Chapter 4
The voice was loud enough to echo through the abandoned forest, but still, he showed no reaction.
Seeing this, the red-haired boy frowned and then picked something up again.
It was a large sycamore fruit. Covered in sharp, spiky hairs, it looked like it would hurt quite a bit if it hit someone.
‘Is he really going to throw that?’
No matter how isolated the Crown Prince might be, this was going too far.
Anyone would be hurt if hit by that. Besides, I couldn’t let the Crown Prince get injured on my very first day as his personal maid.
I wished he would just move away, but he remained motionless.
The boy who had picked up the fruit exchanged glances with the others, then threw it at him with a vicious smile.
At that moment, my body moved on its own.
“Wait a moment.”
I swiftly moved, using the end of the sack I quickly grabbed to bat the fruit away.
The fruit instantly became a small dot and vanished into the distance.
“…Huh?”
The boy who had thrown the fruit blinked his beady eyes.
He seemed curious about where I had come from and how I had batted the fruit away so instantly.
But I had no intention of answering his questions. Lowering the sack, I greeted Calix as if nothing had happened.
“Good day, Your Highness. My name is Logy, assigned as your personal maid starting today. I look forward to serving you.”
“……”
Then, for the first time, he reacted. He lifted his pale eyes and gazed quietly at me.
Of course, he said nothing.
Just then, the boy who had been glaring at us shouted in displeasure.
“What’s this? A mere maid dares to interrupt me? Do you even know who I am?”
“My apologies, but who are you?”
“I am Dale Karman… Wait. You don’t know me?”
“I’ve just been revived… no, I’ve just been employed. My apologies.”
Apologizing with a blank face made his ears turn bright red this time.
Was he angry that even a maid didn’t recognize him, on top of the Prince’s lack of reaction?
He pointed a finger at me and yelled.
“Logy, was it? Do you think you can survive being this rude to a noble? One word from me, and you’ll be fired tomorrow!”
“……”
“Are you even listening to me?”
Just then, a fly buzzed into view, circling near my face.
I tried to shoo it away with my hand, but the fly stubbornly kept flying around me.
‘How annoying.’
Ten years of training as an Arc. Three years of living as an Arc. The teachings drilled into my very bones and flesh.
Neutralize any threatening presence… (omitted).
“How dare a maid ignore me like this!”
The words of the human, whether Dale or Kale, no longer registered.
I waited for my chance. The moment the fly landed on the angel-statue, I swiftly struck it with the sack.
But…
Rumble, CRASH!
Contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t the fly but the statue that shattered into pieces and crumbled.
Both Dale, who had been chattering away, and Calix, who had been sitting silently, stared at me with shocked eyes.
“Ah.”
I bowed my head slightly and apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
But inwardly, I was thinking something entirely different.
Thoughts like, ‘For a statue, it’s surprisingly fragile.’
“……”
Dale and his group alternated their gaze between me and the fallen statue before finally speaking.
“Th-that’s not… I mean, no.”
“Hey, Dale. Sh-shouldn’t we get going now?”
“R-right, I have something urgent… Let’s go quickly.”
They hurriedly turned to head towards the main palace.
But they had no choice but to stop at my words.
“Where are you going?”
“…What is it now?”
“You should apologize to His Highness the Crown Prince before you leave. Didn’t you just throw a sycamore fruit at him?”
“When did I?”
“Are you denying it? I saw you throw the pine cone too.”
When I pointed at the pine cone lying before Calix, Dale scowled and looked back at me.
He then stomped over, roughly grabbing me by the collar.
“A maid, and you keep pushing your luck, huh? Apologize, you say?”
His red eyes flashed fiercely. The hand gripping my collar tightened.
“Don’t overstep. How dare a lowly thing like you tell me what to do? I am Dale Karman! The eldest son of Count Karman!”
“Well.”
I retorted with a bored, expressionless face.
“Are you saying you’re just a noble’s offspring? But His Highness is a member of the Imperial Family.”
“So what if he’s Imperial Family! He lives alone in a discarded palace!”
“However, I believe those who harm or insult the Imperial Family are executed for at least three generations.”
“How would you know that!”
“Article 47, Clause 1.”
I uttered the words quietly. Dale’s eyes widened.
“‘Any person who attempts to harm the life of one with the right to inherit the throne, or a direct member of the Imperial Family, shall be put to death, regardless of whether the intent was realized.’ And Article 47, Clause 2.”
“……!”
“‘Those who conspire in or condone the aforementioned crime shall also be considered guilty of high treason and, depending on the nature of the offense, may be subject to permanent exile, confiscation of property, or execution.'”
“You…!”
“According to imperial law, you would be subject to charges of high treason, Lord Dale.”
Staring straight into his eyes, I continued clearly.
“What shall we do? Shall I call the Knights of the Guard?”
“Y-you… a maid with no fear!”
Unlike Dale, whose eyes were wide and blazing, his friends hesitated, watching me cautiously.
According to the law, ‘those who conspire or condone the crime’ were also considered high traitors.
If I were an ordinary maid, they might have tried to kill me or intimidate me into silence.
But having witnessed the scene of the sack shattering the statue, they couldn’t act lightly.
Dale seemed to feel it too. Glancing around, he released my collar with a shove.
He probably wanted to push me over, but this level of force wasn’t even enough to count as basic training; I stood firm without even swaying, waiting for his words.
Finally, scowling deeply, he offered a perfunctory apology to Calix.
“…My apologies, Your Highness.”
“Apologize properly.”
He shot a sharp glance back at me, clenching his fist, but I said nothing, merely tightening my grip on the sack.
Creeak—
A crack appeared in the wooden handle of the sack.
He became as quiet and docile as a lamb, bowing his head deeply to Calix again.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“…….”
Even to their apology, Calix showed no reaction. He just stared at me with a slightly surprised look.
Soon, Dale and his group, having apologized, scurried away in a fluster.
Once I confirmed they were gone and moved to clean up the shattered statue…
“…Thank you.”
He spoke to me. His voice, though soft, was clear and distinct.
Lifting my head, I saw he was now standing before me. His mysterious purple eyes blinked slowly.
“It was nothing.”
“But… next time… you don’t need to help.”
“Why not?”
“I’m… fine.”
To be honest, he didn’t look fine at all.
A father, poisoned. A mother, lost to alcoholism. Himself, abandoned in a remote palace.
His situation was enough to make even a normal person depressed and withdrawn.
“And for your quarters, you can use any room on the first floor. And… you don’t need to prepare meals.”
“You don’t eat meals?”
“I have no appetite… An apple or some bread is enough.”
Speaking softly, he turned his back. The crimson sunset settled on his back.
The scene was beautiful, but somehow lonely. It seemed to reflect his own life, living alone in Eclipsia Palace.
‘I thought he’d be more like a child, but he seems more mature than I expected.’
No, more than mature… perhaps ‘dark’ was a more appropriate description?
From my perspective as his personal maid, it was something to be grateful for. It was much better than him clinging to me out of gratitude for being saved.
But why did his retreating figure keep bothering me?
Once inside the palace, he picked up a book and began reading on the sofa.
The book was patched up here and there, as if it had been torn several times. One side of the sofa was covered in dust.
Crucially, a large spider had conspicuously built its web on the ceiling of the space he occupied.
‘How can he read so nonchalantly in an environment like this?’
Was I really the only one bothered by the spider casually traversing its web as if it owned the place?
I looked around, but no proper cleaning tools were in sight.
All I could see were two old brooms placed near the entrance.
‘No choice, then.’
I lightly lifted the two brooms.
The cleaning was about to begin.
