The once proud voice was now weary and broken, with no trace of its former confidence.
When she was first imprisoned in the dungeon, the head maid had been certain that she would soon be released and reclaim her former power.
She believed that Alyssa was only afraid of her, with no real intent for revenge. Alyssa was merely acting according to the whispers of that foreign-born bastard.
To others, Alyssa might appear as a terrifying monster who slays beasts, but to the head maid, she was no more than a moss-covered statue.
Even when the guard anxiously took the ruby earring from her, the head maid thought it was just a matter of time before everything went back to how it was.
But everything that followed strayed further and further from her expectations.
The guard who had taken the ruby earring never returned to the head maid. Instead, a knight, who should have been outside the castle, began watching her every move.
And today, at last, the sound of piercing screams echoed down to the depths of the dungeon.
The head maid knew, without a doubt, that everything was over. She didn’t know why the knight hadn’t dragged her out for execution yet, but she wouldn’t be kept alive for much longer.
‘That woman’s gone mad all of a sudden…!’
She had acted indifferent all this time, but now, it seemed she was overcome with rage. Alyssa was the only one who could mobilize the knights.
The head maid couldn’t remember every horrible thing she had done to Alyssa, but she was sure Alyssa remembered every single one.
‘She’s going to kill me.’
She had lived her life as if she were the true mistress of the North. Now, with death suddenly looming at her throat, the terror was unbearable.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from beyond the corridor.
She was sure they had heard her voice asking who was there, yet no response came. A deep fear gripped the head maid—was it the executioner coming to kill her?
“Who’s there? Answer me!”
She shouted again in a hoarse voice, but still, no reply.
Thud. Thud.
The heavy footsteps grew closer and closer.
Shaking with fear, the head maid retreated to the corner of the cell, though she knew it was futile.
But she couldn’t die like this. She wouldn’t die like this…!
Just then, the owner of the footsteps stopped in front of the iron bars.
“Y-Your Grace.”
The head maid’s eyes widened as she saw the face illuminated by the flickering lantern light. Standing before her was the very person she had been cursing mere moments ago—the one responsible for her current situation.
She staggered toward the iron bars but, unlike before, she neither shouted nor raised her hand.
“I was wrong. I’ve committed a terrible sin. I deeply regret it.”
She knelt down and bowed her head, pleading incoherently.
Though her face was hidden from Alyssa’s view, there was no trace of hatred or anger on it.
“Please, just this once, forgive me. I don’t have much time left… If you let me keep this old life of mine, I will repent for the rest of my days.”
In this moment, the person before her was the only one who could spare her life. Faced with the terror of death, pride and dignity had no place.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of the head maid’s forehead hitting the cold stone floor echoed through the dungeon. She begged for her life, desperately.
“I… I dared to do unspeakable things to you, your grace, when you were just a child… And I dared to disrespect you, not knowing my place… All of it…”
In that moment, the head maid genuinely regretted her actions.
If she had known she would face such a hollow end, if she had known Alyssa would one day wield the power to destroy her, she never would have abused her.
She never imagined things would turn out this way. Not once had she thought this outcome possible.
“Sob… I’m so sorry… Please spare me. Please, Your Grace, have mercy…”
Blood from her forehead mixed with her tears, stained the floor like filth. Alyssa looked down at the pitiful sight with a pale face, struggling to speak.
“Why…?”
It felt as though someone had clamped their hands around her throat, cutting off her breath. Alyssa parted her lips like someone choking, forcing out the next words.
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
At the question, the head maid raised her head. The old woman’s face was a mess, streaked with tears and snot, a picture of a repentant sinner.
“You don’t need to apologize to me.”
Alyssa couldn’t understand the head maid at all.
Forgiveness is something the sinner seeks. But the head maid had never committed any sins against Alyssa.
When she was young, Alyssa often went without food, depending on the head maid’s mood. If she caught her eye, she’d be beaten, and on the worst days, she was thrown into the dungeon.
Alyssa always wore clothes with frayed sleeves, while the head maid’s velvet dress remained pristine, without a single mark.
None of it was wrong.
All the violence the head maid inflicted on Alyssa wasn’t a crime.
Kieran once asked if the head maid wasn’t like a mother to her. Alyssa couldn’t deny it.
A mother is someone who teaches her child many things, and the head maid had been that kind of figure for Alyssa.
“Don’t feel wronged. This is what you deserve.”
And so, Alyssa learned exactly as she was taught.
“You always said that, didn’t you?”
At Alyssa’s words, the head maid stopped crying. Her sunken eyes looked up at Alyssa in confusion.
“So there’s no need to beg me for forgiveness to save your life. I have no need to forgive you, and my forgiveness has nothing to do with your punishment.”
It was a calm pronouncement, devoid of joy, sorrow, or anger.
“Originally, the execution was today, but His Grace postponed it by a day. So, it’ll be tomorrow.”
There was no hidden meaning in Alyssa’s words. Yet, upon hearing them, the head maid’s expression changed.
“…You came just to tell me that.”
Muttering lowly, the head maid slowly stood up, her tear-streaked face twisting into a bitter smile.
“So, you never intended to spare me from the start. You came to see this, didn’t you? To watch me grovel at your feet like a dog. Isn’t that it?”
Alyssa wanted to respond, to say that wasn’t true. She had no desire to see the head maid in any form.
“Right. It must feel satisfying to see me like this in person. How horrifying it must’ve been to deal with someone who doesn’t even want your forgiveness! How do you plan to kill me tomorrow? Looking at your attitude, it won’t be a peaceful death, will it? Huh?”
The head maid, having abandoned any last shred of hope, screamed like a madwoman. Alyssa stood there, rooted in place, absorbing the barrage of words.
“After all this time, you’ve been nothing but a fool, and now you’ve suddenly changed your mind. That foreign bastard must have whispered sweet nothings to you.”
Cackling, the head maid dragged her feet toward the iron bars.
“Why? Did he treat you like a human?”
The head maid snake-like whisper sent a shiver through Alyssa’s shoulders, and at that sight, the housekeeper burst into laughter.
“You actually believed that? How foolish!”
Her sharp voice cracked like a whip through the air.
“He’s only using you. Do you really think someone like you could be loved? With your worth?”
Gasping as if she could barely breathe, the head maid, with bloodshot eyes, continued her tirade.
“Who could ever love something as hideous as you? The moment you lose your usefulness, he’ll change his tune in the blink of an eye!”
Alyssa’s hands trembled uncontrollably. The head maid’s voice, digging into her ears, was horrifying. This space, and the person before her, were all the same.
“Don’t forget, you foolish one. Just how hideous you truly are.”
Yet, at the same time, these things were all too familiar.
It was frightening, but it was better than the moment when the head maid had begged on her knees. The familiar hatred felt more comforting than the unknown attitude of a stranger. This was the world that surrounded Alyssa.
“Didn’t your mother sit you down every day and tell you the same thing?”
With one final, venomous scream, the head maid collapsed, completely drained of her energy.
Silence settled over the underground prison. Yet, in Alyssa’s ears, someone continued to whisper incessantly.
Amid the familiar whispers, the head maid’s screams mixed in. “Who would love you? You hideous thing. You, of all people, how foolish.”
You knew all of that, so why did you ask me for forgiveness?
Perhaps you thought I forgot. If that’s the case, you were mistaken.
“I know.”
In the noisy silence, Alisa replied softly. She knew better than anyone.
“Child, look in the mirror.”
That final whisper clung to her ears.
A mother is a child’s first world.
From the moment a child takes their first breath in the world, the power to define that child lies with the mother.
How a mother calls her child can change many aspects of that child’s life.
“Monster.” It was the word Alyssa’s mother used to refer to her before she even had a name.
The Duchess was already in a precarious state, teetering on the brink of breaking. After giving birth, she completely descended into madness.
The castle’s servants often whispered that it was the child’s fault. Everyone thought so, and it wasn’t entirely baseless gossip.
But there was one truth that no one knew.
Alyssa was the pinnacle of the Duchess’s tragedy, but she was not its beginning.
Ironically, the start of their misfortune was the romantic love story that everyone admired and envied.
