CHAPTER 03
What did that fool just say?
“Tia, you’re loud.”
There was no doubt—the princess had said it. Tia’s eyes widened in shock. Had that really come from the fool?
The foolish princess wasn’t called a fool for nothing. She always stuttered when speaking, her vocabulary was poorer than that of commoners, and her behavior was worse than a five-year-old child.
But the words she had just spoken contained none of that hesitation. On top of that, her tone had been calm—eerily so.
She’s like a completely different person.
Tia swallowed hard.
The princess now carried an intelligence she had never shown before. Her bright, glistening eyes sparkled like a bird of prey hunting its target, and the relaxed curve of her lips held a disturbing ease.
The princess stood up, holding a plate of bread in her unbandaged right hand. Her arm bandage had been removed, but both legs were still wrapped. The physician had said she would not be able to walk properly for some time.
Yet the princess stepped firmly onto the ground with both feet.
And smiled—as if she felt no pain at all.
Could it be… she’s regained her sanity?
Tia gasped without realizing it. The princess tilted her eyes, noticing her fear.
“Yes. You took care of me very diligently while I was out of my mind, didn’t you?”
The soft voice was quiet—but it pierced like a needle.
Tia trembled. She had never once treated the princess kindly. She had complained endlessly, pinched her, and done only the bare minimum of her duties.
If the princess had truly regained her senses, punishment was unavoidable.
Tia shut her eyes tightly.
The princess looked down at her, then flipped the plate over. The hard bread fell with a dull thud. As Tia opened her eyes in shock, the princess grinned.
Then she lifted her foot and brought it down hard.
BOOM!
The floor cracked and caved in under the force.
“Still too weak.”
The princess spoke nonsense and motioned lazily with her hand. Tia, trained as a maid, understood immediately.
She hurried over, careful not to anger her mistress.
The princess then pressed her heel into the bread, crushing it slowly. The black, rock-hard loaf disintegrated beneath her pristine foot.
Was this… anger? Tia bit her lip in confusion. She suddenly missed the unconscious, troublesome princess she had found annoying.
Now using both feet, the princess ground the bread into pieces, mixing it with dust and debris from the floor.
Satisfied, she stepped back.
And ordered:
“Tia. Lick it all clean. Not a single crumb left.”
“…Pardon?”
“You’re quite lucky. How many masters would share their own food with a maid like me?”
Eleksena spoke sweetly, almost like she was singing.
She intended to keep the fool’s body alive for a long time. Only then would the suffering last.
But if she gave food and the dog still bared its teeth, things would become troublesome. She might end up killing her immediately—and that would be too quick.
So first, she would break her.
So that the insolent dog would swallow whatever its master shoved into its mouth without resistance.
“I suppose this is generous for a maid, but consider it repayment for serving me while I was not myself. So don’t hesitate—eat.”
Only then did Tia realize every word was serious.
A wave of nausea rose in her throat as she looked at the ruined mess the princess pointed to.
The bread was black with mold. It had been crushed into dirt and debris.
It wasn’t something a human could eat.
“Milady… I—I can’t…”
She shook her head frantically.
“Hm.”
The princess seemed to think for a moment. Hope briefly flickered in Tia’s eyes.
Yes… she’s just a foolish girl. Even if she woke up, she wouldn’t go this far—
But she was wrong.
“Milady, are you insane?! Let go—stop it!!”
Before she could finish, the princess grabbed her hair.
Tia clawed at her arm, trying to break free, but she couldn’t even leave a scratch.
“Stop making this more troublesome. Eat properly.”
The words echoed like a cruel repetition of her own past.
Stop being troublesome and sit properly.
Tia’s face twisted in regret.
Eleksena slammed Tia’s head into the floor.
The resistance didn’t last long.
A satisfied smile spread across Eleksena’s face.
Rumors spread quickly among the maids:
The foolish princess had regained her sanity.
More precisely, the princess who had been unconscious for a week had awakened—and supposedly recovered her lost intelligence.
It took only hours for the rumor to spread, thanks entirely to Tia.
Pale-faced, she ran to the other maids and tearfully recounted everything that had happened. When she reached the part where she had been forced to lick the floor, she broke down completely.
The other maids turned serious.
No one in the manor had treated the princess properly. If she now remembered everything…
A chill ran through them.
“Tia, rest. I’ll inform the lady of the house.”
Sennia, one of the more favored maids, stepped forward.
She quickly made her way to the mistress’s quarters.
We were wrong to treat the princess poorly… but who allowed it? The real power in this household.
No—did they merely allow it? Didn’t they encourage it?
Sennia smiled bitterly.
It was ridiculous that only the maids would be punished when the true cause was the lady herself.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A calm voice answered.
“Come in.”
Sennia bowed respectfully to Igrelia, the true ruler of the ducal household.
Once the door closed, she straightened.
“What is it?”
“Milady…”
Sennia began to cry.
A perfect performance—that was how she had earned favor.
She collapsed to the floor as if overcome with grief. Startled, the lady embraced her.
“Milady… milady…”
She clutched the hem of her dress and sobbed.
Then she changed her tactic.
“The young lady… Lady Cardia… has regained her sanity!”
At that, the lady’s hand paused.
Not because she was surprised—but because the name irritated her.
“Is that so? And that is good news, is it not?”
Whether she truly understood or was pretending, Sennia pressed on.
“Lady Tia has already been punished. If this continues, the rest of us will—”
She cut herself off, pretending to choke on tears.
The lady’s eyes sharpened.
“I understand. I will go see that fool myself.”
At that moment—
“Hahaha!”
A laugh came from outside the door.
A low, scraping laugh.
The room froze.
Before anyone could react, the tightly closed door of the duchess’s chamber slowly opened.
The maid guarding outside turned pale in shock.
No one—no one—could open that door without Lady Igrelia’s permission.
Yet the door moved.
And the intruder did not rush.
A pale hand rested on the frame. One arm bent casually, head tilted slightly to the side.
A smile still remained on her face.
A face everyone there recognized.
No.
A face everyone in the entire mansion knew.
“There is no need for that.”
The girl smiled.
“This daughter has already come to see her mother.”
The foolish princess—Cardia—had appeared.
