Straight into the action!

"I’ll ask you one last time..." - snapped the young girl, dressed in a spotless, sharply tailored maid uniform. "Talk, mutt. Who do you work for? Who sent you? Is this just another one of that thief Kirisame’s tricks? Were you meant to be a decoy, meant to draw us away from the library, isn’t that right?!

"Sakuya, that's enough. I’ll handle the interrogation myself."

In the doorway of the small storage room stood a petite, modest figure. Yet, her mere presence made the air feel heavy, oppressive. The blinding light aimed straight at your face began to flicker nervously, as if reacting to her arrival.

The maid flinched and quickly stepped back from the chair you were tightly bound to. You saw her lower her head and close her eyes, offering a deep, humble bow.

"My lady. Forgive me for not reporting the break-in. I believed I could deal with the intruder myself. Just say a word, and I’ll dispose of him right away."

A long, tense silence followed. The shadowy figure in the doorway didn’t move an inch. She just stared at you - those eyes, glowing a vivid, unnatural red, like burning coals. You felt your whole body freeze up. That stare, there was something wrong with it. It pulled at your thoughts, held you in place like a vice. Someone, anyone, make it stop. Even if that crazy maid kills you, let her do it. Anything but this…

Then came laughter.

A bright, ringing laugh. It sounded almost sweet, but it carried a weight, a strange, overwhelming pressure that echoed through the room and made your stomach churn. You glimpsed a twitch on the maid’s face - she felt it too.

"Aahahaha! Oh, Sakuya, take a good look at this! Your puppy just wet itself."

You realized she was right. A wave of shame washed over you, and you blushed fiercely, instinctively trying to cover up the source of your humiliation.

"My lady, I..." - the maid began, bowing even lower, almost to the ground - "I... I don’t know what to say..."

"You never were great with animals. Go make some tea, for me and Patche."

Another moment of silence. The only sound was the slow drip of your shame hitting the floor.

"I’ll take care of this. You know how I hate repeating myself" - the other girl said, her voice suddenly colder, sharper - undeniably in control.

You watched her words cut into the maid like knives. The look of humiliation on her face, the trembling in her lips, stirred something unexpected in you... pity, maybe? She bowed one last time and quietly left the room, slipping past her mistress without a word.

"Well, well, well... who do we have here?" The girl tilted her head, smiling slightly. "Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock before entering someone’s home, little pup?"

One second she was standing in the doorway. The next, though you hadn’t seen her move, she was towering over you - those terrifying red eyes fixed on yours again. The door slammed shut behind her with a thunderous bang, though no one had touched it.

"Talk. I’m all ears. What excuse do you have?"