Hypocrites

"That was.. tense." Serenia heaved a sigh of relief as she was now out of the dining room. Freedom!

Her expression distorted when she thought about the Cardinal, who continuously made pushes to make Serenia more docile and submissive. The original Serenia might not have realized it, but his words were always phrased in a way that put her down.

"Just wait, you won't be that complacent in a bit." Serenia scoffed.

Now that she was in charge, she wasn't going to take it all without firing back.

As she walked back to her room, she suddenly heard a loud noise and a shriek coming from the garden's direction. Then, it was quickly followed by sounds of laughter from more than one person.

"This late at night.. What are they doing?" Serenia wondered. It didn't seem like a good situation was happening.

'Should I take a quick look?'

Just like that, her path deviated and she headed towards the gardens.

What she saw was a disgusting sight. From afar, it only looked like a group of maids was huddling up, but when you looked closely, you would see the crouched over young woman in the middle of it all.

'Workplace bullying, huh?'

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Serenia approached the group calmly, attracting their attention to her figure.

"What? Don't try to stick you head in.." One of the maids turned around to reply, but then saw who they were talking to.

It was easy to recognize the one and only Saintess of the Holy Palace. Serenia was someone who often appeared under the public's eye. Not to mention, they were exclusive servants to the Holy Palace, how can they not tell who Serenia was?

"G-Greetings, Saintess!" They collectively stopped whatever they were doing and turned to greet Serenia.

"I would suggest you to clean your mouth a little bit. The words you spout out of those pretty little mouths, I've heard it all." Serenia glared at them menacingly.

The maids were somewhat taken aback. After all, they knew how Serenia was usually like. She was a naive and gullible woman who had flowers inside her brain instead of meaningful thoughts. Often, she would reward maids with great amounts just because they praised her beauty and prowess.

She was that type of person who wouldn't realize they were being taken advantage of! Then, who is this person who only resembled the Saintess in terms of appearance?

"It pains my ears to hear all this screaming.. And, exactly what did that woman on the ground do for you to treat her in such a way?" Serenia crossed her arms and asked with a stern tone.

"W-We apologize." They refused to look up and meet Serenia's eyes. They kept their heads down and groveled on the ground.

"I asked you a question. Answer it."

"That woman got in with dirty connections, Saintess! She's not fit to serve in the Holy Palace!" One of them finally spoke up and pointed a finger at the crouching maid.

"Then, are you saying that your attitudes are fit for this place? Have you ever touched or read the holy scriptures in your life? When did El tell you to use violence like this?" Serenia immediately rebutted.

Serenia hated these types of people the most. People who would chastise others using unreasonable and improper means while hiding behind the name of 'sacred justice' or whatever.

"Never, Saintess!"

"Haa... Please never forget that you are in the sacred grounds of the Holy Palace. Whatever you do here, it must reflect the true nature of El's Light. Learn to conduct your behavior appropriately." Serenia shook her head and advised.

"I shall remember your names and faces. I'm a reasonable person, so I will let you off just this once. If I see you repeating the same actions once again.. Be prepared to face harsh consequences." Serenia rebuked them. "Go!"

"Understood, Saintess! We thank you for your generosity!" The maids, who were scared beyond death hurriedly got up and ran away in unison.

Now that the pesky maids were gone, all that's left was a young woman curled up into a ball, shivering and letting out pained moans.

"..Are you alright?" Serenia approached the woman, but there was no response.

It seemed like she was doused with a basin of ice cold water. She was shivering nonstop, and bruises covered her skin in some places.

'How cruel. They're just maids, where do they get the guts to do this?' Serenia did not understand.

In the Demon world, these kind of thing would never happen. Servants were treated well, and their rights were never undermined or slighted. This is because they had strict laws that enforced proper behavior. If one crossed the line, they would get punished in accordance to their deeds.

"Here, I'll heal you." Serenia cast magic over where she saw bruises and light wounds. She couldn't completely eliminate the cold, but at least the pain should subside.

"..nk you." She replied with a small, weak voice.

"Hm? What was that? I couldn't hear you clearly."

"T-Thank you so much for saving me." The woman sobbed. No matter how much she wiped her tears off, it wouldn't stop. More and more liquid kept spilling out of her eyes.

"It's nothing. It'd be weirder if I just let it be and walk away.. How long have they been doing this to you?"

"Ever since I joined as a servant.. No one wants to accept my existence. They say that I entered here because of connections, but I assure you, nothing like that happened! I went through the same training and education, and rightfully got this place..! But.. No one believes me.." She cried her heart out.

The same question replayed inside her heart thousands of times.

Why is this happening to me?

She did nothing wrong, and yet she was constantly subjected to alienation and bullying. For what reason?

"..Do you want revenge? If you want to, I'll help you out." Serenia offered.

"No.. It's no use. No matter how much I fight back, it's never going to stop."

"Hmm? Don't you know who I am?"

"Huh?"