My head was already a mess; why did she have to cause a fuss as well?

She had been quiet for a while, only to make a scene again. But I couldn’t afford to focus on Misha right now.

It probably didn’t even hurt when she was slapped, given how chubby her cheeks were.

I spoke coldly.

“Leave. I need to sleep.”

“You shameless, dirty bastard!”

“……”

Hearing Misha’s curse, my sleepiness vanished.

“I’m not in the mood, Misha. Leave!”

“That maid position was supposed to be mine! And you snatched it?”

So that was it. I felt like the tension in me had been released.

Not even knowing why the responsibility fell onto me, this wretched…

“As a bastard, you’re a demon, Lorisha. If you enter the palace, I wouldn’t have to go to the academy anymore! You’ve ruined everything.”

Even in my dazed state, I found Misha Roar’s thought process fascinating.

She doesn’t like the academy? She doesn’t realize how precious what I have is.

As my head cleared, my anger surged.

Is this fool really complaining that she doesn’t want to attend the academy, that the maid position should be hers? Is she sane?

Misha didn’t stop there.

“You must never use our family name. The biggest mistake my father ever made was sowing his seed in your mother. Ugh!”

I clenched my teeth, swung my arm, and slapped her back. Then, I snorted.

I spoke to Misha, who stood frozen in shock.

“Misha Roar, have you ever wondered why a bastard like me got the maid position? If Lady had done her job right, how could something like this have happened? Talk about my mom one more time if you want to die!”

Finally, Misha began to regain her senses and started shouting.

“You, wicked… filthy thing! Leave, leave our house!”

“I’ll leave. To the palace. Your mother, the countess, begged me to go there!”

“Aaaaah! Lorisha! I hate you! I hate you so much I could die!”

Misha lost her composure and lunged at me. Whether she saw me as vulnerable or she’d just lost her mind, I couldn’t tell.

But I had no intention of holding back. The moment she dared mention my mother, she crossed the line.

I grabbed Misha’s arm, threw her down on the bed, and pinned her. Struggling, Misha growled beneath me.

The more powerless Misha became, the angrier I got. How can such a foolish girl have everything without effort, while I always struggle only to miss out?

I spoke cruelly.

“Thank Misha Roar. I’m saving you right now. How long do you think it would take for you to tarnish the honor of the third princess if you entered the palace? Half a day? No, an hour is enough. Now, be grateful! Be grateful!”

But Misha grumbled until the end.

“The maid position is mine. I should have gone to the palace, not the academy!”

“Lorisha!”

Just then, the door burst open, and the countess rushed in. Her face turned pale as she saw Misha’s flailing.

‘It’s good. Mom’s here.’

As I mentally sneered and released Misha, she stumbled into the countess’s arms.

The countess examined Misha’s face to ensure she was unharmed, and Misha sobbed.

“Mom, did you see? She, she just…”

“Misha! Let’s go, quickly.”

“…Mom?”

Misha stopped crying. Her disheveled red hair framed her wide eyes, making her quite a sight.

The countess’s reaction surprised me too. The last time she caught me messing with Misha’s hair, she almost beat me.

Yet now, she was pacifying Misha instead of me.

Misha’s lips quivered.

“Mom? You saw what she did to me just now! And you’re letting her go?”

“Alright. Let’s talk, Misha. Hurry. Lorisha, you’ve been awakened, go back to sleep.”

“Mom… are you in your right mind? Mom!”

The countess dragged the clinging Misha out.
I couldn’t believe the Countess had taken my side.

I muttered quietly in my shock.

“Am I really going to die if I go to the palace?”

The next day, I heard about the situation through Teria.

Misha had cried for hours, saying that those who ignored her would eventually pay the price.

Later, the maids were surprised to see veins in her eyes. It had never happened before.

When Greyon returned to the reception room with a snicker, Duke Rocard turned his head in curiosity. He was stretched out on the balcony of the second prince, reading a book.

“Anything interesting happen?”

“Interesting, indeed. The bastard of the third lion.”

Duke Rocard’s eyebrows immediately furrowed.

“He entered the palace as a maidservant of Miliora. Prince Orel told the Count to send his daughter, and he sent a bastard. Miliora turned her room upside down.”

“……”

“The Count was summoned by Prince Orel and said, ‘I brought my daughter as you ordered.’ Hahaha!”

Duke Rocard didn’t respond, but Greyon continued cheerfully.

“He brought a child who has self-studied to the level of the imperial academy. He wants the competition to proceed fairly.”

Greyon imitated the Count’s monotone.

“‘My other daughter is in her first year at the academy and isn’t suitable for assisting the princess.'”

Duke Rocard put down his book, his face void of humor.

‘Is Count Roar distancing himself from the first prince?’