As soon as Leila felt the strength welling up from her small, delicate body, she gritted her teeth and held on. The woman, furious enough that the veins stood out on her wrist, wielded force recklessly despite being of a similar build to Leila.

Smack—!

Leila bit the inside of her cheek with her molars as she braced for more blows to come. But contrary to her expectations, the woman who had been shaking her by the handful of golden hair only huffed and trembled with fury. The moment Leila felt the strength in her grip release, she quickly dropped flat to the floor again.

Her slapped cheek quickly swelled red, and long scratches were left as if by the woman’s long fingernails.

“You’re a lowly maid who lives and dies at my command. The ugliest one at that, and how dare you feel jealousy? Know your place!”

“…Miss, please have mercy…”

“Disgusting, you’re disgusting! The most hideous and revolting thing!”

The screams of Yuria Delia, daughter of the Viscountess whom Leila served with utmost devotion, echoed loudly. Hearing Yuria’s high-pitched screech, Leila barely held back her instinct to cover her ears.

“Miss, please stop. If you hurt your hand, your fair skin will suffer.”

Yuria’s rage didn’t die down easily. Whenever that happened, the maids beside her would flatter her desperately to calm her down. They would tell her they worried her beautiful skin, lips, and slender elegance might be marred. It worked every time. A hundred times out of a hundred, Yuria would pretend to swallow her anger.

“I don’t want to see your face for a while. Get out to the stables where you belong!”

“Yes, miss.”

At a glance from the oldest maid among them, Leila—who had remained plastered to the floor until then—quickly stood up. She bowed deeply until her crown was visible, then backed away.

Only once the door closed and she was free from Yuria’s line of sight did Leila finally exhale and let her shoulders slump.

“She’s particularly irritable today… Leila, you did well.”

“……”

“Still, today was better than usual. Back in the day…”

One of the maids who had been anxiously watching from within murmured with a pitiful look. She soon moved carefully, found the shard of glass embedded in Leila’s palm, and quickly pulled it out.

Just as she said, it was fortunate that it ended like this. Yuria’s violent tantrums always involved Leila. Slapping her was the least of it; sometimes she would throw whatever she could grab and even kick.

At first, it had only been verbal scolding, but gradually it turned into violence, becoming a daily occurrence. Since she hadn’t always been that way, both Leila and the other maids were equally shocked. Yuria had been so timid she barely spoke with servants, and many thought her temper would fade quickly…

“It’s probably because of the sudden marriage announcement. The young lady must be frustrated too. But still…”

“…Yes.”

Yuria’s violence worsened by the day.

She would lose her temper with other maids too, but only with Leila was she especially cruel. While others were slapped at most, Yuria would look for sharp objects like earrings or brooches to scratch Leila’s face.

At first, Leila cried, shocked and hurt. But as the abuse continued, even her tears dried up.

She knew well that becoming numb to such threats wasn’t a good thing. But there was nothing else she could do.

For Leila, who had nowhere else to go, this was the best she had. Yuria’s violence came so unpredictably and constantly that it drove the maids around her into fear.

Yuria hadn’t always been this way. She changed one day. Five years ago, at the first party she attended to debut in society, the gossip of the people there created the Yuria of today.

“That girl is the only daughter of Viscount Delia? Goodness, how could this be? How could she be plainer than the maid she brought with her?”

“A plain girl worse than a maid, will any man even want to marry her?”

“Honestly, if it were me, regardless of status, I’d choose the maid instead.”

“How unfortunate. Bringing a prettier maid to a party than yourself… Then again, with a face like that, it’d be hard to find a maid uglier than her. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Hahaha! Hohoho! The whispers soon turned to laughter. Being dragged to a party she didn’t even want to attend had already been frustrating enough, but being remembered as plainer than a maid became a traumatic scar for Yuria.

After that day, Yuria began tormenting the maids as if she had become a different person. Even the smallest mistake would trigger her inferiority complex, and she would make absurd accusations. When they helped her choose a dress or assisted with her grooming, she would cry, saying they were trying to make her look ugly out of jealousy. It had become so frequent it was almost routine.

Leila received the most complaints and insults, and by now had grown so used to it that it felt meaningless. Fortunately, even if they pretended not to see, the sympathetic gazes of her fellow maids who pitied Leila the most were still a comfort.

“It’s best not to leave the stables for a while.”

“…Yes. Go back quickly. The young lady might come looking for you.”

“Alright. Take care.”

“Yes, see you later.”

Leila, who had been pressing her cheek with the back of her hand to soothe the pain, turned and headed outside. She felt oddly relieved that things ended here today. Just yesterday, another maid had been beaten badly after bringing out new cookies and falling victim to one of Yuria’s misunderstandings.

She had reportedly yelled, asking if they were trying to fatten her up like some ugly beast to make her a laughingstock. Leila, who had taken the day off due to her severe monthly cramps, worried that her fellow maid might have taken the beating in her place.

But that thought was soon erased by the sting of Yuria’s slap, which had left a lingering pain. Leila diligently rubbed her now-swelling cheek to reduce the bruising. Her cold hands, chilled from tension, barely helped.

Her cheek ached to the point where even the slightest touch felt like burning. She stopped rubbing, thinking she couldn’t touch it anymore, when she felt hurried footsteps approaching from behind.

“Leila, Leila!”

“Why are you running like that? You’ll trip, Peter.”

“Madam…! Huff, huff! Madam is calling for you.”

“The madam?”

“Yes, hurry. She didn’t know you were heading to the stables… You’re late. Madam’s waiting.”

“Alright, I’ll go right now.”

Leila rushed off to the study where the viscountess was waiting. After losing her husband, the Viscountess had taken over full management of the estate. At the same time, she poured all her care into raising her sensitive daughter like a precious jewel and ran the household business herself.

Then, two years ago, the Viscountess remarried a much younger man. The two got along very well, sharing experiences and wisdom with each other. Their affection had been heartwarming. After mourning her first husband in depression, the Viscountess finally smiled again.

But that happiness didn’t last long. When Yuria was chosen to become the wife of Grand Duke Draven, the Viscountess was overcome with concern, and Yuria cried through the night, saying she couldn’t bear to marry a man who had killed his previous wife with his own hands.

Since then, Yuria’s violent outbursts had grown worse.

The maids said it was because of the absurd marriage arrangement and hoped she would soon return to her old self.

If even outsiders could see it, how much more painful must it have been for the Viscountess, her mother? Yet she couldn’t reject the match either. The marriage to the Grand Duke—nephew and only blood relative of the Emperor—promised enormous benefits.

With that burden, she agonized for days until one day, a whisper reached her ear, one that made her ears perk up.

“Send a maid with hair and eyes similar to Yuria’s as a fake bride.”

With that single sentence, the fates of Leila and Yuria were reversed. The Viscountess’s new husband had spoken those words in passing, but they left a tremendous impact. Since then, Leila had been thoroughly concealed and sent off to the Grand Duke’s estate, a place shrouded in sinister rumors.

It was sheer luck that Yuria had never gone out in public after her debut party. Her face was unknown to society, which meant the Grand Duke hadn’t realized the bride was someone else when he lifted the veil.

Perhaps, deep down, they had hoped he would find out.