Sylvana's POV
Elowen’s face lit up instantly. She bounced over to my father and planted a loud kiss on his wrinkled cheek. “Thank you, Dad! You’re the best!”
Then she turned to me, her concern obviously fake. “Sylvana, you smell a little… stinky. Life in the mountains must make it hard to bathe regularly, right?”
She smiled sweetly, as if doing me a favor, and continued, “But don’t worry! Our company has great benefits. You can shower in the restroom after work! Isn’t that amazing?”
Listening to something this brainless, I seriously considered calling the institute and asking them to send over special agents.
"Is this family secretly a foreign hostile force in disguise? Letting the adopted daughter intern as the CEO’s deputy assistant, while sending the biological daughter to be a janitor? What kind of ridiculous plot is this?" I scoffed.
The hand my father had resting on Elowen’s head stiffened.
And Jasper let out a careless sneer. “Do you think our company lets just anyone walk in? Even a cleaning job comes with full social insurance and housing funds. You probably don’t even know what that is, do you?”
I sighed quietly. "I don’t really pay attention to benefits at the research institute, but I remember my senior saying we have something like ten insurances and three funds. Is ‘five insurances and one fund’ really that impressive?"
The smug smile on Jasper’s face froze.
"Besides, I own five patents. I’m not short on money, okay? Do they really think I’m some trash-eating pauper? This is exhausting," I continued.
The atmosphere at the dinner table grew even stranger.
Elowen, meanwhile, happily ate the shrimp everyone had peeled for her. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, occasionally shooting me smug, provocative looks.
Watching her childish attempts at provocation, I felt nothing at all—no anger, no emotion.
“Enough,” my father said irritably. “Since she doesn’t want to eat, don’t force her. Just take her back to her room.”
I stood up and followed the maid upstairs, my mind calmly reviewing the steps of my successful experiment.
“This is your room,” the maid said, pointing to the very last door at the end of the hallway. “Miss Elowen sleeps lightly, so unless necessary, don’t come out at night. As for the bathroom, you’ll handle that inside the room. I’ve prepared a bucket for you. In the morning, clean it yourself in the yard.”
I stopped walking and frowned.
So, this was what passed for a wealthy household. Small temple, vicious spirits. If I didn’t do something now, even a maid would think she could step all over me.
I looked at her calmly, then leaned closer and whispered, “I can tolerate that this family is stupid. We share blood, after all. But you’re just a maid. Who gave you the nerve to target me?”
The maid froze and stuttered, “I… I didn’t…”
“Oh? Didn’t you?” I let out a cold laugh, about to expose her little act when, unexpectedly, she shoved me hard.
I fell to the floor, and the noise drew attention from downstairs. My family soon rushed up.
“What are you doing? Why are you hitting Agnes?” Elowen accused me the moment she arrived, without bothering to ask what happened.
With Elowen backing her up, the maid put on a smug expression. “She didn’t like the room. She deliberately fell down to frame me.”
“I knew she shouldn’t have been brought home,” Jasper said coldly from the side, his tone dripping with mockery. “She starts scheming the moment she gets here.”
Frowning, my mother said, “If you were unhappy with the room, you could’ve told us directly. There was no need for this. Agnes has worked in our home for over ten years. We know what kind of person she is.”
"What a bunch of idiots. Believing a mysterious adopted daughter is one thing. But even trusting a maid without question? I’m your newly reunited daughter. Even a stranger wouldn’t deserve to be shoved around by a servant."
