From what Elena had heard, it seemed that Lydia was pushing Lenoa away from her spot as the madam and was taking control of the castle.

‘And that wouldn’t be enough for that witch…’ Elena thought spitefully.

“Thank you for rubbing my feet last night, by the way. Thanks to you, I was able to get up easily in the morning,” the plump woman whispered to Elena, seeming unwilling to stop the conversation. Elena nodded with a faint smile. There were only five maids in the kitchen in total, and they were in charge of providing meals for hundreds of men. They carried heavy bags of ingredients and huge buckets of water, constantly moved hefty pots on and off the stove, and kneaded flour day and night to make bread. No one could deny that this was strenuous work.

Elena did her best to be quick-witted and helped the maids in need by doing various chores for them. As always, she helped without asking for anything back, resulting in everyone appreciating and thinking positively of her.

“You’re so sharp and skilled. Thank you for getting the load off our shoulders,” one maid said. Others also approached her and complimented her when they had some time to take a break.

When the head maid noticed other maids showing affection toward Elena, she laughed and said, “The madam would love to meet you.”

Elena did not miss her chance and quickly asked, “Would she? By the way, where is she? Has she traveled elsewhere for now?”

“No, she’s here. Well, this is a secret, but Lord Logan nearly beat her to death about three days ago. I don’t know what happened, but he was taking it out on her. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a woman… We’re all treated the same, regardless of status.”

“How could he hit her like that?!” another maid chimed in, but the head maid shushed her after belatedly realizing that Elena’s face had turned white.

She then spoke as if such an incident was an everyday occurrence. “You’ll have to get used to it if you want to keep working here. Don’t show that you’re surprised if you happen to see her face covered in bruises. I’ve heard that she would have been abused to death already if she weren’t the daughter of Viscount Nar.”

“Yes, okay, I understand,” Elena replied. Compassionate feelings overwhelmed her, making her heart throb. ‘So, she is still alive… and Logan is still abusing her…’

“Madam will come into the kitchen once everyone finishes eating out there. Anyway, she’ll like it when she sees that a decent maid started working here.”

Elena continued to think about the poor Lenoa as her heart ached with pity. The kitchen became silent for a while until the stillness was broken by the sounds from the hall.

“Here she comes. Everyone, keep quiet.”

Elena pulled her hood up with trembling hands and pushed her head deep inside to cover her profile. She then listened carefully to the sounds outside. Anger surged up within her at an instant when a high-pitched voice hit her eardrums.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You just stood in my way to block me!” the voice shrieked.

“No, Princess Lydia. It’s not that…” a frightened voice trailed off. A sharp slapping sound soon followed, prompting Elena to flinch instantly. She could tell that someone was receiving a harsh beating. The sound of the whip cutting through the wind caused goosebumps to rise throughout her body. Suppressed groans could be heard vividly as the beating continued. Elena looked around only to find that everyone had their heads lowered with terrified expressions, busy pretending not to hear what was happening.