"What are you doing? You think this is just another day? Another spoiled noble to half-dress and forget?"
The maid tried to stammer something—an excuse, a plea—but Jesse didn't let her speak.
She leaned in slightly, just enough for the torchlight to catch the sharp edge of her expression.
"Do you really want to die?"
The room froze.
The other attendants stopped mid-motion, brushes and pins hovering like suspended spells. No one moved. No one breathed.
"Because if you keep doing this like you are," Jesse went on, voice low, "you'll lose more than your dignity."
She released the maid's wrist slowly—deliberately—but her gaze remained fixed. Her next words came with deadly calm.
"You'll lose your heads."
The room dropped several degrees colder.
She turned her attention across the others, her voice no louder, but far heavier.
