Ko-fi shop has been renewed, you can find the link at the end of the chapter.
***
Aizen gently stroked her cheek.
“That’s right. A whore should always be loose between her legs.”
“……”
“This is how reports should be handled from now on, Diana.”
“Yes…”
“But next time, bring back more useful information. If you come back with another useless report about someone just stripping and fumbling around, I’ll have to reconsider your value.”
“I… will keep that in mind.”
As soon as Diana was released from his grasp, she collapsed onto the floor like a broken doll. Leaning lazily against the sofa, Aizen issued another order.
“If you ever get any ideas, that palace will be your grave. Don’t think for a second that I have no men stationed there just because Emel and Harper are dead, Diana.”
Unable to utter a single word, Diana bowed her head deeply.
***
When she returned to the Crown Prince’s palace, it was late evening. The savory aroma of butter wafted through the palace, likely from the head chef preparing dinner.
Spotting Diana as she walked sluggishly, Runok approached and spoke to her.
“Change your clothes and go to the third-floor bathroom. His Highness is looking for you.”
“…Yes, Butler.”
Though she longed to retreat to her room and rest, a maid had no right to disobey orders. Diana forced herself into her maid’s uniform and made her way to the Crown Prince’s bedroom.
“Next report is in a month.”
Originally set for twenty days, the deadline had been generously extended by the prince. If there was no progress in seducing the Crown Prince by then, her life would be forfeit.
In fact, she didn’t even need to think that far ahead. If it were revealed that she had already withheld information from him, she could be killed this very moment. The scathing words Aizen had uttered stuck in her chest like a thorn.
With each step she ascended, Diana thought to herself: Shouldn’t she start taking a more proactive approach today? Perhaps when he showed even the slightest interest in her…
Diana’s pace gradually slowed.
In the end, the role Aizen had assigned her was that of a prost!tute. She understood that logically, but the thought still made her stomach churn.
The Crown Prince—what was he even worth? Without his intervention, she could have stayed with the Defierre family for three more years, fixed her eyes, and left on her own terms. But overnight, her carefully crafted plans had been overturned.
When her eyesight was still intact, she had spent five years working in a brothel. Diana could still vividly recall the lives of the women she had seen there.
They sold their smiles, their stories, and their bodies. The lingering scent of sex clung to the air in the wake of their customers. On slow nights, they would take two or three clients at a time. Some women turned to drugs, deciding to enjoy their inescapable reality. Diana had lost count of how many orgies, fueled by potent narcotics, she had cleaned up.
“Don’t look so disgusted, Diana. You’ll end up just like us anyway.”
She still remembered the laughing women who mockingly urged her to grow up and meet their fate, and the pimp who stroked her head with a sly smile.
Though she had no choice as a slave, she risked her life to escape that repulsive place.
And yet, after all that running… she was back where she started.
Diana clenched her fists tightly. She hadn’t endured all these years just to become a prostitute again. She had always lived with the hope that tomorrow would be better than today.
But now, it felt as if she were trapped in a dense fog, unable to see even an inch ahead.
Seduce the Crown Prince. Betray him. Become just another pawn discarded after use, like the countless spies who had come and gone in his life.
She couldn’t stand it. She didn’t want to do it. Yet, there was no other way. Diana wiped the tears streaming down her face with the back of her hand.
Being killed by Aizen’s lackeys or by the Crown Prince himself and left as a lifeless decoration in his “painting”—those were the only two choices Diana had.
Her spiraling thoughts bore no fruit, only growing more tangled. Before she realized it, the bathroom was already in sight.
***
It was one trouble after another. Mistakes were frequent, unlike usual.
The soap Diana dropped slid all the way to the other side of the bathroom. This was already the third time. Though it didn’t make a loud noise, it was enough to irk her master’s nerves.
The floor, slick with soap, was more slippery than usual. Diana carefully walked toward the fallen soap but missed her step.
“Ah…!”
A rather loud sound escaped her lips. Her ankle and hip throbbed from hitting the hard stone floor. Instinctively, Diana reached for a nearby damp surface to prop herself up. A man nearby let out a dry chuckle.
“Apologies, Master.”
She spoke calmly, pretending nothing had happened, but it seemed to amuse him even more. She could guess the look he must be giving her.
“You’re unusually clumsy today.”
Disdain. Annoyance. A hint of irritation.
“Went out without permission, and now you’re all worked up?”
“No, master. Please wait just a moment.”
The thought that he had witnessed her embarrassing clumsiness made her face flush with heat.
Her skirt was already soaked with soapy water. She couldn’t find the soap anywhere, no matter how much she groped around. Gathering her wits, Diana fetched a new bar of soap. With a lathered cloth, she began wiping from the man’s neck down to his broad, exposed shoulders.
“What did you do outside?”
“I met with an acquaintance in the capital.”
“An acquaintance?”
She had lied to Runok, the Butler, saying it was a lover. Could it be that Runok had relayed her excuse directly to the Crown Prince? Diana hoped he wouldn’t press further, but he was relentless.
“What kind of acquaintance?”
“Well…”
It didn’t make sense to confess to someone she was trying to seduce that she had just met a lover. Diana struggled to find her words.
“Ah… someone I’ve known for a long time, like family… I recently changed jobs, and he was worried about me. I just went to reassure them.”
“With what words?”
“That my new master is a very good person—benevolent, generous…”
Diana trailed off, subtly gauging her master’s reaction. She had attempted a bit of flattery, but all she felt was his shoulders shaking in laughter. It was humiliating, like performing a clown’s act. Still, his laughter was a positive sign.
Just as she felt relieved, the prince grew cold again.
“You’re not very good at sweet-talking, are you?”
“I mean it sincerely…”
“Why, did this so-called acquaintance of yours tell you to seduce me?”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, not an acquaintance. A master, perhaps.”
Diana’s hand, which was scrubbing his forearm, flinched. Thankfully, the prince had his back to her.
“I don’t know what you mean. I am merely your maid, Master. I don’t serve two masters, nor am I capable of it.”
“You’re quite skilled at feigning ignorance. I might just fall for it.”
“Would you fall for it if I feigned ignorance?”
The retort escaped Diana’s lips before she could stop it. She startled herself. Her mouth, always getting her into trouble! She couldn’t afford to let her guard down, not even for a moment.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—her master let out a soft chuckle.
“That would depend on how devoted you are to me.”
Tap, tap. The sound of him drumming something echoed. Probably the edge of the tub.
“Get in. Take it off.”
It was a casual command.
Take it off? Diana’s heart sank.
“How much should I…?”
“All of it.”
It was clear that Aizen anticipated this situation. It was an opportunity too good to miss.
“Hurry.”
Driven by his order, Diana began untying her sash, not fully aware of what she was doing.
After all, she couldn’t disobey the Crown Prince’s command. A cold, inner voice whispered harshly in her mind.
Just offer your body, and you’ll get your cure. The antidote glimmered tantalizingly close before her eyes. Just one sip. That’s all it would take.
The knot of the apron around her waist came undone with startling ease. As she reached behind her to undo the buttons, the front of her uniform loosened immediately.
The maid uniform had no intricate petticoats or corsets. She slipped out of the stiff dress and peeled off the tight undergarments binding her chest, leaving only the thin slip made of soft cotton.
Removing even that would leave her truly naked. There weren’t many things a man and a woman without a stitch of clothing could do together in a bath.
The whispered words of Hilde’s women swirled chaotically in her head.
***
The portrait of Pride has opened a ko-fi shop with 5 advanced chapters. Ko-fi shop will be updated with each update in website. Here is the: LINK
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