Chapter 13
Even as she spoke with determination and care, there was still a hint of reluctance on her face. It was as if she didn’t want to talk, but she had to.
“What is it?”
“His Majesty the Emperor’s childhood is a taboo subject for us.”
Uh-oh, this is unexpected.
“But I’m going to go out on a limb and tell the Princess about it.”
“… That’s very kind of you, but do you mind?”
“I can only hope for the Princess’s mercy.”
“Thank you for making such a big commitment, can we keep it between us?”
“Thank you.”
Relief washed over Marie’s tense face.
“Please sit down, I’m going to tell you something important, and we should at least look each other in the eye.”
“Thank you. If you’ll excuse me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“… First of all, it is said that the wolf at His Majesty side has been with him since childhood. No one knows exactly when that was, or how he got along with His Majesty. There was one maid, however, who stayed with the Emperor and the wolf during that time, and was the only one who stayed with them.”
Marie glanced at me, then pursed her lips and continued.
“I’ve heard that they lived in separate cottages and had only her to rely on, but I don’t know the details, but it’s said that she did something unsavory and became the Emperor’s handmaiden.”
“A concubine…”
“And those who assumed that His Majesty would have relied heavily on her, used ill-advised means to gain access to His Majesty, thus exacerbating His Majesty’s distrust of the nobility.”
“What do you mean, bad tricks, what have they done?”
“As you know, the current Emperor has awakened the greatest power of all time and conquered it in a single lifetime. He’s a man of absolute power who doesn’t tolerate the slightest noise from the nobility, so when they couldn’t think of any way to keep him in line, they came up with the worst thing they could think of: they picked women who looked like that maid and sent them in as handmaidens to remind him of her.”
I furrowed my brow and let out a short, exhilarated sigh.
“She hoped that if she could be… similar enough to the maid, if not exactly like her, that the Emperor would warm to her. It was a shallow trick, hoping to get him to rely on the maid he’d let into his lair. It didn’t work, of course, and everyone involved was purged.”
What a shallow trick. Did he really think that would work?
“But how did you know about the maid and get her to act similarly?”
“I gathered all the information I could from those who worked at the cottage at the time, but they were so shrouded in secrecy that very little of it would have been accurate. It was later rumored that the maid wasn’t someone I would have missed or relied on, so that kind of reckless behavior stopped.”
“I see…”
The words “I won’t miss you” stuck in my heart.
Perhaps what the maids had said before wasn’t so absurd after all, for it seemed more likely that Thierry didn’t think I was dead, but rather that I had run away and left him alone.
“Princess. The reason I tell you this is that since that incident, His Majesty has become even more ruthless at the slightest hint of involvement with that maid.”
Marie lifted her eyes from where they had been lowered for a moment. The look of concern in her eyes was genuine.
I didn’t understand what she was so worried about. Sure, I was Lari in a previous life, but it’s not like she’d know that, and it’s not like I’d look like I was going to do anything like those sneaky humans.
Oh, and maybe…
“Is it because I’m close to a wolf?”
Mari’s head nodded slightly.
“That was the first thing the maidens did when they came to K’napul, to get close to the wolf, but none of them ever succeeded, because no matter how skillful they were with the beast, they were useless against it.”
“…”
“But for the first time, the wolf had a follower besides the Emperor: you, the Princess.”
“… Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?”
I said, tilting my head slightly in understanding.
“Marie, are you doing this because you’re afraid someone will see my value and approach me?”
Marie shuddered and lowered her head.
“I apologize. I got worried and got a little presumptuous.”
“Oh, I’m not judging you, I’m just thanking you for pointing out something I hadn’t thought of, so hold your head up high.”
“Princess…”
“I actually didn’t think I’d find anyone here who would give me advice like this, um- I know it’s serious, but I can’t help but feel good about it.”
I looked into Marie’s eyes and smiled sheepishly. Marie’s yellow-green eyes fluttered open.
She lowered her gaze, a troubled look on her face, then lifted her eyes as if deciding something.
“You realize, Princess, that the moment you move into the main palace, all eyes will be on you, and if word gets out that you dine with the Emperor every night, your presence will grow beyond measure.”
“I see.”
“If you want to use that attention and presence to your advantage, that’s fine, but from what I’ve seen of you, you don’t seem to like the attention. Am I right?”
I was just trying to play nice, but I’m surprised she’s been able to read more into me than I thought she would.
Of course, given the circumstances, I’d tried to find out about the cottage and my death, but I hadn’t really done anything because it wasn’t the right time yet. My feelings right now were exactly how she felt.
But then…
Was Marie watching me carefully on someone’s orders, and if so, why was she telling me these things that would help me?
I had mixed feelings about this. But this favor didn’t seem to threaten me in the immediate future, so I decided to go along with Marie’s story.
“I’m not here of my own free will,” she said, “and I’m not here of my own free will.”
“In that case, I think it would be best if you stayed away from wolves in the future.”
“Mmm…”
“Princess even mentioned a wolf’s name that no one else knew, and while it’s unlikely that anyone else will hear about it since we were the only ones present at the time, it was a life-or-death situation.”
“That much?”
“Princess, it doesn’t matter how you learned the wolf’s name, only that you did.”
Marie’s voice grew quieter.
“It’s not like no one has ever known the wolf’s name before, it’s just that they found out with impure intentions and are no longer in the world.”
I think I’ve made a bigger mess than I thought…? I didn’t realize calling Rudd by his name would have this much of a ripple effect.
Is that why Thierry’s so unhinged, and why you’re so close to him that you’re going to kill him?
“Is the Emperor… mad at me?”
Please tell me no. I looked at Marie desperately, the tips of my eyebrows drooping.
“Ah, I dare not guess at His Majesty’s inner thoughts, but one thing is certain… His Majesty is treating the Princess very differently from how he has been treating you, because normally you would have been hauled off to jail on the spot.”
“Ugh…!”
“Well, but you’re here, safe and sound, so you’re okay for now, and you shouldn’t worry too much, maybe even…”
Marie trailed off unconvincingly, looking at me with a fidgety expression.
“But I don’t know what that means, but apparently, you’re the first Princess to make an exception for His Majesty.”
I just smiled bitterly. Because I’m sure it’s not a good kind of exception.
***
I awoke in my new quarters with a heavy heart.
After the serious news, I talked to Marie a bit more and learned a few new things.
Marie is a lowly maidservant from a fallen noble family, and it’s not often that a lowly maid is given the opportunity to serve her superiors exclusively.
“When they assigned me to the Princess, at first I thought she was scary, like she didn’t want anyone else, but then I realized that wasn’t the case at all, she’s actually very sweet, and I’m getting more and more worried that she’s going to be hurt all alone.”
Marie perfectly recognized me as the weak Princess.
At the end, she apologized again and again, saying that she had said the wrong thing and that I must have gotten lucky with her hasty staffing because she was from out of town, but I just laughed meekly as she tried to make amends.
It’s a nobleman’s game, don’t tell me.
“Princess, you look a bit stuffy. We can’t go outside the palace, and it’s raining today, so it’s hard to walk around… Oh, the main palace is said to have a very well-stocked library, would you like to take a look?”
