It was hard to feel sorry for Dain’s sudden fall in rank, considering all the humiliations the maids had suffered under her.

“Go heat some warm water. It’s the lady’s order!”

Of course, the maids knew very well that the water they heated was ultimately for Dain herself. There were other orders too – to fetch late night snacks because “the madam is hungry”, or to remove curtains because “they are an eyesore”.

For three years, Dain had lorded it over her fellow maids, flaunting her status as Lady Regina’s personal maid. Anyone who did not feel the superiority in her gaze as she performed menial tasks would have to be blind – or a fool.

Relying on her mistress’s authority, she had acted even more tyrannically than Regina herself, so it was only natural that she’d made enemies.

“You girls…!”

Dain’s eyes welled red with tears – such humiliation was a first for her.

“Do you even know who my mother is?! She’s the Head Lady’s personal maid! I was running around this courtyard before any of you ever set foot on this estate!”

When Dain mentioned her mother, Emma, the other maids’ faces froze. Emma, trusted by Barbara, was a senior maid not to be taken lightly.

“You are mistaken if you think you can treat me as you please!”

Seeing the maids shrink back, Dain grew bolder. She snatched the blanket back and threw it again.

“Just wait and see! This is only temporary. As soon as I’m back in my proper place, I’ll tell the mistress and…”

“You’ll tell her, and then what?”

“Head maid Melanie!!”

Melanie’s sudden appearance brightened the mood of the maids. Having come in response to the commotion, the Head Maid scanned the group with her usual calm expression.

“What’s all the noise about?”

“Head Maid, Dain, she…”

The maids all spoke at once, eager to report what Dain had done. Not to be outdone, Dain raised her voice, her eyes glistening with tears.

“This is all a trap! I’m being unfairly victimised by these horrible girls!”

Melanie listened carefully to both sides – but her mind was already made up.

She had been watching Dain closely since she had been summoned by Regina the other day.

“Dain, I saw you throw the blanket from a distance. Do you know that it’s the one the elder madam uses?”

“I… I didn’t know!”

“Didn’t know? Please. Just by the fabric alone, it’s clearly different from the ones we use!”

Another maid snapped from the side. Her tone was sharp and malicious, prompting Melanie to intervene.

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking to Dain.”

“See?! I told you – I’m the one being bullied!”

As soon as she calmed one side, the other flared up. Melanie frowned and took a deep breath. Dain, misreading the silence, took her expression for suspicion.

“You don’t believe me? Isn’t it your job as head maid to make sure that bullying like this doesn’t happen in the first place?”

“Thank you, really, for explaining what my job is.”

In her emotional outburst, Dain had stepped out of line. The moment she met Melanie’s cold stare, she realised she had just ruined everything.

“In any place where people work together, there will be disagreements and envy. But these things are tolerated as long as they don’t interfere with the work. No one is paid to bicker over petty nonsense.”

“Head maid, I’ve worked so hard -“

“No. That’s not what I saw.”

Melanie cut her off flatly, not even giving Dain a chance to argue.

“Every time I turned around you were nowhere to be found. The other maids had to cover for you in the laundry room, and let’s not even talk about how swamped the kitchen was. And on the rare occasions when you did work, your pouting and bad attitude made it impossible for the others to like you”

“I admit I haven’t done everything perfectly—I’m just not used to this kind of work.

But I really tried! I’ll get better, I promise!”

Increasingly desperate, Dain’s eyes filled with tears as she tried to look pitiful.

“I grew up on this estate, running errands since I was a child. If you ask my mother…”

At the subtle attempt to raise Emma, Melanie let out a short, dry laugh.

“How old are you now? I was under the impression that Emma raised you, but maybe I was wrong.”

The maids in the back couldn’t contain their giggles. Red-faced and trembling, Dain had no comeback.

“Your mother is a responsible and hardworking woman. If she’s raised a good daughter, then shouldn’t that daughter make her proud? Shouldn’t you be honoring her—not tarnishing her name?”

With these last pointed words, Melanie raised her chin.

“I would rather not hear of such a fuss in the future. Even if the madam were to wish for your return, I do not want any reason to stop her.”

“I understand. I’ll be more careful.”

As Melanie turned away, the other maids followed.

“You pick up the duvet.”

“And don’t forget to wash it thoroughly. We’ll check.”

Those little… Dain’s body shook with rage as she bent down to pick up the dirty blanket.

She hated it all – the hands that were already starting to get rough, the dark and scratchy maid’s uniform that got dirty at the slightest task.

But most of all, she hated something else.

Grey said he would leave the decision to the Countess.

One day Regina had summoned her and, smiling brightly, dropped a bombshell.

You didn’t like serving me, did you?

She said it was no longer necessary.

Speaking softly and sweetly, Regina had reassigned her to the most menial of tasks among the maids.

Shocked, Dain had run straight to Emma.

Seeing her daughter sobbing and crying, Emma had discreetly brought it up with Barbara.

In the past, Barbara would have been happy to intervene – but this time she had only given a short answer:

“Hmm.”

And that was the end of it.

No matter how trusted she was, a maid was still a maid.

Emma knew her place well. She wasn’t in a position to beg the head mistress for anything – especially not for her daughter.

Even her mother, on whom she depended, turned a blind eye – and that drove Dain to the brink.

When would she be able to return to her “rightful place”?

She considered visiting Barbara and pretending to be pitiful, showing off the blemishes on her face – but even that wasn’t easy.

There was simply too much work to be done, and Barbara was always surrounded by senior maids like Melanie, who kept a sharp eye on everything.

‘Just wait. Do you really think I’m going to stay like this?’

Dain’s eyes flashed cold and sharp as she dragged the duvet back to the laundry.

And at the end of that look was the bedroom where Regina lay asleep.

It was late afternoon when Regina woke up.

Fragments of memory came back to her – being hugged like a corpse after making love in the carriage, then being taken to the estate.

Her body had been cleaned and her clothes changed, so someone must have helped her.

Still, when she rose from the bed, her whole body ached.

Lifting her clothes, she found her body covered in red and blue bruises.

‘I must have hit something in the carriage…’

What on earth had possessed her to be in such a state in such a place?

What if the coachman or one of the knights had overheard her?

‘They won’t think I’m that kind of woman… will they?’

Regina, who had been worrying without realising it, felt a surge of self-loathing.

‘Why should it matter what they think?’

It was her life – yet somehow her standards were always measured against Grey’s.

How long would it take to break that wretched, ingrained habit?

Still rubbing her wrists, slightly bruised and bluish to match her mood, Regina listened carefully.

Something felt different. The estate was louder than usual, but not in the usual way.

Voices drifted in from a distance, laced with tension and sorrow, brushing against her nerves like invisible, icy fingers.

She pulled the bell cord several times, hoping to summon someone to explain what was happening.

No one came.

With no choice, Regina stepped out into the corridor.

Not a soul in sight – it was as if the house had been abandoned.

It was only when she made her way downstairs that she finally saw a maid.

“Madam!”

Of all people – it was Dain.

Regina’s expression instantly turned cold, but Dain ignored it and rushed up to her with a mock expression of joy.

“There’s a big commotion outside, madam!”

Regina opened her mouth to ask – but Dain was already speaking.

“Can you believe it? A tsunami hit Kapten Port!”

“A tsunami?”

Regina echoed, stunned.

“Yes, yes! Tons of people were hurt. Fishing boats, houses – everything was destroyed!”

She had sensed something was wrong… but never imagined it would be so catastrophic.

“Many of the servants have family in Kapten Port. Everyone is in a panic, worried sick. As soon as the head mistress heard, she took off on horseback!”

“I should have gone with her… Why didn’t anyone wake me?”

“The Master gave strict orders before he left. He said Madam was unwell and needed rest. Oh – how are you, by the way?”

Dain asked the question as if she cared, but her tone told the truth – she didn’t.

Still, now wasn’t the time to dwell on Dain’s attitude. Something much more serious was unfolding.