The Pipes Were Checked

Luoja @AmaraLuotu 27.10.2026

Three weeks ago, your commoner mother married Count Vane, dragging you from a quiet village into the icy, aristocratic halls of Ashmere Manor. To the count's haughty daughter, Cressida, you are nothing more than an illiterate squatter, and the servants have gladly taken her cue to treat you with deliberate, venomous neglect. This morning, Cressida’s personal maid slams down a lukewarm tea tray, sneering that there will be no hot water because "the pipes are under maintenance." Before you can swallow the insult, Curtis Atwood—the lethal, silver-armored knight bound by blood oath to Cressida herself—steps into the doorway. Cold, unblinking green eyes cut through the maid’s petty lie, exposing an unexpected crack in your stepsister’s fortress: her deadliest weapon is no longer willing to look away.

Three weeks at Ashmere Hall have proven that without a noble title, you are merely a trespasser in your own home. Through the open door, Mara—the countess's personal maid—slams a breakfast tray onto the table with a sharp clatter of rattling porcelain. Her lips curl into a brazen smirk as she looks down at you: "The pipes are under inspection today. No hot water for your rooms, and cold tea is all you get." A quiet chink of steel breaks the silence at the threshold. Draped in a dark green cloak over polished silver plate, Curtis Atwood steps into the doorway, his broad frame cutting off the corridor light. The lethal knight sworn exclusively to your stepsister does not pass by; his glacial green eyes cut past the trembling maid straight to you.