"Spare me, Your Highness!"
In a splendid palace, a maid knelt on the floor, her delicate palm-sized face raised, tears streaming down it.
Her shoulders trembled without stop. She was so terrified that her blood nearly ceased flowing; beneath her pale, translucent skin, her veins stood out blue.
Though her chest felt so tight she was nearly suffocating, she did not dare breathe deeply, afraid of making a sound and angering the beauty before her.
Consort Mei's gaze fell on the earring at her right ear. From her small, exquisite earlobe hung a somewhat crude gold ring.
There were countless exquisitely crafted ornaments in the palace. Such an ordinary earring was worn only by the lowliest maids.
In the past, Consort Mei would not even have spared it a glance.
"You say this earring can speak, and it promised to make you, hm, a Demon Weapon Slave?"
The maid nodded frantically. She desperately tugged at her earlobe, wishing she could cut it off with a knife, but the golden ring was far too stubborn. She could not remove it no matter what she tried.
"I would never dare conceal anything. Someone must be plotting against Your Highness and inciting this servant."
The maid cried loudly for mercy. "Save me, Your Highness!"
"I'm afraid that won't do. This object is rather precious. If it is to be removed without damaging it, the only way is to kill you and cut it from your corpse!"
Consort Mei's voice was soft and seductive, yet her words were cruel enough to make one's heart tremble.
Tears poured from the maid's eyes. Having completely abandoned hope, she pleaded, "Your Highness, can you make it not hurt?"
"Hehe!"
Consort Mei stepped forward and took her hands. "Silly child, how could I bear to kill you? This