CH 15

Jenia.

The only maid in the Eastern Lands that was friendly towards her, and a kind young lady who couldn’t simply walk past a troubled person. In the end, she was forced to leave the castle after extreme harassment from Bella and her maids.

Amber needed to find her first and acquire her sole allegiance before Bella had the chance to meet her. She had to pay Jenia back for all the kindness she gave her in her previous life and stop the terrible things that would befall Jenia.

In her previous life, Amber had waited for Kalix alone deep into the night, exhausted to her absolute limit. To prevent her makeup from being ruined, she held herself back from crying and eating and simply sat there all night long.

Bella intentionally blocked all information from getting to Amber so that she would experience the maximum amount of pain. She then stopped all servants from entering her bedchamber. Back then, it was Jenia who had secretly gone into the bedchamber to give Amber some bread and water.

“Excuse me, Madam. I am a simple maid who works in the castle’s laundry area.” Staring at Amber who was ravenously drinking the offered water, Jenia felt extreme pity towards her. “To think that such an esteemed person like you would be treated like this when you’ve traveled so far…”

“Why is Duke Thales not here yet? Did I perhaps do something wrong, or…”

“Heavens, it is not your fault at all, Madam! It is simply that the Duke has left the castle to head into battle.”

“Head into battle? Even though it’s our first night together?” Amber was so surprised that she dropped the glass she was holding to the floor. Her mind became a mess with countless thoughts running through her mind.

The very first emotion she felt was fear.

In the Eastern Lands, Amber was completely and absolutely alone.

The personal lady-in-waiting that had set off to the Eastern land together with Amber from Viscount Liart’s estate couldn’t endure the long carriage travel and fell ill midway through. As Amber could not delay the wedding, she sent her back to the Western lands and came to the Eastern Lands alone.

Amber was overwhelmed the very moment she got off the carriage at the sight of a completely different style of architecture, attire, and accents that she had never before encountered in her life.

The Eastern environment was quite hard on her too. Contrary to the warm and slightly scented air of the Western lands, the air of Eastern Lands was so dry that even standing still could cause a sneeze. Compared to the green hills and fertile lands of the West, the land of the East was mostly barren and sterile.

‘This is the place I have to live for the rest of my life from now on.’

Amber felt an overwhelming pressure from the arid lands she was now surrounded with. She couldn’t even begin to imagine just what she needed to do to improve the situation of the Eastern Lands.

And yet in this situation, the only person who she could say was on her side, her husband, had left her to go somewhere far away.

The fear, sadness, and sudden rush of homesickness choked her.

“Madam, Madam!” At that moment, Jenia stretched out her hand and held Amber’s in hers tightly. “Please don’t cry.”

Only after hearing Jenia’s words did she realize that she was crying. There were so many tears rolling down that her cheeks were completely wet.

With a careful hand, Jenia wiped away Amber’s tears from her eyes. Though Jenia’s hand was coarse and rough from working tough jobs everyday, Amber still felt comfort from her fingers.

That was the Jenia she knew.

There was no way she could just waste time sitting around to have a meal together with Kalix. She had to find and save her as soon as possible.

‘I have to find Jenia no matter what. And this time, I’ll definitely…’ Amber steeled her resolve as she went towards the servant’s staircase located at the back of the castle.

As she went down the stairs, she tried to logically deduce where Jenia would be. ‘In the maid’s dorm? No, definitely not there.’ It was just before dawn but the maids had already started their day.

The servants always woke up several hours ahead of nobles. Waking up before the sun even rose, they would go around the castle lighting up the candles, sweeping away the dust, baking the bread, and serving the owners of the castle.