Chapter 2

"Good morning Father" she greeted as she stop by at her father's office. It is pure white, covering with gold ornaments, and plants.

"I hope you have a wonderful morn—"

"If it's not urgent, then you can leave" he said, she smiled. Nothings new about it.

She leave the room, preventing tears on her face.

She tried everything for her father's affection, but nothing worked.

"Just, why can't I get into his good side?" she whine at one of her maids, Emily, regarding to the matter.

"Why? Did the duke never greet you—"

"As always, how I hate myself to this" she cried, the maid looks at her in a sad face.

"I hate him! I hate him!" the lady whined and the maid startled. "p-pardon—"

"He's still your father, why would you hate him for that?!" she almost screamed at the lady's words. She's keeping her composure as one of lady Zeianna's personal maids but she couldn't.

Emily couldn't contain herself but to slap Zeianna, leaving the other maids in awe.

"Emily—"

"This is a shame for us!"

"Don't hate your father for his actions!" she said, Zeianna still shocked at what the maid did.

She was supposed to punish her through hundreds of lashes but she remember her goal in this life.

To save everyone and destroy the person behind it. Even if it means losing herself in the process.

"I'm sorry, I— I didn't know what I said, I'm sorry" Zeianna kneeled at the maid.

"No—"

"My lady, stand up" the maids assist the lady to stand up. "I deserved this, I'm gonna lower my pride for the people's sake, for my friends on my side, for those people who supported this family"

"I'm gonna kneel until Emily forgives me—"

"What's with the commotion?" the duke sternly asked. "and why is my daughter kneeling? You're not even a member of a nobility" he added, forcefully lifting his daughter up, leaving a small whine in her.

"I'm sorry for the commotion I made earlier your grace—" the maid stopped when the lady talked.

"I'm sorry for the commotion I made earlier father, I should've done it" she said on the behalf of the maid.

"But lady—"

"It's okay Emily" she patted the maid's shoulders. "I'll bear the punishment, I'll give you a break for this month so you can relieve yourself from this" Emily was too stunned to speak about this.

'The lady is ain't kind, she's known for treating those lower than her in disdain. How did she became kind after she lay hands on a noblewoman yesterday?' Emily said on her mind.

"Father—"

"Is this how low you are?" the duke asked her. Zeianna's eyes widen.

"Yesterday you slapped a young noblewoman for being narrow-minded, then now your kneeling to the maid just for a mere word?"

'Please don't decide rashly, decide properly'

She remembered the noblewoman she slapped in this year. She slapped it for being a nuisance about the lower ranks.

"Father, that woman is such a pain. She slapped our maids just because she serve her tea when she said the same request" I defended.

"And what's wrong with that?" her father raised an eyebrow.

"After our maid, Julie, served the tea, she said that she requested water now she served her request" she said the maid's opinion about yesterday.

She remembered it, that memory five years ago. A bitter nostalgia that still happened on her second life.

"Then, Julie must changed the beverage she served—"

"Then the tea will be in a waste" she defended.

"Zeianna, we're nobles, we can waste and have another one, we can do anything the lower status can't" the father smirked at that opinion.

'This spoiled man' Zeianna said in her mind in annoyance.

Zeianna has no choice but to not talk to him back, even if she damaged her vocal cords, he'll never listen.

Unless if it is her mother who gave him tons of sermons.

She throw herself into her comfy bed. She stared at the ceiling that is full of gold, painted with such renaissance art. Zeianna sighed at the feeling.

The heavy burden living in her heart.

'Until now I couldn't get on his sweet side'

She stood up, she doesn't have to be lazy since it is a second life that was given to her.

By someone.

She go into her office and start her piles of paperworks.

'Well, the business goes well, the piles of hay, flour, and such ingredients for pastry is now sold out' she said in her mind, listing another bunch of piles of products to import and export.

"Well, I guess food will be your buddy in your work my lady" she almost flinched when a maid intrude to her office.

"Oh. It was you Amelia" Zeianna chuckled while the maid put the finger foods on the desk.

"It's important to eat while working so that you can be concentrated" the maid explained. She put the small plate beside the food and the water on top of the plate.

"Thanks for the hospitality" the lady thanked the maid then got out. She looked innocently to the maid getting out.

She'll be killed three days after serving her this just because she was "poisoned".

She thinks of something that would not fired the maid.

She rushed outside, seeing Amelia not far away from her office. She still rushed to the maid.

"Amelia" chasing her breathing, Amelia let her sit in the window. "what is it my lady?"

"I'll give you a month of break" she told her. "just... A month of break for you to take a rest and spend more time with your family"

Zeianna doesn't want to lose another friend.

Amelia looked down, all the time the lady always snarls at her. There is no day where she acknowledge her work.

"Are you sure my lady?"

Standing up, Zeianna said a word, smiling to the maid. "I'm sure of it Amelia"

"You don't have to be suspicious of me, I'm sure of this Amelia" she knew that one friend will be fired from the duchy and she wants to get the maid away from this.

Still, the maid thanked her, and rushed to the maid's quarters to pack her clothes.

It is her first time to got her day off.

Hope things will get right.