The princess flinched at Voldred’s words.

I mean, this was Voldred we were talking about—the one the princess had rolled around like garbage in front of me, without even trying to take care of him herself. As if I could ever blame him.

He approached the princess.

“You knew it was impossible for me to disobey or escape, but you still sent me there. You watched with a magic mirror, grinning the whole time. Even though I managed to kill all the demons, I could’ve really died.”

“W-what…?! But that’s because she refused to use her power! I had no choice! I had to make her do it!”

“You treated Lady Mia like a tool! If you’d asked her politely, she’d have used her power from the beginning! You sullied the precious power of the saint with your rudeness!”

“Huh?! She didn’t do it because she didn’t like the way I spoke to her? What is she? A child?!”

“You could’ve treated her with respect, yet you refuse. You’re the one who’s a child.”

Voldred spoke while staring coldly at the princess.

“No one likes being trampled and ordered around like a tool.”

—Voldred must’ve struggled a lot before I broke the curse.

He was given orders against his will countless times. He was basically told to die, yet he had no choice but to obey. He was also a victim who had been trampled on by the royal family.

Now wonder he’s so attached to me, who saved him. …I wonder if that’s okay?

Now that he was finally free, he should live as he pleased—or maybe this was the result of that.

“Knight! You’ve always been so obedient before…!”

“Yes, because of the Subservience Curse. In truth, I’ve always despised you to death.”

His eyes grew murderous, and the princess trembled in shock. Nevertheless, her eyes reflected with reluctance and dissatisfaction.

“A disrespectful knight like you should be executed…!”

“You’re a real tyrant. Refusing to listen to others and threatening execution… If I’m going to die anyway, then why don’t I bring you with me? That way, one thing that has been tormenting Lady Mia will disappear from this world!”

“What…?!”

Tension spread between Voldred and the escort knights behind the princess.

I can’t let Voldred kill her, but I understand what he’s saying. She wasn’t a random commoner, but royalty at the top of the kingdom.  She shouldn’t be threatening others with execution without any consideration.

I stepped in between them. The escort knights were confused because they couldn’t lay a hand on me, the saint. Amid all of this, I smiled calmly.

“Please calm down, Your Highness.”

“W-what’s with you…?!”

Without chanting, I transferred something to the princess.

It was Voldred’s Subservience Curse. I could’ve used it to make the princess apologize, but that would have been disingenuous.

However, since she hadn’t learned her lesson, there was nothing I could do.

If she has properly reflected on her actions then, I wouldn’t have had to do this.

As the name suggested, the curse made the user absolutely obedient.

Since I didn’t chant, the escort knights didn’t realize the princess had been cursed. I told her with a smile.

“Your Highness, will you retract your words about execution?”

“Eh…? Yes, I retract them,” said the princess, her face twitching.

“Also, I’d like to talk with you three alone, without any outsiders.”

“You guys, I’m fine on my own! Go away!”

With that command, the escort knights left. With this, the stage was set.

“Your Highness. How does it feel to bear the Subservience Curse that you’ve been abusing until now?”

“T-this wicked saint…!”

“You once swore to never treat me with contempt again, but you haven’t kept that promise at all. You broke your oath, so this is your just punishment. If you want to hate something, hate your own actions.”

The princess trembled with humiliation, but she could never lay a hand on me.

“Now, what orders shall I give you?”

I stared silently at the princess before me.

“If I ordered you to kill yourself… What would happen?”

“—!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

The princess let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. She was sweating bullets.

“I want you to learn how it feels to be enslaved by someone. To start with, why don’t you clean this enormous palace?”

“Understood!”

I cleaned my own room, so I had cleaning supplies ready. When I brought them out, the princess filled the bucket with cold water, wrung out a rag, and began wiping the unnecessarily long hallway with all her might, still in her dress.

“Here goes! I’ll make it sparkle!!”

“That’s a good show of determination. Keep up the good work and clean the hall and the bathrooms too.”

Honestly, if I wanted to, I could have given her any number of cruel orders. After all, the princess used this curse to drive Voldred to the brink of death. She should be grateful that I was only giving her this level of punishment.

“Well, Voldred, I’m tired. Shall we have some tea?”

“Lady Mia, you did a great job. I’ll make you some herbal tea to help you recover.”

I turned my back on the princess, who was running back and forth, mopping the floor at top speed, and returned to my room.

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