Ch. 7
I spoke in as gentle a tone as I could.
Outwardly, I spoke like that, but in my heart…
‘I’m sorry for surviving alone, Richard.’
Guilt was surging within me.
I didn’t know why, but looking back, Richard had shown me some kindness in his own way.
He helped me when I was starving (even though he almost split me in two before that), and he got angry on my behalf (even though he did split my servant in two).
But just because of that, I couldn’t side with Richard.
I had resolved not to fail this time, and I couldn’t engage in such risky behavior, falling into the situation akin to a bad check acknowledged by the original story.
Sorry for being such a cowardly older, no, younger sister…
Harboring words I couldn’t convey, I smiled at Richard.
“But I’m fine.”
Because I knew the future.
“Your Highness…!”
Then, a pained voice came from the direction of my room.
Turning my gaze, I saw Luke staggering toward us. I was slightly flustered.
He had taken Richard’s blade head-on, yet his limbs were intact, and he was even walking…? Indeed, to be the secretary of a monster, one must be a monster themselves.
Richard mumbled something, barely audible but sounded like a curse, upon seeing Luke.
Then Richard grabbed my hand.
Though I was the one who reached out first, I was a bit surprised that Richard did so too.
He wrapped my hand with his left hand, gently prying it away. Then, freeing his hand, he sheathed his sword.
For a moment, I felt embarrassed. If he wanted to sheath his sword, he could’ve just said so. I would have let go.
But even after that, Richard kept holding my hand. Gazing at me silently.
I met his gaze.
His blood-red eyes reflected complex emotions. It seemed he was struggling, trying to speak several times but stopping.
Finally, when Richard opened his mouth, the words he spoke were unexpectedly simple.
“Do as you please.”
He let go of my hand and turned away, disappearing downstairs.
“Haah…”
As Richard vanished from sight, the tension drained from me. I felt like collapsing right there in the hallway.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Luke approached me. I nodded.
“I’m so sorry, truly sorry. I will find a way to make amends for today’s events…”
“Don’t.”
“Pardon?”
Luke should be more communicative than Richard. I deliberately spoke each word clearly.
“Don’t do anything.”
Luke’s face immediately turned serious. Lowering his voice, he said.
“Understood. Instead, we will contain the rumors to the extent possible.”
As expected of the prince’s closest aide. He instantly grasped what I wanted most. I gave Luke a slight smile.
“Please do.”
Luke promptly returned to Ruby Palace with the knights. Once all the outsiders had left, only the scent of blood remained.
It had only been less than an hour since Richard stormed in, yet it felt like more than a month had passed.
I was immensely tired.
Now that I thought about it, my room must be a sea of blood now, right? I wanted to sleep, but where…?
“Your Highness.”
“Hmm?”
A thin voice called out. Looking over, I was startled.
Miriam was staring at me with an incredibly moved expression, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Th-thank you for saving my life… truly…”
“Stop.”
I interrupted Miriam, who was stammering, in a stern voice.
I was too exhausted to console a crying child. I had used up all my kindness for the day on Richard.
Miriam clamped her mouth shut at my words.
‘I told her not to cry, but I didn’t mean not to speak…’
The funny thing was Miriam’s face was turning bluer by the second as she kept her mouth shut. I pressed my hand to my forehead.
“No, you can breathe. Just don’t cry.”
“Phew!”
… she was quite a fool, wasn’t she? I was genuinely curious who planted such a person as a spy.
Oh, speaking of spies, what should I do with the servants’ corpses?
On top of my fatigue, I felt a headache coming on. I wanted to go in and sleep immediately, but there were too many things to do.
“Miriam.”
“You know my name?!”
Miriam screamed with a face that looked like she was about to cry again. Her high-pitched voice hurt my ears.
Was it really surprising? There were only ten servants in Opal Palace, so wouldn’t I know their names?
“Stop saying nonsense… go tell the other servants to gather somewhere.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Miriam hurried downstairs. She returned not long after.
“What now?”
“Where should they gather, Your Highness?”
Couldn’t you handle that on your own? I was tired…
“Well, the parlor?”
“The parlor is a sea of blood right now, is that alright?”
“Why?”
“His Highness the 12th Prince beheaded Chamberlain Ivan.”
So, there were four victims, not three… you already dealt with someone before coming up, Richard?
“Then tell them to come to the dining hall.”
“Yes!”
Holding my throbbing head, I made my way to the dining hall, deeply contemplating how to handle this situation.
Luke promised to contain the rumors as much as he could. That meant he would not only shield the servants within the Ruby Palace but also any other eyes watching Richard.
I trusted Luke. To be precise, I trusted the character of Luke Clyton as described in the original story.
He was a man who never broke a promise once made, and he had the ability to keep his word. So, I could leave the rumors outside the palace entirely to him.
The problem was within.
Even excluding the dead, there were six witnesses. I had no power to silence six insiders.
‘I should have just let them die…’
I was so exhausted that I couldn’t think straight. Entering the dining hall, I prayed that the servants would be scared out of their wits.
If worse came to worse; I’d have to resort to threats. There would never be a better time for threats to be effective.
Within minutes, Miriam and the other servants started to come in one by one.
The servants’ expressions varied. Some were pale, some were out of their minds, and some were nervously watching my face…
Right, right. It must have been too much of a shock for you, living peacefully while embezzling money.
It was then.
“Your Highness!”
With a tearing voice, someone fell to their knees in front of me.
“Thank you for saving me!”
I looked down at him in confusion.
His name was Isaac, a 17-year-old errand boy. He was one of the youngest in the Opal Palace and had been working here for about a year as an errand boy for the 7th princess.
He was also someone whose life Luke had saved.
He had survived because Luke had stopped Richard from attacking him when he had entered my room. It was a miracle that he survived.
So, if Isaac was thanking anyone, it should be Luke, not me. I asked in a bewildered voice.
“Are you thanking me?”
“Of course!”
Isaac shouted at me. Then he suddenly put on a resolute expression and lowered his voice.
“Your Highness, I actually heard.”
I had no idea what he heard, but it was a dramatic start. All the servants, including myself, focused on him.
“Earlier, Laura, Charles, and Jack…”
As soon as the names of the dead were mentioned, the atmosphere in the dining hall plummeted. Isaac closed his eyes tightly and continued.
“… when they ended up like that, and I nearly died and ran away. I was so scared that I couldn’t go far. So, I hid in a nearby room.”
I understood how he felt. When I encountered Richard in the forest, I was so scared that I couldn’t take a step. It was natural that he couldn’t go far.
“Even when the 12th prince went towards Miriam…”
Isaac’s voice began to tremble.
“I knew Miriam was in danger, but I couldn’t bring myself to step up. But then…!”
At this point, Isaac burst into tears.
As for me, I was so tired that I just wanted him to get to the point.
“Then the princess appeared!”
Suddenly, Miriam jumped in. For some reason, she was on the verge of tears as well.
“That’s right! The princess appeared!”
Isaac cried out in a tearful voice. Thanks to Miriam, his voice was about twice as loud as before.
What the heck? It was scary. I felt a strange madness from my servants.
“And the princess said this. If all my servants die, I will die too!”
Isaac wailed.
Well… I did say that. But that was a political strategy, and you should know that too…
“And when the 12th prince got angry, the princess said this! We are the lifeline of the princess! That we are the ones protecting the princess!”
Well… I did say that too, but didn’t you leave out some parts…?
“And also, Your Highness…”
Isaac was now not only crying but also beating his chest. No, seriously, this was really scary.
“She knew that we were spies from another palace!”
The servants who had been listening to Isaac all froze. This part seemed to be a particularly big shock to them.
“The 12th prince said to torture the servants if they were spies.”
Richard did mention torture, but it wasn’t exactly in this context?
“But Your Highness! Your Highness said she wouldn’t kill us or torture us, that all she wanted was for us to work hard…!”
… okay, I got it now.
I pressed my forehead and organized my thoughts.
Isaac had heard the conversation between me and Richard. From beginning to end, he had heard it all.
But maybe because he was scared, or because he had no political sense, he had strangely misunderstood the conversation.
I let out a hollow laugh, looking at Isaac, who was shedding tears.
Isaac was not in his right mind. He was close to a state of mental derangement.
It was understandable given what he had experienced.
The problem was, Isaac wasn’t the only one who had seen blood and felt their life was in danger today.
“Is it true, Your Highness…?”
“Your Highness, have you been turning a blind eye to us all this time?”
The servants in the dining hall started to get swept up in Isaac’s mood.
“You never said anything until now…”
Yes, because there was nothing I could do even if I knew.
“Yet you risked your life for us.”
I didn’t. I was perfectly alive, you know?
“Your Highness, I don’t understand. Why, why did you…!”
“Why, you say? Do you really not understand?!”
When the confused chatter of the servants reached its peak.
A sharp voice cut through the air.
“It’s because the princess is too kind!”
It was Miriam.
She wasn’t even thinking of wiping the tears running down her cheeks, clasping her hands tightly together.
Miriam spoke as if she were praying.
“She’s so kind, like a fool…!”
Miriam couldn’t finish her sentence and sat down on the spot. Then she started crying like a child.
Thud, thud.
One by one, the servants began to kneel.
“Your Highness, I’m sorry!”
“Please forgive me! I was a piece of trash!”
“I, Thomas, will abandon the 16th prince from today onwards! My only master is Princess Lucilia El Esperusa!”
The dining hall was filled with tears, lamentations, repentance, and pledges of loyalty.
I took a few steps back and looked out the window. The moon was in the night sky.
Ah, really, truly.
I was so scared that I wanted to run away right then. And even more than that, I was exhausted to the point of death.