“Iliana…”
Ilus’s voice was choked with tears, it wasn’t an act, her eyes were already rimmed red.
“Do we… have to… do this?”
The maid tilted her head, a lock of her black hair slipping from her shoulder.
“Didn’t the Young Lady say so herself during the day?”
Her tone was still gentle, even carrying a hint of coaxing.
“As long as you do this, I will forgive you.”
‘Then can you promise not to kill me in the future?’ Ilus almost blurted that out, but stopped herself at the last critical moment.
She looked at Iliana. The other girl was still smiling, but her intuition seemed to be telling her that if she uttered those words, something terrible would happen.
Ilus hesitated for a little while longer. Finally, she lifted her skirt hem all the way to her waist. The petticoat underneath was pitifully thin, the fabric clinging tightly to the curves of her body, outlining the youthful and delicate shape of the girl.
Ilus’s arms were stiffly holding up the skirt, her knuckles white from the force. She didn’t dare look down at her current state, and even less dared to meet Iliana’s eyes.
But Iliana was looking. Her gaze felt tangible, slowly, inch by inch, sweeping over the skin exposed to the air, from the taut abdomen to the slender, slightly trembling thighs, down to the toes curled in shame.
There was no lust in that gaze, only an emotion that could be named appreciation and appraisal.
At this point, Ilus also stopped. She looked at Iliana, her eyes pleading. Yet, Iliana simply turned her head away.
This clearly meant for her to continue.
‘Do I really have to keep going?’ Ilus bit her red lip lightly with her pearly teeth. ‘Isn’t this enough? She, she’s just being too much!’
But, but there was no other way. Her very survival depended on Iliana’s mood. If she accidentally upset her, she would definitely be eaten!
Seeing Ilus still hesitating, Iliana stood up, slowly applying pressure.
“Young Lady, you also remember the things you did to me before, right? And this.”
As she spoke, Iliana took out those black lace gloves and the silver table knife.
“These were both stolen from my room, you know~ Young Lady, you little thief.”
Iliana narrowed her eyes, leisurely and carefree, as if she already had Ilus completely under her control.
And the reality was indeed so. When Ilus saw those two items, her pupils contracted sharply. ‘How could she have found them? I hid them under the desk, a place I thought was secret!’
‘Great, now there’s physical evidence.’
“Young Lady, you wouldn’t want…”
Iliana didn’t finish the sentence, just looked at her with a faint, ambiguous smile.
This… Without a doubt, the appearance of these two items dealt another heavy blow to Ilus’s heart.
After retrieving these two items, Iliana was like a tiger that had grown wings. From the perspective of Ilus’s activated necklace, she was emanating malevolence so thick it was almost blackish-red all over.
And the direction all that malevolence was pointed at was herself!
Shivering, Ilus closed her eyes, gritted her silver teeth, and in an instant, a certain restraint vanished, replaced by the embrace of a cool, enveloping air.
The chill instantly clung to her skin, tiny goosebumps spreading up along her smooth back.
Ilus didn’t open her eyes. She didn’t dare.
But she could feel it. Iliana’s gaze had changed.
It was no longer pure scrutiny, but a kind of slow, burning sensation.
That gaze began its patrol from her trembling neckline and shoulders, like intangible fingertips, wandering along the hollow of her collarbone, lingering at the curves of her figure, then moving down, skimming over the flat, tense plane of her abdomen.
Ilus’s breathing began to gradually spiral out of control. The rapid breaths caused the exposed skin to flush with a faint pink. She tried to press her legs together, but heard the soft rustle of her skirt. At some point, Iliana had already walked right in front of her.
“Open your eyes, Young Lady.”
“If you wish to apologize, you should do so with sincerity.”
“I-I’m sorry, Iliana. I shouldn’t have stolen your things.”
The girl averted her gaze, her voice as thin as a thread.
‘She’s gone this far, Iliana should forgive me now, right?’ Ilus thought anxiously in her heart.
However, that was not the case. Iliana simply shook her head, indicating it wasn’t enough.
‘Not enough?! Does she really want me to…’ The last shred of hope in Ilus’s heart was extinguished.
In a kneeling position, she bent deeply forward at the waist. Her hands, palms facing up, pressed against the cold floor and stretched out in front of her. Finally, her forehead also slowly, heavily, came to rest on the floor just in front of her own hands.
Using the dogeza posture to express her apology… Iliana’s ultimate goal was to see her do this, wasn’t it…
The girl’s silky white hair cascaded like a stream beside her and onto the floor. She curled forward, completely exposing the most vulnerable parts of her neck and back to the gaze of the person before her.
Her body trembled slightly from extreme shame and fear. Her voice came from the gap between the floor and her body, muffled, carrying broken sobs.
“Iliana… I’m sorry… really… very, very sorry…”
“I stole your personal belongings, offended your dignity… I… betrayed your care…”
Every self-deprecating word was like a small knife, scraping across her throat. But the will to survive drove her; she had to continue, had to be more thorough.
“I… I hope… you can… give me another chance, forgive me…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, finally almost dissolving into unconscious whimpers. Maintaining this posture, she felt everything about herself, even her basic dignity as a person, was being ground to dust on this cold floor.
All she could feel was Iliana’s tangible, heavy gaze, like a physical weight, resting on her completely defenseless back.
Time seemed to freeze, every second stretched into torment.
Gradually, due to the posture and her shame, she began to feel dizzy.
In this position, the curves of her body were completely on display. The air felt solid. She could sense Iliana taking her time, conducting a slow inspection.
Her back muscles, trembling uncontrollably from tension, the slight hollow at the small of her back, her flat abdomen hidden beneath her body—it all seemed to be visited by that gaze.
Ilus truly couldn’t take it anymore. The gaze felt like it carried a burning sensation, making it unbearable.
“Iliana, please, will you forgive me?”
After uttering these words, she heard footsteps.
Very light, very slow. Iliana walked a circle around her, finally stopping directly in front of her.
The maid bent down. Fingers clad in black lace gloves reached out, gently pinching Ilus’s chin. The cool touch made Ilus shiver once more.
“The Young Lady’s sincerity…”
Iliana’s thumb stroked Ilus’s soft lower lip, her gaze deep and unfathomable.
“I have seen it. I accept the Young Lady’s apology. However~ I am feeling a bit sleepy now.”
As she spoke, Iliana glanced towards the bed, then gave Ilus a meaningful look.
The young girl’s delicate body trembled.
‘What… what does she mean? Is she telling me to warm the bed?’