Rothgar looked at Anna Virelle's harmless "white rabbit" act and couldn't help but let out a cold sneer in his heart. Humans were truly loathsome creatures; no matter how filthy their true intentions, they could always mask themselves in a veneer of unicorn-like purity.

Rothgar tapped his fingers on the table, a malicious glint dancing in his eyes. "If you truly did not wish to stain my reputation, then you should not have accepted my help yesterday".

Anna froze. Even Waldo, the valet, looked on in surprise; both could hear the undisguised malice beneath the words. Waldo assumed he had misheard, but Anna was struck by a surge of dread: was this demon about to flip the table and stop playing this game?.

"I... I am deeply sorry," Anna said, her voice dripping with sincerity while her mind raced. "I was selfish. I was so desperate to work in the kitchen that I overlooked that point". She couldn't let him quit now; she had no idea what a frustrated demon would do, and she had no desire to find out. She had to pacify him.

Summoning her courage, Anna looked up at the demon. Finding him staring directly at her, she forced herself not to look away. She held her breath until her face began to flush with a natural redness, then she hurriedly dropped her gaze. "I will clarify everything to everyone," she whispered. "I won't let them misunderstand any longer".

She needed him to believe she had some feelings for him—that he still had a "chance"—so he wouldn't "flip the table".

Rothgar watched her every micro-expression. He reached the exact conclusion Anna intended him to... or at least part of it. He was now convinced that this human woman had long been captivated by his handsome host's skin and status; she was simply ambitious enough to hold out for more. Her tactics might have worked on a human man, but she was unfortunate enough to have encountered an Abyssal Lord.

Rothgar suppressed his own chilling expression and replaced it with Patrick Wilson's heart-throb smile. "There is no need for that, my dear," he said affectionately. "I only said that to make you realize that you aren't as indifferent to me as you claim. You may not have noticed it yourself, but I can feel it".

Anna kept her head bowed. "Perhaps you are right, my Lord. But I am just a maid. I do not wish to think too much of such things".

Internally, she was scoffing. His face changes so fast. Even if I couldn't see the demon inside him, only a lunatic would like someone this unstable.

Satisfied for now, Rothgar retracted his gaze. He wasn't in a hurry. He believed that once she felt it was safe, she would eventually accept his "proposal"—and when she did, he would have a truly agonizing surprise waiting for her.

Rothgar finished his breakfast with agonizing slowness. While he didn't need food, Patrick's body did, and he needed the host to remain functional. Once the meal was over, Anna quietly packed the porcelain, curtsied, and left, with Waldo escorting her to the door.

Rothgar's private quarters were in a small building near the manor garden. He poured himself a glass of wine from the Para Highlands and stood by the glass window, watching Anna walk away with her food box. Patrick's hearing was excellent; Rothgar only had to push the window open a crack to overhear the conversation that was about to take place below. He watched as three maids intercepted her, and his brow twitched as he recognized one of them—Abigail, the maid he had used for his "experiment" the day before.

A cold smile played on his lips as he turned to head downstairs.

Anna let out a long breath as she stepped out of the building. Facing a legendary demon with ill intent was exhausting. But before she could get far, three maids blocked her path.

"You're the new one, Anna, aren't you?" Abigail asked, standing with her hands on her hips and her chin tilted high. She was beautiful and clearly proud of her figure.

Anna scanned the three of them. They were all strikingly pretty and wore looks of arrogant disdain. Most importantly, they were radiating hostility.

"I am," Anna replied with a friendly smile.

Abigail looked her up and down before sneering, "You aren't even that pretty".

Another maid with pale-gold hair, Kelly, giggled into her hand. "Exactly. Compared to me, she's practically plain".

The third, a brunette named Fiona, looked at Anna with contempt. "Tell me, is the legend true?".

Anna had no desire to clash with them. She had been blunt with Lily Hawke because Lily had already been disqualified, but these women were her seniors at the manor. Picking a fight would be unwise.

"I don't know what 'legends' you've heard," Anna said sincerely, "but every legend has a part that's made up—sometimes the whole thing is a lie".

Her words failed to convince them. Abigail looked at the food box and snapped, "You just came from Lord Patrick's room. He has no need for a newcomer to serve his meals. Why were you sent?".

"Yes, what did you do to seduce him?" Kelly demanded, though her voice betrayed a hint of jealousy.

Fiona was more direct. She stepped forward with a sneer and raised her hand to "teach" Anna a lesson. But Anna was prepared and quickly stepped back, causing Fiona to miss.

Feeling humiliated by the miss, Fiona's face flushed with anger. She looked back at her companions. "Abigail, Kelly, how should we teach her the rules of this house?".

Anna sighed internally. She had been too naive to think she could get along with them. If they wanted to be enemies, she wouldn't roll over. They weren't in the kitchen department anyway; she didn't have to see them every day.

"I suggest you don't be so impulsive," Anna said, standing her ground and meeting their eyes without fear. "Regardless of what you've heard, I can tell you the truth is even more exaggerated than the rumors".

Abigail pulled Fiona back, staring at Anna. "What do you mean by that?".

Anna smiled and winked at them. "I didn't seduce Lord Patrick. He is the one who insisted on marrying me. I'm simply the one who keeps refusing". She tossed her long hair over her shoulder. "Lord Patrick is quite obsessed with me. If he finds out you're bullying me, how long do you think you'll last before he kicks you out?".

"Liar! Why would the master ever look at you?" Kelly cried out, unable to stomach Anna's claim.

"Ask yourselves," Anna countered. "If he weren't hopelessly infatuated, why would he let me work in the kitchen just because I asked? Why would he demand I be the one to serve him on my very first day?".

The "facts" hit them hard. The three maids exchanged looks of doubt and growing fear. They had come to cause trouble because they didn't want to believe the rumors, but Anna's logic was hard to ignore. None of them wanted to risk their high-paying jobs at Wilson Manor.

"I just remembered... I have work to finish," Fiona muttered, looking away.

"Yes, yes, me too," Abigail and Kelly chimed in, quickly retreating.

Anna let out a sigh of relief. She had avoided a physical fight on her first day. But her relief only lasted a second. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure striding toward them.

The demon was coming.