Reborn as the Psycho Villainess Who Ate Her Slave Beasts' Contracts

Word spread through the imperial complex like fire through dry grass. The Fourth Princess—the quiet one, the weak one—had sent armed beast knights into the Crown Princess’s wing and dragged servants out by force. She’d locked down her own palace. She was conducting interrogations with soldiers who weren’t even human.

In the eastern gardens, ministers whispered that she’d gone mad. In the servants’ quarters, maids who’d once ignored her now spoke her name with fear. Even in the concubines’ halls, where palace politics usually stayed distant, people murmured about the "sick princess who woke up angry."

The Emperor heard the reports during his evening briefing. His aide delivered them with visible nervousness, waiting for orders to intervene.

The Emperor said nothing. He dismissed the aide and returned to his correspondence as if thirty soldiers ransacking multiple palace wings was merely weather.

’’’

Inside Elara’s chamber, the air was thick with tension. Thirty-two servants stood or knelt in groups, separated by the information Teams Two and Five had compiled. Elara sat at the desk with three stacks of documents in front of her, each marked with different colored tabs.

She picked up the first stack—red marks throughout—and looked at Teams Two and Five. Both stood immediately.

"These fifteen," Elara said, handing the thick folder to the lead knight, "have false identities and falsified records. They’re not just corrupt—they’re infiltrators." Her tone didn’t change. "Take them to the side chamber. Extract the truth. Who they really are. Who sent them. Who they report to. Use whatever methods produce results."

The servants in that group went rigid. One started to cry. Another tried to speak and was silenced by a knight’s hand on his shoulder.

"Your Highness—" one woman began.

Elara didn’t look up. "Lisa. Show them to the interrogation room."

Lisa nodded, face pale but steady, and led Teams Two and Five out with the fifteen terrified servants between them. The door closed. Muffled sounds began almost immediately.