No, She Wouldn't

"It must be my lucky day to stumble upon you," Fred said with a low, lustful tone. He was advancing into whatever little space was left between them, disregarding any type of personal space. At this point, Layla was sure the new maid could feel his breath on her.

But unlike Layla, who was panicking, the new maid was quiet and composed. She simply stared into his eyes, nonchalantly, as if this whole situation were nothing to her. Similar to how she handled the maid with the ginger hair,

However, he didn't see it as an insult and instead wore an eerie grin. His face drew close to hers, as he took a long sniff of her hair.

He exhaled slowly and said, in a raspy voice, "I like that defiant look. It makes me-"

"What's going on here?" Layla came forward from her spot.

She can't believe she was helping the same person for the second time. How can someone get into problems so frequently?

The new maid's golden eyes brightened at the sight of Layla.

Layla sighed. Then she turned to look at the perpetrator, who had a mix of confusion and anger written all over his face. Layla clenched her fist out of anger. He was the same individual who had injured Henni so severely, and now also dared to do something like this in broad daylight.

Layla shifted her gaze back and forth between the two individuals. She furrowed her eyebrows and said in an angry voice, "What are you doing here?"

"It's you, huh". The man spoke in an agitated tone. He backed away from the white-haired girl and turned to face Layla.

He scratched the back of his head and said, "What do you want—oh.". His anger dissipated, and he gazed at Layla the same way he had towards the new maid. He advanced towards Layla.

"From the way you were dressed, it seemed as though you had been given the task of cleaning the stables. Haha. So the rumors were true. The master had abandoned his daughter." He now stood directly in front of Layla. He bent down to her level and said, "But don't worry, I can take really good care of you".

He moved his hands up to hold Layla's chin, but before he could do that, Layla grabbed his wrist.

"I didn't know servants in this house had free time to roam around and do useless things. If that's the case, I need to discuss it with my father", Layla said in a firm voice while tightening her grip on his hand.

"Your father?" The man grinned mockingly. "He doesn't care about you, let alone what you think. If he had the chance, that man would be willing to sell you."

"Compared to that useless father of yours, I could be of more use," the man said. He smirked, "I can take pretty good care of you."

But before he could say anything, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his crotch. He then dropped to the ground.

"If you are that useful, do the job you have been given instead of harassing this new maid and others". She narrowed her eyes, disgusted with him. "And this time it wouldn't go unpunished."

She then approached the new maid, took her hand, and walked away, leaving the groaning person on the ground. How dare he say such things about her? It seemed like the rumors had spread a bit too far. As much as she was frustrated, this could all work in her favor. And Fred's behavior today offered her even more proof that she can make things work in her favor.

She knew a prideful man like him would insult the head of the house eventually. And that was what she needed. With this maid acting as her evidence, things might go more smoothly than usual.

But what was the new maid doing here in the first place? Stable was a place everyone avoided; then why was she here?

Layla came to a stop, released the girl's hand, and then turned around. The maid's gleaming golden eyes were already fixed on Layla's. Layla had been taken aback by the intensity of the eye contact.

"He didn't do anything weird, did he?" she said in a serious tone.

The maid shook her head. "Oh, that's good," Layla said, relieved.

"What are you even doing here? This isn't a place for a newbie. New workers are normally given jobs in laundry or cleaning duties". Cleaning the stables used to be the responsibility of the stable boys, but now those who received punishment are responsible for doing it. And because there are more and more people being punished, the stable boys were free of their work.

So what was she doing here, in this place? Was she punished too?

Layla noticed the whitehead's fingers twitching as soon as she asked her question, and then her admiring eyes abruptly began to turn away. Her eyes looked down at her feet, not wanting to look straight into Layla's eyes. Her golden irises landed on something as she pointed to it with her finger.

Layla followed her finger. It was the broom that was lying on the ground as Layla ran away from the stinky odor.

"Ah, I was given the task of cleaning this place. That's why I was asking you What are you doing here-" Before Layla could finish her sentence, she saw the maid go there and grab the broom.

"No! Stop"

Layla quickly ran to her and snatched the broom from her hand. Ain't no way she would let this girl do Layla's work. Additionally, the presence of Fred indicates that Layla is being watched by the head maid. If she makes one mistake, her stepmother will find out about it, which will undoubtedly result in additional punishment.

"If you have nothing else to do, please don't disturb me. I have a lot of work to do. You don't know a lot of things because you are new. I'll tell you one thing, though: don't hang around with me. Better if you stay away from me entirely."

With that instruction, Layla resumed her job despite the maid's protests and her attempts to gain her attention. The golden eyes were still pleading with Layla to let her help Layla. But Layla didn't want to be in more trouble.

The maid probably wanted to pay Layla for helping her. And she would have accepted this offer. But now she can't. Not now when she knows her stepmother is watching her work. One slip, and it's over.

After numerous tries, the maid gave up when Layla refused to give her any attention. The maid pouted and had a dejected look.

Then suddenly the maid's face lit up as if a good idea came to her. She started walking away from the girl sweeping the ground.

Layla thought the maid had finally given up on her and was walking away. She was glad her silent treatment worked.

Yes, that's right; that was what the maid was supposed to do, Layla thought as she went back to her work.

But instead of going away from the stable, the white-haired girl picked up a rock from the side of the road and started walking in the direction they came from.

As Layla saw the action happen in front of her, she got a bad feeling. And decided to follow the girl.

The maid walked with Layla following her from a safe distance to not get caught. The girl returned to the place from where both of them had come.

Fred who was laying in pain a few minutes ago was now sitting up. He was facing away from them, still groaning.

The maid paused at a safe distance from the groaning man and turned to face Layla. Looking at Layla's confused expression, the maid smiled mischievously.

The newbie knew Layla had been following her.

Layla's eyes went wide when she saw the maid aim the rock in Fred's direction. Even a child would know what was about to go off.

Oh no, she wouldn't.