Chapter 136Lily's POV
A sharp knock rattled the wooden door.
My eyes flew open, and I shot up from the thin mattress. Panic instantly surged through me as I turned to the small clock on the wall. My chest tightened.
"Shit! I overslept."
Oh no.
The disciplinary guards. The chief maidens. They would skin me alive for this.
With my heart thundering, I scrambled off the bed and nearly tripped over my skirt hem. I ran to the door, rehearsing my apology in my head, already preparing to fall to my knees if I had to.
I pulled the door open with trembling hands.
But instead of the harsh faces of guards or sneering senior maids, I was met with the sight of two young maidens holding folded cloth in their hands. Behind them, steam curled from the metal bucket they carried.
I froze.
"W…what…?" I stammered. "Is there any problem?"
The girls bowed slightly in unison. One stepped forward and lifted the cloth, a crisp, untouched maiden's uniform, finer than the rough ones we usually wore.
