Even though it was a rest day, that only meant a break from attending to Judith. For Sheila, it was an even busier day.

From early morning, she washed the maid uniforms collected the previous day and hung them to dry, then went to the market to sell the lace and accessories she had made. Upon returning, she gathered the dried laundry and repaired the parts that needed mending.

She liked that the laundry dried quickly in the hot weather, but the washing itself was exhausting. After washing fifteen water-soaked maid uniforms, her energy was completely drained.

She wondered if she could manage to do it all in her current condition.

‘It would be troublesome to cut back on work…’

Even though the beatings had brought in a good amount of money, she didn’t want to reduce her work. She had worked hard to secure her position.

The beatings were only temporary, after all.

Choosing to rest instead of working, Sheila’s hands were already gathering the knitting basket from her worktable. She planned to knit while lying down. Simply lying idle without using her hands was the greatest waste.

Placing the knitting basket by her pillow, Sheila lay face down on her bed with a pillow under her chest.

Before starting in earnest, she lifted her maid skirt up over her thighs.

“Haa…”

A groan escaped her lips.

“How many in total?”

When the three-hour class ended, Cedric asked for the number of wrong answers. Judith had answered incorrectly twelve times during class. When combined with the wrong answers on the tests given at the end of each subject…

“Thirty… three.”

It was a number that made her eyes shut tightly just thinking about it.

Cedric had handed out a ten-question test at the end of each subject, but Judith couldn’t even get half—no, even a quarter—of them correct.

Adding the questions Cedric asked throughout the class, the total came to forty or fifty questions, of which Judith got thirty-three wrong.

The tool for the beating was the same.

However, this time came the order to raise her skirt a bit higher than during the first and second classes. It was probably because of the marks left from being struck on the calves two times in a row.

Smack, smack, smack.

New marks appeared on the backs of her thighs.

Better this way. It was preferable to be hit on a fresh spot than on an already sore one, especially on the sturdy flesh of her thighs…

“Ah!”

Sheila, who had been trying to think positively, collapsed, clutching her thigh with five strikes left.

“Stand up.”

Cedric’s cold command made her shiver, but she rose on trembling legs.

At his short order, ‘Straight,’ Sheila again lifted her maid skirt up to her thighs with both hands.

Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack!

Each time the springy rattan cane struck and left her legs, the pain was more than she had imagined. Her head went blank, and her legs trembled.

Hic.

Clenching her teeth, Sheila endured until the last strike, then collapsed again. Even sitting, the pain wouldn’t fade, and she had to shift her body.

Judith had been crying from the beginning. When Sheila first collapsed, Judith burst into loud sobs. But to Sheila, everything sounded distant.

I’m the one being hit, why are you…?

Though Sheila’s eyes shed involuntary tears from the pain, it wasn’t like Judith’s sobbing.

And so the lesson ended. Sheila somehow made it back to her room. The pain was far worse than before, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from moving.

Pain would eventually fade with time.

As expected, lying with her skirt lifted seemed to cool the heat somewhat.

Of course, she had locked the door. Though it was her own room, it would be a problem if someone suddenly walked in while she was in this state. Having her own room truly was a blessing.

It was just as she finished crocheting a small lace coaster that her door rattled. If she hadn’t locked it earlier, it would have opened immediately.

“Wh-who is it!”

Startled, Sheila quickly pulled her skirt down and sat up.

“It’s me.”

It was Molly’s voice.

“Wait a moment!”

She had been planning to visit Molly shortly anyway.

Sheila lifted the loose floorboard and took out one solid for Molly, who was getting married in two days. It was twice the amount she had planned to give, more than ten denis.

“How did you get here? What about the young lady?”

“She went to Madam.”

Since she had gone even in the afternoon and again in the evening, today’s lesson must have been tiring.

Molly, likely thinking the same, had come up to check on Sheila.

“Sheila, are you alright?”

“Of course.”

With Molly lately feeling guilty, Sheila had to pretend to be fine even more. Molly must have had a hard time looking after Judith alone when Sheila was gone.

Molly, who had attended to Judith alone, still looked happy as her wedding approached.

“I really want to go, but times like these make working together inconvenient. Here’s your wedding gift.”

Sheila would be attending Judith alone while Molly took three days off for her wedding.

“Thank you, Sheila.”

When Molly saw the gold coin, she was shocked. She had never imagined frugal Sheila would give gold as a wedding gift.

“It’s too much, Sheila.”

“My only friend is getting married. This is nothing.”

Molly, moved by her words, hugged Sheila.

Seeing her friend happy warmed Sheila’s heart. It was thanks to her “whipping maid” salary that she could give more, but that was something she couldn’t say aloud.

“Thank you and sorry. I’ll be back soon.”

Sheila patted her friend’s back. “What’s there to thank or be sorry for? Just have a wonderful wedding, Molly. I truly, truly congratulate you.”

“Thank you, Sheila.”

Warm words based on three years of camaraderie followed.

“But since you’re marrying a rich man, you’d better give me double at my wedding.”

“Oh, really!”

Embarrassed, Molly played along.

Just as Sheila had said, Molly was her only friend. It was why she could happily give one solid as a wedding gift even though she hadn’t yet reached her savings goal.

This was why affection was dangerous.

Knowing this, Sheila deliberately kept her distance from the other maids so as not to disrupt her savings.

She had even earned the nickname “Donmisae,” though she knew she was more easily swayed by affection than money.

But no matter how close she was to Molly, she never told her she had no plans to marry.

She didn’t want to leave such a strong impression.

Marriage at the right age was considered the way of the world, and girls dreaming of it was taken for granted.

“I’ll give you triple, so start dating quickly.”

Romance among the staff was strictly forbidden, but in a place with both men and women, it was impossible to stop.

Of course, to avoid being fired, couples had to announce their marriage before being caught.

Although free love was considered vulgar enough to be monitored by nobles who still had arranged marriages, marriage itself was revered and treated entirely differently.

It was a logic Sheila could not understand.

“Alright.”

Sheila gave a vague reply.

It wasn’t exactly a lie. She had no plans to marry, but she wasn’t opposed to romance altogether. It was just something far in the future.

Their sappy show of friendship ended when a young maid came to Sheila’s room.

“The head maid asked me to give this to you.”

Anne, who would help Sheila take care of Judith while Molly was away, handed her a tray of dinner.

“Oh, thank you, Anne.”

Molly left with Anne.

The tray was piled with a generous meal.

***

Judith was completely exhausted just one week after the lessons began. The first day had only been a test, and she had had only two proper lessons so far…

Thus, Judith went to Marisa’s room twice today. And as soon as the door opened, she said to Marisa,

“Mom, how long do I have to live like this? Judith is really having a hard time.”

When others were present, Judith had grown enough to call them ‘Mother, Father,’ but when no eyes were on them, she still called them ‘Mom, Dad’ and acted spoiled.

Whenever Judith fussed like this, Marisa had always told her unconditionally, “Endure it a little longer.” Judith was frustrated. It was clearly not something that would end in one or two times, so how long was she supposed to endure!

Seeing Judith come in again after she had already been once, Marisa clutched her head.

The exhausted one was not only Judith.

Her youngest daughter, who always smiled like a flower, came every day to whine, so Marisa could not help but grow weary. She had heard that the lessons would surely be every other day, yet Judith’s irritation and whining did not take a break for even a single day.

On top of that, ever since Cedric returned, she had been quarreling with her husband more often, so she was tired…

Bernard, indecisive yet quick-tempered, would fly into a rage if Marisa nagged even a little.

‘I’m the easiest one to pick on, really.’

The end of their fights was always a conversation with their bodies. Her husband angered her in every way, but sex with him was quite good. As he grew older, he diligently ate foods said to be good for virility, such as animal liver, lobster tail, asparagus, and garlic, and it seemed they were not without effect. His technique had even improved compared to his younger days…

“Mom! Are you listening to Judith? Judith is really having a hard time.”

“Judith, it has only been a week. Instead of that, shall Mom have a new dress made for you? Or shoes or a bag?”

At Marisa’s suggestion, Judith forgot her whining and suddenly fell into thought.

“Hmm… can I have all three?”