Chapter 2

But what could a mere maid possibly say to her master—
especially a master as cruel as mine?

Rosalyn walked right up behind Heather, but Heather was too busy flirting with the young men around her to notice.
Then Rosalyn’s eyes slowly swept over Heather from head to toe, and she grinned.

She casually nudged the wine glass beside her.

Even I didn’t expect such a bold move.

“Oh my goodness!”

“Kyaa! What is this?!”

At Rosalyn’s shocked voice, Heather finally realized the wine had spilled all over her expensive dress. She stared down in horror.

Rosalyn blinked her big innocent eyes, looking between Heather and me, and then said the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.

“My maid must have bumped the glass by mistake. Oh dear!”

My mind went blank.

That crazy girl… she actually did it!

Still, I quickly dropped to my knees and pressed my forehead to the floor.
No matter what happened, the only person I would return home with was Rosalyn.

To my surprise, Heather didn’t scream.

Instead—

“You. What’s your name?”

“Uh… Emma. Emma, ma’am.”

“All right, Emma. Since you say it was an accident, I won’t make a scene. Just pay for the dress.”

“…Sorry?”

I slowly lifted my head.

Heather was smiling sweetly—but her eyes weren’t kind at all.

“Of course, if your lady kneels and apologizes for you, I could consider letting it go…”

“……”

“But she doesn’t look like she plans to do that.”

Heather leaned down and whispered softly so the men wouldn’t hear.

“Three million Gilden for the dress. Two million more for damages. I’ll file a report with the police now, just in case you try to run. Pay it all, and I’ll withdraw the charges.”

What happened next was even more shocking.

Right in front of me—after watching everything herself—Rosalyn denied it all.

“Why should I take responsibility for your mistake? Mother! Fire her immediately!”

“Miss, what are you saying? You did it!”

“Listen to this girl! I put up with being mocked because of her, and this is how she repays me?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Are you deaf?! Last time they called my makeup rustic because of you!”

So she framed me because she was angry about that?
Was this situation even real?

At that moment, the police arrived.

“I’m Detective Greg Norman of the public misdemeanors division. We’re here for Emma Hampton, reported by Miss Heather Dartmouth. Is she your maid?”

Lady Thesis glanced at me, then shook her head.

“No. I just dismissed her.”

“Madam!”

“I’ll give you enough time to gather your things. Make any more fuss, and we’ll add more charges.”

I barely remember packing my belongings.
I barely remember being dragged to the police station.

When I finally looked up, I was in a tiny holding cell with metal bars.

On the way here, the policeman had explained everything with a bored tone.

“You have one week to pay. If you can’t, you’ll have a formal trial and be moved to a long-term prison.”

“How am I supposed to earn money while locked up?”

“You can’t. Someone you know has to pay for you. Or… if you make it worth my while, I might approve temporary bail.”

He said it like he already knew I had no chance.

I didn’t know anyone in the capital.
A rural maid like me would never earn fifty million Gilden in a week.

It was hopeless.
He even said that failing to pay often meant five years of labor prison.

Five years… for something I didn’t do.

And once my ID was marked with a criminal record, I would never find a decent job again.

I laughed. I laughed because it was so absurd.
Like someone was playing a prank on me—but no one was.

Is this really happening?

After everything I’d endured—all the abuse, all the insults—my reward was prison?

I was furious. I wanted to grab Rosalyn’s perfect hair and yank it until she screamed.
No—at that moment, killing her felt like the only thing that would calm my rage.

But after three days, the anger faded.
After five days, I realized there was no point blaming anyone anymore.

Why did I live so desperately?
No matter how hard I tried, it always ended like this.

If I spent five years rotting in prison… what would even be left of me after?

Why should I keep living a life that only led from one disaster to another?

“…Damn it. There’s only one answer.”

In that cramped cell barely big enough for one person, I finally decided:
I would die.

But I didn’t want to end things while I was still dressed in rags, still humiliated.

So I tore off half of the emergency money I had hidden in my bag and called the officer.

“Sergeant Norman. I want to request one day of bail. You said it was possible if I found a way to pay, right?”

“What? Where are you suddenly getting money?”

“I’m going to ask Baron Thesis for a loan. And if he refuses… I’ll sell myself to some back-alley tavern. Either way, it’ll be better than prison.”

I discreetly pushed the wad of bills toward him.

He glanced at the thick bundle and cleared his throat. That money was more than his monthly salary.

“Fine. You have exactly 24 hours from now. If you don’t return by 7 p.m. tomorrow, I’ll issue a warrant. Someone like you is easy to find.”

Entering the capital had been easy because I had a noble family as guarantors.
But for a commoner to leave the city, or even travel, you needed an official document proving you weren’t a wanted criminal.

In other words, there was nowhere to run.

They locked me up claiming I was a “flight risk,” but really, it was just because I was a commoner.

I spent more than half of my life savings just to be released for a day—but I didn’t regret it.
Eight million Gilden was nothing compared to the fifty million I owed.

Today will be the best day of my life.

I walked out of the station with my bag and rented a room in a shabby inn.

That night, I ordered the most expensive meal they had and paid extra for hot water to bathe.
It felt like the first time I had lived for myself.

***

I planned to sleep late, but my maid habits woke me at 6 a.m.

Still, I lazed around until noon, then washed up, dressed neatly, and left the inn.

I strolled through Herona’s streets as shopkeepers dusted their displays with ostrich-feather brushes. The boutiques here sold dresses to wealthy commoners and low-ranking nobles.

After walking around, I entered a shop with the dress I liked most.

“Hello? Anyone here?”

The clerk frowned when she saw my simple clothes.

“Yes? What do you want?”

“Excuse me… how much is the dress displayed in the window?”

Her expression became openly suspicious.

“That’s too expensive for someone like you.”

“I’m running an errand for Lady Rosalyn Thesis of the Thesis family. Do you need more explanation?”

Annoyed, I let a bit of irritation show.
Only then did she answer.

“If you mean that dress in the window, it’s five million Gilden.”

After thinking about fifty million all week, five million sounded cheap.
Even though I only had seven million left.

“I’ll take it.”

Her face brightened instantly.

“Would you like stockings or gloves as well? We just received lace gloves—”

“No. My lady only asked for the dress.”

She looked disappointed but carefully wrapped the dress in a beautiful box.

A dress in a box… I had never received anything like that.

I paid and left the boutique.

Then I bought shoes to match the dress, new undergarments, a handbag, and a hairpin.

Even after all that, I still had about seven hundred thousand Gilden left.

“Perfect. Today, I’ll live as extravagantly as possible.”

Back at the inn, I put on the new undergarments and dress and applied makeup with care.

It had been so long since I made myself pretty that I couldn’t help smiling.
This was the first time I was dressing up purely for myself.

I even removed the brown wig I’d always worn.
I’d only worn it because Rosalyn hated the idea of her maid having the same red hair as her.
My real hair tumbled out—thick and bright red.

Every night it made my scalp itch…

Well, those days were over.

I brushed my hair until it was smooth, pinned it up neatly, and looked in the mirror.

For the first time, I looked… almost like a noble lady.

A strange feeling washed over me.

I really do look a bit like Rosalyn.