan held up his thumb, exaggerating the gesture. Ignoring the gesture, Aiden asked:

“Why the sedative?”

“Think of it as something like what you go through.”

Aiden shot him a look that said what nonsense is this supposed to mean? Ivan added quickly:

“You said she fell into the wash tub, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Nearly drowned in shallow water. Believe it or not, it happens more often than you’d think.”

“Why?”

“My guess? The young lady is averse to water. It’s similar to how you feel pain when you’re touched.”

‘But it didn’t look like an aversion. She seemed to be unable to resist at all.’

For a moment, Aiden recalled the sight of Sveta sinking beneath the water.