CH 1.20

Although he’d never met her, there was no other princess better suited to serve the interests of the empire than Morina. If she were to become the Crown Princess, there would be countless merits. First of all, he could firmly establish control over the Cloyan province, which would be a minefield for the Western Empire.

Secondly, since she had no relatives to contend with, there would be no need to constrain the power of her extended family.

And most of all, her character appeared to be of honorable quality.

To Rael, Morina was the most ideal Crown Princess.

The only problem was, nobody knew where she was.

‘It can’t be helped. If persuading her proves to be difficult, I have no choice but to find and eliminate her.’

If he can’t sway Princess Morina to his side, she must be killed, due to her symbolic importance as the last descendant of the Cloyan Kingdom.

‘Whether we capture her dead or alive, we must find her,’ he thought as he closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion overtook him. Was it the alcohol?

“Let’s call it a day.”

“Yes. Let’s meet again tomorrow.”

As Prime Minister Oren retreated, Almond spoke carefully. “You should go to your bedchamber and rest.”

“I can’t sleep yet. I have some documents to review.” Even if the documents weren’t important, he wouldn’t fall asleep anyway due to his chronic insomnia.

‘I think I’ll be able to fall asleep comfortably if I listen to that previous piano performance.’

He suddenly recalled the performance he’d heard previously at the Crystal Palace. The performance, which depicted the scenery of the countryside, gave him a warm feeling that could cure his insomnia.

‘In the end, the musician was never found. While the new Country Symphony composed by Vahan is not bad, it simply cannot compare to the performance I heard that day.’

Despite the Royal Guards’ thorough search, they failed to find the musician. No matter how much they investigated, the only person present at the Crystal Palace that day was the maid, Marie.

He was at a loss, just like in the previous incident with the Sculptor.

Did an angel truly visit the palace?

‘What angel?’ Rael smiled sardonically. For someone like him who’d shed so much blood, what kind of angel would visit him?

‘It couldn’t have been the girl who played, could it?’ The question suddenly resurfaced. But he shook his head, thinking it incredulous.

‘How frustrating. Maybe I should take a walk.’ He dressed plainly as usual and left the Lion Palace.

As he wandered around the dark place, he thought, ‘Where should I go?’

Suddenly, for some reason, this thought came to mind. ‘Shall I go to the Lily Palace?’

As he thought of the Lily Palace, he naturally thought of the girl.

‘If I go to the Lily Palace now, would that maid Marie be there?’

Rael was taken aback. He hadn’t come to see that maid, so what difference did it make if she was there or not?

‘I keep unnecessarily thinking about her these days, maybe because I keep crossing paths with her.’ He shook his head and continued walking towards the Lily Palace, determined to enjoy his walk regardless of whether the maid was there or not. Soon, he arrived near the Lily Palace and stopped walking.

‘As expected, they’re busy.’ The Lily Palace was busy entertaining guests in the midst of the festival.

As Rael observed the bustling maids scurrying around, he suddenly realized his mind had wandered back to the girl once more, causing him to startle.

‘Could it be the alcohol? I feel so out of sorts today.’ Rael shook his head and started to walk back to the Lion Palace.

As he tried to leave the vicinity of the Lily Palace, Rael found himself glancing back at it once more. As expected, the girl was nowhere to be found. Baffled by his own behavior, he thought, ‘What are you doing, Rael? Why are you looking for that maid? What would you even do if you found her?’

Although he’d often bumped into her lately, he had no relationship with her. ‘Let’s just go back quickly.’ But just as he was thinking this, his ears pricked up at the sound of the name he’d been seeking.

“Marie, can you bring this over there for me?”

“Yes, Miss Susan!”

That animated voice! Without even realizing it, Rael instinctively concealed himself behind a nearby tree. After a moment, a petite young woman came into his view.

It was Marie.

‘What on earth is she carrying?’ Rael frowned. Marie was holding a heap of garbage that was nearly as large as her own body. It appeared to be from the festival.

Struggling under the weight of the garbage, Marie staggered forward, her hands heavy and pale with fatigue, emitting a quiet whimper with each step.

Rael frowned slightly. ‘Does she really have to do this when she looks so frail?’

Although he was aware that chores like this were part of a junior maid’s job, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy, perhaps due to the lingering effects of the alcohol.

“All done!” Marie moved her small body around, cleaning up the waste. Then she clapped her hands and let out a sigh. “Phew, finally finished.”

Rael deliberated for a moment. ‘Should I talk to her?’

However, he hesitated. What reason did he have to strike up a conversation with her? Moreover, that girl didn’t even know his true identity.

‘Was I just grateful for the sweets from last time? A mere impulse to express my gratitude?’ But while he was contemplating this, another voice called out to her.

“Marie! Come here and help me in the kitchen!”

“Yes, I’ll come right away!”

The girl hurried away in the direction of the voice, vanishing from sight. Rael found himself unconsciously reaching out towards her, but stumbled and stopped in confusion.

“What on earth is happening to me?” The Crown Prince of Blood muttered to himself.

Marie had another dream that night. It was a dream of war, just like the one she had the day before.

“Aaah…”

“H-help me…”

The scene of war was gruesome, just like what she’d dreamed of in the past. In it, she was a soldier.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Why do you look so down?”

“Ah, commander.”

“Are you feeling guilty? It’s not your fault that those guys died.”

At these words, the soldier hung his head low, and tears filled his eyes. “But…couldn’t they have been saved? If only I had done better.”

The commander patted the soldier’s head. “It’s okay. You did your best as a medic.”

Tears streamed down the soldier’s face as they thought about their fallen friend. “I don’t want anyone else to die,” murmured the soldier in her dream. “If only I’d been better at first aid, I could’ve saved more people.”

Marie’s eyes fluttered open as she murmured to herself, “What on earth…”

She let out a sigh. “Why did I dream of a battlefield during the festival?”

Despite how it may sound like a trivial matter, Marie knew from past experience that her dreams often foreshadowed future events. But a dream related to the festival? It was utterly perplexing.

‘I hope nothing’s wrong.’ She shook her head and got up from her bed. She couldn’t help but worry about what might happen, but until something actually happened, there was nothing she could do about it.

“Good morning!” Upon arriving at the Lily Palace, Marie greeted brightly to shake off her anxiety.

However, her superior, Susan, had a strange look on her face. “Marie? Have you heard the news?”

“What news?” Marie asked, looking puzzled. What news could it be?

“So you don’t know yet.”

“What happened?”

“Well… I’m a bit surprised too.” Marie’s expression became even more perplexed. What could it be?

“Your workplace has been changed.”

“What? My workplace?”

A sudden change of workplace? During the busy festival season too? Marie was surprised.

“Uh… I didn’t choose this. So you didn’t know either?” The situation was becoming even more difficult to understand. If it wasn’t decided by the head maid Susan, who changed her workplace then?

“Anyway, from now on, you’ll be working at the Gloria Hall instead of the Lily Palace.”

“Gloria Hall?” Marie raised her head quizzically.

Gloria Hall.

It was a banquet hall where functions were held during the festival season.

“Am I going there to clean up the banquet hall and the kitchen?” She recited the duties of a junior maid, but Susan shook her head.

“No, you’ll go directly into the banquet hall and serve the guests. But that’s not a job for a junior maid like you, it’s a job for an intermediate maid.”

Intermediate maids are those who directly serve nobles, mostly low-ranking noblewomen, and occasionally those who have been promoted from junior maids.

“But why?”

Susan sighed. “Congratulations.”

“Pardon?”

“You have been promoted from a junior maid to an intermediate maid starting today.”

“What?” Marie’s eyes widened. What kind of absurd situation is this all of a sudden?

Susan shook her head and said, “I’m surprised too, but the order bears the royal seal, so there’s no mistake.”

Marie was left speechless. What’s this? ‘Could this also be a dream?’

Marie wasn’t the only one surprised. Susan, the head maid, was even more shocked. She recalled the order she’d received earlier that morning.

‘Promote Marie to an intermediate maid?’

The one who delivered that order was none other than the Palace Manager, Count Gilbert!

Count Gilbert’s looked bewildered as he couldn’t understand why he’s delivering such an order. ‘Yes, Marie… was it? Oh well, what a truly maid-like name. Anyway, promote that Marie to an intermediate maid!’

‘Why…’

‘I don’t know either! It’s confidential, so don’t ask any more.’

With that, Susan had no further information. All she could guess was that someone even higher than the palace manager, Count Gilbert, was taking an interest in Marie.

‘Who could be higher than the palace manager?’ There weren’t many people who fit the description. Even the palace manager held considerable power. ‘How did Marie catch the attention of someone like that?’ Susan tilted her head.

Marie was a prisoner of war and therefore of low status. Moreover, her appearance was not particularly striking enough to draw the attention of powerful people. While she was cute in her own right and not ugly by any means, there were many more attractive women in the palace than her.

Then Marie asked, “So after the festival is over, will I come back here to work?”

Susan shook her head. There was a separate order that had come down. “No, you’ll be working somewhere else after the festival.”

“Where?”

Susan answered with a congratulatory tone. “The Lion Palace. That’s where you’ll be working from now on.”

For Marie, it felt like the world was ending.