Mystic Dark Veil

Punishing the arrogant maid

The familiar atmosphere with furniture arranged in the same order made me feel comforted. Now that I am back home, I never knew my life would soon take a turning point. The journey I had to the magical forest, my encounter with HIM, and meeting granny would bring such a big change to my life.

As I was immersed in my thoughts, Lusav escorted me to my room in silence. He had many words written all over his face, but he did not want to tire his master who had just returned from the magical forest. Reaching the room door, Jannat (personal maid of Helen) was waiting for me. Usually, servants have to come and welcome their master, but Jannat was someone who was arrogant and prideful. She had already forgotten that Helen, her master, was not someone she could bully anymore. She stood beside the door, holding a wiping cloth and bowed.

I asked in a cold voice with my eyes directed towards her, "Where were you when I came? Isn't it a rule for servants to come and greet their masters at the gate?" She never learned her lessons. She spoke, staring into my eyes, "I was busy cleaning." The audacity she had to make a mistake and admit it without guilt was making my blood boil. "Heh! Right, you had work? When all the servants came to greet me at the door, my personal maid who is only hired to look after me was busy cleaning the room? DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?" (Helen stared into her soul like a double-edged sword that could cut through anything.)

Jannat's hand trembled, and the wiping cloth she was holding to show that she was working as an excuse fell from her hand. It was disrespectful and disregarding to show a wiping cloth to the master who is entering the house after days. Knowing all this, Jannat was purposely holding the wiping cloth. But now that I spoke, she came back to her senses and knew her place. I was never merciful to arrogant and wicked, and this time too I would not be. I did not glance at Jannat, who was now trembling with fear on the floor, kneeling and tearing up.

Turning to Lusav, I ordered, "Send Jannat to the dungeons and let her do the laundry from morning to noon, feed her only twice a day. From noon, she will work as a helper in the back garden." The back garden was a place where mainly the vegetables for food supply grew. The cowshed was nearby, and whoever worked there as a punishment had to clean the cowshed and fertilize the plants with cow dung. I wonder how long an arrogant personal maid can work in cowsheds, bathing them.

Lusav took my words as his command, and without waiting a second, he ran out. Before five minutes passed, he was back with two giant men. Seeing them, Jannat couldn't stop shaking. I held out my hand and asked her to crawl near me. She crawled to my feet and came within my reach. I grabbed her neck, and my eyes were fixed on her eyes. She was trembling under my power like a frog in the mouth of a snake. Seeing this made my urge to strangle her increase. I hated Jannat, who stood beside Helen and slowly killed her with poison. Killing someone who trusts you completely is worse than licking your enemy's dog's paw. Jannat is a traitor and will always be, but it was not yet the right time to kill her.

Punishing a servant was a daily chore for Helen the villainess, but she never killed anyone. If I kill Jannat today, it would surely alert the conspirators behind her.
I pulled her chin up, bent down, and whispered, "See you when you are forgiven." She did not utter a single word, nor did a single cry come out of her mouth. This time, she really understood the meaning of "power." The power that a word, look, or deed could show was not something everyone could wield, but I was living with that power, a killing machine. My heart, hardened as a diamond, showed no mercy.

Lusav stood silently beside me until they dragged her out. He was waiting for me to speak first. I said, "Leave me. I will call you once I am freshened up." "YES, MISTRESS," his gentle voice soothed me, and his soft smile with twinkling ocean eyes calmed me. He left me alone, gently closing the huge door.

Being alone was always comforting for me. The peace that came from the sound of rustling leaves and chirping birds made my head clear enough to think. It was now time to use and get to know about the ring and the special book I got in that village. But before that, I had to clean myself.

I placed the bag on the table, walked to my bath, removed my pants and sweaty shirt. A warm bath calmed my muscles. Neat, ironed clothes made it easy for me to breathe. I lay on the bed, my own soft, fluffy bed. Ahh, it is so good. I wish I could just lay on it all day for my entire life. The breeze came through the slightly opened windows. My eyes wandered around the familiar room.

Seeing my bag with the book and ring kept on the table, I jumped out of bed, grabbed it, and returned to my lovely bed. The bag reeked of sweat, but it was not like I was going to wash it and reuse it. I took out the ring and the book carefully and kept the bag aside. The first thing that caught my attention was the brightly shining ring. It was truly a blue ring that shined like the waters under the full moonlight. Deep ocean blue.

The stone was carefully cut and shaped into a beautiful form that would remind someone of the blue flame that once killed all the evil beasts. The myth of the most powerful mage who burned evil beasts into ashes was a bedtime story for little children.