As days crept forward, the weather got colder, and a thin layer of frost would cover the world in the early mornings. Soon, all outdoor work had ceased, apart from the necessary firewood chopping and raking of the front yard.

  However, this did not mean the manor had gone quiet. Quite the contrary, a previously closed wing of the manor was opened; really, it was just an extension of the fancy carpeted part of the manor, where Runa had her last chance to be sold.

  Guests who would normally come and leave on the same day would stay for extended visits, enjoying the company of the merchandise.

  Katharina was revolted by how these extended stays functioned as a perfect advertisement for what the Masters could expect from owning one of them.

  Their lessons and work days had expanded their repertoire of tasks to include serving and performing before the guests.

  There had been a particular group of what Katharina could only assume to be young noble women who had repeatedly requested to see the cheerleading dance performed.

  Surely this was to ogle the chiseled young men flexing their strength and to imagine themselves the ones being lifted, spun, and caught in their arms. However, Katharina herself was lucky enough not to be allowed to participate, as her dancing abilities were neither adequate nor elegant. She had merely stood on the sidelines serving wine, mostly just holding wine.

  For now, she had thought that was the extent of their humiliation, until one morning, when the rumble of carriage wheels on gravel announced new guests.

  It was the morning of Master Ravnsund's monthly visit; the previous group of visitors had left just a few days prior. And Katharina hoped this meant a little break from the endless performance, but Master Ravnsund didn't come alone.

  Their laughter was the first thing that disturbed the peace.

  It was like a deep rumble that bellowed through the manor corridors, the sound of laughing a little too loud to impress in a social hierarchy.

  The voices belonged to a group of young men, and at the center was the charming and unmistakable chatter of the Master himself.

  Katharina had no intention of crossing paths with the master; it would only lead to another assessment of her progress.

  Though she was a bit intrigued to see if the prince was in attendance, the more comfortable she had gotten in her aura, the more she wanted to experience the overwhelming pressure he had exuded again. Maybe if she could figure out how he manifested his presence so strongly, she would be able to do something similar.

  But for now, this goal was secondary; staying out of harm's way came first.

  Katharina hurriedly made her way down the corridor in the opposite direction from the laughter.

  As she turned her head one last time to see that no one had noticed her escape, she turned a corner and slammed into a tall figure clad in black.

  A pair of large, claw-like hands steadied Katharina by the shoulders as she was about to stumble backward.

  "Katharina..." Though merely a surprised whisper above her, Madam R?fna's velvet voice was impossible to mistake.

  Katharina felt goosebumps forming as she instinctively bowed and apologized.

  "I'm-e sorry, Madam R?fna."

  She had been too focused on not running into the guests that she had completely neglected the thought of running into the manor's usual primary predator.

  While carefully looking up to try to gauge how severe her punishment would be, the brand stayed surprisingly dormant, and above her, a calculating smile was forming on the Madam's thin lips.

  "It's ????? all right. Why don't you come with us, girl?"

  Behind Madam R?fna stood two other girls dressed in fine clothing. Katharina recognized them from a different wallflower group, though she had never spoken with them. Clearly, they were dressed up to go and meet the Masters.

  Her thoughts started spinning for an excuse. Looking for any way out, she started at the cloth in her hand, just used to wipe dust off the windowsill and down her brown dress. That was it, her attire was utterly unacceptable, the perfect excuse.

  "But Madam, my dress... it is-e ugly." The brand itched at the excuse; her course of action was already determined.

  "Hush, you shall only stay there for a moment, and the Master has seen you in much worse state."

  And so Katharina filed in behind the two other girls; altogether, they made their way to one of the reception rooms.

  As they stood before the door awaiting the signal to be let in, Katharina, strangely enough, didn't feel the immense pressure of the prince's aura; was he not there?

  He would so often appear alongside Master Ravnsund that she had taken it for granted that he, too, would be one of the guests, but then again, whenever he came, it did not seem like he was there to browse the wares.

  The only thing that came from inside the room was the laughter and the charming voice of the Master, which seemed performative compared to when he was with the prince.

  When the door finally opened and the room came into view, Katharina's growing suspicion was confirmed; there was no prince. Instead, the Master sat in a large chair at the end of a coffee table, and scattered around the room were five younger men, younger than her and the master for sure; she pegged them to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.

  One was still sitting with his back turned, as paying attention to the incoming servants was not of high priority. Only when Master Ravnsund lifted his head to nod in acknowledgment at R?fna did they all spare a glance.

  Katharina stood right behind the guy, and as he turned, the first thing his eye caught was her long blond hair, which glowed almost golden in the winter light from the window. Clearly, both confused and surprised, he sputtered as he spat half his beverage back into the cup. Just about to greet her, "Your high..." his voice trailed off in an embarrassed swallow as he realized the clothes she was wearing were those of a lowly servant.

  A roaring laughter erupted from the rest of the men as the poor guy got back in his seat, half laughing himself, but mostly in embarrassment.

  Master Ravnsund too let out a warm chuckle. "Not to worry, lord Korran." He smiled with pride. "This is my ???? ??ナ?∞? ?∞??????∞?, a one-of-a-kind blond ナ????∞??."

  "Is that so?" Clearly, without thinking, the young noble reached out his hand to touch Katharina's hair. He grabbed hold of a golden lock of hair and twirled it with fascination between his fingers.

  "You dare touch my ψ??ψ???°!"

  An icy warning silenced the room. The Master looked at the twirling tuft with a severe stare before bursting into a guttural chuckle. "I jest, you're free to touch her hair, but be careful, she is worth a fortune."

  The awkward laugh returned as the noble gently let go of Katharina's hair, still shaken by the sudden warning. Compared to Master Ravnsund, these noblemen were nothing but boys. And from their reactions, Katharina could only assume that Master Ravnsund far outranked them both in age and status.

  Madam R?fna, the perpetual pleaser of Masters, swooped in to help the poor guy save face by directing the conversation to a new topic.

  "As ψ?? the Master's request, I have brought two fine servants to ??ナ??? the ??∞??? poems."

  She gestured to the other girls, expertly drawing the attention away from Katharina and the noble. Katharina, who still stood in arm's reach of the guy, saw the visible sigh of relief that came from him, and she, too, was glad that it seemed like she wouldn't have to do anything other than stand around being blond.

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  As the two girls bowed and started reciting poems similar in rhythm to those Katharina had memorized with Madam R?fna, she suddenly felt the brand tugging her toward the door. Confused if this meant she was being dismissed, she glanced first at R?fna, then at the Master, who waved a hand dismissively, releasing her from the awful display of her and her hair.

  Relieved that that was all she had to do, Katharina hurried back. Unfortunately, she didn't get far before the brand stopped her in her tracks, and Madam R?fna approached from behind.

  "The Master has changed his mind on this evening's entertainment." R?fna's voice was melodically chipper, quite out of character, unless it was because she was proud of some sort of outcome. "Your group shall be assigned as entertainment."

  Suddenly, it all made sense why Madam R?fna had not immediately punished Katharina for avoiding the Master and running face-first into her, and instead made her come along.

  The Madam had probably known that the Master was likely to put Katharina on display this evening if he was reminded of her presence and extraordinary effect on guests.

  The Master himself was not going to be in attendance this evening, as usual, he left the same day as he arrived. Simply making a short appearance to assert dominance or something along those lines was what Katharina had concluded.

  Though the change of plans had cut Katharina's work days short, she would much rather scrub the entire ground floor of the manor for the next twenty hours.

  Instead, she now stood in the adjoining preparation room next to the lounge with a tray of undetermined delicacies, about to enter the lion's den where a bunch of what could have been high schoolers were throwing themselves a private party.

  Beside her stood Lian, who had not been particularly pleased with what Katharina got them all roped into.

  Lian held a large bottle of what looked to be wine of some sort, definitely a dark red alcoholic beverage. But she kept glancing back and forth at Katharina's tray, as though comparing which task was worse.

  Making rounds while pouring wine, or standing in a corner with a tray.

  Katharina felt a bit guilty; it was she who had gotten her here, even if it was ultimately Madam R?fna's fault. And she didn't want to go to bed next to an angry Lian.

  "Do you want to have-e this?" Nodding down at her tray in an offer to switch.

  She contemplated for a moment, then nodded and switched her bottle of wine for Katharina's tray. And it was just in the nick of time as the brand now pulled them forward into the den.

  The room was thick with the smell of wine and good food.

  Where the taming presence of Master Ravnsund had been, keeping these hounds under control, was now just a void that was slowly turning into these men's personal playground.

  Nervous sweat ran down Katharina's back as the brand forced her to make her rounds with the wine, offering to pour a glass for the visitors.

  The first of them, she approached, already seemed rather tipsy and lost in conversation; he barely noticed as she gestured to refill his glass. His hair was long, greasy, and brown, tied into a bun at the nape of his neck.

  "More-e wine, my Master?"

  He turned erratically, almost punching her in the face with the greasy bun.

  "Oh-o if it isn't Lord Ravnsund's little 木????∞?." He playfully held out his glass, swirling it to make it impossible for Katharina to pour.

  "We had better be careful not to tarnish this one."

  Though all the men seemed to get a good laugh from Katharina trying to aim from the moving glass, she did not find it particularly amusing and opted to remain still and wait for the noble to grow bored with his own trick.

  But instead of coming to terms with his defeat and holding his damn glass still, he went full ad hominem and turned the blame on Katharina.

  "Why are you so ????∞Ω? Can't you even smile? You look like a dead fish." Katharina had spent enough time in customer service that these insults just fell on deaf ears. And as the rest of the men grew disinterested, as nothing interesting had come of the situation, the tipsy noble finally surrendered, and Katharina could continue her round.

  While Katharina and Lian were on snack duty, the rest of their wallflower group functioned as entertainment in other capacities.

  'Princess Nose' was engaging two of the men in polite conversation, chatting courteously about things Katharina barely understood.

  'Grunty' and 'Crooked Bangs' were still too green to perform anything in particular and were merely dressed up nicely, looking elegant while listening intently to whatever the other three men talked about.

  Finally, there was Letessa, though Madam R?fna had said she had been one of her best, until now Katharina had only seen her pathetic side. But this evening, it was as though she had undergone a magic transformation, as she effortlessly played a type of flute while swirling in an elegant dance.

  The evening progressed fairly smoothly at first, though every time Katharina reached the man with the greasy bun, he refused to let her pour. He would waggle his cup and call for either 'Grunty' or 'Crooked Bangs' instead, louder each time, drunker each time, as if volume alone made him funny and charismatic.

  By the fourth glass, he was well on his way to drunkenness, and not only to the girls' annoyance. His own companions had begun to frown at him between their smiles.

  'Grunty' hesitated to pour him more wine; he was already a glass ahead of the others. Unfortunately, her pause seemed to offend him. He caught her by the wrist and tugged her in close.

  "Come now. Just pour me the damn glass." His words were slightly slurred, and he gave a little chuckle, pleased with himself as though he was funny. "Or are you scared I’m gonna do something?"

  The brand did not approve of Katharina's thoughts, but she didn't care. She felt a twist of pity for Grunty, who trembled as she tried to tip the bottle while the man yanked at her other arm. He alone seemed to think the yanking was a playful gesture.

  The incessant tugging made a clean pour impossible. A few drops of wine slipped over the rim and splashed on the nobleman's shoe.

  He turned in an instant from playful-drunk to angry-drunk. "What have you done?" He shouted. "My shoes are ruined. How will you fix this?"

  "I'm sorry, Master." 'Grunty' pleaded, having made an unavoidable mistake.

  Then a nasty grin crept over his face. "Lick it off."

  The brand fought Katharina when she shifted her weight, warning her to stay still, but she did not want to stand for it. She would empty the bottle over his head if that was what it took to cool him off.

  Before she could move, Letessa stepped in. She bowed low, voice cautious yet calm. "She is clumsy, my lord. Let me take her place."

  Her hand hovered at his sleeve in the trained way, soft and deferential. He smirked and released 'Grunty'. He turned his full attention to Letessa as she lifted her flute. Masterfully, she drew a new melody into the room, then began to dance before him, the notes and her hips moving together in a slow invitation.

  Letessa drifted closer, almost settling into his lap while still playing. Mesmerized by her dance, the noble reached for her. Katharina wanted someone to step in, but no one dared, until one of the other men, the one who had almost called Katharina 'Your highness' this morning, surprisingly found his voice of reason.

  "Lord Ravnsund will have you ?????ナ???? from ??Ω? ??ナ???° if you do that."

  But what little reason there was was quickly shot down by another, who countered with.

  "Well, he is not here, is he?" And a greedy chuckle rippled through the room.

  However, no one else approached, the men glanced at one another. The Ravnsund name kept them in check after all. The man with the bun rolled his eyes.

  "What a bunch of ???ナΦχ???. Have you never wanted to get with a pretty older girl?"

  He swayingly got to his feet and tried to dance along with Letessa, catching her by the waist and steering her into a drunken waltz. He grinned widely while he leered, and Letessa's smile thinned with panic.

  He danced her all the way to the door. "Let us go somewhere a little more fun." The others just laughed; at least if he left, they would be rid of him. And as the door shut behind them, the rest of the men returned to their conversations as though nothing had happened.

  As though summoned by the very distress of the girls, the tall figure of Madam R?fna appeared in the door moments after they had left.

  "Evening, Masters, I hope you are enjoying the entertainment." Though her face was pleasant, Katharina could tell she was furious. As Madam R?fna locked eyes with Katharina, the brand started to itch. Katharina felt the urge to point at the hallway where Letessa had been taken. And without further communication, R?fna elegantly but precisely stormed off in the direction of the missing nobleman and Letessa.

  A little while later, the young noble returned alone, his swagger replaced by a dejected look. Within the hour, the festivities wound down, the men too drunk or too tired to pretend at charm any longer.

  On her way back to bed, Katharina found Letessa sitting on the stairs to the servants' corridor, staring at nothing, her dress slightly askew. Unsure of how to approach Letessa, Katharina sat down in silence beside her.

  "Why you do that?" Katharina carefully peeked at Letessa's expression, trying to read the quiet girl. "You not have to do that, Madam R?fna..."

  It was hard to convey what she wanted to say, but she had a feeling that Letessa understood that this was Katharina's awkward attempt at comforting her.

  They sat in the quiet for a moment before Letessa softly shrugged.

  Katharina wasn't completely sure what had happened, but the sinking feeling in her stomach told her it was better not to ask. She looked intently at the defeated girl beside her; her ankle was still colored from her fall, and the bruising had turned old and brown. But on her neck was a fresh set of five marks, red and spaced evenly apart, looking like they were left by a large hand.

  "He hurt you..." Katharina's voice broke into an angry snarl that burned in her throat.

  But Letessa seemed unaffected. She let her hand glide over the presumably sore spot on her neck, and with a long and thoughtful stare, she said.

  "I would ?????? ?木木?? myself than let them do that to that °??∞Ω girl."