I Became The Maid Of The Imprisoned Prince

Chapter 1

In the wide plaza at the heart of the royal capital, Cordelia stood amidst the crowd, staring blankly at a single point.

A man knelt with his arms bound behind him, his gaunt face hanging low.

Seeing his figure, so full of despair and resignation, Cordelia parted her lips as if to speak.

“Kill the demon!”

“How dare he defy the great empire and make a pact with a demon, that shameless wretch!”

It was not foreign soldiers but citizens of the same kingdom who shouted and hurled stones at him.

Cordelia shook her head.

Pushing through the crowd, she tried to move toward the man — but someone grabbed her arm roughly, stopping her.

On a platform set up across from the man, two figures sat on a grand, dazzling throne, gazing down at him.

Their expressions were completely different from each other.

A knight standing proudly beside them unfurled a scroll and began to read the judgment aloud.

Emblazoned on the knight’s uniform was the crest of the Imperial House.

The entire square fell into an eerie, deathly silence.

“The accused has committed the grave sin of threatening the sacred peace treaty between the Rihardt Empire and the Kingdom of Therion, causing terror among the citizens of both nations!”

“……”

“Thus, the accused is hereby sentenced to death!”

The knight’s booming voice was followed by a translation from the interpreter.

The spectators roared with approval.

“No…”

Cordelia twisted her captured arm, trying to break free.

Her small body, ready to dash toward the man at any moment, was instead pulled tightly into someone’s embrace.

Tears fell like raindrops over the strong arms that held the child as if to protect her with crushing force.

Cordelia opened her mouth.

Since her body was restrained, she was determined to at least scream.

At that moment, the man, whose head had been hanging limply, slowly lifted it toward her.

He looked straight into Cordelia’s eyes.

The moment she met his unwavering gaze, Cordelia felt her heart plummet.

Frantically, she moved her lips.

She had to say it—quickly.

That he was innocent. That it was all her doing. That if anyone should be blamed, it should be her.

The man shook his head slightly, still looking at her. Then, he smiled faintly.

Behind him, a knight drew his sword.

The cold gleam of the blade made Cordelia’s heart race with panic.

She had to speak—now.

But it was as if a giant hard candy was lodged in her throat—no sound would come out.

The knight raised his sword high.

Cordelia turned her head toward the dignitaries seated on the gleaming throne.

She wanted to beg them to stop.

To tell them that he wasn’t the one they were looking for. That the real criminal was right here—her.

A strange sound echoed through the air.

A dull thud, followed by something heavy dropping to the ground.

The crowned figure on the throne shut their eyes tightly.

The person beside them, in contrast, observed everything with an eerily cold, emotionless face.

The arms of the woman who had been holding Cordelia tightly slackened.

Even so, Cordelia did not run forward.

With great effort, she turned her stiff neck to look where the man had been.

The sight of vivid red liquid spilling across the ground burned into her eyes.

The noise around her sounded distant and muffled, as though she were underwater.

Her mouth was still open, but no sound came out.

“Del!”

Cordelia jolted awake.

She gasped for air and wiped her sweaty forehead with trembling hands—her entire face was drenched in cold sweat.

“Come on, time to get up and eat breakfast!”

Her mother, Amelia, banged loudly on the door before heading down the stairs.

Cordelia sat up slowly.

She shook her head, struggling to pull her mind away from the lingering traces of her dream.

She crawled out of bed and shuffled into the small bathroom attached to the inn room.

Climbing onto the wooden stool, she looked into the mirror on the wall.

Empty blue eyes stared back at her, full of pity.

“Del! Hurry up!”

At her mother’s impatient call, Cordelia sighed.

She dunked her face straight into a large basin of water.

Clenching her eyes shut, she held her breath.

Bubbles rose up from her mouth.

She wished she could stop breathing altogether.

For someone leaving home, the luggage Cordelia carried was very modest.

Just a few changes of clothes, two notebooks, one cheap pen, and a bottle of ink.

It was hardly any different from the belongings she had when she moved from Therion to the Empire.

Cordelia hailed a carriage with the small bundle of money Amelia had pressed into her hand.

The fare was steep, but her mother had insisted it was better to pay a bit more than risk getting lost and being late for her appointment.

When Cordelia showed the coachman the map, he looked her up and down, skeptical.

Her skin, peeking out from beneath a faded short-sleeved dress and a worn straw hat, was startlingly pale.

“Are you sure you’re headed there?”

The coachman asked, suspicion clear in his voice.

When Cordelia only blinked silently, he shrugged as if too tired to argue and motioned for her to climb aboard.

Cordelia rode the carriage, staring out the window.

Even familiar things seemed strange when riding alone down unfamiliar roads.

If her emotions were visible, she thought, they would be floating like clouds across the blue sky right now.

She had felt this way before.

When she was living in the small village of Ernel in Therion—

When she found a baby bird just hatched in the forest,

When she attended Ernel’s festival for the first time,

When she built a house for a stray dog with her father…

Lost in those distant memories, Cordelia barely noticed when the coachman announced their arrival.

She stepped down from the carriage.

Before her stood a mansion so enormous she couldn’t even take it all in at once.

Her small mouth gaped open in awe.

“How can I help you?”

The gatekeeper, seeing a young child standing awkwardly at the entrance, wore the same doubtful expression as the coachman had earlier.

At his indifferent question, Cordelia hastily fumbled through her bag, pulling out a notebook and pen.

She wrote:

[Maid.]

“Huh? Who are you here to meet? I doubt any of the maids here have acquaintances at Asteris…”

“Oh, there you are!”

A familiar face appeared behind the gatekeeper’s puzzled one.

Cordelia greeted the middle-aged woman, who welcomed her with a warm smile.

At her gesture, the gatekeeper opened the gate.

“You must have had a hard trip. Come on in.”

Following the woman inside, Cordelia noticed her kindly demeanor, her neatly tied-up hair, and the soft wrinkles that deepened at the corners of her eyes when she smiled.

Her calm voice and graceful manner gave off an air of refinement.

As Cordelia had sensed from their first meeting, this woman was different from the other imperial citizens Cordelia had encountered so far.

[Hello.]

Cordelia recalled the day just a few days ago when this woman had first come to find her.

[I’m Catherine, the head maid of the Duke of Obenherz. Right now, I’m working at the Asteris villa.]

Catherine smiled kindly and made an unexpected offer to the child.

[If you’re willing, I’d like to hire you as a maid for the villa. What do you think?]

According to Amelia, Catherine had happened to witness Cordelia calmly handling a drunken troublemaker and had been deeply impressed by the child’s courageous demeanor.

Cordelia had been helping at her mother’s fruit shop every day.

It wasn’t out of filial piety, nor because she wanted to learn how to run a business.

Rather, it was because if she did nothing, her mind would be filled with restless thoughts—

Mostly useless emotions like longing and regret.

That day, all Cordelia had done was demand payment from a customer who had helped himself to fruit and refused to pay.

Having lived in the Empire for three years now, Cordelia was used to the contempt and mockery directed at Therionians by the Imperials.

So even when the customer had cursed, raged, and nearly raised a fist against her, she hadn’t thought much of it.

Apparently, Catherine had seen things differently.

It was probably that “courageous” behavior that made Catherine want to hire her, but unfortunately, Cordelia hadn’t acted out of a sense of justice or bravery.

It was simply part of her daily life.

Still, Cordelia chose not to correct Catherine’s misunderstanding.

Cordelia followed Catherine, walking for a long while from the front gate to the entrance of the mansion.

She had never imagined the villa would be so vast.

Cordelia stopped in her tracks, captivated by the sprawling garden in full bloom.

The vibrant flowers were of varieties she had never seen back in Ernel—

Probably nowhere in all of Therion, either.

Asteris was a port city in the southern part of the Empire, where the sun shone warmly all year round.

The plants that grew there were incredibly diverse in both kind and appearance.

Though Cordelia had grown used to the hot weather and the beautiful sea,

She had never before witnessed such a dazzling scene of many flowers blooming together.

It felt as if she had stepped into a fairy tale.

Perhaps this was the castle where a prince lived?

Or—thinking of the rumors—maybe more like a beast? A demon lord…?

Such absurd imaginings suited a twelve-year-old girl well.

While Cordelia’s mind wandered, her gaze suddenly froze.

A boy was sitting on a windowsill, looking out over the garden.

Without thinking, Cordelia parted her lips.

Had she been able to make a sound, a soft “ah” would surely have escaped.

The boy had a gaze so familiar to her—

It was the same empty look Cordelia saw every morning in the mirror after waking from her nightmares.

A gentle breeze lifted Cordelia’s light brown hair.

At the same moment, the boy’s golden hair fluttered in the wind.

Just as the boy’s empty eyes moved slightly behind his curtain of hair,

Cordelia heard Catherine calling her.

Startled, she quickly turned and hurried away from the spot,

Feeling a strange tingling at the back of her neck.