The sound of quietness.

"I'm sorry, Miss Conquista!" the maid pleaded as she tried to squirm free. The bite of a knife's blade against her throat shut down her resistance quickly, and she fell silent.

"Do you hear that, worm?" Lilin asked with a grin.
She paused, daring the woman to speak. Unfortunately, she wasn't thinking clearly.

"U-Uhm... H-hear what, Miss Conquista?"

"The silence," she replied, hissing. "That is the most beautiful sound that you can make, Charlie. Do you understand?"
Charlie nodded with as little motion as she could, keeping her mouth shut. Finally, the blade was moved just the slightest bit away from her throat, and she started to breathe heavily. Lilin paused, testing to see if Charlie had learned her lesson.

"P-Please," she whispered.
She had not learned her lesson.

"Be. Quiet. Now."

Silence descended again, the understanding quickly becoming clear. Lilin sighed heavily, but took a bit of a reprieve that she was finally understood.

"There we go, good job. Now, without breaking this beautiful silence... Why don't you show me what you were apologizing for?"

Charlie nodded as she slowly began walking. She moved at a snail's pace, terrified of what Lilin would do if she mistakenly stepped out of line even once. As she walked, Lilin lowered the knife and loosened her grip. Now, she was simply holding Charlie by one arm. Her nails were stabbing into the skin, nearly drawing blood, but Charlie was simply relieved that there wasn't a knife anymore.

"Hurry it up," Lilin barked. Charlie promptly picked up the pace, now power-walking.

Lilin was eventually led to a scene in the kitchen. There was a plate shattered on the floor. That must be what Charlie had been apologizing for. She looked around, noticing plenty of other small things that brought a smile to her face.

"A broken plate," she said. Charlie started to nod, opening her mouth to apologize but thinking better of it. Lilin grinned, continuing.
"Scratched drawers, a wet countertop, unwashed platters, my..."

Lilin's grin sharpened as she felt Charlie tensing up. She felt a thrill as the useless maid began to shake, tightening her grip just enough to feel a prick of blood on her nails. She saw the girl stammering, looking for some way out or way to explain, so she lifted a finger and put it to her lips.

"Shhhh," she said, "Do you remember what I said?"

Charlie fell silent once more, and Lilin nodded. "That's better. Now, you have my permission to speak. Why is the kitchen in such an awful state?"

Charlie took a very deep breath, trying her hardest to think of an explanation. Lilin had ordered her to never continue with a task she had made a mistake in, so that's why the dishes were dirty. Lilin had also ordered her never to attempt covering up her mistakes, which is why the fragments of the plate were still on the ground. The plate breaking must have scuffed the surfaces, and the water on the counter had yet to be cleaned because of the previous orders. But she couldn't claim that Lilin was at fault, or else she would....

"Miss Conquista," Charlie began, "I was working-"

"Working, huh? Interesting way to put it."

Charlie gulped, then slowly continued. "I was attempting to clean the dishes, when I lost my grip on one. I-It slipped out of my hands, and-"

"Oh," Lilin groaned, "and why would you do something so careless?"

"I-I did not mean to, I-"

"Then why did you, you worthless drivel?! Are you telling me you cannot control your hands properly?"
Lilin grabbed a wet plate from the washbasin, grabbing it tightly to keep it from slipping even as she felt how slick its surface was. "Do you see? Can you understand how easily one can keep a dish from falling out of one's hands?!"

"Y-Yes, Miss Conquista, but-"

"Then WHY is it on the FLOOR?"

"I-I... I have no explanation, o-only apologies!" Charlie said, now desperate for any way out of this situation.

"Very well, then let us see what our King has to say regarding this," Lilin spat.

Charlie felt a sinking feeling in her chest. She knew what was going to happen. Her last meeting with the Demon King told her in no uncertain terms that if she were to return there with news of a failure then she would be executed. She couldn't let that happen to herself, she hadn't done anything yet!

"N-No, Miss Conquista, I-!"
Her desperate cries were cut off by the lukewarm metal of the knife being pressed on her throat again. Silence fell over her again. There was nothing she could do. Speak here, and she would die. Stay silent, and she would die.

The walk to the King's hall was a death march. Charlie began to cry as she was guided along, knowing full well what was to happen to her. She was walked through the stone-grey hallways, lightning flashing just beyond the windows but the following sound of thunder entirely cut off by the castle's magic ward. Noise was a mere nuisance to the King, one that should be cut off. Charlie had become less useful than the noise of thunder.

Charlie saw the entrance to the King's throne room. Two massive, impossibly brilliant golden doors. Lilin knocked on them with her free hand, the sound echoing through their metallic forms and into the room behind them. The sound took several seconds to reach the demon king's ears- longer than it took for him to sense the presence of the two maids approaching the door. He knew what this visit was for. Lilin, his most trusted servant, accompanying Charlie, the failure of a summoned hand.

"Veil her vision, then be granted entrance."

His voice boomed through the room, reaching the doors instantly and reverberating through them. None in the castle were spared from the sound, the tremors travelling to the grounds outside before dissipating. The ward shook as it absorbed the sound, shimmering outside of the windows in a brilliant display of blue scales stacked atop one another as they stopped the sound from continuing outwards. This was the last thing Charlie saw before her vision was obscured.