No, we were short-sighted!

Forgive us just this once!

Short-sighted? I think by now, the maids are blinded.

The Emperor deliberately brought them in to monitor the Empress dowager but seeing this made it seem like it was vain.

Would the Emperor with that terrible temper let this slide?

As I watched the situation play out with an intrigued face, my eyes glinted in secret.

Okay, at this point, I think this needs to end.

I reached out and gently pulled the hem of her Majestys collar as she stood beside me.

Empress dowager, can you just forgive them?

What do you mean?

In any case, well still continue to work together at the Imperial palace, I dont want to be hated..

I blurted that line as I huddled myself in the handmaids arms, tucking in both shoulders.

Im so scared that Ill run into those maids in the future..

Perhaps they noticed that I was pretending to be pitiful on purpose, the maids now glared at me without hiding their resentment.

I quickly bowed my head as my shoulders stiffened.

..Now maids, just what is that disrespectful look in your eyes?

Next thing I knew, her Majesty, the Empress dowager, took care of everything single handedly.

Erm, no?!

You insulted Charlize! What is this, if not mutiny? This is just the beginning and youll continue if I let this go!

No, its not that!

The maids tried to hastily come up with excuses on the spot but her Majesty had already made up her mind.

I cant. I cant have you in the Imperial palace anymore.

Huh?

I was taken aback.

I thought it would end with them just being expelled from the Empress dowager palace but to expel them from the Imperial palace..

..How do things just get bigger? I just hope things dont get out of hand.

Dont worry, sweetheart. Those maids will no longer be the maids of the Empress dowager from today onwards.

What? Thats what do you mean?

I blinked my soaked eyelashes pitfully.

All the maids had blank faces as if they had been beaten on the back of their heads.

The Empress dowager looked at the maids with her piercing gaze as she declared coldly.

From today, you will be transferred to the dungeon in the main building of the security bureau.

.What?

The maids were wide-eyed to such a point that it seemed as if their eyes would pop out.

Oh, oh, oh.

The Empress dowager had firmly made her decision. There was no doubt about that.

The dungeon in the main building of the security bureau was a place where some of the worst felons in the empire were held.

Of course, the people who come face to face with the criminals are the prison guards..

Still, working in the dungeon is a level of difficulty that even maids who worked exceptionally well in the Imperial palace cant handle.

Aside from the amount of labor, the work itself is hazardous.

On top of that, the main building of the security bureau is quite far from the Imperial palace.

This disposition alone will probably be enough as a considerable punishment for the maids..

Your punishment of working in the dungeon will last at least one year and during that time, you will be working without pay.

Unpaid?

At that moment, my breathing stopped.

The maids faces went pale, sapped of all their color.

In the meantime, Im going to keep an eye on your working attitude, if I find your attitude hasnt changed.

A cold declaration was made.

You all shall be stripped of your positions as maids.

The maids wept and wailed as they clung onto her Majesty.

Your Majesty, its the dungeon of the security bureau!

How can you send us to such a perilous place?!

Please, have mercy on us this just once!

Her Majesty, the Empress dowager, who was looking at the maids, shook her head.

This wont do. Handmaiden.

Yes, just name it.

The handmaiden bowed her head.

Go and get the knights.

At that command, the maids lost their strength, one even fell to her knees as the eyes of each maid began to shake uncontrollably.

A faint smile crept over the handmaids lips.

As you wish.

After a while.

Your Majesty, Empress dowager! Your Majesty-!

The maids struggled recklessly but it was not enough to escape from the grip of the knights.

Watching the maids being dragged away by the knights, I quickly buried my face in the collar of the handmaids clothes.

If I didnt do that, I wouldnt be able to hide my satisfactory smile that spread across my face.

Hmm, will this blow up down the line?

Why did they try to pick a fight in the first place?

Really, it was arrogant of them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep