The Portrait of Pride · 14. May 2025

TPOP 33

Chapter 33

***

Sponsored by Curufin. Thank you ❤️ (1/10)

***

The penis that had just ejaculated was now stiff and taut as he thought of the woman's face, immortalized in a painting.

Once again, he was anxious.

Just one more time. After filling in this empty space, he would open her body.

The thought of removing her cumbersome dress no longer troubled him. The moment he put the sketch down, he would take her straight to his bedroom-no, to his hunting lodge.

Exhaling the breath that rose from his chest, Felix straightened his grip on the charcoal. He would start with her eyes, her pupils.

But when Felix looked back at Diana, her expression from earlier was gone.

The thrill that had been boiling through his veins seemed to dissipate in an instant.

"You..."

Felix's face contorted in frustration.

The maid blinked a few times, unfocused, then gently lowered her eyelids. Her pale face, no longer flushed from earlier, moved with a slight parting of her lips.

"Now... may I put my clothes back on, Master?"

The obedient, meek mask of a submissive woman returned.

His excitement was gone in an instant, as if someone had suddenly cut off the spark that had ignited it.

"...Damn it."

Felix threw out the charcoal with an irritated chuckle.

The euphoria that had ignited his brain just moments ago was completely gone, replaced by the faint irritation he felt every time he looked at Diana.

The same stilted gaze, the same frozen, doll-like expression. The same respectfully bowed head, no different from any of the other maids. Her nonchalant demeanor, as if she had fulfilled her duties as a servant, was intolerably irritating.

Instead of pointing it out, Felix chose to remove her from his sight entirely.

"Get dressed and get out."

"Yes, master."

Diana replied quietly, gathering her trembling hands together and fixing her skirt. Felix turned away coldly as she awkwardly descended from the windowsill, the paper in his hand crumpled beyond repair.

The woman with her legs spread like a scene from an erotic drawing on the paper was eventually tossed into a trash can somewhere.

The head maid, Catherine, and the new maids and servants were not Prince Eisen's spies. Diana didn't find out until a week later.

As Diana headed to the storeroom to get cleaning supplies as usual, she overheard the maids gossiping.

"That girl, you know, the pretty one... She hasn't skipped a single night in the Crown Prince's room lately."

"I heard from Lady Catherine, she said the maid was sent by Prince Eisen, but she betrayed him after being discovered by the Crown Prince."

"How can he trust a woman like that and keep her close?"

"The reason is obvious. We all know, you must have seen her in the studio..."

Somehow word spread among the employees and they all knew what happened to Diana. At the mention of the word "studio," the maids giggled.

"We don't even have to go to the studio to find the evidence; her sketches are all over the place."

At times like this, was her keen hearing a blessing or a curse?

"Sketches."

Diana tried not to imagine what kind of drawings they might be. In fact, Felix had only recently been sketching on paper. Perhaps she would never know how he depicted her.

"He's still just a man, after all..."

Still, Diana decided not to give up hope. She couldn't know what her master thought of her, but from the rumors, he didn't seem intent on killing or abandoning her.

In fact, something else was bothering Diana, something far greater than those worries.

The new maids quickly took over Diana's duties. After a month of diligent cleaning, the third floor of the palace was now being managed in a completely different way.

"These canvases shouldn't be in front of the window. They were originally stored in the cabinet over there..."

"His Highness told me to put them within reach, and he hasn't complained about them being here for days."

The maid interrupted Diana bluntly. Her eyes seemed to scream, "What would you know?" Diana bowed her head as contempt crept into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to remember..."

"You don't need to remember anything, His Highness doesn't need you today, so stay in your room, you're just a distraction."

Diana's pride stung. In all her years at the Depierre estate, Diana had never been scolded for incompetence or called a hindrance.

The girl who fulfilled her duties despite being blind. That was the little pride, the last bit of self-respect she had left.

But in all honesty, she was powerless to do anything about it. Almost everything in the palace had changed in a matter of days.

When the new chief maid Catherine and fifteen other maids were hired, the palace was bustling beyond recognition. She didn’t know if it was the Duke's orders or something else, but even the interior layout was completely changed. The furniture was arranged differently, and the pathways were completely different. For Diana, it was as if the world had turned upside down overnight.

As a result, she had to re-learn the layout of the palace from scratch, tapping her way around with her cane. Few people were patient with her as she carefully navigated her way around the palace. To make matters worse, most people didn't even understand why she had left the room in the first place.

"Is there something I can help you with...?"

"Didn't I say you were in the way? If you wander around and fall, it's us who'll be in trouble with the Crown Prince, not you."

"I'm sure I'll be fine once I get used to the new layout, but can I help you just this once?"

"His Highness said you're not a maid, which means there's nothing for you to do here."

"Why am I not a maid?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking, why is His Highness favoring you so much?"

The head maid, Catherine, glared at Diana and gave her a disapproving look.

Finally, Diana returned to her room as if she had been cast out.

She was no longer a maid, a maidservant, or any other servant of the palace. No one sought her out except Felix himself. She didn't take much pride in her job, but she still felt the sting of injustice.

No, at least you don't have to work, and it's easier on your body. Think positively.

Diana tried to console herself, but she wasn't officially a palace maid, so she had to take care of her own meals and laundry. Her master, who had stripped her of her title, was not interested in her daily life.

This meant that for every meal, Diana had to navigate a treacherous staircase and order food from a new chef. Chef Joseph was visibly uncomfortable whenever Diana showed up.

"What's this, another one? Oh, there's a problem, I've prepared meals for the exact number of maids. If you don't mind, please take this."

"...Thank you."

Diana took the plate in her hand and returned to her room. Servants passing by glanced at her plate and snickered.

In her room, Diana carefully examined the contents of the plate. Between two slices of dry rye bread was a piece of ham and wilted vegetables. The vegetables were shriveled, and the ham reeked of stench. It had obviously been left out for a long time.

Not surprisingly, there was no water.

"...."

A few bites into the dry sandwich made her throat dry. Diana sighed heavily and cupped her hands together.

Droplets of water formed in the air and collected in her palms. Diana drank the water she had created, trying to soothe her parched throat and relieve her frustration.

No big deal. I've suffered far worse at the Depierre mansion. At least my mind is intact...

But after ten days or so, her thoughts began to change.

The people at the secluded Palace completely ignored her. No one would speak to her or approach her, and everyone avoided her. It was as if she had become an invisible, unseen ghost.

With no one needing her, Diana naturally withdrew into her room.

In retrospect, she preferred the days when Emel and Harper were alive; at least they were kind to her.

The only consolation was that Felix called her constantly; he was her only conversation partner. But since Felix wasn't much of a talker, it would be more accurate to say that Diana muttered to herself to break the silence.