Chapter 176: 174: The contract

The sound of the slap was sharp enough to still echo once Maria had taken a step back to admire her work. The red print stood out vividly on the princess’s skin and it left quite an impression on the on-lookers.

Everyone in the hall seemed to be staring at Maria’s work in a morbid fascination but no one made any noise to acknowledge what had just happened right in front of their eyes. It almost seemed as if they could not believe that someone would be brave enough to do this.

No one except the princess was sitting there and gaping like a goldfish. She seemed to be the only one who could move about and her hand slowly reached for her cheek with an expression of disbelief.

“Y-You hit me. Did you dare to hit me? B-But how? T-T-The magic should have s-stopped you” the princess stuttered. Her voice betrayed how unsettled she felt and Maria would have felt sorry under other circumstances.