Since that incident, Elena had suffered non-stop sexual harassment from her fellow servants.
It ranged from unwanted, fleeting touches to degrading verbal abuse.
She was utterly friendless.
Her only companion was Gigi, but Gigi was too terrified of the repercussions to be seen anywhere near her.
Today, she was punished yet again, ordered to assist Lord Hans—the head gardener—in the courtyard.
Lord Hans was very kind to her, even if he only showed it in secret.
He and his wife were quiet folk, but they were among the few people in this place who still possessed a shred of humanity.
Elena was grateful for that.
At least in the gardens, she wouldn’t be tormented.
It started peacefully enough as she helped Lord Hans without any disturbance.
But the moment she moved to the hedge maze to fulfill his orders, everything changed.
Elena had no idea she was being followed by two young men who worked under Lord Hans.
“Hey there, Elena!” a sleazy voice called out.
Elena didn’t respond.
Her mind raced as she searched for an escape route.
She took a slow, cautious step backward, keeping her eyes locked onto them with utmost vigilance.
“Where do you think you’re going, Elena, sweetheart?” they taunted again.
“Looks like this sexy piggy wants to run, bro!”
However, a hedge maze wouldn’t be a maze if it were easily conquered.
Elena broke into a light jog, turning down any path she could reach, praying it would lead to an exit.
She kept running and running, ignoring the stinging pain in her unhealed feet.
The sharp gravel tore her wounds wide open once more.
“Help!”
She cried out for help several times, but there was no one else there.
The hedge maze was a place of leisure reserved strictly for the nobility, and a forbidden zone for servants like her.
“Help!
Someone, please!!!”
Elena tripped and fell hard, scraping her knees.
Blind to the wounds and the searing pain, she forced herself up, only to stumble and fall repeatedly.
Elena’s strides were short due to her petite stature.
Compounded by her voluptuous build, her body weight felt like a heavy burden in this desperate situation.
Naturally, her speed was no match for the two tall gardeners.
Even when she exerted all her strength to run faster, her short paces couldn’t carry her far enough.
She ended up running in circles, trapped at a dead end in the very center of the maze.
The scent of an expensive fragrance belonging to a high-born nobleman drifted through the air, yet the courtyard appeared empty.
There was only a central fountain statue.
But then, Elena caught the distinct rustle of dry leaves being stepped on.
There was still hope.
“Someone…
Please help!” Elena pleaded again.
Her legs could no longer support her weight.
Her lace kerchief had fallen off and vanished somewhere along the way.
Deprived of all strength, her legs completely gave out, sending her crashing onto the gravel.
Thud!
“Help!” Elena cried out once more.
She beat her own legs, desperately wishing they would work again.
“Please stand up, please.”
“Ah, so here you are,” one of her pursuers sneered, catching up to her.
“Stay back!” Elena screamed, trying to pull herself up.
But it was futile; her legs had gone entirely numb.
She was completely defenseless.
Unable to stand, she could only drag herself backward along the ground.
Of course, it was useless; they could easily close the distance.
“Please leave!
Don’t touch me!” Elena finally burst into tears.
She was at her wits’ end.
“Help,” she sobbed, still trying to shimmy backward away from them.
The two plain-faced, lecherous youths continued to close in, leering at her like predators cornering their prey.
“Don’t be scared, we just want to have some fun with you.”
“Where are you going to run now, sweetheart?”
“Don’t!
Help!” Elena screamed again.
“Hey, come on.
We just want to show you a good time.”
“Yeah, it feels great.
You just need to lie down on the grass and scream with pleasure.”
“You bastards!
Don’t come any closer!” Elena shrieked even louder.
“Help!
Someone, save me!”
Naturally, her pleas fell on deaf ears; they cared only about satisfying their primal lust.
And in the end, the inevitable began to unfold.
The two men wasted no time.
They pounced on Elena’s helpless body against the damp earth.
Sobbing and screams echoed through the center of the maze, but there was no sign of any other human soul.
When Elena was stripped nearly naked, one of them pinned down her hands, which she had been using to desperately cover her modesty.
“So beautiful, sweetheart.
A plump body like yours is actually incredibly sexy.
Even prettier than Lady Clementine.”
“No!
Help!” Elena screamed, refusing to surrender.
She clung to the fading hope that someone would save her.
“Shh…
quiet down and just enjoy it, hahaha!”
“Relax, Elena, this will be over soon and it’ll feel amazing.
You’ll be begging for more after this.”
Just as they were about to tear away the last remnants of her clothes, the sound of three pairs of approaching footsteps echoed, accompanied by a mocking voice.
“Aha…
it seems something rather interesting is happening here.”
Elena snapped her head up instantly.
In her disheveled, filthy, and weakened state, she looked utterly pitiful against the dirt.