「 Back to the present 」

As we reach the mansion Mace and his little brother Ralph were waiting for us.

"Ophelia!" Mace yells as he sights Angel, the white horse.

"I'm back," I jump off the horse and help Ivy down. Ralph was standing behind Mace, staring at us shily, "Ivy," I slap her cheek abruptly making her lose her balance and almost fall on the floor, "Who do you serve?" I glare as she places her pale hand on her right cheek.

"I serve you milady..." her teeth were biting her lower lip out of frustration.

"Did I order you to go to the castle?" Ivy kept averting her eyes, almost as if she was feeling guilty.

"No milady," she was in the wrong, and she knew it. If I hadn't ordered her to go meet Terrel then she shouldn't have gone but sadly I am well aware of why she did it.

That man may not control the whole mansion yet but he has gathered quite a sum of supporters over the years. I might not have been in the Wharton's mansion but I know how hard it is to survive for these girls. If you deny his advances then you will suffer a great loss: in the best case scenario you are simply fired, however, in the worst-case scenario, you end up being labeled as a slut for seducing him, even if everyone knows the truth.

Ivy may have disrespected me but she was forced to do so. After you get kicked out of a Duke's house it becomes extremely hard to get another job. She went because she had no way out, this was her way to survive and I respected it.

'The perks of being a woman...' what a repulsive thought.

I am not kind-hearted but I am not stupid either. This was a prime opportunity and I knew it.

'I wonder if she will break...' I grin while creating a psychopathic scenario in my mind.

"So tell me, Ivy... After this stunt, how do I know where your loyalty lies?" I approach her and she starts placing some distance from me. She looked scared, "Are you running from me?"

"Milady..." as she was about to speak I interrupt her.

"Tell me, who are you loyal to? Me? Terrel Wharton? The Duke? Or is it... My father?" Ivy instantly bows down on the floor, tears coming out of her eyes, the exact tears she had been holding for a long time.

"I would never betray you milady! Please you have to believe me! I wouldn't... I never..." she screamed as the fear took control of her. Ivy's figure was trembling and her voice was falling. This was the first time I had seen someone so terrified.

"Maybe you are indeed loyal to Terrel, should I send you back there again?" she grabs onto the hem of my skirt, crying her heart out.

"Please milady, anything but that!" I kneel down and grab her cheeks forcefully, pulling her face close to mine. Her eyes widen in surprise after seeing my expression.

"Wouldn't you be happy to have your master take your first time Ivy? Tell me, wouldn't you like to be pregnant with Terrel's child? I can help you achieve that dream," her face was filled with horror, she knew that once she had been deflowered she wouldn't be able to marry.

"Ophelia... She just came back, calm down..." Mace approaches me as Ralph stood behind him, shivering from the scenario unfolding in front of him.

"Both of you, get out," I glare at them and he realizes it was useless to try to rationalize with me. Mace whispers something into Ralph's ear and he leaves running towards the mansion.

This was my maid. This was my punishment.

"I also heard a rumor... Did you know that Terrel loves to play with planks and whips? How about being raped while being beaten up by Terrel? Don't you want it, Ivy?" I get up and let her go right before she coughs some saliva on the floor. Of course, no one knew about this since this side of him hadn't been created yet but still, it was a perfect tool to scare her.

"Lady Ophelia I am only loyal to you! I'll do anything to prove it!" as I hear her words I smirk.

"Then... Cut your index finger. Show me I can trust you," with a resolute statement and a cold glare I toss her a small dagger from the bag Angel was carrying. Ivy looked at me confused and conflicted, without understanding if this was nothing but a sick joke.

"Ophelia! That's too much! Please stop this!" Mace yells loudly, asserting his dominance.

"Who are you to decide, my lord?" I emphasize my last words as he clenches his fists in frustration.

'It is something that needs to be done,' even if we were the only people outside I knew that we were being watched from every angle, like hawks observing their prey carefully.

"What? You can't? Then you are indeed not loyal to me... I'm afraid you will have to..." as I was about to finish speaking Ivy picks up the knife with her shaking hands. Her eyes were filled with determination.

"Ophelia, please!" Mace attempts, one last time to bring me back to my senses but it was useless. His voice was equal to silence since the only thing I was earing was Ivy's heavy breathing. Besides me and this maid, nothing else matters.

She grabs a stick from the floor and places it in her mouth, biting it strongly. I could feel the adrenaline run through my veins as the dagger began moving back and forth. Ivy groaned in pain as a small river of blood began pouring out, tainting the floor in red.

'Ah... Ivy...' her fluids dripped from her finger, beautifully, just like a painting.

"Stop!" I yell and her hand stops moving. Ivy's eyes were filled with pain and despair. She looked so pitiful, making me, for a glimpse of a second, believe that she was indeed loyal to me, "I understand," I kneel in front of her and take the knife away gently. She gasps in pain.

Slowly, I remove the stick filled with saliva from her mouth and caress her cheek gently. Her eyes became dry as she looked at me in surprise when a gentle smile appeared on my lips.

"I believe you," I help her up and shake off the dirt from her uniform, "Ivy, don't forget this moment, do you understand?"

Tears began flowing down her face again, however, these were not born out of misery, but out of relief.

"Y-Yes milady..." she mumbles while trying to regain her reason.

"Good, now go get yourself treated," I pat her on the shoulder while she held her wounded hand, and, after hearing my words, she leaves.

"Are you satisfied now...?" Mace looked troubled and frustrated, "What she did wasn't that serious Ophelia, you could've just let it go..."

"In chess when a player loses their queen they usually surrender, do you know why is that?" I question while glaring at Ivy enter the mansion.

"Because she is the second most important piece of the board and..." Mace began blabbing about his extensive knowledge in chess.

"I see... Then one should play carefully with the queen, wouldn't you agree?" his eyes widen in surprise as he finally understood my reasoning. I chuckle and head towards the house, leaving Mace outside, staring at me with a dumbfounded expression in his face.

'Yes, this was a threat, to all of them,' I felt all the eyes watch us and soon the news about my doings would spread among the servants. This had all been a power display. They needed to know Terrel wasn't the true villain, I was and so, they needed to fear me more than they fear him.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

「 Some days later 」

"Father!" Amanda bursts into the room holding a letter in her hand.

"She's having a tea party at the Hillgarden's estate!" Duke Criswell gets startled and drops his quill onto the floor, "What is the meaning of this!?"

"I know, she invited all the nobles..." he lets out a sigh as Amanda clenched the letter in her hand.

"Didn't you say you would deal with her?!" she sits on a chair as her legs bounced from her overwhelming anger.

"Amanda, who do you think you are talking to in that tone?" the Duke frowns as a cold shiver runs down on Amanda's spine.

"I'm sorry, father... What can we do?" she was so distraught over her father's words that she wasn't able to calm herself down.

"The party is in less than a week from now so you should get ready for it," Amanda understands that the Duke wanted her to leave and so she did.

As she walked the long corridors she threw Ophelia's invitation letter onto the floor and stepped on it with all her might.

"Clean this up," she states to Lanna, her personal servant right before heading alone to her room.

Meanwhile, the Duke was wondering about the complex situation that had arisen.

"She's here milord," a butler appears and the Duke nods.

"So, is it done?" he asks after ordering his servant to leave. In front of him, there was a slim woman covered by a large dark hood, hiding her face.

"No milord. Gilbert was beaten and is currently recovering," she declares with her sweet voice.

"Do you think she knows?" Alvin thought the timing for all these events was too convenient.

"In my humble opinion, I think it was just a pure coincidence. I witnessed it, he was disrespectful towards her and was punished accordingly, that's all," the woman kneels.

"I see..." even after hearing the woman's words he still felt something was out of place.

'Still, this is a troublesome situation. I need to get rid of her...' the Duke felt the accumulation of stress increase.

"What about that slave? What is your judgment?" Alvin gets up and peaks through the curtains, observing the busy servants doing their chores through the window.

"I don't think there's a need for concern. Slaves can easily be bought," the woman grins while he nodded in consent.

"Indeed... What about poisoning her?" the Duke wanted her to dissipate from this world.

"It is possible but there are too many risks, milord," hearing the spy's words made him place his hands on his forehead. This conversation was giving him a headache.

That suggestion didn't even sound like something that he would think about in the first place. It was the work of despair and rage.

Alvin knew that trying to poison Ophelia would be a great risk since you cannot predict the outcome. Firstly, he was aware that someone else might die to the poison; secondly, he doesn't know if Terrel Wharton has people working for him in the mansion and, if Ophelia does die in such a way, then he won't stop until he finds the culprit; thirdly, if she does die in the Wharton's estate, the relationship built between the two noble houses would easily crumble into pieces.

"Alright, keep me informed," the woman bows and leaves.

'Ophelia... How did you grow up to be like this? You should've just obeyed quietly!' his hands push all the papers he had on the desk onto the floor, maybe due to the anger he was feeling inside or maybe because he finally understood that his plans were being shattered by his own blood.

"Maybe... The tea party! We can easily... That's it!" he grins as he realized the great turn of events.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

「 The day before the tea party 」

"I see you have recovered," as I was walking towards the Duke's study room I am greeted by Gilbert, who stared at me with blood lustful eyes.

"Yes milady, I am feeling better," he bows down politely and I grin.

"Please don't push yourself," I declare just to see his glare.

'You are smart enough to understand it, right, Gilbert Averton?'

"Then milady, I shall take my leave" he bows and quickly heads towards the kitchen.

'It shouldn't take long now...' part of me was fearful of the upcoming events but, at the same time, the other half was eager to see the despair portraited in the face of that prideful man.

"Come in," the Duke orders, and I walk inside the room. He was already sitting on the couch while drinking some tea.

"Thank you for having me Duke," I bow.

"Ophelia dear... Please, call me father," he smiles as I pick up the teacup.

"I'm sorry father," I was definitely not used to acting this friendly with the Duke even though he always treated me as if I were one of his own.

"I've been terribly busy but I wanted to ask you... How was your time with my son, Terrel?"

'Ah... Shit,' part of me knew that the Duke had something on the back of his mind.

"It was pleasant even if it was short," I needed to pretend things were well, even if they weren't. I couldn't allow any more delays in my plans.

"I see... I am glad. I know that Terrel has a complicated personality but I always hoped that someone would accept him as he is," the pain behind the Duke's honest words made a sting of sudden guilt embrace me.

The fact that I am intending to kill Terrel, his first-born son, is evidently an act of betrayal of his trust but, even then, I have no other choice.

"I understand father. I will do my best," I bluntly lie. There's no way I will try my best. I will get rid of him once he lays foot in this estate. I've come too far to let my resolve waver for such a silly matter as compassion.

"Are you prepared for the tea party tomorrow my dear?" swiftly he changes the subject, making the tension in the room disappear.

"Of course Duke. Do you already know if you will be able to attend?"

"I will try," that meant that he, most likely, would be too busy to be present.

'He must be having a tough time with the mercenaries...' the mines owned by the Wharton's were always watched by other noblemen and mercenaries. The problem was only solved by Terrel some months before my death. After that, the robberies that occurred almost daily stoped.

'How did he do it...?' I kept on trying to recall what made all the noblemen and mercenaries back down from their pressure and stealing but I couldn't remember since my mind was already too shattered at that time.

"It is getting late, you should get ready for dinner my child," he gets up and pats my head softly right before sitting behind his desk once again. My heart fluttered when I felt his warmth on me. The feeling of being cared about was something I thought I had lost long ago.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

"So the party is tomorrow..." Lady Catherine opens the invitation once again. She had been eagerly waiting for this day and her heart pounded every time she read Ophelia's letter.

She already knew that the second daughter of Duke Criswell was special. She'd known ever since she found her eyes stuck to her during her ball. Whenever she thought of that slim figure, her long charcoal hair, and those eyes that made the tides cower in envy, her desire increased. Catherine couldn't wait for tomorrow, the excitement flooded her veins and in her head, there was only space for The Black Rose.

"Milady," a young man in his twenties gets up from the bed. His muscular tanned body was illuminated by the moonlight as his brunette hair fell onto his shoulders.

'Ophelia...' she thought about everything she had heard from her eyes and ears these past days. Duke Criswell was trying to get her killed and Catherine knew it.

'I wonder how she will react tomorrow,' she couldn't wait to watch the theatre open its curtains.

"I'll be right there," she was finishing her cigar as the young man approached her from behind and placed his warm hands on her naked shoulders. He then moves them down softly, making Catherine tingle with pleasure.

"Kids sure are impatient these days," she gets up right before pushing him onto the bed, "Now entertain me," Catherine smiles as her lust eagerly embraces the young man's body.