Chapter 129: Chapter 26. The Mother of the Empire

For a moment it seemed to me that Maxie had volunteered to be my personal knight just to do nothing.

After her appointment, the girl spent whole days in my room, and instead of standing guard: playing board games or drinking tea. None of this sounded much like her original duties…

But when I told Maxie about it, she declared that she was on standby at any moment.

«Wake me up at three in the morning and I'll overpower an entire army.» — To be literal, those were her words. But as far as I was concerned, it was just an excuse.

I sighed, wondering why I'd gotten such an irresponsible knight…

It wasn't that bad, though. With Maxie's presence: the atmosphere in my chambers had improved considerably. At least, with the appearance of a new companion, I had no desire to crawl back into bed and do nothing. This was entirely to Maxie's credit.

That morning she came to my house early again and brought me a deck of cards. Surprisingly, her regular partner in this endeavor was Melinda. How it was that such a humble girl knew so much about gambling, I had no idea… Anyway, while they were playing, I watched from the sidelines.

A couple of times I even complained that Maxi was distracting the girl from her duties because of her passions. After all, unlike that Melinda certainly wasn't a slacker.

To this Maxie objected that it was her way of relieving the stress of her own constant work.

I sighed. And what am I supposed to do with them…?

Anyway, when Maxie came to see me today, she was deeply disappointed.

— Where's your maid? — she asked.

— I don't know,» I just shrugged, «Melinda left a long time ago.

I sat at the coffee table and studied the palace etiquette manual. Since I was going to have to do it sooner or later anyway, I decided not to put off studying until later.

Maxie came closer and settled herself in the chair across from me. She shuffled her cards in disappointment and sighed.

— Where the hell was she…?

— I'm sure she's busy,» I said, «Why don't you stop distracting her all the time? If Melinda doesn't do her chores, she'll be punished by the head lady of the court.

— To hell with it… Just fire her.

— Court lady?

— You're the crown princess! — Maxie objected, «How hard can it be?

I glared at her incredulously.

— Why would I fire someone who has worked here for sixty years? — I said reasonably, — Not all such idlers as you.

— Exactly! That old woman is long overdue for retirement.

— I said no.

Maxie made a hurt look on her face.

— Who am I going to play with then? — At least not with you, she said. You've got no talent…» I snorted.

I snorted. What kind of «talent» was that?

— Why don't you go to work for a change? — I decided to suggest.

— I have almost no rest… Do you want to finish me off?

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and decided to just close the subject. I opened the etiquette book again, about to continue reading, when Maxie interrupted me again after a couple of seconds.

— By the way,» she remembered animatedly, «that's all they're talking about at the palace today.

— What do you mean?

— Your fiancée has suddenly left the palace.

I was so surprised at first that I put the book down. Ever since our engagement, Rachel has never left the imperial palace. I guessed that she made such exceptions very rarely at all. So why is this suddenly happening now?

— Is it true? — I asked her a question.

— Well, considering that absolutely everyone is talking about it…

For Maxie this circumstance also seemed suspicious. Ever since her accession, Rachel had guarded the palace like the apple of her eye. And with Lerian's return, the situation had only intensified. In other words, Maxie really found no reason for her sudden departure from the palace.

After I got the news, I calmed down pretty quickly.

— Rachel must have some business,» I suggested logically.

— «Business…?» They're kind of weird…

— What do you mean?

— Well, Cassius left out of the blue and didn't even tell you what she was doing… or that she was driving an ordinary carriage, not an Imperial carriage.

— So what of it? — I wasn't quite sure what she was getting at.

Maxie cleared her throat, as if to hint that I should have figured it out by now.

— Obviously, if none of the officials had been notified, it was a secret trip.

— «Secret…?»

— I bet your fiancée has someone on the side!

I exhaled angrily. Even at a moment like this, the girl managed to turn serious things into a farce.

— It's not even remotely funny,» I pouted, folding my arms across my chest.

— It's true, Belle, it's true! — Maxie didn't let up. «All these rulers are bastards, really. Once they're in power, they make harems for themselves…

— So you're saying Rachel's cheating on me? — I assumed.

— I can't think of any other reason why she wouldn't tell you.

I knew Maxie was just messing with me as usual, but I still found it strange. After all, Rachel really hadn't warned me at all.

— Okay,» I decided to play along with her, «If that's true, then I won't be upset.

— Really? — I'm surprised.

— It's not my choice to get married anyway… So, I shouldn't care if she has someone else.

Even though it was a joke, there was some truth in it. Whatever the outcome of our relationship, I was prepared for anything.

When our little talk came to an end, Maxie was still pondering for a long time. I could directly see her burning with the desire to snap out of her seat and follow her.

— If that's what you want to do, then go,» I finally muttered.

— Really? — she was astonished.

— If you really want to know if Rachel is cheating on me, go ahead and do it.

Maxie hesitated.

— I'm not so irresponsible as to leave my post so soon after my appointment…

— So you want to stay here?

Maxie cleared her throat.

— Ahem… Suppose that was an order. Then I just can't not follow it!

I grinned. When did she have time to come to such a conclusion?

— According to the will of the crown princess, I will bring her fiancee out in the open!

It did not take long to persuade Maxie, as in a couple of minutes began to get ready for the road. Like Rachel, the girl will be away for about two days, and during that time nothing extraordinary should happen.

But just as I was about to see her off at the door, there was a sudden knock at my door.

— Who is it? — I asked in surprise.

— Your Highness, it is the Warden of the Imperial Prison,» a voice came from outside.

Maxie and I looked at each other with the same bewildered expression. Why on earth would I have such a guest?

— Come in,» I finally answered.

The bulky knight, whom I had never seen before, announced on my doorstep in a perfectly calm voice:

— Your Highness, I have come to inform you personally. Your maid is suspected of attempted murder.

— What?!

— At the moment she has been seized and is in the Imperial dungeon,» he continued, «I require your permission to interrogate her.

I stammered. What on earth is going on?!

— What are you talking about? — I shouted,» Are you saying you have Melinda in your custody?

— Yes.

I was in complete shock. Maxie didn't budge either.

— «Murder…?» What kind of nonsense is that? — I tried to slowly comprehend what was happening.

— Your Highness may not have known, but this morning your maid attempted to poison Her Majesty's secretary.

— What is this nonsense?! — I was furious.

— When we arrived, Lady Fernandez was already unconscious. At that moment, only your maid was with her.

This time Maxie couldn't stand it either.

— Have you all gone mad?! — How dare you accuse anyone?

— Believe it or not, we have witnesses,» said the Warden, nonchalantly.

My hands were beginning to give up on me.

Damn it, Camille, I really wasn't going to quarrel with her… So why does she keep forcing me to go against her?

When Maxie realized that this was really serious, she turned to me.

— Don't worry,» she began, «I'll stay and do my best…

— You don't have to,» I interrupted her gently.

— What?» «Maxie rounded her eyes.

— I said you could go,» I said casually.

— But-but how…

— I'll take care of it.

Seeing my resolute look, the girl was dumbfounded. And while the chief was waiting for the final decision on my part, I myself took a step forward.

— Show me the way,» I ordered.

The man also raised his eyebrows in surprise, but hurriedly straightened up.

— Please follow me, Your Highness. seaʀᴄh thё ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The knight walked ahead of me, and when Maxie was about to stop me, I didn't give in.

— What are you doing? — That bitch is trying to set you up, and you…

— I know.

— What?

— Right now Camille's hoping I won't take any action and just wait for Rachel to come back,» I smiled weakly, «That's enough time for the rumors to spread throughout the empire. Then everyone would think Melinda was guilty.

Maxie stared at me like I was insane. She felt that I would only make things worse if I made a scandal in the Emperor's dungeon.

— Since you know everything, wouldn't it really be better to wait for Cassius? She'll solve all the problems for sure…

— Until Rachel comes back, those subhumans can do anything to Melinda. I'm not going to just watch this.

— But…

— Melinda is my person,» I replied firmly, «If I can't even take care of her, how can I carry the title of 'mother of the empire' in the future?

While Maxie froze, rethinking my words, I finally took her hand away from me and declared:

— In this world, no one would dare lay a finger on what belongs to me.

When I dropped those words, I turned sharply and followed the dungeon master. Maxie was behind me, and saw me off with a strange expression on her face.

At that moment, the girl involuntarily flinched.

Only for a fraction of a second, but Leriana's eyes flashed scarlet… It was a look she knew well.