"This is the last time."
Lucian wiped the smile from his face and spoke quietly.
"Head Maid, bring her here."
"...."
Everyone swallowed hard at the sight of a Lucian they had never seen before. They had an ominous premonition that something terrible would happen if they refused.
And yet, the servants tried their best to ignore the warnings their instincts were screaming at them.
'No matter how angry the Third Young Master gets, he's still just the Third Young Master.'
'If we defy Lord Jordi, we might actually die. I'd rather take a scolding here.'
To the servants, Lucian was nothing more than a weak, shut-in noble. They were certain that no matter how furious he became, he would never actually kill them. In contrast, Jordi was known to be merciless. If they had to choose, it was better to defy Lucian than to cross Jordi.
"Young Master, as I said before—"
Slap!
The servant who tried to make another excuse saw stars. Before he could even finish his sentence, Hugo's palm had slammed into his face.
"Look at these bastards. Who is your master? Your master gives an order, and you're worried about someone else? You lot lack the basic fundamentals."
"Gah, cough! Why all of a sudden...!"
"Why? You still haven't come to your senses."
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Every time Hugo's palm—as large as a pot lid—swung back and forth, the servant's head snapped from side to side. Even though it was a palm strike, the impact felt like being hit with a steel mace. After five or six blows, teeth flew out and blood began to pour onto the floor.
"Gurgle! Cough! Ack!"
"S-Stop this! How can you do this in front of the Young Master!"
Seeing their colleague turned into a bloody mess in an instant, the other servants stepped forward, invoking Lucian's name. But Lucian merely snorted and tilted his head.
"I'm the one who told him to do it."
"P-Pardon?"
"I ordered it. I told him to educate anyone who kept disobeying, and he's doing a fine job. What's the problem?"
"Y-Young Master."
"Hugo. Keep hitting him."
"Yes, sir."
Whack!
"Aaaargh!"
The hand that had briefly stopped swung even harder than before. With every strike, the servant's teeth rained down onto the floor. Moments later, the servant—his face now unrecognizable even to his own family—went limp and fainted.
"Young Master, this one's out cold. What should I do with him?"
"Just toss him aside. When he wakes up, hit him some more."
"Will that be alright? If I hit him any more, he might die."
"That would be due to his own physical weakness. If he disobeyed his master's orders, he must have expected a beating like this. He should have been prepared, shouldn't he?"
"I suppose you're right. Understood. If he dies during his education, I'll just wrap him in a straw mat and throw him out."
"...!"
The servants' faces turned pale at the exchange. No matter how they looked at it, this wasn't a joke; they were dead serious. The way Hugo had beaten the fainted servant showed he had no intention of holding back. Even if the man survived, it was doubtful he'd ever be able to chew food again with his teeth gone. At worst, his eyes and ears would never be the same.
Hugo, having tossed the unconscious servant aside, turned his gaze toward the frozen staff.
"Let's see... you'll do for the next one. Didn't you just blather on about how we should understand your situation instead of following the Young Master's orders?"
"W-Wait! Just a moment... Gah!"
Crack!
With a sickening sound, the palm swung back and forth again. This time, the strikes were even more powerful, as if intended to shatter the man's cheekbones. The servants watched in terror before finally collapsing to their knees.
"Y-Young Master! Please forgive us! Please!"
"We were wrong! We will bring the Head Maid right this instant!"
"No, you don't have to. You're scared of Jordi, aren't you? How could I force my servants to do something they're so afraid of?"
"No! Not at all! What does the Second Young Master matter! Our only master is Young Master Lucian!"
"Don't push yourselves. I'll just kill you without giving any orders. It's better to die by my hand than Jordi's. Rest assured, Jordi will never kill you now."
"Uwaaaah! Young Master! Young Master!"
The servants begged Lucian until the skin on their palms was nearly rubbed raw. Only now did they realize how foolish they had been. It was true that Jordi could kill them like flies. But that also meant the Grand Duke, the other ladies, and all the other princes could do the same.
Lucian, too, could do it whenever he pleased. If that was the case, they should have at least been loyal to their own master. A master was someone who at least knew who his individual servants were and could protect them in a crisis. Jordi, whom they feared so much, wouldn't even know why they had died here. Even if he did find out, he would only mock them. No one wanted or pitied a servant without loyalty.
"Please, give us just one more chance! Please!"
"If you wish, I'll even cut off my own finger and offer it to you!"
"Spare us! Please, just let us live!"
The servants wailed and pleaded with Lucian frantically. Meanwhile, Hugo's palm continued to fly through the air. Just as the second servant fainted and Hugo was looking for his third target—
"Hugo, stop."
"Yes, Young Master."
Hugo stepped back the moment the order was given. Only then did the servants gasp for breath, heaving with relief that they were still alive. Lucian stared at them coldly and uttered a single word.
"The Head Maid."
"Yes, sir!"
No more words were needed. The servants scrambled to their feet and ran like lightning to find the Head Maid, Jenny.
It took less than five minutes for the servants to drag Jenny back.
"You crazy fools! Are you not afraid of Lord Jordi?!"
"Shut up!"
The servants forcibly dragged the struggling Jenny and forced her to her knees. Judging by the scratches on her cheeks and her disheveled clothes, she had been struck several times on the way. Despite the pain, Jenny's defiance showed no signs of waning. She resisted so violently that the servants struggled to pin her down, causing Lucian to click his tongue.
"Hugo, put her on her knees."
"Yes, sir."
At Hugo's signal, his subordinates pushed the servants aside and seized Jenny from both sides. These were grown men, a full head taller than most, and Jenny found herself unable to budge an inch. Panting, she glared at Lucian with sharp, venomous eyes.
"Young Master! Do you think you'll get away with this?!"
"...."
"...."
Everyone except Jenny gaped in disbelief. No matter who was backing her, those were not words a servant should ever say to a master. However, Jenny seemed to misinterpret the silence and shouted even more arrogantly.
"If you leave a single scratch on me, Lord Jordi will not let this slide! Have you already forgotten what happened at the training grounds a year ago? This will be nothing compared to—!"
Thwack!
"Guh!"
Unable to listen any longer, Hugo swung his fist and silenced Jenny. He knew that if he let her keep talking, she would cross the line indefinitely. Perhaps he had used too much strength, as Jenny staggered from the single blow, looking as if she might faint.
"My apologies, Young Master. I felt like my ears were rotting, so I couldn't help myself."
"No, you did well. Someone, bring me a whip."
"Yes, sir!"
Unlike before, one of the servants scrambled outside and returned with a whip in record time. It was a water-soaked buffalo hide whip, each strand embedded with small beads—a terrifying sight to behold.
"Wake her up."
"Yes."
Slap, slap.
"Uuuugh...!"
After her face was slapped a few times, Jenny's eyes fluttered open. Lucian toyed with the whip as he crouched down in front of her.
"Are you awake now?"
"Young Master... what do you think you're doing...."
"What does it look like? It's an execution ceremony for a servant who doesn't know her place."
"E-Execution?"
"That's right, an execution. Did you think this was just a punishment? I'm sorry to break it to you, but I have no intention of letting you live."
At Lucian's smirk, Jenny's face turned deathly pale. Was he really going to kill her, Jordi's milk sibling?
"L-Lord Jordi! Are you not afraid of Lord Jordi?!"
"Then are you not afraid of me? I am a noble and your master. And yet, what? Do you think I won't get away with this? You do realize I could cut your head off right now for the crime of insulting nobility and face no consequences, right?"
"I told you! I am—!"
"So what if you're Jordi's milk sibling? Even if I kill you, Jordi can't do anything to me. At most, I'll take a few hits and that'll be it. If Father intervenes, he won't even be able to do that. It's a small price to pay to get rid of a servant who doesn't know her place."
Crack!
As he finished speaking, Lucian snapped the whip through the air. Jenny trembled at the sound of the whip lashing the atmosphere. She finally realized that this wasn't a threat—he was serious.
"Hugo."
"I'll hold her steady. Hans, the floor is going to get messy soon, so get a mop ready."
"Huh? Ah, right. Blood is hard to clean up."
Whip wounds varied, but the one Lucian held was the most powerful type used for punishment. It was certain to cause heavy bleeding after a few strikes, so they had to be ready to clean it up. Turning white as a sheet, Jenny's teeth chattered as she spoke to Lucian.
"Y-Young Master... I-I was wrong. I made a mistake. Please forgive me just this once."
Lucian smiled brightly at Jenny's surrender.
"If you did something wrong, you have to be punished, right?"
And then, the whip flew through the air.
Jordi finished his meal and wiped his mouth. Even though it was the same menu as usual, it tasted exceptionally good today. No, he already knew the reason why.
'To think he can't even protect his own bowl. What a half-wit.'
Every time he thought of the humiliation his half-brother had suffered, a laugh escaped him. He knew Lucian was looked down upon, but he hadn't expected him to be unable to handle even his own servants. To think he had fled outside without taking any action. It was truly a disgrace to the Valdek name—no, to all nobility.
After this incident, Lucian's already low reputation was bound to plummet to rock bottom.
"I look forward to seeing how he reacts."
The smile on Jordi's lips deepened. The important part started now. If the boy had any sense of shame, he would try to find a way to kick Jenny out. But would that even be possible? Everyone feared Jordi, but no one feared Lucian. To do anything to Jenny, he would have to act himself rather than giving orders.
That was when the real fun would begin. If there were no servants to testify for him, Jordi could make up any number of reasons why a noble had laid hands on a head maid.
'Father might know the truth, but the truth isn't what matters to him.'
The fact remained that Lucian had failed at the basic task of managing his servants and keeping his own house in order. Even if Jordi was the one who set the trap, falling for such a prank was shameful in itself. Jordi might receive a light scolding, but for Lucian, even the last shred of expectation would vanish.
Of course, it didn't matter if Lucian gave up and left Jenny alone or asked their father for help. In that case, their father's thunderous rage would fall upon Lucian for not even trying to handle things himself.
"Young Master! Something terrible has happened!"
"What is it?"
Jordi frowned at the voice of his personal servant breaking his reverie. He was in such a good mood; what could possibly be the cause of this commotion? However, the servant did not hide his urgency despite Jordi's irritation.
"Jenny! Jenny is being whipped by the Third Prince!"
"What?"
"They say the sound of the whipping can be heard all the way outside! If we don't save her now, she might die!"
"...!"
At the unexpected news, Jordi stood up, his face turning ashen.