Chapter 116

The gaze of those who looked at Ayla, who entered the resting area where the maids could take a break, was not good.

Among them, some of the maids were badmouthing Ayla, saying, ‘She’s like a fox.’, so the situation was definitely not good.

Unlike the life filled with a sense of superiority as the fake Zenia, she seemed to be somehow skeptical about her hard life.

As Ayla slowly moved her blue eyes and looked around her, her expression hardened noticeably.

“I can’t believe she’s pretending to be nice… I knew it.”

“That’s why they say a pretty face is scary.”

“She will hear you. Lower your voice.”

“And what? She’s shameless. She’s really low. Even maids like her have dignity.”

She tried to ignore all the unknown criticism that reached her ears even if she didn’t want to hear it; but it didn’t work out as she wanted.

As Ayla’s shoulders got smaller and smaller as she passed them, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a corner.

“Miss Diane?”

“I told you to treat me like an older sister. Let’s get out of here for now. We have something to talk about.”

***

Diane and Ayla got out of the maids’ quarters and moved to a place near the natural forest of the west palace, where there aren’t many people.

Ayla, who was panting hard thanks to Diane, who grabbed her arm and sprinted, spoke towards her.

“Cough, cough. What is this… What’s wrong with you?”

“Ugh, it’s been a while since I ran so I’m exhausted.”

“What on earth is going on?”

Ayla took a deep breath as she grabbed her abdomen.

Diane’s eyes, who was looking at her, turned cold in an instant.

“You, where the hell have you been?”

“What? “W-What do you mean? Of course, I was in the palace. It is difficult for me to leave the palace, and there was a banquet recently…  Haha.”

“And no one ever saw you?”

“…”

“First of all, your roommate. What the hell is she doing? She’s walking around, saying you’re not coming back to your room.”

“Th… That… I had a bit of a problem. It seems she was worried because I left without saying anything.”

Staring at Ayla, who hesitated and answered, Diane’s eyes turned sad.

“You… I told you not to trust people easily.”

Ayla tilted her head at Diane’s words, whose intentions she did not know.

The expression on her face after she finished speaking showed the urgency of the situation.

Diane once said something like that.

The day the two first met at the north palace.

She did say something she did not understand while looking at Princess Ariel.

‘But… People aren’t all that you see.’

‘You will find out with time. Or… Maybe not?’

Ayla had no idea why she was bringing that up all of a sudden, when it had happened a long time ago.

“There is a rumor.”

“What rumor?”

“That you are the concubine of the Crown Prince.”

“What?”

Diane’s words were truly shocking.

She wondered what kind of nonsense that was, being the Crown Prince’s concubine.

She couldn’t understand how on earth could such a nonsensical rumor spread.

Only then did she understand what the maids in the break room were saying.

The contemptuous gaze at her as she came out of the detached palace, and the dirty words that followed her wherever she went; it all made sense now.

The Crown Prince, who is about to get married, has gotten a concubine. The daughter of a fallen noble family, amusingly.

She was already someone good to bite at and tear apart, but now she has practically set herself on fire.

Well. Ayla Serdian’s life has never been easy.

She felt like she wanted to go back to being the fake Zenia.

She wanted to see Elin, who had a cute smile, and Orhan, who was reliable.

Diane waited for Ayla to calm down, and after a long silence, Ayla spoke.

“How… How did such a rumor spread?”

“Your roommate.”

“There’s no way Lily did that.”

“She has been running around, saying things that can’t help but become a rumor. She said you hadn’t returned since you went to the detached palace where His Highness is staying. I don’t know if it’s intentional or not.”

“…”

She wanted to believe. She wanted to believe that her precious friend couldn’t do that to her, and that she was probably just worried.

But Lily was smarter than she thought and had a good brain.

As far as she knows, she wasn’t stupid enough to accidentally blurt out those provocative words.

She was confused as to who to believe.

What if she trusts Diane’s words and her relationship with Lily becomes estranged?

She told her not to trust other people, but there was no law saying she could trust her.