Chapter 538 - Former Queen (7)

The intricate words were suddenly written down onto the page:

[Which fairy would you like to know the tale of?]

I pulled out a pen, writing down 'Charlotte'. There was no way she could be human, possessing a large amount of mana that could rival mine. Reminding me of the fairies from social week, her speciality was likely ice. The book immediately shined after I lifted my pen, spraying a bright light into my eyes to blind me. I screamed as I felt myself being suċkėd inside the book, forced to be part of the story.

The next time I blinked, I found myself standing in the middle of an ancient village square. It reminded me of the area near the palace in the fifth district. Cobblestones made the pathways while people travelled by using horses. A large stone archway was above me while many water wells stood behind me. I shuddered from the harsh winds as snowflakes landed inside my hair. My shoes were filled with the snow on the ground, making me tempted to pull them off to get rid of it. I began to regret wearing such light clothing.

Everyone else was wearing animal furs to keep them warm. I felt invisible as all the people seemed to ignore me to the point that I started to think I may be invisible to them. With my teeth chattering, I chanted a spell to keep me from freezing. I stiffened when everyone stopped in their tracks to stare at me. Did people not use mana here?

"Would you like a cloak?" One of them walked up to me.

I nodded my head, accepting the fur cloak. I instantly felt like I was melting, the cloak being enchanted to make it warmer. But with my feet shivering, almost turning blue, I wondered where I was. I turned to the generous person to get my answers, "why is it so cold here?"

"Our queen has an affinity for the cold," The person explained.

"Queen?" I wondered.

"Queen Charlotte," she clarified.

"Since her rule, our land is accused of being stuck in winter," she lowered her voice.

I almost laughed from the thought of Charlotte being a queen. She showed no such aura at school, being as ordinary as she could get. Noticing how everyone was using mana, this had to be the first district. Maybe in ancient times, seeing there were kingdoms in place. After I thanked the person who had helped me out, I decided to walk towards the palace. I could get more hints on how to return if I met the main protagonist.

Unexpectedly, I easily got past the guards with them being lazy. They played with their spears while drinking some alcohol to help with the cold. I silently slid past them, muttering a chant to float above the snow while ducking under their arms, soundless treading around otherwise. I had to make sure I produced no footsteps inside the snow. Once I was a few metres away from the guards, I sprinted towards the stony castle.

As the ruler of her kingdom, she was treated quite poorly when listening to the servants and other workers gossiping. The castle appeared more like a tower than a palace. Everyone blamed her for spring never coming. It was hard to produce any crops when most of them frost to death. No other kingdom attacked them since they considered their land to be useless. And a rebellion was starting to form amongst the common people while led by the nobles.

"Are you the newly hired maid?" An elderly person came up to me.

"I am," I smiled.

"You look younger than the age you have written in your application," she seemed to be suspicious of me.

"Yes, many people envy my appearance, saying it would be nice when I grew older," I hid my grudge against all the people who commented that I looked like an elementary schooler.

"Follow me to get your uniform. Your first task will be to bring our queen's meal to her," she started to walk.

I always wanted to experience the role of a servant. I was tired from the princess treatment that came with many restrictions. Servants were mostly free, able to go anywhere after they finished their tasks. The head maid passed me a tiny uniform, leaving to me time to change. I liked how simple it was, no decorations on them. I twirled around several times until the head maid coughed to let me know it was time to go.

"Here is the map. You must go to the second floor to get her meal since that is where the kitchen is located. Our queen lives on the top floor, which you deliver by teleporting with this identification tag," she explained.

I nodded my head before I started walking towards the kitchen. My nose was filled with the aroma of potato soup mixed with some herbs. Surprisingly, the amount of food inside the kitchen was almost empty, the tray provided for her only consisting of a single bowl. Were they trying to starve their queen?

"Our queen doesn't deserve this potato soup. Everyone else is starving while she gets three meals per day," the chef answered my gaze.

"Is everything really her fault?" I wondered.

"It's rumored she killed her entire family to take over the throne," the chef lowered his voice.