The Scented Maid's Revenge, Blood and Fragrance

My sister was born into a legendary line of Healers. Since she was a child, she was bathed in rare herbs and smoked with ancient incense. Her very body carried a natural, medicinal fragrance!

When she turned seventeen, she was summoned to the Royal Pack. Her mission was to preserve the beauty of the future Luna, the Crown Princess.

Rumor had it that drinking the heart's blood of a woman with a fragrant body could grant eternal youth. It was a dark, forbidden myth.

One month later, the Crown Prince sent her back. But she wasn't the sister I knew. He had tossed her desiccated, bloodless corpse back to us like trash.

I held her cold body, consumed by a grief so sharp it felt like a physical wound.

Five years later, a lowly maid presented a miracle cure to the Crown Princess. It was a medicine that produced a haunting, heavenly scent when consumed!

It was called, "Goddess's Glow."

1.

A strange thing happened in the Royal Estate this morning.

Overnight, the Crown Princess's face had broken out in a horrific red rash. It was itchy, painful, and ugly.

"You useless quacks! What does the Pack pay you for if you can't even cure a simple rash!"

Seraphina, the Crown Princess, was livid. She screamed at the Pack doctors, her face twisted in rage.

The doctors kept their heads bowed, terrified to speak.

The maids and guards trembled in the corners. Everyone knew Seraphina's vanity was her greatest pride. Even a single pimple would usually result in a doctor being lashed.

If they cured her, they might get a small reward. If they failed, they were often dragged out and beaten to death.

She called it "cleansing the incompetent."

But the ones who suffered most were the young maids. Right now, they were kneeling with their heads down, hearts racing.

They were terrified that if her mood didn't improve, she would order their faces to be scarred out of spite.

But that wasn't the worst part.

There were rumors that she used the blood of young girls to nourish her "Blood Lotus." It was a rare plant said to have de-aging properties.

Seraphina was desperate to stay young, and the time for her natural beauty to fade was approaching.

Suddenly, her sharp voice sliced through the silence with a new order.

Unfortunately, I was among the group of girls kneeling on the cold floor.

Chaos erupted as guards moved to grab us. Just as I was about to be hauled away, a voice rang out through the hall.

"Your Highness! I know someone who can cure you!"

Everyone's eyes turned toward the source. It was Kelsey.

Two days ago, Kelsey had fallen and badly bruised her face. I had given her a secret ointment, and she had healed instantly.

She was the first friend I'd made since entering the estate. Or so I thought.

We knew everything about each other's supposed backgrounds.

I also knew she was impulsive and didn't always think things through.

That was how my knowledge of herbal medicine reached Seraphina's ears. From that day on, I became her personal apothecary, a master of her beauty routines.

I presented her with a spiritual elixir. Combined with specialized herb baths, it made her entire body exude a captivating fragrance!

I called it, "Goddess's Glow."

Since then, Alaric, the Crown Prince, had become obsessed with her. He couldn't keep his hands off his wife.

I was no longer forced to do back-breaking labor like hauling waste or scrubbing floors. All those dirty jobs were handed over to Kelsey.

Kelsey, who had always been ambitious, grew bitter and jealous.

Before long, at Seraphina's birthday gala, Kelsey took a risk. She presented a box of scented powder she had made herself.

I knew she had stolen the formula from me. I had taught her a few basics before, and she thought she could replicate my work.

Seraphina was intrigued. After using it, her complexion looked even more radiant. She looked at Kelsey with rare approval.

"Where did you learn this? I like it very much."

Kelsey beamed with pride. "It's an heirloom formula from my family, Your Highness. I'm glad it pleases you."

Just like that, Kelsey was promoted to stay by Seraphina's side.

But luck wasn't on her side. A few days later, Seraphina's skin began to rot.

She went into a demonic rage, destroying everything in her chambers.

I rushed to pick up the little Princess, Seraphina's daughter, who had been pushed to the ground.

"Go back to your room, little one," I whispered. "Your mother will see you once she feels better."

The little girl was led away, sobbing.

I knelt before Seraphina. After getting her permission, I carefully applied a cooling salve to her burning skin. Her expression softened almost instantly.

"Your Highness has such delicate skin," I murmured while working. "It's best to stick to what we know works. That powder seemed effective, but it caused a violent backlash."

Seraphina barely heard me. Her eyes were fixed on Kelsey, who was kneeling outside the door.

Kelsey was kneeling on broken porcelain shards. Her knees were a bloody mess as she begged for mercy.

"Please, Your Highness! It was Vesper! She's the one who taught me! She must have used me to sabotage you!"

Seraphina picked up a heavy tea set and hurled it at Kelsey's forehead.

"You filthy dog," she hissed. "You think I'm a fool? First you claim it's a family secret, then you blame her? Your mouth is full of lies!"

"Guards! Rip her tongue out and break her legs! She can be fertilizer for my garden!"

The screaming faded as Kelsey was dragged away. I lowered my eyes and stepped back respectfully.

"Please calm yourself, Your Highness. I noticed a scar on your wrist earlier. In a few days, I can prepare an ointment to make it vanish completely."

Seraphina looked skeptical, though her anger had cooled. "Are you certain you can do that?"

I nodded solemnly.

She let out a cold laugh. "That scar is five years old. I've used every expensive cream in the world, and nothing worked. I hate people who make empty promises to win my favor."

She saw a flicker of nervousness on my face and smiled cruelly. "Since you've spoken, I'll give you the chance. But if you fail, you'll be the next one to disappear from this world."

I kept my head down, accepting the challenge. I stared at the scar for a long time.

I knew exactly where it came from. It was the mark left when my sister fought back while Seraphina was draining her blood five years ago.

2.

I was an orphan. Human traffickers had sold me to a farming family to be a child bride.

But those people were monsters. They were willing to sell my young self to an old widower for a single silver coin.

I escaped. When my sister found me, I was starving, eating the raw meat of a dead rabbit in the woods.

My sister, Lyra, was a genius healer. Her body naturally smelled like sweet herbs. She was the pride of our clan.

She took me in, a girl with no home. For the first time, I had a family.

But life wasn't easy. Our uncles were cruel to her, and the other disciples hated me.

I was at that age where I caused trouble everywhere. Lyra took many lashes on my behalf.

I loved making poisons and cultivating toxic plants. I loved the feeling of freedom that came with it.

But the old, rigid elders refused to let me leave the mountain. They banned me from alchemy and told me to submit.

They called me a disgrace to the clan and a plague to the world. They said I was born evil.

But the people I wanted to poison were the bad ones!

The corrupt officials who preyed on the poor, the bandits who burned villages, and the parents who sold their children for a handful of grain.

Was I really wrong?

I didn't think so. So why did they treat me like a monster?

Only Lyra believed in me.

Once, she risked her life to carry me back from the freezing snow. When I woke up, I saw her back covered in whip marks.

She was in so much pain her eyebrows were pinched together, yet she still smiled and asked if I was cold or hungry.

Lyra would bathe me in medicinal waters and apply ointments to my skin. I would cry, my heart aching for her.

She would just smile. "Don't cry, Vesper. It doesn't hurt."

Later, I learned to be quiet. I learned to be obedient. I even learned to smell like her, carrying that same sweet, medicinal scent!

But then, she left me forever.

Back then, the rumor spread that the heart's blood of a fragrant woman could preserve youth. The clan elders forced her to the capital to treat the Crown Princess.

Seraphina was known as the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. She valued her face above all else. Hearing that Lyra was an expert in beauty, she faked an illness to lure her into the estate.

When Lyra was finally thrown back to me, her skin was shriveled and white. Her body was riddled with holes, looking like dried straw.

She smelled of decay. The clan members were too disgusted to touch her. They dumped her body in a mass grave.

Not a single person cried for her.

Only I held her shriveled corpse, screaming until my voice gave out.

That night, after I buried her, I poisoned everyone in the clan!

Because every single one of them was an accomplice!

I wanted everyone who had a hand in her death to rot in hell.

I kept my sister's essence in a special vessel, turning her into a "Living Vessel."

Slowly, her features began to look like a living person again. Her cheeks turned rosy.

But I would never hear her call my name again.

She named me "Vesper," a name meant to represent a peaceful evening. I chose the name "Tumi," representing the dead end of a road!

The elders were right about one thing. I was born bad.

A monster with nowhere to go!

3.

Seraphina was deeply favored by Alaric, but she was also incredibly insecure.

There was a five-year age gap between them. She was older, and she felt the pressure of time every single day. She knew beauty was the only thing keeping his love alive.

She was terrified of aging. She dressed in the finest silks every day and refused to let anyone see her without her mask of perfection. Anyone who saw her look "unseemly" had their eyes gouged out.

She forbade Alaric from taking concubines or seeing other women.

But a woman's status in the Pack depended on her children. To secure her position, she needed a son. Yet, her first child was a daughterDMacy.

During dinner one night, I was busy setting the table. Suddenly, the sound of chopsticks slamming against the wood echoed through the room.

"Macy! Did I not teach you to eat by yourself? Why are you letting your father feed you?"

Seraphina's face was dark.

Alaric, who was busy peeling shrimp for his daughter, stopped and looked at his wife.

"Seraphina, why are you getting angry at a child? It's just a shrimp."

Alaric placed the shrimp in Macy's bowl.

Macy started to eat, her little eyes wide with fear.

Seraphina's expression turned cold. She reached out and swiped the bowl off the table. It shattered on the floor.

"I told you to do it yourself! Why don't you listen to your mother?"

The bowl took a pot of hot soup down with it. The scalding liquid splashed all over Macy's arm.

The little girl immediately burst into tears of pain.

Alaric rushed to check on his daughter.

The child's skin was red and blistering.

"Seraphina, what is wrong with you! Macy is just a little girl! Why are you so harsh?"

Alaric looked genuinely heartbroken.

"Your daughter is burned, and instead of caring, you're just screaming. I'm truly disappointed in you."

With that, Alaric picked Macy up and stormed out to find a doctor.

Seraphina sat there in shock for a long moment. Then, she let out a primal scream and flipped the entire table over.

"That little brat! She's just like her father, always making me look bad!"

Suddenly, she turned and slapped me hard across the face.

"Why didn't you stop me? Are you blind?"

I kept my head down and said nothing.

When she was this angry, silence was the only way to avoid more violence.

But her anger didn't come from guilt over hurting her child. She was angry because her daughter was stealing Alaric's attention.

What a monstrous mother. She didn't even notice that when she pushed the bowl, the porcelain had sliced the girl's wrist.

Alaric didn't visit Seraphina for several days. Once she calmed down, she picked out some gifts to apologize to Macy.

Macy was happy to see me, but she shrunk away from her mother.

Seraphina didn't have the patience to stay long. She muttered a few words and left.

That night, she prepared Alaric's favorite snacks to apologize to him.

Alaric wasn't truly the type to stay mad at her forever. No one wanted to believe a mother didn't love her own child.

But I knew the truth. Seraphina only loved herself.

4.

Macy's birthday was approaching.

Alaric adored his daughter. He had a rare pearl brought in from the southern coast just for her.

The pearl was fashioned into a beautiful hair pin. Alaric pinned it into his daughter's hair himself.

"Truly my daughter. You're far more precious than the other noble girls. You look exactly like your mother."

Those words didn't sit well with Seraphina. She couldn't stand the thought of anyoneDeven her own daughterDbeing more beautiful or more loved than her.

A few days later, Macy "accidentally" had hot candle wax splashed on her face while playing.

A red, ugly scar formed on her soft cheek. Seraphina rushed to her side immediately.

Following her orders, I prescribed a medicine for Macy. The medicine healed the wound, but it ensured the scar would never fade.

Seraphina was finally at peace. No one would threaten her position as the most beautiful woman in the Pack now.

But a few days later, a stunning new girl was brought into the estate as a potential concubine.

Seraphina caused a massive scene and had the girl thrown out in front of Alaric.

That night, Alaric comforted her. She leaned into his chest, her medicinal scent seemingly stronger than usual. She cried beautifully.

"Alaric, will you really stay with me forever?"

Alaric looked at the vulnerable woman in his arms and felt his heart melt.

He could never forget how she had stayed by his side when he was just a struggling heir. He remembered how her family had helped him secure his position.

Back then, he was the underdog. The previous Luna had tried to kill his mother.

It was Seraphina who had convinced the elders to support him. It was her father, Commander Sterling, who had investigated the corruption and saved Alaric from exile.

How could he forget all that?

He stroked her hair and spoke softly.

"Don't worry, Seraphina. I will treat you well for the rest of my life. You are the only one for me."

They shared a night of deep conversation, and their bond seemed stronger than ever.

Seraphina was overjoyed. But her smile vanished when she returned from a visit to the Queen Mother's palace.

I knew the new girl had been sent by the Queen Mother herself.

I also knew the Queen Mother was putting immense pressure on Seraphina.

It had been years, and Seraphina still hadn't produced a male heir. The elders were getting impatient.

5.

I massaged Seraphina's shoulders while she ranted about the Queen Mother.

"That old hag! If it weren't for me and my father, she'd still be rotting in the cold palace!"

"All she talks about is a grandson! Does she think I don't want one?"

Seraphina's voice grew more agitated.

Suddenly, a ball rolled into the room.

Seraphina looked up and saw Macy coming in to retrieve it.

She stood up instantly and began screaming at the girl. It wasn't discipline; it was just pure, unfiltered rage.

Macy's crying only annoyed Seraphina more. She grabbed a whip used for punishing servants and raised it.

I rushed forward and shielded Macy with my back.

The whip cracked against me. Seeing me interfere only made her angrier, and she struck harder, drawing blood.

Macy was hurried away by other maids. I didn't cry or scream. I waited until Seraphina was finished before standing up.

After changing my blood-stained clothes, I returned to serve her.

She took the tea I offered with trembling hands, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Vesper," she said quietly. "I know your medical skills are superior. I want you to make me a fertility potion. The most powerful one you have."

"And it must ensure I give birth to a boy."

I agreed immediately.

When I delivered the medicine, I told her clearly that there were two types of potions. They had to be rotated to minimize the damage to her body.

Seraphina frowned as she listened to my "nagging," then downed the medicine in one gulp. Afterward, she whispered to herself. "This scent it feels so familiar."

It was exactly like the fragrance that now seeped from her own skin.

That night, news came that Macy had a high fever.

Alaric and Seraphina rushed over.

Thankfully, the doctors said she would be fine.

In front of Alaric, Seraphina played the role of the perfect, worried mother.

Alaric sighed with relief. "Seraphina, you and our daughter are the greatest blessings the heavens gave me."

Seraphina smiled but said nothing.

She told me to stay and look after Macy.

Once they left, Macy ordered all the other servants to leave, keeping only me.

The feverish look vanished from her face. She looked at me with a calm, cold clarity that no seven-year-old should possess.

6.

Days turned into weeks. The Queen Mother was still demanding a grandson, and Seraphina's belly remained flat.

She would beat and scream at me whenever her frustration boiled over. When I couldn't provide a "better" formula fast enough, she ignored my warnings and started taking the high-dosage potion every day.

A month passed, and she saw no negative side effects, so she relaxed.

I continued to balance her health while brewing her medicine daily. Soon, the news brokeDSeraphina was pregnant.

Alaric and the Queen Mother were ecstatic. The King sent countless treasures. The entire estate was filled with joy.

Only I slipped away. I carried a basket of ritual paper money hidden under a cloth and went to a deserted, ruined wing of the palace.

It was eerie and cold, especially at night.

I walked to the overgrown backyard without hesitation.

I set the paper money on fire. The flames illuminated a wooden tablet with no name on it.

My eyes welled with tears. Today was the anniversary of Lyra's death.

Footsteps sounded behind me. I went on high alert instantly.

"Who's there!"

"It's me."

Macy stepped out from the shadows.

"The Crown Princess is celebrating her heart out today. Why aren't you there, Macy? Why come here?"

"She's happy, so I am miserable," the little girl said, looking at me. "Vesper, aren't we both people who want her dead?"

I narrowed my eyes, studying her.

Macy was only seven, but her gaze was sharp and cynical. It was the most bizarre thing I'd encountered in this palace. If she hadn't revealed herself to me, I might have been fooled forever.

She smiled thinly. "It doesn't matter who I am. All you need to know is that she is our common enemy."

"And I will be your most useful ally on this path of revenge."

Seraphina's mood was excellent for several days. With the right care, her face grew even more radiant and pale.

Her beauty was undeniable, but it didn't change her sadistic nature.

I heard the "Blood Lotus" was almost in full bloom. Everything was going according to my plan.

Alaric spent more time with her than ever. He often brought Macy along to visit.

They looked like a perfect, happy family.

But I noticed that every time Seraphina smiled, there was a flash of pure disgust in her eyes.

Soon, a rumor spread. Macy and Seraphina had a fight, and Macy had been pushed into the pond.

Every servant present saw it. It was Seraphina herself who had pushed her daughter into the freezing water.