CH 26

'These snacks are savory.'

A few days later, Yulia was eating from a bag of snacks that the maids had bought on the street. On the table, red tea was steaming in a white porcelain cup.

It was raining, and she could hear the croaking of the frogs from somewhere.

Watching the raindrops dripping down the window, Yulia chewed on the snacks.

She heard that Princess Shatrin had been banned from going out, and that Vasily was locked up in the basement of the Marquis' mansion. The two of them won't be tied up in a marriage alliance again.

Her interference was successful. The results came out faster than she had originally planned, and the effect was great. This was all due to Vasily taking more extreme measures than anticipated.

'I should thank him for that.'

From now on, no one will ever recognize Vasily as the noble heir to Marjoram. He will have to live more diligently than anyone in order to secure his place and survival.

Perhaps Kristin will take his place, or she might enter into a direct marriage alliance with the royal family. All of that was a real threat to Vasily.

It will be a very painful experience for Vasily to face his own weaknesses. In the cold, dark cellar, he will confront the feelings of inferiority he has felt towards Kristin his entire life.

The corners of Yulia's mouth rose happily.

'That's right. After this fall, you will end up in the gutter. I will go up to the world you live in, so you come down to the gutter where I used to live.'

The noble heir to the Marquis family.

When she first met Vasily, Yulia was a beggar who was delighted as if she had reached heaven with just a single gold coin thrown at her with sympathy.

There are several degrees of human nobility.

Even if ten or a hundred people die, they are not worth the life of one single aristocrat. It would take tens of thousands of such people to be compared to the royal family.

Yulia was a lowly citizen. Her life was worth less than street pebbles to Marjoram.

'Watch your precious son fall. Look at how high a commoner girl whom you used to consider vulgar can rise.'

The Marquis is probably furious. Now, he might try to kill Yulia himself without going through the butler.

Although she became Lewicia's maid of honor, she knew that the Prince, who was not even an heir to the throne, would not be able to protect her completely.

'Take a good look at him.'

So, she decided to raise him herself.

'The monster you created.'

Winning or losing in the palace contest did not matter much. The most important thing was to know who, among the King's children, would garner the attention of the nobles.

Yulia intended to bring Lewicia, who had not even been mentioned as the heir to the throne, under the limelight.

To do that, he had to be more proactive than now. The Prince hated Marjoram, but didn't intend to take action himself. So, Yulia had to teach him how to fight.

If you don't hold the knife, everyone will die.

"Coco, are you sleeping?"

Yulia, who had a bag of snacks in her hand, went to Coco's room. Coco, who was wearing pajamas that were fancier than a dress, opened the door herself.

"What is it? Where did you get those cheap snacks?"

"Can the hyenas hired by the Marquis of Marjoram break into the royal palace?"

"What?"

Coco's face hardened. After making sure no one was in the hallway, she grabbed Yulia by the arm, and pulled her inside.

"What's wrong with you? The Marquis may be the greatest aristocrat in the country, but he's not thoughtless enough to send ruffians holding weapons into the royal palace."

"His goal isn't to kill a member of the royal family. Isn't it just a matter of killing one insignificant commoner girl? That wouldn't be impossible to achieve."

"That... that's true."

Coco's face grew colder. The more she thought about it, the more Yulia's words made sense.

"First, let's talk to His Highness Lewicia and increase the security."

"Coco."

Yulia put the bag of snacks in Coco's hand. The savory snacks made her mouth happy. Even though it was raining and they were soggy, they were still tasty.

"Don't tell His Highness."

"What's with you... What are you scheming again?"

"I don't think there won't be any spies from Marjoram in the palace."

"What?"

Doubt, and doubt again. The kinder a person is, the more doubtful you should be.

The royal palace had countless eyes and ears, and people would sometimes make a living by selling information to those in power.

Who could raise more mice, and who could provide the best food. It was also a skill. Therefore, in order to assist the royal family, you must learn how to set a mouse trap first.

These were all things she had learned from Coco.

"It's just that he's not being mentioned as an heir to the throne, the Prince is definitely an enemy of the Marquis."

Yulia was saying that they should take this opportunity to identify the spies that were hiding somewhere.

"There is really nothing that scares you in this world. Will you risk your life? Is dying really that easy?"

"I won't die. If I thought I was going to die, I wouldn't have said that."

Coco slumped into her chair. Then she said, holding her forehead with one hand.

"When there are a lot of maids of honor, they sometimes manage the employees themselves, but since it's only me, I use people sent by the Department of the Royal Household. How would we know who among them are spies?"

"I will try to release some money."

"Money? What kind of money do you have?"

Yulia shrugged, and pointed to her room with her finger. Coco, doubtful, followed her.

After moving to Yulia's room, Coco was speechless when she saw the chest full of gold coins.

"Tell me honestly."

"Yes."

"Your sponsor... What kind of person is he?"

She couldn't reveal that yet.

"I don't know much about the people here. Who I should bring over to my side, and who I should suspect. So, Coco, please help me."

At Yulia's words saying that they should shake the employees with this, Coco quickly put her brain to work.

The garden was a mess because of the rain that had been pouring for days. When water puddles appeared here and there and it became dangerous, the Department of the Royal Household sent gardeners and workers with equipment to the Prince's palace.

"Ugh, they say they have to work late tonight. It might rain more in the morning, so they have to dig a waterway."

"Really?"

"We should give them some snacks to eat. Will Lady Yulia go to bed early today too?"

The maids asked. Yulia diligently went to and from the kitchen, putting something to eat on a small tray.

"I will sleep as usual."

A short smile passed across Yulia's face. It was a smile that somehow caught the eye, although it was no different from usual.

On the tray were some sweet snacks and a lidded cup. The maids, who knew well that Yulia liked snacks, laughed and talked to her without any suspicions.

"Why do you personally come down every day even though we keep saying we will bring it to you?"

"It's nothing much, so what's the problem? You are busy, but I am free."

"I will give you a skincare treatment made with milk next time. I learned it from Lady Coco's exclusive maid, and she said it was popular these days."

"Thank you."

Yulia went upstairs after chatting with some of the maids in the dining room. Outside, workers were struggling to shovel.

The rain intensified. The voices of the workers were muffled by the sound of the rain, and could not be heard. Yulia returned to her room, put the tray on her bedside table, and changed into her nightwear.

She wasn't going to sleep tonight. Since she could naturally fall asleep while pretending to sleep, she decided it was better to stay up all night with her eyes open.

Where could the hyenas be?

Yulia's gaze turned to the glass window, which had turned blurry from the rain.

It wasn't necessary to check whether Marjoram's patience had run out. He couldn't stop Yulia from obtaining the Brewe Medal and entering the palace, but since she had made Vasily that way, he would definitely try to retaliate.

Even by forcing hyenas into the Prince's palace.

'When will they come.'

Is it midnight or dawn? Since Coco and Lewicia usually go to bed late, it was likely to be early morning.

There was still plenty of time left, so she decided to wait patiently. Yulia lay down on the bed.

Crunch. Yulia looked over the bookshelf, chewing on a snack. 

Somehow, she thought that if Carus and Babaslov saw her now, they would have a lot to say.

Babaslov would nag at her in a friendly way while Carus would look at Yulia with his black eyes as if reproaching her.

Did he say that a person who chooses a life on the edge of a knife will end up leading a sad and unhappy life?

If she says that she is not afraid of death nonetheless, will that person think she is lying?

That's very likely. He might tell her to stop being childish, and he would try to reason with her saying that she thinks that way because she has never seen people die. Because Carus Lankea doesn't believe in her words.

Yulia was not afraid of dying. Because she knew that she would start over anyway.

What she was afraid of was failure. At first she was afraid of pain, but now she was more afraid of failure. That's why she was able to wait while chewing on snacks even though she knew that someone was aiming for her life.

As time passed, most of the lights in the Prince's palace went out, and the presence of the maids in the corridors disappeared. The employees working in the garden would have finished their work as now, only the sound of rain could be heard amidst the silence.

Yulia put the book down, and moved the candle to another place. Then, she held the cup that was on the tray, went under the blanket, and relaxed her body.

'It's time for them to come.'

- Pearl's notes: Will there be some action in the next chapter...?