♛
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened. But from today, I have been appointed as the princess’s guardian knight and came here.”
“…?”
Did I hear it wrong? I pinched my ears and looked back at Rendle again.
Rendle frowned as he took a deep breath.
“From today, I became the guardian knight of Princess Stella,” Rendle answered again.
Mayerie gulped looking at his crumpled face. ‘You wouldn’t have volunteered, right?’ Rendle was aiming for the Knights of Helios. To restore the glory of our family.
It was a word that he’d used to say since childhood. Of course, it was an honor to be the guardian knight of the imperial family.
However, it was far from being promoted. Because he doesn’t belong to the elite knights.
No promotion, no motivation. Personal freedom was guaranteed, but there are limitations because he has to train by himself.
So, most knights are reluctant to become the guardian knights of the imperial family.
It was a place where knights who wanted to live with a decent salary applied for or knights whose promotion was hindered because they were stamped by a powerful person and were assigned like a forced exile.
‘Exiled…’
Mayerie clicked her tongue in annoyance. There was a high possibility that problems arose during his training period and fell out of sight of those in power.
It’s been less than a week, but what the hell happened? Maybe I’ll find out if I ask Grandiel later.
Mayerie glanced at Rendle pitifully and found another thing she was missing out.
‘Come to think of it, there was no Guardian Knight for Stella.’
In general, many people are reluctant to be a guardian knights for the imperial family related to the maternal side of the royal family.
It was questionable to entrust a royal to a guardian knight, as the knight could also communicate with other families, so for the safety of the royal family, a guardian knight should be related to the maternal family of the imperial family.
For Stella, since the maternal family of the Empress was the Kingdom of Bougainvillea, the position of the guardian knight was assigned regardless of the family, but it was currently vacant.
Even Grandiel, who was ignored by the nobles, had a guardian knight. But Stella always went around with Erica and other maids.
‘There are many loopholes.’
It wasn’t just a guardian knight. The palace as a whole was understaffed. Because there were empty positions, there were many times when I went back and forth.
As I was thinking deeply about the question of Stella’s Palace, Rendle with a short temper pressed down on my head and said.
“Don’t worry about me, and do your job properly.”
Did you notice that from my expression? I tried to say it was okay, but it was faster for Rendle to turn around. I realized it when I saw the back of Rendle moving away. I couldn’t say thank you again.
♛
After accidentally meeting Rendle, I went looking for Daphne.
Mayerie asked the people passing by and she was able to meet them easily.
“Daphne, do you have a minute?”
“Mayerie? I was looking for you too. Good thing we met.”
“What’s going on?”
The tea party ended safely, and it seems that nothing special happened. I asked if something I didn’t know had happened.
“No, I wanted to apologize to you…”
It was unexpected. Daphne dragged me to her room to talk because she thought it would take longer. Her room was opposite mine. Radiata should be waiting for me.
I was worried about Radiata who would be alone in the room.
Mayerie sat on the chair, thinking that she had to finish talking to Daphne and get back quickly.
“I didn’t treat you as a proper maid. I’m sorry I made you work for days without a proper explanation.” Daphne with a serious face bowed her head and said.
“I didn’t really care.”
When Daphne first asked me to move the vase with her, I thought she was doing that just to annoy me.
Mayerie didn’t deserve her position, but she came in as a maid, and she’s the princess’s maid, so she doesn’t have to do the work of others.
However, working with Daphne to help prepare for the tea party, I quickly noticed that it was not intended.
Because the way she treated me made me feel good.
Daphne whispered, lowering her voice, “Actually, there are not enough people in the Imperial Palace. Well, it’s because of the complicated politics.”
“Politics?”
“Yes. I’ve heard the details from my senior…”
Then she began to talk about the circumstances of the palace. Her story dates back to the days when the Empress was still alive.
“Did you know that Her Majesty the Empress was a princess from the Bougainvillea Kingdom?”
“Yes.”
She didn’t actually know, but Mayerie nodded and pretended to know.
‘As I remember, I think it was mentioned once in the original about the Kingdom of Bougainvillea.’
A kingdom far away from the Empire.
The aristocrats were wary of the Imperial power becoming stronger, so they recommended a noblewoman from a count family and a princess from another kingdom, to avoid the empress’ maternal family.
‘So the aristocrats filled the palace with people who had no family power and were barely qualified, to make them easier to handle.’
It was difficult to even engage in society without the support of a family.
Contrary to expectations, however, the Queen was good at politics. She used her position to take control of society and build connections.
Most of the imperialists supported the Queen, so she naturally got associated with aristocrats.
The aristocracy tried to shake the Emperor by using the Queen, and the Queen tried to expand her power by using the aristocracy. They had mutual interests and used each other.
Stella’s golden years were her childhood.
Even at that time, the imperial power was weak and the Emperor was swayed by nobles, but thanks to the Empress’s cooperation with the nobles, Stella was able to get along well with the nobles even though she was from the imperial family.
Everything was perfect… Until Liliana, the youngest princess was born.
“After the Emperor passed away, all the nobles who protected her turned away.”
The nobles felt no value for Stella, who had fallen from the royal family.
Stella, who didn’t get along with the imperialists while the Emperor was still alive, was eventually isolated from society.
Only now did I understand the bizarre situation at the tea party.
“As time went by, the budget allocated to the palace decreased, but the princess’ extravagance remained the same. That’s why she doesn’t get along with the Crown Prince.”
“The princess was not on good terms with the Crown Prince?”
“Well, it’s not that bad, it’s just that she doesn’t like him. The Crown Prince has a bad reputation among the nobles, so she also gets ignored when she’s with him.”
It was the first time I heard of it.
Mayerie had the idea that they weren’t in a good relationship, but she thought it was simply because they were half-siblings.
‘I thought Stella just didn’t like Grandiel, but there was another reason.’
While I was thinking about the relationship between Grandiel and Stella, Daphne’s story continued.
“Anyway, the princess continued to increase the number of her maids.”
The number of her maids was directly related to the authority of their master. High-level maids with lineage, appearance, and culture were limited.
Stella, who lacks the resources and connections to scout them, chose to increase the number of her maids.
Quantity over quality!
“The budget provided for the employees was also fixed, but if the number of maids increases, the number of other employees would decrease relatively.”
Somehow, the number of maids was small. It was hard to even host a small tea party. This answers all the questions I had when I met Rendle.
“But Daphne was also a maid. Why would you do such a thing?”
“I’m aiming to become the head maid! So, I want to experience firsthand how the palace works, so I ask the maids and take care of many things.”
Do you want to experience it to understand what’s going on in the field? She was truly the best example of a leader.
Mayerie stared at her, admiring her greatness again. It’s like she doesn’t refuse to do anything bad for her own goal.
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“Thank you for accepting my apology. I honestly thought you wouldn’t like me.”
“Daphne was the only one who spoke to me. How could I hate you?”
Daphne scratched her cheek as she felt embarrassed, and then changed the subject.
“Ah! You were looking for me too. What’s going on?”
Daphne reminds her of what she almost forgot. A new maid came, and Mayerie would help and educate her as she worked in the palace, because she had not yet adjusted to living in the palace as a maid.
“I see.” Daphne gladly accepted.
At Stella’s Palace, I finally found someone I could trust. Feeling delighted, I went with Daphne to get a maid uniform for Radiata.
As Mayerie was about to return to her room after picking up the uniform and having a small conversation with Daphne, someone called her.
“Mayerie.”
It was Makia who called me. She approached me with the usual expressionless face.
Was Grandiel looking for me?
“Duke Ellex Kolnuta has come to see you, Miss Mayerie.”
But what came out of Makia’s lips was the name of someone I never expected.
“He’s waiting in the parlor right now.”
‘Did Ellex personally visit the palace?’
Makia bowed and went to do something else, thinking that her work was done, and I left the maid uniform I was holding with Daphne.
“Could you tell Radiata that I’m going to be late?”
“…Yes.”
Daphne looked curious about why Ellex had come to see me but didn’t ask. Even if she asked, I wouldn’t be able to answer.
‘You didn’t come here to argue about why I disappeared after the tea party was over, are you?’
Mayerie took a deep breath and headed to the parlor where Ellex was waiting. Mayerie gulped and grabbed the doorknob, but she didn’t dare to open the door and face him.
“How long are you going to stand outside?”
A cold voice was heard from the other side of the door.
‘I guess he knew I was standing around.’
Well, since he’s a Sword Master, he must have felt my presence. When I entered the parlor, I saw Ellex sitting on the sofa.
Ellex was handsome because he was the male lead. If Grandiel was a beauty like a flower, Ellex was like a beast with sharp fangs.
“I’ll give you time to make excuses.”
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