♛
For some reason, if it’s Ellex, I think he’ll say that he never lost anything like that.
There was no contact between Stella and Ellex except that they had a brief encounter in childhood.
Unlike Grandiel, who’s easy, Stella would have no courage to ask Ellex directly even if she ordered to find out if I was asked to do so because she was not close to him.
“But Princess Stella. That’s why the Duke caught Mayerie at the tea party, not the reason why he came today.” (Erica)
Before I could even be happy that Stella’s attention had shifted to Ellex’s Lost item, Erica pointed out the sloppy part.
Trying to keep my composure without showing embarrassment. But she continued, I was thinking that I badly wanted to slap Erica’s cheeky mouth.
“The reason he came today was related to what happened on the first day of the New Year’s party, so I explained it first.” (Mayerie)
He already asked me at the tea party once, but what should I say about why Ellex came to me again?
‘I wanted to pull my hair out.’
“That… Actually, the Duke told me not to tell anyone else. However, I’m telling you this because I’m the princess’ maid, so please speak with the Duke separately, princess.”
You can tell him if you have any questions, but you are responsible for them. Stella hesitated when I said something with such meaning. She must have had a hard time talking with Ellex too.
Stella, who had hesitated as she rolled her eyes, soon nodded, flapping her fan as if she had made up her mind.
“That’s right. You should tell me!” (Stella)
Did you decide to choose curiosity at the crossroads of curiosity and responsibility? Stella’s persistence was greater than I expected. Let’s just get over it
“The Duke secretly requested me. If I find the velvet box, he’ll give me 5 golds in return…” (Mayerie)
I blurted out my words. Because I thought it was nonsense. But I couldn’t help it because I couldn’t come up with the right content for my excuse.
Perhaps because of the contract with Ellex today, 5 golds kept lingering in my head, and I just combined the two because I was also looking for a velvet box.
“Why did he entrust it to you?” (Stella)
“He said I should find it so I won’t get noticed by others. That’s why he told me to be careful with what I say.” (Mayerie)
Even though I thought it was nonsense, I continued acting. Now I couldn’t bring up any other excuses or change my words. So I just have to push ahead with it firmly.
“Hmm, it’s a velvet box containing something important enough for Duke Ellex to find… Wouldn’t I be able to find it and use it as a weakness to shake him? If he wants it back, we could get engaged in exchange! How about it, Erica?” (Stella)
That’s a relief! Stella seemed to believe me without much doubt.
Perhaps because of the thought of being able to defeat Ellex with his weakness, her expression brightened at once. But Erica, next to her, didn’t respond.
“Princess Stella, something’s wrong.” (Erica)
“What?”
“The Duke lost the velvet box on the first day of the New Year’s party, and Mayerie, who was there, didn’t see the box.” (Erica)
She began to pick up strange things, calmly reflecting on the excuses I had made.
“And there was also the crown prince there.” (Stella)
“Yes, he was.”
“From the Duke’s point of view, wouldn’t he trust the Crown Prince more than the troublesome unknown lady who follows him?” (Stella)
Stella seemed to have noticed that there was something dubious about the explanation.
“If it were me, I would have asked the Crown Prince, not Mayerie.” (Erica)
Mayerie was defeated while trying to use the name of Grandiel as a shield.
Oh, really. Stella was almost fooled… Erica was not an easy opponent. Her sharp criticism made me speechless. While I was swallowing my saliva and contemplating how to escape, Erica rushed nonstop.
“No, I’m not. I’m…”
“I could not believe you tried to deceive Princess Stella! It’s not worth hearing anymore. Mayerie must be put into prison immediately for telling lies.” (Erica)
‘Prison? Here?!’
What? I’m a model citizen who has never been to a police station in my previous life. Erica didn’t give me time to explain, Stella said, folding her fan.
“No water and food until you confess your sins. Stay in prison until you sincerely repent of your mistakes.” (Stella)
The saying that regret is too late, no matter how early, came to mind.
‘I should have eaten breakfast and went to see the maid.’ (Mayerie)
I didn’t know I’ll get a sentence of imprisonment on the day I haven’t eaten a single meal. With water and food banned.
‘Would I be able to last a week?’
Of course, Stella ordered probation without an exact time limit, ‘until you sincerely repent of your mistakes, but when Grandiel arrives, he would somehow release me, so I’d only have to endure it for a week.
‘Necklace…’
When I thought of Grandiel, the existence of the necklace naturally came to mind. It was dark around, so the blue jewel had a black color like the night sea.
‘It’s not a life-threatening situation, so I shouldn’t call you.’
If I was going to starve to death in a week, I sat on the floor thinking about calling Grandiel then.
♛
The prison of the Imperial Palace was made in a semi-underground form in the annex where the employees stayed, and it was mainly intended to punish the workers, so it was old but clean.
There’s a blanket. I heard that the main palace’s dungeon, where felony criminals are kept, was much dirtier and more crowded.
On the other hand, I was the only one in the prison of the Imperial Palace.
And there were no proper guards here, so while I was here, the guards temporarily took turns to stand guard.
‘Since it’s at the entrance of the stairs going down to the underground, this would be my world for now.’
Well, I heard that rich people rent an entire floor when they stay in a hotel, but I was also using the entire floor of the prison by myself, so I tried to think positively, saying that it was similar.
‘Would Rendle be okay?’
Rendle, the only knight in Stella’s Palace, has taken me to prison.
Rendle sighed with a face that he had a lot to say, but he didn’t say it, and locked the bars, and told me not to do anything stupid and just wait.
I don’t know what he’s asking me to wait for, but anyway, I was worried that Rendle might get in trouble because of me.
‘Ah, I need to find out why Rendle was assigned to the Imperial Palace…’
Let’s worry about myself first. With this situation, I couldn’t help but sigh.
Organizing today’s events calmly, No matter how hard I think about it, Stella’s sudden call today seemed like Erica’s plan.
It’s because Erica was the only one to inform her of Ellex’s visit.
The maids looked busy cleaning up from the morning, and strangely, Stella didn’t have other maids around her.
The only person who was always by Stella’s side was Erica.
‘No, what the hell does Erica hate me for? why was she doing this?’
Erica acted as if she didn’t like my existence itself. From our first meeting.
Even if I recall the contents of the novel, there are only a few scenes where she appeared, so I couldn’t understand her purpose.
‘She wasn’t even mentioned when Stella was imprisoned.’
Thinking about Erica, I noticed another strange thing. The maids occupy the highest proportion in Stella Palace.
Because of her pride, Stella doesn’t have any maids as an extra hand to help even with the smallest chores, let alone cleaning, by her side.
‘If she has hired a lot of maids in order to show her authority, shouldn’t she be accompanied by them regularly?’
However, Stella only put Erica next to her when she was in the palace.
She kept her maids standing like background at the tea party, but other than that day the other maids were with the head maid, not Stella.
‘There’s nothing normal here.’
After thinking about complicated things, I became more hungry.
‘I don’t know anymore!’
Stella, Erica, and the other maids. I gave up thinking because there was no clear answer. Stella Palace itself was a mystery to me, but worrying about it only added to my hunger.
The empty stomach roared to announce its presence. I lay down, clutching my stomach growling loudly.
The hard stone floor was cold, but an old blanket made it comfortable to lie down on. I forced myself to close my eyes and sleep to forget my hunger.
‘One lamb, two lambs, three lambs…’
Counting sheep with my eyes closed, then I heard someone calling me.
“Miss Mayerie.”
It was a familiar voice. There was no sign of her presence, but when I opened his eyes, Makia was standing in front of the iron bars. Holding a tray of food!
“Makia!”
‘Wow, my savior!’ Tears welled up in Mayerie’s eyes when she saw the tray she was holding.
Makia took the key out of her arms and skillfully opened the cage.
No, why does Makia have the key? There must be a servant guarding the entrance to the stairs, right?
Watching Makia, who naturally came into prison. She briefly explained, leaving the tray on the floor, perhaps noticing that my gaze remained on the key.
“Copying the prison key was simple, but there’s no way to get Miss Mayerie out of prison without the lord’s authority. Please wait until the Lord returns.”
She gave a different answer, whether she took it as a sign of asking to get me out of prison. I didn’t expect to be able to escape anyway, so it doesn’t matter. I couldn’t stand my curiosity and asked another question openly.
“Oh, that’s right. But how was the servant who guarded the entrance?”
“I put him to sleep for a while.”
A skilled person who could simply copy the key and knock out the guard.
I realized once again that Makia was not an ordinary maid, but a person associated with the dark world. I should’ve known her from the time she had the virtues of a well-trained assassin, such as movement without the presence and showing no emotions…
‘I’ve spoken to her informally until now, but it would be okay, right?’
She knows about the secret hideout, and it seems like she’s taking orders directly from Grandiel, so perhaps Makia was my closest ally.
So I rationalized that I’d be fine as long as I’m under Grandiel’s protection.
Makia calmly said with a blunt expression, “It would take about a week for the master to return. Once a day, I would bring you some food.”
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