The idle gossip of onlookers, the maid’s embarrassed and resentful gaze, and Moria’s mocking smile all blended together, making Flora’s immobility feel unbearably painful.
It was like a knife stabbing into the belly of an innocent person—Moria used this simplest method to shatter her bottom line and principles.
This was the aftermath of the previous failed attempt to force her to whip Linko.
The purple-haired girl crawled forward slowly, her movements not quick, and Flora just stared at her delicate face as she gradually neared the hem of her skirt.
“Don’t waste everyone’s time.”
Moria impatiently urged, crossing her arms, eagerly preparing to enjoy the maid’s humiliating posture and Flora’s resistant expression.
The other guests’ faces gradually mirrored hers.
With more and more mocking and amused gazes, Flora felt increasingly uncomfortable.
“Lick it all clean?”
The maid’s voice was pleasant; from the moment she spoke, one could tell she was different from an ordinary servant—without the numbness born of constant enslavement.
That voice made Flora feel even worse.
An indescribable sense of guilt.
“Want me to press your head against her clothes for you?”
Moria chuckled but didn’t look at her, keeping her gaze fixed solely on Flora.
Meanwhile, Flora, desperately gathering her magic power to resist the controlling effect on her body, widened her eyes to meet Moria’s gaze, trying to convey her firm refusal.
And then…
She received a response.
Moria stepped closer to her and sighed regretfully: “Forget it, this really isn’t appropriate.”
Flora didn’t feel relieved; she could tell this wasn’t the tone of concession.
She understood—Moria wasn’t the kind of person to give up decisions easily.
“Licking it all clean would take too long, so just do a token gesture.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she abruptly lifted Flora’s skirt.
The white stockings, soaked with wine, along with the skin not covered by the stockings, were exposed to everyone’s view.
Even the maid kneeling before her was shocked by Moria’s action.
Respect was the last thing on anyone’s mind for the protagonist of this banquet—this was the maid’s thought at that moment.
But soon, she noticed the bracelet around Flora’s ankle.
The shame and resentment she felt quickly dissipated.
Her gaze toward Flora shifted to one of curiosity and a touch of sympathy.
Flora felt all the blood drain from her body; the most direct act of humiliation produced results far beyond her expectations.
Embarrassment, shame.
As the strange gazes increased sharply, her face uncontrollably flushed; almost everyone was looking at her legs—and at the bracelet.
Those burning stares clearly revealed what they thought of her at that moment.
A slave.
She was a slave carefully dressed up by Moria, put on display for them to see—a slave crowned with the title of lord.
Just like not long ago, a certain duke’s succubus lover.
The difference between Flora and that wretch was that she possessed a high enough status and talent, but essentially, there was no difference.
A respected healer and a cultured courtesan—Moria had successfully labeled Flora with both tags through this single act.
No matter how well she performed at the banquet, it was now worthless.
Flora Emerald was Moria’s plaything; from this moment on, that was all anyone would remember.
“Ah, didn’t expect you to obediently wear it today as well. Afraid of letting her help you lick it clean so everyone wouldn’t see this? You should’ve said so earlier.”
Moria thoughtfully added that line.
Everyone’s ambiguous suspicions about Flora’s identity were instantly confirmed.
Originally, no one paid much attention to the collar around Flora’s neck, but now everyone started to notice it.
Amid the scattered whispers, many voices praised Moria’s twisted sense of humor.
Clearly, the protagonist of the banquet had become a plaything recognized by the nobles.
Respect didn’t decrease; it increased.
After all, being a favored plaything of Lady Moria, the duke’s eldest daughter, meant it was only right to cultivate good relations.
“What are you standing there for?”
Moria continued smiling and urged the maid on.
The girl with the complicated gaze glanced at Flora’s now vacant blue eyes, closed hers, and gently licked the wine-stained fabric, now faintly red.
Compared to this humiliating act, the punishment inflicted on the girl sitting in the chair was evidently worse.
When people see others’ suffering worse than their own, they naturally feel a little better—that’s instinct.
The slight itching sensation on her leg brought Flora back to her senses.
She absentmindedly watched the maid, eyes closed, carefully and earnestly performing that lowly, degrading act, feeling the malice emanating from the surroundings.
The anger long bottled up in her heart finally erupted at this moment.
Magic surged as her restless emotions broke apart the spell controlling her body.
The first moment she could move on her own, she didn’t shout at Moria in anger but instead cupped the maid’s face with both hands, stopping her from continuing.
“Hm?”
The maid opened her eyes in confusion, meeting those once-dull, now crystal-clear blue eyes so close to her.
She suddenly didn’t know what to do and stared blankly at Flora.
“I order you to stop.”
Hearing this, the maid instinctively responded with a soft “hm.”
The banquet’s once-pitiable protagonist then released her hold and charged straight at Moria, who had orchestrated this terrible punishment.
“What exactly do you want from me?”
Flora’s roar echoed through the hall, but in the blink of an eye, Moria grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up, silencing her.
Flora kicked at Moria’s waist with all her strength, but it was weak and ineffective.
“No need for this…”
Elka, seeing this, could no longer remain silent.
She hadn’t expected Moria to do such a thing at the banquet.
But she was afraid that if she intervened, she would receive the same perfunctory and distrustful smile from Flora as before.
Elka knew well that as one of the trio of girls who oppressed her in her youthful perception, no matter what she did, she couldn’t avoid Flora’s misunderstanding.
The surrounding guests were at a loss at this sudden turn of events.
No one had imagined such a scene could occur at a medal ceremony banquet.
But Moria spoke calmly: “I was just joking with everyone earlier, which may have caused some misunderstandings. I just want to clarify things.”
Everyone looked at each other, not understanding her meaning.
“Emia, weren’t you late? The collision with Flora’s carriage, everyone knows about that to some extent. I can tell you, the guards who were patrolling outside just found out this was the work of a despicable succubus.”
She said this to her confused younger sister, then clenched her fists and added ominously: “As you all saw earlier, the protective device on our protagonist’s leg failed. Her defiance toward me proves that. That ungrateful wretch actually dared to use chaos magic against her inside the hall—how brazen.”
The hall instantly exploded in uproar.
“Miss Moria, are you saying the demon tribe is causing trouble inside the city and even infiltrated here?!”
“Could it be a misunderstanding? The empire is still…”
“Where are the guards? I want my guards in here to protect me!”
Everyone knew what it meant for demons to harm someone—especially nobles—and they panicked.
Moria was well aware these spoiled nobles were mostly useless.
But she hadn’t expected that just using demons as an excuse to reduce the unsettling associations caused by the bracelet on Flora’s ankle—preparing for her future plans—would cause such a panic.
The more she despised these fellow nobles in her heart, the narrower her eyes became as she glanced at several young nobles from higher-ranking families.
Her oppressive aura instantly silenced their restlessness.
Seeing this, she placed the now-fainted Flora back into her chair and ordered Linko standing nearby: “Linko, you and this maid escort her to the dressing room to change clothes.”
“Yes.”
Linko, anxious but obedient, immediately stepped forward, scooped Flora into her arms, and urged the still-confused girl on the floor to leave the hall with her.
She could see the deliberate nature of Moria’s actions and sense that Moria was taking advantage of the situation.
As a maid with her own duties, she was supposed to stay behind and observe her lady’s next moves more closely.
But Flora, having fainted, left her no room to consider further.
Besides, as head maid, her professionalism told her it might be safer not to know what was about to happen in the hall.
The matter involved demons, and the imperial princess guarded by the palace’s internal guards hadn’t appeared—there was definitely a serious problem.
It was possible that Lisette was watching all this somewhere, instructing Moria’s actions, hoping to seize this opportunity to do something.