“Help Mina sit on the sofa.”

I turned my gaze from Camilla and ordered the maids.

The maids exchanged glances with surprised faces.

“On the sofa… my lady?”

They seemed confused about whether they could dare seat a ‘half-demon maid’ on the Duchess’s sofa.

Camilla seemed to think the same way.

Her pale cheeks trembled.

“Your Grace, this joke has gone too far! That sofa is where you and I often have our chats. To put such a vulgar half-breed there…!”

I looked straight down at Camilla.

Then I ordered the maids again with emphasis.

“Right now, seat Mina on the sofa.”

This time, the maids didn’t hesitate any longer.

Supported by them, Mina sat on the sofa and groaned in pain.

‘Just how much did they torment her…’

Mina’s hair was completely disheveled and her eyes were swollen.

The most serious was her reddened and swollen hand.

The steaming teapot, the tea spilled on the floor, and even a whip…

Deducing the situation, I gritted my teeth.

‘Cruel human. No, even calling her human is too much.’

My fists slowly clenched.

“Check how much tea is left in the teapot.”

At my words, a maid checked inside the teapot.

“About half remains, Your Grace.”

I took the teapot from the maid and held it out to Mina.

“Mina, I know it’s difficult, but could you do me one favor?”

Mina nodded slightly.

I approached her and whispered in her ear what I wanted her to do.

“What? But Your Grace, why would you…”

Mina blinked in confusion.

I winked at her and continued.

“I’ll take care of everything, so don’t worry about the consequences and just do as I asked.”

Mina hesitated for a moment but then accepted the teapot.

She closed her eyes, muttered something, and then handed me the teapot with a solemn expression.

“Here, Your Grace.”

I took the teapot with a villainous smile.

“Thank you, Mina. Now, as a reward, I’ll show you a proper spectacle.”

I slowly began to approach Camilla.

As if unconsciously sensing a threat, Camilla’s face turned deathly pale.

“W-What is that, Your Grace?”

Looking at Camilla, I slightly narrowed my eyes.

“It’s a shame that Camilla had all the fun by herself, I feel quite left out.”

“What? W-What do you mean…?”

“Madam, you’ve damaged a maid I hold dear as you pleased.”

“…”

“So it would be fair for me to damage something of yours too, wouldn’t it?”

I looked down at Camilla with a raised eyebrow.

She shouted with her eyes tightly shut, as if making a last desperate attempt.

“Your Grace! Why are you suddenly doing this to me?! I… I really don’t understand why!”

“…You don’t understand why?”

My heart boiled again at Camilla’s brazen words.

I took a deep breath to calm my excitement, but when I looked at Camilla’s face again, even that effort was in vain.

“Do you really not know the reason, Camilla?”

“I don’t know! I really don’t!”

Although Camilla was forced to kneel with her arms held by the maids, her eyes were still defiant.

“I am Camilla. The Countess of Dmitri! Even if you are the Duchess, I am not someone you can treat so carelessly!”

“…Even if you don’t say it like that, I know better than anyone who you are.”

Including the tremendous secret that you’re having an affair with your friend’s husband.

The good-natured protagonist Robelia might have needed the male lead Cedric’s help to get revenge on you, but…

‘I’m not such an easy person.’

A leisurely sneer flowed from my lips.

Villainess versus mad dog.

Who would be the winner of this fight?

What was certain was that at least today’s loser wouldn’t be me.

But the foolish Camilla continued to raise her voice.

“If you stop right now, I’ll pretend this never happened. But…”

“But?”

“If you continue, I’ll consider it as you wanting to be enemies with me, Camilla Dmitri, forever!”

“Oh my, is that so?”

“And from then on, I’ll give up both my position as Your Grace’s lady-in-waiting and as your close friend!”

Camilla’s lips curled up confidently.

“You know better than anyone what it means to make an enemy of me, Camilla, in the northern social circles, don’t you?”

Camilla seemed to think she had gained the upper hand with those words.

I let out a scornful laugh and slowly bent down towards her.

“…A person’s true nature is revealed when they feel they are of help to someone.”

Then I put my hands on both of Camilla’s shoulders, meeting her eyes up close.

“Depending on the subsequent choice, people tend to split into two types.”

As I gradually applied more pressure to my hands, Camilla’s complexion became increasingly pale.

“Those who are happy just knowing they are helpful to someone, and…”

“…”

“Those who try to exploit it.”

Camilla’s golden eyes wavered greatly at my chilling voice.

‘My, for someone known as a star of high society, her true feelings are far too transparent.’

I straightened up and looked down at Camilla indifferently.

“The latter type of people always overlook the fact that their position can be replaced at any time.”

“…”

“…How stupid.”

Camilla began to dart her eyes around anxiously.

I sneered at her leisurely.

“In that sense, let me ask you something. If we become enemies, who do you think will regret it more?”

“…”

“Will it be me, the Duchess? Or will it be the social star who might shine brilliantly for a moment but could crumble miserably at any time, the Countess Dmitri?”

Camilla’s eyes widened as if in tremendous shock.

Her face looked as if she had received an enormous blow.

How much fun must she have had, dominating every situation until now?

“Be careful, Camilla.”

She probably never imagined she’d end up in this position.

Her empty, unfocused eyes spoke volumes about her state of mind.

“The higher you climb, the more miserable the fall.”

Whistle.

I whistled as I raised my index finger high into the air and then made a motion of dropping it.

Then I immediately lowered my gaze to the teapot.

“The teapot is still warm, I wonder how hot the tea was that you had brought.”

“…”

“But unfortunately, the tea has already cooled too much to pour on any part of you.”

“Y-Your Grace…”

“…So I had no choice but to add poison.”

Camilla’s lower jaw trembled as if she had gotten a chill.

I took one step closer to her.

“Don’t worry though. No one will know it was me. It’s a poison undetectable in the human realm. Mina made it herself.”

“Your Grace, d-don’t do this…!”

“Open the madam’s mouth.”

Camilla’s face, which had been brazen until now, contorted in fear.

“L-Let go… Let go of me!”

Camilla struggled and thrashed while being restrained by the maids.

“Your Grace, please don’t do this! I… I was wrong! I’ll prostrate myself before Your Grace if you want, and to that monster…”

Camilla paused for a moment and glared at Mina resentfully.

“I’ll… I’ll even apologize if you tell me to. So please spare my life, Your Gra… Urgh!”

But it was impossible for the human Camilla to withstand the strength of the half-demon maids.

With her mouth forcibly opened by the maids, Camilla rolled her eyes in terror.

“I have no intention of letting Mina receive your pathetic apology. Even less do I intend to give you the chance to apologize gracefully.”

“Ugh…”

“What I want is for you to feel exactly what Mina felt.”

With those final words, I immediately poured the tea into Camilla’s mouth.

“No, I don’t… Kheuk…!”

Camilla struggled with her jaw held by the maids.

I poured every last drop of tea into her mouth.

As soon as I put down the now empty teapot.

Finally released from restraint, Camilla began to roll on the floor like a madwoman.

“Kyaaak!”

* * *

“Uwek…! Wek!”

Camilla repeatedly thrust her fingers down her throat.

It seemed she was trying to vomit up the tea.

But when it didn’t work as she wanted, she kept screaming while tearing at her hair.

“N-No… No, I don’t want to die! Aaak!”

Terrified, Camilla kept rolling on the floor, and her dress that had been radiating brilliant gold was now becoming as wretched as she was.

Soon, Camilla’s eyes, filled with fear and madness, turned towards Mina.

As their eyes met, Camilla crawled to Mina’s feet, dragging her dress.

“S… Save me!”

Lying face down on the floor, Camilla gasped desperately, clutching Mina’s skirt.

“An… antidote! You have the antidote, right?”

“…”

“I was wrong! I’m sincere, okay? So please save me…”

Camilla begged like a madwoman.

Mina, seemingly startled by her behavior, tried hard to pull her skirt from Camilla’s grasp.

“L-Let go of this…”

“I was wrong! I… I’m sincere!”

Camilla kept pleading to Mina.

But when she didn’t get the answer she wanted, she immediately shouted, rolling her eyes.

“I said I was wrong! I said I was wrong! How much more do I have to beg for such a trivial matter?!”

Camilla screamed as if possessed.

Then, as if realizing her mistake, she shook her head, turning pale.

“N-No, this isn’t it! I really was wrong! So please…”

Camilla stopped speaking and prostrated herself at Mina’s feet.

Then she began to cry loudly like a child.

“Please save me… I, sob… I was really wrong. I was so wrong… I’m really sorry… Please save me, okay…?”

The more desperate Camilla’s apology became, the more her face became a mess.

Her black hair that had been flowing with brilliant light was long since disheveled, and black tears flowed from her eyes.

It was truly a spectacle.

Camilla finally began to apologize with almost a scream, her forehead pressed to the ground.

“I was wrong. I was completely wrong! So please… I really don’t want to die…!”

Mina looked at me as if her heart had softened, and I nodded at her.

“…Alright. I’ll accept your apology, Madam.”

Mina’s eyes were still cold as she said this.

But Camilla’s eyes flashed as if she had found a glimmer of hope.

“R-Really? Then you’ll give me the antidote now, right? Hm?”

But Mina shook her head, lowering her eyes.

“No, I can’t do that.”

“W-Why?”

“I’m truly sorry, but I don’t have an antidote.”

“…What do you mean? N-No antidote? That’s not true, right?”

Camilla asked desperately, as if grasping at the last straw.

But all that returned was silence.

Camilla’s face, stained with black tears, trembled.

“N-No, it can’t be…”