Her cheeks burned with the sting of a slap.

Shada swallowed a tear, unable to touch her swollen face. If she cried, her master would probably set fire to her other cheek, ordering her to “Shut up!”

Shada hoped that her abuse would end shortly, but her foe took joy in prolonging her humiliation and relished that an excuse to step on her more appeared.

“You’re an irritating girl—you’ve been a thorn in my eye for a long time.”

At Shada’s pitiful stare, a maid, Anna, frowned and attempted to mediate.

“Princess Julia.”

“Quiet, Anna. That thing broke my favorite teacup, didn’t it?”

The Princess, enraged, kicked her self-proclaimed precious teacup.

Princess Julia, the only royal daughter of the Mayer kingdom, was a royal that was famous for her beauty as she was infamous for her vile temperament.

There were various tales to back up such an assessment, such as pouring hot tea water on a servant’s face for wearing the wrong shoelace or forcing a fat maid to run around until she cried and the Princess laughed or whipping a young servant because he had stuttered.

Objectively, it is standard practice that a servant is punished if she damages her owner’s things. However. the Princess was a vicious master and held herself to no ethical norms when it came to her subordinates.

“You’ve provoked me first!” Princess Julia stepped on Shada’s hand with her heel.

Anna and the rest of the maids swallowed their objections.

Their master frequently abused and tormented Shada. It was to be expected in the Princess’s palace for her to slap or pull servants’ hair because she was bored.

It was hell.

Anna, who knew Shada’s situation well, seemed to feel sorry for her, but she was forced to turn away from Shada’s desperate eyes because she was wary of her master.

No one knew why, but Princess Julia hated Shada.

And no one knew that fact more than Shada, whose hand was being trampled by the Princess’s sharp heel.

Shada screamed and begged. “Oh, it hurts, Princess! I’m sorry!”

“Huh, is that all you have to say—that’s all? Is it over if you kill someone and say sorry?”

At the absurd parable, all the maids in the room murmured inward, lowering their eyes. What are you talking about, madam? What is she going to do this time?

They all sympathized with Shada in their hearts.

Perhaps Shada would be whipped—but that was basic; something nasty had to be in store for her because Princess Julia had been in a violent mood. Everyone felt sorry for Shada’s lousy luck who, frankly, did nothing wrong but was simply a victim of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Julia, with a deep smile, glared sharply at the crying maid as she crushed her hands.

In fact, the reason why the Princess hated her was not a big deal, nor was it because of something Shada did.

Shada was a timid and talkative maid with black hair like a crow, a pale face, and pink eyes. Only if you looked closely did you realize she had a striking appearance.

Although Julia’s beauty, which had been born and managed beautifully as a princess, it didn’t compare to Shada’s indescribable charm when her wet eyes sparkled like peach juice when she was in tears.

You couldn’t take your eyes off of her once entranced. Those large eyes had dramatic eyelashes that cast a shadow.

Shada had a sad, sensual, and mouth-watering allure that stimulated one’s sadism.

So, to put it bluntly, Shada had a magnetism that attracted most men.

She may not be an apparent beauty, but her vulnerable looks coupled with her innocent and pretty personality—all the things that Julia lacked—fascinated many around her.

And so, from Julia’s point of view, Shada possessed the most outstanding and stunning beauty.

Julia was unpleasant and lacked this kind of charm, and it couldn’t be obtained by status to Julia’s humiliation. She marked Shada as her natural enemy.

“You were wrong?” laughed Julia, who was pleased with the conversation’s direction.

She sat cross-legged in a fluffy chair, glancing at Shada.

“Take it all off. Don’t you think you should be punished if you did something wrong?”

“Ahh! Princess! Save me!” Shada opened her eyes wide and struggled when she saw the strong maids rip off her clothes and a scary-faced servant coming with the dreaded whip.

After the King, who was in poor health, Princess Julia, usually arrogant, refrained from using her big whip. But today, she seemed to have no such self-restraint.

What did I do wrong? Shada wept as her exposed shoulders shook.

I have been working at the palace for many years, but I haven’t had a day of comfort since I was assigned to the Princess’s Palace.

Why does the Princess hate me so much?

She was trembling and opened her eyes as the whip went up, ready to strike.

Everyone turned away, and the wicked Princess was laughing.

Shada thought, looking at the slowly approaching whip, it was the shadow of the Reaper.

I don’t want to die. A former maid who was struck by that whip is still only half alive.

She didn’t know where such strength or courage came from, but Shada pushed down the maid who held her with all her might and ran out of the room.

It was relatively easy because they never thought she would dare run away.

“What are you doing? Catch her!” Hearing the Princess’s shouting curses, Shada grabbed her torn and half ripped off uniform, gasping and running.

She looked back in horror. Her fellow maids that she had worked with were chasing her.

A dreadful terror overtook her. No one would help her.

I can’t get caught and be beaten. I have to run!

But amid her panting run, she bumped with someone hard and fell to the floor.

“Kak !”

At times like this, who the hell is standing in the hallway!

Tears of resentment came out and swelled around her eyes. Through her blurry vision, Shada found a man looking down at her with a jarringly calm face.

His platinum blonde hair gleamed, and his eyes were a vivid cold analytical green that had a mysterious depth. His eerie perfect sculpture-like features completed the impression of a being that was intelligent and icy. Add the blade at his hip that dangerously shined in her eyes… Shada gulped, numb with a weightless panic.

“Hey! *****, you dare to run away… Huh, Count Kirchner.”

Jill, a servant of Princess Julia, approached, and her words trailed off in embarrassment, bowing to the Count.

The man’s glance passed Jill by, and then returned to Shada, who was lamenting.

Shada knew who he was. She couldn’t help but know. He was famous throughout the royal palace.

Count Huey von Kirchner.

He had gained fame during a dangerous and great naval battle several years ago. The Count was a descendant of a prestigious family and a promising knight.

Shada heard the maids chattering about him winning a great victory at sea and being bestowed a Count’s title.

Another time, he also prevented rebel republicans, who opposed the monarchy, from assassinating the King.

In fact, what was even more remarkable and attracted the most interest, was that he was the fiancé of the foul Princess Julia.

Count Kirchner’s green eyes swept over Shada’s torn maid uniform. Shada felt his stare and covered her chest with a red face.

Her heart thumped with fear, an instinct that there was a great and unknown adversary in front of her.

Shada’s moist, wet pink eyes resembled a shivering rabbit. His eyes flashed as he looked at her red-hot eyes heavy with tears, shame, and panic.

The Count’s mouth bent like a loose beast. Shada dropped her head in a hurry; his strange, dark smile was weird and unnerving.

Her hands and feet trembled as his eyes traveled up her bare skin during a prolonged silence.

Slowly, a black-gloved hand approached Shada’s bowed head.

“Oh, Huey. I didn’t know you would come without a call.”

The Count’s hand withdrew.

He politely bowed to the beautiful Princess, who shyly blushed while looking sideways at Shada’s distraught appearance.

“I greet the Princess.”

“Ah-cham, just call me by my name.”

At the graceful and flawless greeting, Princess Julia was satisfied, but she pretended to be depressed.

Interestingly enough, this fierce Princess was infatuated with her father’s savior.

Even though they did it in secret, no one dared to speak ill of the cruel Princess to the Count’s face.

The Count should have seen the real face of his fiancé by now. So what was he thinking?

Count Kirchner softly spoke to the Princess, who couldn’t hide her envy with her picturesque grace as a cover.

“How could I be so rude?”

“I’m sorry, Huey. Is that rude between us?”

At her grumbling, he just smiled lightly and asked a question. “Is this a maid of the princess?”

“… Yes. She is so disrespectful, so my head maid was going to teach her a lesson.”

“Hmm, a rude maid. I don’t think she’ll be of any use to the Princess.”

Julia nodded shyly as her cheeks happily blushed when she heard her fiancée taking her side. “Yes, that’s right. I was going to get rid of it today.”

Hearing a casual conversation about her life going back and forth over her head, Shada forgot to breathe.

‘I’d rather be beaten, and quickly get it over with.’

The problem was that Julia would never let her leave with an intact body.

Count Kirchner glanced at Shada’s trembling form and smiled at his fiancée, who looked at the Count eagerly.

He said something that no one expected.

“Good. Then there will be no problem if I take this maid.”

Hi! hope you're all well...this series is spicy one 😁😏 please be toned ....

Truly, life was unpredictable; Shada thought that described her current situation perfectly. Unpredictable. Unexpected. Nerve-racking.

Her hands and feet twisted in anxiety as she stood in a new maid uniform.

Heavy silence weighed down on her shoulders.

The man crossed his long legs and watched the distressed maid right in front of him.

His expensive pants, one aristocrats could only afford, was well-tailored and drew a slender line leading up to smooth leather shoes.

He spoke to her with his fingers crossed in front of him. It was a soldier-like voice with a sweet yet monotonous accent.

“Name?”

Little shoulders jumped. Shada politely bowed her head, trying to conceal the pounding of her beating heart and her trembling fingers as much as possible.

“It is Shada.”

“Shada.”

Count Kirchner rolled her name again with that elegant tongue. Although he was a famous knight, at a glance, he looked like the type that had nothing to do with bloody or brutal battles.

In the eyes of Shada, all she could see were occupational hazards in the Count’s cold, hard eyes, and unknown facial expressions. Alarms went off, sensing danger in every corner.

The worst thing for a maid was an unreadable master.

He didn’t even don his usual mask with a languid smile since he took Shada to his mansion.

She recalled a nasty sight that terrified her in her childhood, a cold snake slowly dislocating its jaw to accommodate the whining mouse it was crushing.

“Do you know why I brought you?”

“No?”

Was there any way to know?

Regardless, she was rescued by his hand and stood here, but Shada had no gage of the current situation. She tried to ignore the sweat on her nose and recollected the series of events that occurred before she came into the mansion.

***

“What was that… … ?”

The Count was calm in front of his fiancee, whose face hardened in an instant and cracked.

“My mansion has recently run out of maids. This is great.”

“… Ho ho ho. If that’s the case, a maid other than this defective would be better. I am a capable person.”

“No.”

The Count languidly cut off the Princess’s reply. The voice that followed was firm.

“I want her.”

Shada was stunned even amid her haze when she spotted the Count’s usually cold and refined visage suddenly sporting such a sweet smile that it elated the heart and melted reason.

Princess Julia, the direct target of his alluring smile, turned red.

Barely cognizant, she shouted angrily. “Why that girl?”

“It is a matter of course.”

The Count grinned.

“I think she will do well if she works.”

His remark left the crowd’s mouths open in surprise.

Meanwhile, the Count hugged Shady, lifting her up and raising her head.

“I thank you for your favor. Well, then.”

He left without an opening to stop him.

While being held by him, Shada stupidly gaped, not being able to grasp her situation.

‘I don’t know what the hell is going on… one thing is certain though, I’m alive right now.’

She gingerly lifted her head over the back of the Count, and when her gaze met the Princess’s distorted expression and murderous glare, she bowed her head in fright. Thanks to this, she had dug into the arms of the strange Count. She was preoccupied with soothing her palpitating heart vibrating in her ears.

If Shada had been sharper and registered her reflexes, she would have died a hundred times.

But she was dizzy with the extreme emotional turmoil that happened within the span of minutes.

Just a moment ago, she had crossed the pit of death, rebelling for the first time in her life, but now the frightening Princess’s fiancé saved her. And took a maid personally in his arms!

What was going on?!

“Miss maid.”

“Yes. Yes?!”

Shada asked back, trembling at his low call.

“How about stopping the shakes? I don’t think it’s very good.”

“Sorry!”

Shada replied a little too loudly.

Count Kirchner looked down at her frozen form, barely daring to breathe, and curled his lips.

“No, I don’t mind,” but it wouldn’t do you any good, was the inferred rest of the thought.

Shada couldn’t figure out what his unsettling words meant.

After putting her in the carriage, the Count’s face was expressionless, watching Shada.

He suddenly laughed.

With his rapturous smile reappearing again, Shada openly gawked.

“I’m glad we have a lot of time.”

The door closed with a finality.

Shada had no clue what his mysterious words meant.

***

Returning to reality, Shada was only sure of her survival from certain death.

Perhaps if the Count had neglected her presence or had passed her over to the Princess–she would have been beaten until her bones stuck out and thrown out in the cold weather. Eventually, she would be subjected to more horrors and killed.

Shada gulped when she recalled how many of her colleagues became paralyzed upon earning the witch-like Princess’s anger.

Undoubtedly, the Count was her benefactor and savior.

If it weren’t for him, no matter how far she ran, she would have been caught in the end.

How could a weak woman survive and escape from that bloody royal palace?

Shady, torned inside, spoke in a whisper.

“Sir…….”

“Tell me, Miss Shada.”

Courage arose when he replied in a smooth tone that reminded one of dark chocolate.

Maybe, he’s a really good nobleman. It’s said he was a hero, and he might be a wonderful person with a rare and sincere sense of chivalry. Maybe he just felt sorry for the maid about to be murdered by his vicious fiancee.

Shada put all her heart in her best 90-degree angle bow, expressing her gratefulness through the best courtesy she could offer.

“Thank you for saving me, Count.”

“… … .”

Within her limited view, she saw his impeccable shoe.

With the strings neatly trimmed and tied in flawless knots, the mansion’s servants and maids must be excellent employees who do meticulous work. Or maybe the butler is very competent.

Of course, Shada didn’t even entertain the idea of the Count tying his shoelaces on his own.

She swallowed and chewed the flesh inside her mouth.

Polite, impeccably neat…….

“I will definitely pay back your grace. If you let me do the housework, I will do my best—better than anyone else… … .”

“Pfft.”

Shada, who was firmly determined, was distracted by the brief laughter.

What, what is it? Her big pink eyes reflect her confusion; she brought her hand to her mouth and peeked up at the Count.

He was smiling, and then at Shada’s surprised-rabbit-like expression, his beaming expression grew wider.

“You sound like a first-time soldier before going to the battlefield. What are you trying to fight?”

Shada became dumb with honey, and as his words sunk in, she worked hard to keep her face from turning red.

He treated her oath like a diverting jest.

Even if the Count didn’t intend to laugh at Shada, in that careless attitude— Shady realized again that he was a nobleman.

Shada knew that many people missed the Republican era of 50 years ago before the monarchy was restored. Still, Shada was of a generation who had never enjoyed a period where the division between royal, noble, and commoner broke down, where the masses had talked about freedom and equality.

But Shada couldn’t help but be hyper-aware of the vast difference between nobility and commoner.

Aristocrats could effortlessly control you and make you unhappy.

Fear, at her immense powerlessness, made her feel hollow and weightless.

When Shada didn’t respond, the Count stopped laughing and looked at her. His eyes, directed at Shada, were as beautiful and sharp as emeralds.

“Oh no, don’t be scared. I like you.”

“M..me, me?”

“Yes. Speaking of which……..”

The Count stood up, and Shada held her breath.

Not only was he beautiful, but he was surprisingly tall and came close to her within a few steps.

As he confidently walked with his hand in his pocket, he looked down at the woman who had become ice again.

Long fingers held her frilly apron straight.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t even know why I brought you?”

“Yes, I did.”

Shady absentmindedly responded, distracted by his elongated index finger rubbing her ribbon.

“By the way…” The Count came suddenly near her as if he was bowing his head to smell flowers. The man who put his lips near her red ear and spoke softly.

“Do your best to figure out that puzzle and devote your body and soul to fulfill your duties.”

Her hair stood edge, hyper-aware, and sensitive to his breathing.

Sensing an unfamiliar and sensitive atmosphere, Shada became nervous and full of anticipation—of what she wasn’t sure—but she felt as if she was being hypnotized and on the verge of stumbling.

The Count, looking down at the woman who swallowed her drool, suddenly laughed. The delicate atmosphere that lingered between them was immediately shattered.

“It’s the first day and you’re tired. Go and take a break, Miss Shada.”

Shada blinked her pink eyes.

The Count came back into focus looking proper again, smiled neatly. Shouldn’t you see the place where you’re going to sleep?

***