Massaging my aching backside, I looked up to find Elene standing in the doorway.

  Right alongside the fear, one very clear thought fshed through my mind: Let these damn demons finally learn how to knock before they give me a heart attack!

  I hauled myself off the floor with the grace of a roadkilled sack of potatoes. Elene loomed over me, the aura radiating from her so icy I half-expected the breath from my lips to start freezing mid-air. I could see a small, angry vein pulsing on her otherwise perfect forehead.

  She looked at me, then at the bed, then back at me - still dressed in nothing but that miserable pink bathrobe.

  Before I could even choke out an apology, Elene took a step forward and caught my chin in a brutal grip, forcing me to lock eyes with her.

  “Did Lady Lilith not inform you that I would be coming for you?” she asked, her voice so cold it sent a shiver straight down my spine.

  I nodded slowly, feeling her fingers digging hard into my skin. The vein on her forehead throbbed even more violently.

  “So you knew...” she hissed, her tone turning even more hostile. “On the first day, I made my expectations clear. You are to be dressed in your maid uniform before I enter this room. And yet, knowing I was coming, you chose to lounge about on the bed like some useless toy.”

  Shit… I forgot, I thought, a cold dread settling on my neck. Between the book Lilith gave me and the system notifications, I’d completely lost track of my “duties.”

  Why did it always have to be this way? Why did every second spent with Lilith have to come at the cost of a double dose of trouble from Elene?

  I opened my mouth to try and expin - to tell her about the book, the system, how I’d lost track of time - but I didn't get a single sound out. Suddenly, something dark and supple whipped toward me. Before I could process it, I felt the smooth, leathery texture of her tail inside my mouth.

  Its heart-shaped tip rested right on my tongue. I caught a strange taste I couldn't even describe and felt a pulsating heat radiating directly from her body.

  “Shut up,” Elene snapped, looking down at me with btant contempt. “I’m in no mood for your pathetic excuses today.”

  She held her tail in my mouth for a moment, effectively silencing me, before continuing.

  “You have exactly two minutes to change into the sweet little maid outfit waiting in the wardrobe. I suggest you don’t test what happens if you’re still in that robe when the time is up.”

  Her lips curled into a predatory smile that made goosebumps the size of ants crawl across my skin.

  “If you understand... lick my tail twice.”

  I flushed hot with shame, but I had no choice. I slid my tongue over the smooth surface of her tail, once, and then again. I felt Elene give a slight shiver, and for a split second, her icy gaze wavered, repced by a fsh of raw excitement. She slowly withdrew her tail from my mouth but didn't back away. We stood in a heavy silence until she regained her stern composure.

  “Are you going to move, or are you going to stare at my tail until sunset?” she demanded. Then she added with a perverse smirk: “If you like it that much, I can put it in a different pce... for much longer.”

  That was the breaking point.

  The vision of Elene’s tail in a “different pce” acted like an electric shock. Utilizing my new, increased Agility, I lunged toward the wardrobe so fast I nearly lost my slippers.

  I knew I didn't have a second to waste. My hands moved with unnatural precision, far faster than during my first clumsy attempt at dressing under Elene’s watch.

  In a heartbeat, I snapped the white ce garter belt directly onto my skin, followed immediately by the silky stockings adorned with pink bows. Next, I pulled on the pink ce panties, feeling them hug my body tightly. I fastened the bra almost reflexively, making sure the pink bows sat perfectly over my sensitive nipples. The pink, frilly dress slid over my shoulders, its multi-yered petticoat giving me that unnaturally girlish shape and barely covering my backside.

  Finally, I pulled on the long gloves, and the maid’s cap and tight colr nded in their proper pces. The only sound was the rhythmic jingle of the bell on my tail with every frantic movement.

  Elene stood motionless, not even trying to hide the lustful gaze that wandered over my body as I fought the fabric. Suddenly, her eyes shifted to the dresser - specifically to the velvet cushion where the white three-inch stilettos were neatly arranged. She looked at them, then at me, with a strange expression.

  “Why did you set them out like that?” she asked, pointing at the shoes.

  “Lady Lilith told me that’s how I should care for my gifts...” I choked out, catching my breath.

  The truth was, I’d completely forgotten about them in the chaos, but her question was a godsend.

  I ran to the dresser, grabbed the shoes, and quickly slid my feet in, buckling the straps over my insteps.

  I let out a long, wheezing breath.

  I made it.

  I looked at Elene, waiting for the verdict.

  She merely nodded.

  She saw that the bow on my colr was slightly crooked and that one of my stockings wasn't perfectly smoothed - fws that would usually earn a normal maid a series of painful swats. But she knew Lilith had a soft spot for me, so she decided to let the strict discipline slide for now.

  She approached me, two small gold padlocks glinting in her hand again. Without a word, she knelt and, with the precision of an executioner, snapped them onto my heels.

  I heard the two metallic clicks.

  I knew what it meant - I wouldn't be taking them off for hours. My feet, already feeling the strain of the three-inch lift, braced themselves for the next round of torture.

  “Come,” Elene said, turning on her heel toward the door. “You’ve wasted enough time lounging around.”

  I followed after her, the sound of the bell on my tail and the sharp cck of high heels against marble announcing the start of another day in the castle.

  ***

  Lilith’s red hair cascaded like a fall of fire over her velvety, blood-red gown as she strode through the castle's main corridor. Every step was certain and the thud of her heels echoing off the high, vaulted ceilings.

  The maids busy polishing floors or dusting crystals immediately stopped their work at the sight of her, dropping to their knees and bowing their heads low.

  Lilith passed them without a word, not even gracing them with a gnce - she was so accustomed to this expression of absolute subservience that it had become part of the background, as natural to her as the air she breathed.

  After a few minutes of walking, she stopped abruptly before a pair of massive double doors made of bck stone, reinforced with pure gold and protected by intricate, mana-pulsating runes. This was one of the most heavily guarded pces in the entire castle - the heart of its knowledge and secrets.

  As soon as she pced her hand on the cold surface of the gate, the runes fred violet, and the gargantuan doors swung open with a dignified groan.

  On the other side y a library of a scale that could make one’s head spin. The shelves reached dozens of meters upward, disappearing into the shadows of the ceiling, while the scent of old parchment mingled with the aroma of magic.

  Lilith stepped inside, her gaze settling on the only person in the vast room.

  At an oak table piled high with volumes sat an old man.

  His appearance was a jarring contrast to everything else in the castle. He had thick, silver hair and a long, venerable beard that reached his waist. He was heavily hunched, and a simple wooden staff leaned against the table beside him.

  Though Lilith usually didn't tolerate men in her castle - unless they were selectively chosen for their femininity and subjected to strict restrictions - this man was the absolute exception.

  He was the only man, in the literal sense of the word, whom the Queen truly respected.

  The old man slowly pulled his eyes away from the book he was reading. His eyes, though surrounded by a web of wrinkles, still shone with extraordinary intelligence. For a moment, he seemed surprised to see who had disturbed his peace, but a warm smile soon blossomed on his face.

  “It is an honor for this old servant of knowledge to behold the sight of the most beautiful Demon King on our continent,” he said in a quiet, slightly hoarse, but deeply respectful voice.

  Lilith huffed, though a barely perceptible, genuine smile pyed at the corner of her lips.

  “For an old man who spends his days among dusty tomes, your tongue is in quite good shape, Erhad,” she replied with a rare touch of gentleness. “Fttery still comes to you as easily as if you were twenty again.”