“I don’t think it’s right to hurt this child with that kind of thing. Even now, she may not be able to speak, but how much do you think she’s hurting inside? Right?”
“…”
Instead of answering, I bowed my head deeply.
My chest felt much more turbulent and stifling than before.
‘Am I twisted?’
More than the mocking words of the young ladies who had been ridiculing me just a moment ago, I felt a deeper sense of humiliation with each word thrown by this girl.
Her words, seemingly concerned, didn’t feel sincere to me.
Having lived a life exposed to scrutiny and hostility due to a lifelong feud, even if I tried to cover it up convincingly, I could tell.
That pitiful girl, looking at me as if she knew everything, was crushing me more gracefully and maliciously than anyone else in this place.
‘As they say, true villains always wear a mask of goodness.’
“Pain, loneliness, struggling in a hopeless situation… It’s natural to waver easily.”
I realized that my judgment was not wrong as the words that followed confirmed it.
“But today is Empress’s birthday. It’s a festive day, so how about we just overlook it for now?”
“Okay. But there won’t be a next time, so be careful!”
Before I knew it, the situation had turned entirely against me, and it seemed to be resolved by the generous forgiveness of the angelic girl.
“As expected, Lady Amber is too kind.”
Suppressing my anger inwardly, I stepped back, but suddenly, the girl’s name rang in my ears.
‘Lady Amber? Could she be… the daughter of Viscount Diafel…?’
“Oh, Princess. I apologize for being late with my greetings. My name is Clara of Viscount Amber. I heard you attended the academy festival recently. Did you happen to meet my brother?”
“Brother?”
“Yes. He’s my elder cousin, Lord Lucio. He graduated from the academy this year, right? He never misses being the top every year, and now he’s graduated early! I’m sure you’re very proud. Now that he’s going to take on more responsibilities and duties for the family, wouldn’t it be more stable to have a companion by his side? What do you think?”
“…Huh?”
It seemed like the princess’s enthusiasm was overflowing.
Pouring out words that would be too difficult for the young Diana to understand.
As expected, Diana blinked her eyes and tilted her head in confusion.
The sight made the princess smile gently and ask subtly, “Who would you like your brother to be with if he were to marry?”
“Um, my brother…?”
I wasn’t sure if Diana really understood the princess’s question this time, but she shouted out without hesitation.
“I like someone like a sister!”
“Oh my!”
The young ladies were surprised by Diana’s answer.
“Princess, you shouldn’t call the princess ‘sister.'”
“Leave it be. The princess is still young, isn’t she?”
Seraphine smiled gracefully, deterring the young ladies, and then looked at Diana with a satisfied smile.
“I didn’t expect the princess to be so affectionate towards me.”
“Huh? I, um…”
Diana, who was listening to the conversation between the young ladies and Seraphine with confusion, opened her mouth with a puzzled smile.
My heart pounded crazily as I watched this.
Diana’s mention of a sister must mean…
This time, I felt I had to intervene even if I risked being humiliated and misunderstood.
If I didn’t correct this misunderstanding, something terrible might happen.
That’s when it happened.
“Apologies for being late, Your Majesty. Aiden kept fooling around, so we were a little late.”
It was the entrance of Lady Faelunt.
* * *
“Miss, let me help you wash your hands.”
As I took care of Diana, who had just come out of the ladies’ room after washing her hands, I let out a breath filled with fatigue.
Already feeling tense from my first visit to the palace, I was overwhelmed with work without a moment’s rest, causing my head to ache.
Still, it was fortunate that Lady Faelunt appeared before Diana could speak, right at the end.
“Mother, Lia is here.”
Although Lady Faelunt seemed surprised and approached me with hesitation, she continued.
“Our adorable and clever Lia! There’s a gift waiting for you when you return to the mansion today.”
“A gift?”
“Yes! Aiden has been up since dawn making desserts from the Dhambar Kingdom. It’s something you can only taste at the Faelunt mansion in the empire.”
“If you want more, you can come to our mansion,” Lady Faelunt whispered subtly, and Diana came running towards me, saying, “No!”
Lady Faelunt chuckled as if she had expected this reaction.
Her actions caught the attention of not only the ladies but even the empress.
“Didn’t you often visit the Ellad mansion? Have you become friends with the maids?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. But Lia isn’t an ordinary maid!”
Lady Faelunt began to shower praise on me, bewildering the empress.
Most of it was subjective praise, claiming that I was smart, clever, and cute… But when it came to ‘Splesia,’ everyone paid attention.
“Come to think of it, I’ve heard of it before. Isn’t it a legendary herb that cures any illness?”
“Oh, is there such a panacea in the world?”
Of course, Splesia wasn’t a panacea but an herb with excellent detoxifying effects, but I didn’t have time to explain in detail.
Moreover, it seemed that everyone was more interested in how much wealth could be accumulated by monopolizing herbs and medicines at the Ellad mansion in the future.
Especially after hearing that even I, whom they thought was just a maid, had a stake in the herbal business, the young ladies’ gazes changed.
‘Not all nobles are rich.’
If I succeeded in cultivating herbs and distributing medicines, and if the treatment became available, I would earn more money than most noble families with consecutive successful investments.
‘But that’s not important right now.’
Walking with Diana through the palace corridor to return to the sponsorship, I narrowed my eyes.
Why did Seraphine seem so guarded against me? It was very puzzling.
Initially, knowing about my existence…
“Miss, have you ever spoken about me when you came to the palace last time?”
“Huh?”
Diana, surprised by my question, shook her head vigorously.
“I didn’t! I didn’t want to talk about my sister to scary people! But…”
“?”
“My little brother…”
“Lord Alan?”
When I asked again, Diana spoke as if she had done something wrong, fiddling with her fingers.
“Big brother praised you. He said you’re smart and read a lot of difficult books. So, he gave the library key to my brother and told him to study hard.”
“Oh…”
Finally, I realized the situation.
Seraphine wants Lucio. Of course, Lady Faelunt wasn’t the goal.
As an enemy of the emperor and empress, she wanted to become a powerful empress, and she hoped that her husband, the emperor, would have enough power to support her.
‘Whether her ambition is purely ambitious or there’s hidden affection…’
In any case, Seraphine was irritated by a word from Alan.
‘It’s more obsessive than I thought.’
If I just thought a little, I could see that I was just taking care of a maid that my younger sister cherished.
Maybe, wasn’t it because Seraphine didn’t have an engagement partner until Lucio turned twenty-six that she intervened? It was when reasonable doubts arose.
“?”
Just as we were about to enter the sponsorship, the atmosphere was oddly tense and off.
Everyone stood there with bewildered faces, and the maids hurriedly ran around.
“What’s wro…”
As I approached Diana, a woman stepped back behind her, revealing a gap.
I was surprised and held my breath.
Lady Faelunt was lying on the ground.
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Translator Note:
We were going to drop this story but at the end due to its popularity we decided to continue it, so next 15 chapters will be translated by RJR.
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released on June, 15.
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