Sheila left Cedric’s room, went down the stairs, and headed toward Judith’s room. There, she ran into Molly, who was waiting in front of it.

“What did he say?”

Molly asked urgently. Judith was still asleep. She would wake up soon, so there wasn’t much time to talk freely.

Sheila briefly explained to Molly that Mrs. Margaret had been dismissed and Cedric would take over the lessons. Then she went on to tell her own situation.

“He told me to become the young lady’s whipping maid.”

“What?”

Molly unconsciously raised her voice. Startled by the loud sound, both Sheila and Molly hurriedly gestured for each other to be quiet.

Molly lowered her voice and asked, “Can you do it?”

Molly knew better than anyone that although Sheila worked stubbornly, her stamina and endurance were not particularly strong.

“Why couldn’t I?”

Sheila replied as if it were nothing.

Of course, Sheila was worried, but she didn’t want to burden her friend, who was about to get married.

But she couldn’t keep it entirely a secret, since the lessons would start next Monday.

Judith would soon find out too…

She certainly wouldn’t stay quiet. Judith was one of the people who wanted to avoid Cedric as much as Sheila did.

First the broken engagement, and now Cedric’s lessons.

It was a disaster for Judith, and for Sheila and Molly, her maids.

“I’m sorry, Sheila.”

Sheila, lost in thought at Molly’s sudden apology, asked in surprise, “For what?”

It was just bad luck. Molly hadn’t done anything wrong.

“If it weren’t for the wedding, I would have done it instead.”

Even so, Molly hugged Sheila and sniffled. She had been feeling guilty for leaving Sheila to handle everything from waking Judith to doing all sorts of rough work.

Of course, Sheila didn’t think that way at all.

She had just wanted to do something for her friend who was getting married.

Wait, but would she really be paid the same as a maid’s wages just for getting whipped? If she received the money in advance, she could give Molly a generous wedding gift. Molly’s wedding was next Sunday, after all.

But Sheila still couldn’t quite believe such a dreamlike story.

Molly said, “When I get back, I’ll tell him I’ll do it too.”

Geez, this sweet thing.

To reassure the apologetic Molly, Sheila repeated exactly what she had heard from Cedric.

“It’s fine, Molly. It’s just a few strokes of the cane.”

Then, pulling away from her, she spoke solemnly, “And he probably won’t change his mind.”

After all, he had said there would be a contract.

But she couldn’t talk about contracts or advance payment. She hadn’t even signed one yet, so she felt she shouldn’t speak carelessly.

“Still, if it’s too hard for you, I can tell him I’ll take your place.”

At Molly’s sincerity, this time Sheila hugged her. “Don’t worry about that. Just focus on preparing for your wedding!”

Molly didn’t resist Sheila’s embrace. But soon she began squirming, as if trying to break free.

Was the hug too much?

‘Then I’ll just turn you into a chicken!’

Playfully, Sheila hugged Molly tighter and shook her. Trapped in a headlock, Molly patted Sheila’s back frantically and said urgently, “Sh-She-Sheila…! Y-Young Master!”

Even at the sound of her name, Sheila kept playing, but at the words “Young Master,” she suddenly froze.

She calmly released Molly and turned around, bowing her head. Cedric was standing right behind her, having come down at some point.

“Relationships between servants are forbidden.”

R-Relationships…?

“T-That’s not it!”

Sheila hurried to explain, but Cedric cut her off coldly.

“Enough. Open the door.”

Sheila quickly composed herself and opened the door. When Cedric entered, Judith was still fast asleep.

“Wake her.”

He ordered the maids who had followed him.

It was obvious why Cedric had come down to the floor where Judith’s room was. Sheila and Molly reluctantly approached the sleeping Judith. Even then, Sheila squeezed Molly’s hand before letting go, meaning she would handle it, so Molly shouldn’t step in.

Sheila took the lead in waking Judith. Molly also called to her diligently. But perhaps because her nap wasn’t finished, Judith showed no sign of waking.

Cedric’s icy gaze grew colder.

Hadn’t they said she’d gone up to nap even on the day the Soreth family visited…?

The age for naps was at most five or six, yet thirteen-year-old Judith still took them.

“This is ridiculous.”

At Cedric’s low murmur, a chill ran down Sheila’s spine.

Surely he wouldn’t fire them for failing to wake the young lady from a nap?

He wouldn’t fire her immediately after assigning her the whipping maid duty, but she didn’t want to be branded an incompetent maid.

In the end, Sheila had no choice but to say the words she had sworn never to speak a few days ago.

“Please wake up, miss. ‘Young Master Cedric’ has come…!”

“Aagh! Seriously, cut it out!”

As expected, Judith reacted. Her eyes weren’t fully open, but she reached out irritably.

Sheila deliberately let her hair be grabbed. If she avoided it, Judith would surely fall back asleep, wasting all their efforts.

As Sheila expected, using the hair she grabbed for support, Judith sat up and habitually raised her hand to hit.

At that moment, Cedric’s cold voice cut through the air.

“Stop!”

Startled by the sudden voice of her eldest brother echoing in her room, Judith’s eyes flew wide open.

“B…rother?”

Upon confirming Cedric’s presence, Judith’s face changed to that of a meek lamb. However, only her expression had changed; her left hand was still clutching Sheila’s hair.

“Let go of that hand immediately and sit properly.”

Startled, Judith released Sheila’s hair.

Cedric, seeing that Judith seemed to have finally come to her senses, said, “Starting tomorrow, naps are forbidden.”

Judith’s dull eyes widened. This was a bolt from the blue for her.

“What? But Judith always takes naps.”

Standing back, Sheila and Molly swallowed hard. Cedric’s words were absolutely right, but Judith’s nap time was also when the maids could catch their breath.

The maids had no choice but to silently root for Judith and wait to see if Cedric would relent. All three focused on what he would say next.

But what came from Cedric’s mouth was not an answer to that.

“Why do you refer to yourself in the third person?”

“…What?”

Seeing that his younger sister clearly didn’t understand the term “third person,” Cedric rephrased.

“When referring to yourself, you should say ‘I,’ not ‘Judith.’”

The two maids, who also hadn’t known the meaning of “third person,” nodded along.

“And at your age, naps are unnecessary.”

Cedric spoke firmly. But Judith did not back down.

“I heard there is nap time in Lotas.”

“The country with nap time is not Lotas but Arche. We live in neither Arche nor Lotas, but in the Beloica kingdom.”

As expected, it was impossible to contend with Cedric with shallow knowledge.

In the tense atmosphere, Sheila and Molly simply watched.

“But Judith sleeps a lot. Without sleep, it’s too hard. Mother and Father also said it would be better for Judith to keep taking naps.”

Despite Cedric’s correction moments ago, Judith continued to refer to herself in the third person.

Every time Judith acted so imperiously, it was the maids who felt the shame. Now they were more worried than Judith about what scolding might come from Cedric’s mouth.

But the conversation suddenly veered in another direction.

“Last night, I saw your maid returning to her room late at night.”

Huh? Out of nowhere…?

At Cedric’s words, Sheila’s heart dropped. It was obvious that the “your maid” he referred to meant herself. There had been a time when they crossed paths late at night in the third-floor hallway.

Wait, did he recognize me?

Back then, Sheila had lowered her head deeply when she saw Cedric, and he had simply passed by. She had thought she was the only one overly conscious of him.

But why bring that up now…?

As the unpredictable conversation suffocated her, Cedric’s next words were completely logical.

“That means you go to bed late. If you sleep early, there is no reason to nap, and your maids have no reason to be working late into the night.”

With no room to refute, Judith bristled. “Why did you even come to Judith’s room?”

Unlike earlier when she had acted like a sulking puppy, she now asked sharply.

For a brief moment, her true nature was laid bare. But even at that, Cedric remained composed.

“Holding you responsible for your broken engagement, I dismissed Mrs. Margaret.”

At Cedric’s words, Judith scoffed inwardly.

Judith had been dismissing governesses as often as meals since she was young. One governess being fired meant nothing to her.

But the real blow came next.

“From now on, I will personally teach you.”

At Cedric’s declaration, Judith’s face turned to one of shock and fear. The two maids, who had suspected his purpose, still shut their eyes tightly before the impact of the actual words.

It took only seconds for Judith’s surprise to turn to anger.

“No! I liked Mrs. Margaret!” Judith shouted sharply.

She still didn’t know that no matter how much she whined to Cedric, the outcome would not change.

Cedric replied with a cold sneer, “What did you like about Mrs. Margaret? That you could do as you pleased?”

At his blunt question, Judith could not find a suitable reply.

Cedric continued, “Wake up from your dream, Judith. From now on, you will not be able to do as you please.”