“When a slave forgets her place, she must be punished until she understands her situation.”

Whoosh, crack!

The sound of the whip cutting through air followed by the friction against the floor filled the annex. Though it hadn’t struck me yet, the whip seemed to flick its tongue threateningly, promising to target me next. My entire body tensed.

What could I do besides gritting my teeth until my jaw trembled?

Make excuses? Bow my head and beg for forgiveness?

Knowing it would be useless, my heart had already resigned itself and simply waited for time to pass.

“I heard she was stubborn, but this is something else. I would have begged for forgiveness by now…”

“The p-people I sh-should ask for f-forgiveness from aren’t y-you or the Imperial P-Princess.”

I stammered in rhythm with my trembling jaw. The man bent down and grabbed my chin.

A suffocating wave of cologne rushed into my nostrils. I grimaced at the unpleasant smell that made it difficult to breathe, and the man smiled.

His even more unpleasant breath hit my face.

“For his bright future, it might be better to eliminate potential problems in advance… What do you think, Princess of Belial?”

Cruel deep blue. The man’s pupils grew frighteningly large.

I used my left hand to push away the arm holding my chin. The smile disappeared from his face.

“Or… should I ruin this face that clouded the Duke’s judgment beyond recognition?”

His gentle voice, speaking terrifying words with the softness of reading a fairy tale, frightened me. If I remained still, I would truly suffer.

“I… I am Duke Croisen’s slave.”

“And?”

“The right to p-punish me and the authority to d-dispose of me belongs to the D-Duke, not to you.”

“That’s true. So… what if he doesn’t find out?”

“…!”

This man is serious.

His blue eyes, deeper and colder than the unfrozen lake, rippled. His large hands, looking capable of grabbing my neck in one motion, twitched.

Instinctive danger.

Sitting on the floor, I pressed against it to stand up. My right hand screamed in pain, but there was no time to hesitate.

But my injured state made me slower than my opponent. The man, eyes bloodshot, swung the whip with even greater force than before, cutting through the air with a louder crack.

Terror made me curl up instinctively. The whip landed where my left hand had been moments ago.

“Eek!”

That was close. If I hadn’t dodged, I might have lost the use of my left hand too.

The steward’s arm rose once more. This time his gaze fixed on my dirty apron.

I tried to move my legs beneath the apron, but escaping seemed impossible. So I would suffer unjustly again.

I squeezed my eyes shut and cried out in my heart.

I would rather throw myself into the unfrozen lake and become a sacrifice. I’ll resurrect the dark clan and revive the Belial Duchy. Then I’ll let the dark clan create another bloodbath for those who tormented and despised me.

As dark thoughts filled my mind, a strange feeling came over me. A bubbling energy rising from deep in my chest made me feel like I could fill the world with darkness just by willing it.

“Stop right now!”

This voice?

“Duke Croisen! How did you return?”

Lucifer. My master.

Strangely, when I heard his voice, the dark energy filling my heart instantly receded.

“Can’t you hear me telling you to put that whip down right now?!”

An emotional voice, filled with excitement.

My eyes opened at this voice I’d never heard before. The sudden sunlight pouring through the annex entrance blinded me. Squinting, I saw a sturdy man walking in with the light behind him.

A savior sent by God.

Seeing him, all my resentment and desire for revenge dissipated.

He came for me again.

“Your Grace. The Imperial Princess outside would be disappointed if she knew…”

The steward, whom I had thought quite tall, was easily grabbed by the collar in Lucifer’s hand. The fierce wolf threw the cunning dog who had disobeyed the leader’s command to the floor.

“Did you think being the Emperor’s confidant gave you permission to touch my person as you pleased?”

My person… Strange. Those words sound pleasant.

“Duke Croisen! This slave committed the rudeness of failing to properly greet the Imperial Princess, and the sin of trying to drive a wedge between you two…”

Shing!

Lucifer drew his sword.

The tip touched the fallen steward’s neck.

“You really seem to want me to kill you right here and risk falling out with His Majesty.”

Lucifer’s sword didn’t waver, but the steward’s eyes and body trembled. Blood seeped slightly from the neck of the man who now looked just like me trembling before the whip.

“No, sir.”

“I will charge you with entering the forbidden annex without my permission, the acting master. You will also be punished for failing to carry out the order to properly attend to the Imperial Princess.”

The steward’s eyes twitched with displeasure. But instead of arguing, he expressed his discontent by glaring at me.

Then Lucifer’s gaze shifted to me as well.

I looked at them with a somewhat dazed expression. The conversation between the two began to buzz distantly in my ears.

I want to rest.

I want to lie on a soft bed, eat sandwiches made by Grandmother Fabella, and sleep.

“The Imperial Princess will misunderstand. Moreover, it will look like you’re protecting a slave.”

“If Leitria has wronged the Imperial Princess, I, as her master, will take responsibility, and punishing a slave for her crimes is also my duty as her master, not a steward’s.”

So this is how reassuring it feels to have him as my master.

As my mind relaxed, the screaming pain from my swelling hand grew louder. I brought my left hand over, hoping to stop the trembling of my painful hand. But even the slightest touch felt like my hand was crumbling.

I closed my eyes to endure the pain. The surrounding noise gradually faded away.

The steward was still insulting me while protesting. My master was shouting at him. And the clicking sound of heels approaching from far away.

Everything sank into darkness.

* * *

Delia sat across from Terseon with her legs crossed. Terseon broke into a cold sweat at the sight of her sitting askew in the chair with her arms folded.

“Fabella, head chef of the Croisen ducal household, pays her respects to Your Imperial Highness.”

Thankfully, a savior had appeared. Terseon tried to jump to his feet, but the princess’s flashing eyes made him keep his bottom firmly in the chair.

“Your Highness, this is my grandmother.”

He introduced her unnecessarily, hoping the princess wouldn’t torment a family member of the Duke’s close aide.

The princess, apparently not in the mood for conversation, just sat with a scowl. Fabella spoke with her characteristically gentle face.

“I heard Your Highness dislikes bitter flavors, so our Duke brought mild tea leaves from the Eastern Continent.”

Fabella poured tea into the princess’s cup with skillful movements. Terseon watched the scene nervously.

Who knew what fault that nasty princess would find next.

Fortunately, Fabella gave the princess nothing to criticize. As the clear orange tea filled the cup, the princess immediately picked it up.

“Does it please you?”

“Quite smooth.”

“Please enjoy it with the vanilla tart. I tried to recreate the flavor you enjoyed as a child. Hohoho.”

“A commoner trying to imitate the royal chef’s taste, how presumptuous.”

Despite her grumbling, the princess used her fork to take a bite of the tart. Her brow gradually relaxed as she chewed elegantly.

“Hmph, not bad.”

“Phew.”

When Terseon sighed in relief, the princess narrowed her eyes again.

“I’m truly glad it suits your taste, Your Highness!”

“What? Worried I might eat this old woman alive?”

“N-no, not at all.”

“So how much longer do I have to wait?”

An even more troublesome question followed. Terseon flared his nostrils in embarrassment.

“Well, our Duke, having been a knight commander, has a personality that doesn’t tolerate overstepping authority… so the steward is probably getting quite a dressing-down right now…”

He tried to phrase it diplomatically. Otherwise, that ill-tempered princess might torment poor Leitria again.

“Really, I don’t like this.”

“Hahaha. It’s precisely because he upholds principles that our Duke is such an admirable person.”

“Admirable, indeed.”

“Honestly, among the imperial knights, is there anyone stronger than our Duke? No one else has such firm, broad thighs. And his abs are incredibly solid. He could probably lift Your Highness with one arm.”

At Terseon’s praise, the princess slightly pursed her lips.

“When I first saw the Duke, his body was tattered like a corpse. Plus, he was so skinny he looked like a piece of paper.”

“Thanks to His Majesty the Emperor. And the Duke’s efforts too. Even during the war, he never missed a day of training.”

The princess’s face softened somewhat. Her eyes grew brighter. She rested her chin on her hand and stared at Terseon.

“So? What else is there to boast about besides that?”

“He cannot tolerate injustice. He’s a righteous person.”

“What else?”

Terseon’s words halted momentarily at the princess’s question.

What if the princess falls for the Duke and insists on becoming the Duchess? The future of retiring to the countryside appeared vividly in Terseon’s mind.

* * *

In Leitria’s room on the third floor of the annex. The doctor and Lucifer stood side by side with furrowed brows, conversing in front of the sleeping woman.

“The treatment is complete.”

“Thank you for your work. How is the condition of her right hand?”

“About that…”

“Will she lose its use?”

“The bone is damaged, so we need to monitor her progress. If it heals well, there’s a possibility of recovery, but…”

The doctor’s voice grew progressively quieter.

“She could become disabled?”

Anger underlined Lucifer’s low voice.

Useless thing.

The doctor felt like he had heard Lucifer’s inner thoughts.

“The odds are fifty-fifty, so I’ll do my best.”

“Fifty-fifty isn’t good enough. If you can’t heal her, you should be prepared for the consequences.”

After dismissing the doctor, Lucifer turned to face the steward standing by the door. Lucifer’s eyes narrowed at the steward’s face, which showed no guilt.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“I know she’s a pitiful woman.”

“So you tried to disable her hand, and were planning to ruin her face or legs or something else?”

“His Majesty the Emperor…”

Before hearing the end, a mocking laugh escaped Lucifer’s lips.

“Right, I can’t dismiss you.”

“If you want to protect her, you should abandon her instead.”

“Abandon…”

Lucifer’s face contorted severely. Veins protruded from his clenched hand.

“Ruining Leitria is my role, not yours. So I warn you. If you try to damage what’s mine without permission again, your master will lose me.”

After driving even the steward out of the room, Lucifer turned to look at the pale Leitria sleeping like the dead. Her weak breath seemed ready to stop at any moment.

Leitria’s thin breathing pierced Lucifer’s heart. Everything is my fault.

If I wasn’t going to believe her, I should have remained disbelieving until the end, and if I saved her, I should have taken full responsibility. Would it be better for both of us if I abandoned her now?

“Car…den…”

But this desperate voice made it impossible for him to abandon her.