Moreover, Alpheios’s courtship was not just an unpleasant incident.
Everyone who needed to know was aware that the prince complained daily to my father, demanding,
“Take General Riorem’s slave away and give her to me.”
So Teumesia consistently insisted: either kill that woman or exile her to another country.
Isn’t that only natural? In the Arete Kingdom, especially in Riorem’s territory where the power base was most unstable, having a woman everyone coveted would only cause trouble.
Especially when her presence was negatively affecting Riorem.
Whenever Riorem was involved in matters concerning that woman, he was never in his right mind.
He always made the most irrational decisions and created problems that didn’t need to exist.
Still, until recently, it was bearable.
For the past few years, Riorem had lived like a madman, obsessed with gaining power and accumulating wealth.
He hardly paid attention to himself, nor indulged in luxury or even simple desires.
So it was possible to tolerate his sudden craziness over a woman.
Even if it insulted and angered Teumesia herself, it was fine.
After all, she had experienced similar things when serving other lords, not just Riorem.
Always reminding herself of this, Teumesia chose Riorem based on efficiency.
Many people make foolish choices, even against their own judgment, just because they don’t want to listen to a woman.
Most of Teumesia’s previous superiors were like that.
But Riorem was not.
If that was the most suitable method to achieve his goal, he would listen even to a woman from a minor noble family.
Even after concluding that Teumesia’s advice was the best among his strategists, he acted the same way.
Ordinary lords, when realizing Teumesia was the smartest, would usually scold her.
Sometimes they would blatantly ignore her suggestions or skip her promotion.
Some even harassed her just because she was a woman.
But Riorem reached a purely efficient conclusion: he made Teumesia his adjutant.
So Teumesia was loyal to Riorem.
Even if he did crazy things because of a woman, or if that woman was insane, she tried to endure it as much as possible.
But this was different.
The situation becoming everyone’s gossip, the Alpheios prince trying to sow discord between the king and Riorem, the report that the empire had learned about Chernea—all of it was wrong.
Everything.
Not even did this situation make Riorem happy.
His nerves became increasingly sensitive, and he grew more confused like a lost person.
“Then the right thing is to eliminate the cause. What other options are there?”
So Teumesia persuaded those around her.
Since she failed to convince Riorem alone, she planned to gather more voices to move her lord’s heart.
The moment she tried this, Teumesia faced something she had to endure her whole life again.
Other retainers began opposing just for opposition’s sake.
Gnash.
Teumesia gritted her teeth.
“Why do men have to be like this?”
Surely they also thought that abandoning Chernea was the right thing for Riorem.
But as soon as Teumesia brought it up, they attacked her as if it had never been discussed before.
And on top of that, they took the chance to settle long-held grudges built since Riorem chose Teumesia as his adjutant instead of them.
Even in this worst situation, Teumesia had to go to Riorem’s bedroom.
There was no way around meeting that woman.
Since Teumesia had tried to kill Chernea, Riorem strongly disliked the two meeting.
But he couldn’t stop it.
Chernea herself wanted to see Teumesia.
Teumesia waited for Riorem to leave and then went to meet Chernea.
Riorem was still her lord, and she saw no need to upset him unnecessarily.
“So usually when I come, this place should be quiet…”
Teumesia glanced down the disorderly hallway.
The atmosphere felt strange.
She even heard suspicious sounds from inside the bedroom.
Knock knock.
She knocked with a notification tone and opened the bedroom door.
A familiar man was inside — one of the mansion’s cooks.
“What is this…!”
“Could you close the door, Teumesia? The sound shouldn’t leak outside.”
With a harsh voice, Chernea struck the cook’s back with a whip.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”
The cook, gagged, groaned.
Teumesia closed the door and looked around.
There were not only Chernea and the cook in the room but several maids as well.
They all kept their heads bowed in silence.
“W-what are you doing right now?”
“Can someone explain for me? I’m busy punishing her right now.”
At Chernea’s words, one maid timidly stepped forward.
The maid wore a mob cap tightly pressed down, but she couldn’t hide the wildly chopped hair.
“We… were ordered by the cook… to harass Lady Chernea…”
The maid’s shoulders trembled as she spoke.
Teumesia clicked her tongue unconsciously.
It seemed the cook, upon realizing the person he was serving was a princess of a fallen kingdom, was trying to boost his pride in a strange way — and got caught.
‘It’s a bit odd that such a proud cook actually came up to the bedroom himself.’
As if knowing Teumesia’s thoughts, Chernea smiled.
“Men who have the habit of using women tend to forget that they themselves can be deceived by women.”
She was saying that the maids had tricked the cook and brought him up to the bedroom.
Chernea stopped whipping the cook, who was being beaten heavily.
Then she smiled at Teumesia, who was staring at her sharply.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Worried about these kids?”
“Don’t worry too much. If things get bad, we can just call Riorem.”
At those words, the man at Chernea’s feet shivered.
The whip slid along the cook’s back with a scratching sound.
“Isn’t that good news for you too? When your master comes, you can report this unfair situation as it is.
Of course, whether Riorem listens to me or you is another matter.”
The whip struck the cook’s back again.
The cook, no matter what excuse he was given to come here, was dressed simply in a loose shirt and pants.
It was not clothing that could block the whip cutting into his skin.
Eventually, the cook fainted from the countless lashes.
Only then did the maids who had been standing start to move.
They began wiping the bloodstains, dragged the cook out, and tidied up the area.
Suddenly, Teumesia spoke.
“Whips too, huh?”
“Of course. When hitting a man, you have to use tools to really hurt him.”
Riorem the general too?
The stupid question stuck in Teumesia’s throat.
He must have hit her a lot, seeing how irrationally Riorem behaved only toward this woman.
“But I still prefer to hit with my own hands. That way, I can feel what I’m doing.”
“Then why is that man…”
“How could I hit a man bare-handed? I’m not a princess. Riorem would hate it. He hates anyone else touching me.”
The answer came back like a strange song.
But at least it seemed joyful.
Definitely more than being everyone’s spectacle as Riorem velik’s spoils.
After all the maids had left,
Teumesia once again voiced what she had been thinking was the best solution.
This time, to the person concerned.
“Don’t you want to get out of here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you want to escape? From this situation?”
Teumesia emphasized her voice.
“Do you want to live your whole life in a country that destroyed your homeland? With the lowly status where you have to recruit maids just to punish one cook?”
It was true that Chernea lived a life unimaginable for an ordinary bedroom slave.
But compared to living as a princess of Peroa, it was a far harsher environment.
She couldn’t even leave the bedroom of her own will.
To Teumesia, Chernea wasn’t someone who should be in such a place.
She seemed attached to Riorem, but it would be much easier for her to reclaim her status and enjoy it.
As Teumesia tried to persuade Chernea with such thoughts, a phrase she heard from other retainers suddenly echoed in her mind.
‘I understand that you’re impatient now that you’re no longer the only woman monopolizing the general, but there’s no need to go that far.’