TMLOH 09

Chapter : 9

Ada, a low-ranking maid of the Halbern estate, was having a terrible day.

Nothing went right. She kept getting scolded by the head maid, and the senior maids were being particularly cranky today.

The tense atmosphere in the mansion, caused by Mehen and Arellin, hadn’t changed. Naturally, the lower-ranking staff had to watch their behavior to avoid getting caught up in trouble. All that frustration was building up and about to explode.

“This is all her fault!”

Gossiping about nobles was strictly forbidden, but as long as you didn’t get caught, what was the harm?

They would gather whenever they had the chance and talk.

Things like someone developing bald spots, or who was secretly dating whom.

It ranged from minor gossip about servants and maids from Ernst to major gossip about the most powerful person in the mansion, Mehen—and eventually even the only true mistress of the mansion, Arellin.

“Hey, did you hear?”

Their immature and flawed mistress was always a favorite topic.

‘She’s nothing special.’

Besides, this foolish and lacking young lady couldn’t do anything even if she overheard them insulting her.

“She’s seriously dumb. A total idiot, right?”

“No wonder people call her a half-wit. You think they call her that for nothing?”

“If it were me, I’d make a huge fuss and run to Lord Mehen demanding they be fired.”

“Exactly. Because she can’t even do that, even lowly staff like us look down on her~”

Even with noble blue blood, she was still human.

She could be hurt and cry.

Perhaps Arellin had endured it all because she didn’t want to worry those who cared for her—or maybe she thought this much was bearable?

Because of that, the maids’ gossip grew bolder by the day.

Some maids even found twisted pleasure in giving a noble with blue blood dirty looks and persecuting her, knowing there would be no consequences.

But how did things come to this?

“Who…?”

Ada was confused by the sudden appearance of a young child she’d never seen before.

She could tell he was a noble, but had no idea who he was.

But there was one thing she did realize.

‘We’re screwed.’

They’d messed with the wrong person.

Bang!

“Kneel and show proper respect. This is not someone you’re allowed to look at so carelessly.”

At Griam’s shout, the maids immediately fell to their knees and bowed their heads. It was a habit deeply ingrained in them. They were terrified.

“Your Highness, please speak.”

Your Highness?

The maids darted their eyes around anxiously.

“W-What brings His Highness here?”

Arellin had no close friends.

No one knew that better than they did.

So, the sudden appearance of the crown prince? That didn’t make sense. He had visited once before, but that was to apologize.

‘Then why is he here again?!’

Pession responded coldly, his displeasure clear.

“Do you think you have the right to question me?”

“…!”

“I’m the one who asks the questions.”

Even though he was young, royalty was still royalty.

The arrogant presence of someone born to rule dominated the space.

The sheer force of Pession’s presence and the dignity of Griam standing behind him froze the maids in place.

“I’m curious—what were you just talking about?”

The maids trembled.

“So, who exactly doesn’t know their place?”

Instinctively, they all knew—they could not speak here.

A chill ran down their spines.

Only now did the maids realize the situation they were in.

‘If we mess up, we’ll die.’

They felt the cold dread creep up their backs.

Pession had always lived surrounded by people since he was born.

People who liked him, praised him, wanted to get close to him, swore loyalty to him, tried to align themselves with him.

People, people, people.

So many it was almost noisy.

With them came all sorts of desires. Naturally, he was used to human ambition—but this was different.

Malice.

A clear, deliberate intent to hurt someone and bring them down.

For the first time in his life, he felt malice aimed at another person, and it chilled him to the bone.

“Why are you suddenly all silent? Did you lose your tongues? You were chatting just fine a moment ago, weren’t you?”

Pession had never truly been angry before. But now—he was a little angry.

Faced with the unrefined killing intent of a crown prince who would one day become a Sword Master, the maids trembled and couldn’t say a word.

The commotion spread through the mansion like wildfire. Even the nursery team arrived at the scene.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“Shh.”

The more people gathered, the more the maids trembled in fear.

Meanwhile, Pession stood boldly in the middle of someone else’s home, completely unfazed—like he owned the place.

“What’s this commotion?”

At last, Mehen arrived.

Griam wanted to slap his forehead. A royal entering a noble household without notice—what a scandal.

Still, Griam hadn’t stopped the prince because this was a situation that could be salvaged.

‘Maybe it’s better that things blew up like this.’

Technically, the crown prince could punish the maids on his own and inform Mehen afterward—but Griam understood why he made a scene.

‘An outsider handling another family’s business—it doesn’t look good.’

It just proved that Pession was crown prince material.

This wasn’t about repaying favors or calculating gains—it was instinctive. Pession might seem like a free spirit, but he never crossed the line.

“Your Highness, why are you—”

Mehen frowned at the sight of Pession, an unexpected guest. His eyes shifted between Griam and the kneeling maids.

“L-Lord Mehen!”

The terrified maids went pale. If the crown prince was an unfamiliar fear, Mehen was a fear they knew all too well.

“Sniff, sob.”

As the situation spiraled out of control, the maids began to cry in fear.

Even Arellin appeared, drawn by the chaos.

“What’s going on here?”

As soon as she appeared, the maids’ gazes shifted. They all bowed their heads toward her.

“S-Sorry! Please forgive us, my lady! Please spare us!”

“P-Please forgive us!”

When one maid dropped to her knees and begged with her forehead to the ground, the others quickly followed.

“…Pathetic.”

Pession scoffed.

“You think begging now will do anything? Fools. Still haven’t grasped the situation? I suppose idiots like you think it’s fine to call your own master a ‘half-wit’ right here in her home.”

“—!”

Gasps echoed around them.

Not just the nursery team, but even other maids, butlers—and Mehen—grimaced.

Everyone except one.

Arellin.

“So what?”

“…?”

Her calm question made the expressions of the nursery team and Mehen change.

“Has this happened before?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Well… it’s not like they’re wrong.”

“…!”

Mehen’s face contorted in pure frustration.

Amid the chaos—

“Enough.”

Mehen sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair.

“Everyone, return to your duties.”

With a colder aura than usual, Mehen’s words quickly settled the uproar.

“What should we do with them?”

“Throw them in the dungeon. I’ll interrogate them myself.”

Mehen simply looked at the crown prince and Griam without saying a word.

…Which made it even scarier for Griam.

‘What’s he planning if he’s staying quiet like that?’

Instead, it was Mehen’s aide, Dylan, who saw them out.

“My apologies, Your Highness, for the unpleasant scene.”

“So, you do know how unpleasant that was.”

“We were surprised by your sudden visit. Had we known, we would have prepared accordingly.”

“Hmm. Well…”

The polite way of saying, ‘If you hadn’t come unannounced, you wouldn’t have seen this mess.’ It made Pession cough awkwardly as he remembered barging in without notice.

Pession’s gaze was still fixed on Arellin, who was now surrounded by the nursery staff.

“In any case, I hope this matter is handled properly. I’ll be watching.”

“Yes. Now that it has reached Lord Mehen’s attention, it will not be handled carelessly.”

Dylan offered a silent prayer for the maids’ souls.

They might not be killed—but whatever came next might make death seem preferable.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me…”

“Arellin!”

Just as they tried to send him off, Pession ran back toward Arellin.

Dylan’s expression froze mid-smile, while Griam gave him a few pats on the shoulder.

“My condolences.”

“You have it worse.”

“Haha…”