Splash!

Kanna’s eyes snapped open as cold water smacked her in the face.

“Why aren’t you up yet, miss?”

Still not fully awake, Kanna blinked slowly at the high ceiling and white silk canopy around her. So I really am back.

This wasn’t Korea, but a bedroom in the Valentino estate.

Damn it! What is this all over my face?

“Miss, get up! Can’t you hear me?”

Oh, it was her.

Kanna saw the vase next to the bed and realized what happened. That maid had been waking Kanna (or, shall we say, Joohwa) by splashing her with water, snatching her blanket away, or even slapping her in the face. Yet Joohwa had done nothing about it, bearing her treatment in silence to please the duke. This maid had worked for the Valentino family for a long time, and Joohwa didn’t want her reporting back to them if she lost her temper.

She’s seriously stupid, isn’t she?

“You. What’s your name?” Kanna asked sharply, wiping the water off her face.

The maid seemed startled.

What? The dimwitted doormat that’s been living in my body never talked back? Kanna thought scornfully.

According to her memories, this maid was called Mary. She was in her forties and had become top dog among the staff in the Valentino house during her incredibly long service.

“My name is Mary Goldian, miss. Have you suddenly forgotten? Did something happen to your head, perhaps?” Mary replied confidently, stiffening her voice. “Stop talking nonsense and get up this instant! It’s time for you to pay your respects to the mistress!”

Pay my respects? Kanna suddenly felt a sharp, throbbing headache. Unbelievable.

Oh, right. Duke Valentino’s stepmother lives with him in this estate. Josephine, the duke’s stepmother, had requested that her daughter-in-law pay her respects to her three times a day—morning, noon, and night.

This is insane, and not just by Korean standards. Joohwa had complied, rain or shine, hoping it would help her win the duke’s favor someday. But Kanna had no intention of keeping this up. “I’m not going.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said I’m not going to pay any damn respects.”

“How could you say that, miss?!”

“Miss? Who here is a ‘miss’? I am Duchess Valentino and the lady of this household. You will refer to me as ‘my lady.’”

Mary’s face stiffened. She looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This Kanna was completely different from the one she was used to, the one who always forced a smile and tried to please everyone. What’s going on? Did she wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

The maid’s lips pinched into a smirk. Trying to play the mistress, are we?

No one saw Kanna as a noble. She was like a ghost, the duke’s wife in name only. Her black hair and black eyes forever marked her as a symbol of the Dark Fog that had appeared centuries before, annihilating the entire southern continent. That damned color had doomed her to be hated from the time she was born. Even her own family treated her like garbage because of it.

“Lady Josephine is the mistress of this household. I answer only to her,” said Mary, thinking that would put Kanna in her place as it had before.

And the girl did remain silent, just as Mary expected–at least until she abruptly thrust her hand forward. “Give it to me.”

“Excuse me?”

“That vase. Does it have any water left?” Kanna asked before snatching the vase from her hands and looking inside. Then, with a great splash, she heaved its contents over Mary.

“How dare you, you insolent wretch.”

The water dripped from the maid’s head to the floor. She looked like she was in shock. Despite the water dripping from her face, she simply couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“You need to be taught a lesson. You there. Bring me a switch,” said Kanna to a maid who had been watching from outside the door.

When the maid hesitated, she raised her voice. “What are you doing just standing there? Do you want to be whipped as well? If you don’t bring it to me right now, you’ll be first!”

“R-right away, my lady!”

A moment later, the maid brought a switch and handed it to Kanna.

“Lift up your skirts,” Kanna ordered Mary, who still looked totally lost.

The maid’s face began to turn white. How dare you treat me like this? Do you know how many years I’ve worked for this family?!

“What are you doing, miss? Have you forgotten who I am?” Mary finally spoke up. “The mistress holds me in high regard. I have worked for the Valentino family for many years—”

“You’re a maid,” said Kanna, cutting her off sharply. “A crazy maid who dares to splash her mistress’s face with water. That is who you are, Mary.”

“But—”

“And me? I am Duchess Valentino, the lady of this manor with every right to teach her maid a lesson. And on that authority, I order you to lift your skirts.”

“B-but...”

“If you refuse, every other maid in this manor will be whipped alongside you. Better yet, I should beat the butler for having done such a poor job training the maids."

Mary was speechless.

“So, what will it be? Would you rather take the beating alone or with all the other servants in the estate?”

The color disappeared from Mary’s lips. The maid who brought the switch darted her eyes around nervously. After a moment of silence, she finally lifted her skirts.

She’s scared out of her mind. And she should be. Kanna had suddenly become a different person and was standing in front of her, ready to give her a whipping.

Kanna tilted her head and looked up at Mary, thinking this scare might be enough. But just then, a small voice rang out in her head.

“If you must punish someone, Kanna, be sure to follow through.”

I’ve never gone wrong taking Mom’s advice. Kanna lifted the switch and brought it swishing down.

“Ahh!” That one blow shook Mary’s entire body and left a clear, red line on her legs. But since a single blow only shocks...

Swish!

“Ahhh!”

A second blow was needed to reinforce the pain. And then the third blow...

“M-my sincerest apologies, my lady!”

...leaves them begging for mercy.

Kanna finally lowered the switch. “What are you apologizing for?”

“I-I dared pour water on you...”

“But that’s not all, is it? You’ve also woken me before with a slap, haven’t you?” asked Kanna with a sneer.

You can’t just let people walk all over you, Joohwa. No matter how much pain they put you through, all you did was smile. Even a worm will turn, but you just let it happen.

Just like I did... before I became you.

“M-my sincerest apologies, miss.”

“Miss?” Kanna tilted her head again, making Mary’s shoulders tremble.

“I-I’m sorry, my lady! T-that was a mistake, my lady! It will never happen again.”

“You’d better make sure it doesn’t, or the beating won’t end so quickly next time.” Kanna threw down the switch before flicking her hand. “Leave.”

Mary began to weep as she stood. Her shoulders drooped with defeat, but her anger was palpable as she turned to leave the room.

I guess it’s too much to expect change after just one lesson. Kanna sighed, taking a seat on the couch once the maids left.

Oh, Joohwa. Weak, pathetic little Joohwa. Lee Joohwa... I did a really good job with your life. I graduated from a good school, became a doctor, and I even landed you the perfect boyfriend.

But you... All you did was make my miserable life even worse.