Chapter 12
Reaping What You Sow
The next day.
Sena left the dormitory before dawn, around five o’clock, her steps heavy with the thought of working under that obnoxious superior, Baldo, who might hit her again. She made it to the hotel in time for her six o’clock shift.
As usual, she tied up her hair, changed into her work clothes, and left the locker room.
Since there was still time, she planned to follow the employee passage down to the basement staff cafeteria—only to notice a shadowy scene ahead.
She couldn’t make out the words clearly, but the two figures seemed to be struggling in frustration, grabbing at each other.
Some dirty shouting even reached her ears.
She recognized them: the pair squabbling were Kati and Zett.
“What are you doing!”
“Let go! This isn’t your business!”
“This one—Kati—is trying to sneak off!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! He asked me first. He’s not interested in you at all!”
Sena quickly stepped in to separate the two, who were just slightly shorter than her, and stopped them.
From Zett’s words about “Kati sneaking off,” she understood everything immediately.
That man…
The violent Baldo had been using his position to take advantage of young girls like these.
But why did he think such an affair would remain hidden?
Men, she thought with a sigh…
As she shrugged wearily, the girls began grabbing each other’s hair, tugging viciously.
If she got too close, Sena could easily be dragged into the fight herself.
She kept her distance, and as she moved away, a thought struck her: she could expose them the way they were trying to expose each other.
“You really like that Baldo guy? That pathetic jerk who hides in the shadows, hits women, and torments them?”
The girls froze instantly.
Their carefully set hair was a mess.
Scratches from fingernails marked both their faces.
Fights born of jealousy were always ugly…
Sena stepped between them and, using her size, pushed Kati to her back.
Zett cried out, “You’re protecting her?”
“It’s not like that. Look.” Sena unbuttoned a few of her uniform buttons to reveal part of her side along with her undergarments.
“What is that!”
Kati screamed, and Zett covered her mouth in shock.
The area had been healed by the goddess’ prayers, but Sena could reverse the effect to reveal scars.
As the marks appeared, a sharp pain shot through her side, but she endured it.
If it could serve as a warning to the two, it was worth it.
“You understand? These are the ones Baldo gave me last night. He kicked me without restraint—over and over, I thought he’d break my bones. That’s the kind of man he is.”
“Then… being in the kitchen at the bar last night…”
Kati gasped as if she suddenly understood.
It was a misunderstanding, but if she thought that way, it was Sena’s victory.
“With these injuries, there’s no way you can serve food.”
“…You should go to the infirmary right now.”
“I can’t. It’s work.”
Hearing the word “work,” both girls fell silent, ashamed, bowing their heads.
Sena straightened her uniform and looked at the two sulking girls. This was enough. They would no longer interfere with that man.
Last night, the cook Loasso had said that Baldo’s abuse had become “the talk of the place.”
If these girls testified that they had also seen the scars, Sena would gain the upper hand.
Thinking about the miserable fate of such a violent fool, she felt a small measure of relief.
That morning, she had attended the morning meeting but disappeared after lunch. When she was about to finish her shift and go to Mia’s room, she overheard someone say while leaving the locker room: “Baldo’s been suspended.”
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“Late!”
“Mia? What’s going on here?”
Using the master key as usual, Sena tried to open the suite room where Mia was staying. The door opened from inside, revealing a man she didn’t recognize—well-groomed, skilled-looking, and seemingly professional.
Instead of being guided to the bedroom where her friend slept, she was led to the living room and the terrace seating area beyond.
“We had a chef sent from a restaurant in the royal capital. Your own hotel’s chef would make things difficult for you, right?”
“Uh… yes.”
A mere room attendant, in a suite with an upper-class guest, having the hotel’s chef brought in for a meal—if word got out, her supervisor would summon her immediately.
“That’s why I had it arranged from elsewhere.”
“The hotel wouldn’t look too happy about it. But… what exactly is going on?”
It wasn’t just that.
In the living room, several men and women, model-like in appearance and with excellent fashion sense, waited.
Probably hairstylists.
Possibly nail technicians. Something like that.
They had scissors at their waists.
They would take the chef’s prepared meals and deliver them to the terrace seating themselves.
It was like those days she had dined with her family in the Empire’s noble estates.
At first, the chef and attendants were curious about Sena’s shabby appearance, glancing at her with mild amusement.
But seeing her manners at the table, they eventually focused on their work.
The etiquette she had learned as an Imperial noblewoman—the graceful movements—remained a part of her.
“We managed to get the dress and shoes ready, but if you come as tired as you are, you can’t show your true charm. That’s why I had this arranged.”
“And this meal?”
“…Consider it an apology for turning you into a dress-up doll, I suppose.”
“So… you mean I’m about to be pampered and transformed by these people?”
“Basically. What about your shift later?”
Something strange had happened.
She was supposed to work as a waitress at the bar that night, but the schedule had disappeared.
For some reason, following the Baldo incident, Kati and Zett were also excused from their afternoon shifts.
“…It’s free. You really planned this well.”
“Something like that.”
Mia gave her a knowing smile and narrowed her eyes mischievously.
With body massages, facials, and other beauty treatments, Sena was finally released—reborn—just before the next day’s shift began in the early morning.
