Chapter – 27
The New Chief Maid
“So, did you have a successful errand?”
Josephine greeted Harper with her usual calm voice.
Wondering if she had seen wrong, Harper rubbed her eyes, but Harriet was still standing beside Josephine, pouring tea.
“Yes, I just returned now, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Josephine put down her teacup, watching Harper bow her head.
“What did the Marquis say?”
Harper, who had been about to report promptly, suddenly closed her mouth.
It was because she had felt Harriet’s gaze on her the entire time from where she stood beside Josephine.
As if looking down on her, the chief maid.
“Ah, yes. The Marquis said he received the invitation. However, he mentioned that now might not be the most opportune time to meet with Your Majesty the Empress.”
“The Marquis said that?”
“Yes.”
Until now, Harper had thought Josephine would be quite displeased.
Or perhaps wouldn’t even care. Being ignored by nobles in this way wasn’t exactly a new experience, after all.
“The Marquis is right. I wasn’t planning to see him immediately anyway.”
“Huh? Then why did you urgently send me today…?”
“It would probably be better to invite the Marquis after the talks. Confirming that he would be willing to meet me is sufficient for now.”
Josephine asked back, seemingly puzzled.
“Why, is there a problem?”
“Oh, no. I just thought you wanted to meet him urgently today.”
Naturally, Harper hadn’t opened the invitation beforehand.
Aside from it being improper, she couldn’t do something as stupid as leaving evidence of having opened it while under suspicion.
So, she had no choice but to be unaware of its contents.
“But Your Majesty. That girl standing over there…”
“Ah, I was just about to introduce her when you arrived. Say hello. This is Harriet Buchanan.”
“It’s a pleasure to formally meet you, Miss Harper.”
Harriet was about a handspan taller than Harper.
When the taller girl bowed her head first to greet her, an unwarranted sense of pressure was felt, perhaps due to the height difference.
“Uh, yes. Miss Buchanan. Nice to meet you.”
“Please feel free to call me Harriet. I’m not from a knight family like you, Miss Harper.”
What? Harper doubted her ears. If she wasn’t even from a low-ranking knight family, the only thing left below that was a commoner.
“It seems like you’ve been very busy, so I’ve selected a new lady-in-waiting to assist me in your stead.”
Josephine explained nonchalantly before Harper could even ask.
“Your Majesty, where did you send all those maids who were originally working?”
“I dismissed them all. I summoned each one for questioning—whether they had conspired with Arwen or had ever been disloyal to me even once—and they all confessed and left.”
Hearing that, Harper gritted her teeth inwardly.
‘Those idiots! All bark and no bite! You really just confessed and left? Then what about me?’
Only then did Harper understand how the situation had unfolded.
‘Don’t tell me she knows everything… about how I’ve been instructing the maids all along to ignore and ridicule Her Majesty.’
Harper’s reason for orchestrating such things was simple.
The more disloyal they were, the more she would be the only maid loyal to Josephine.
“What’s with your expression since a while ago? Did the Marquis have any other words for me?”
At Josephine’s remark, Harper hurriedly composed her expression.
“Ah, ah. No. It’s just that it’s a good thing the disloyal ones were driven out.”
“Right? After all, you can’t always be at my side just to attend to me.”
Josephine briefly glanced at Harriet.
“So, I’ve chosen Harriet as your successor.”
“Su… successor?”
“Just in case. We’ll need to hire new maids again, and it would be too much for you to handle alone, especially since you’re already busy.”
None of Josephine’s words seemed to register with Harper.
Only the word ‘successor’ pierced through strongly.
A successor coming in meant that she might be driven out of the Empress’s palace someday.
In other words, that commoner girl could threaten her position.
“Your Majesty, I appreciate the consideration, but successor? I am perfectly capable of serving Your Majesty alone even now.”
Harper glanced sideways at Harriet.
“Moreover, isn’t Harriet a bit lacking in qualifications to serve Your Majesty? Until yesterday, she was just a girl sweeping the courtyard of the rear palace or carrying coal.”
“You don’t like Harriet?”
“No, that’s not what I meant! It’s just too sudden. If there’s something I’ve done to displease you…”
“It’s not that. I just needed one more loyal lady-in-waiting like you.”
A loyal lady-in-waiting like her. Feeling a pang of guilt at those words, Harper hesitated.
“B… but Your Majesty…”
“I know it might feel unfair. You, from a low-ranking knight family, went through so much hardship to become the chief maid, surpassing nobles.”
Josephine reached out and gently took Harper’s hand.
“So, couldn’t you look after Harriet with the same heart as you had back then? I believe you, more than anyone, will get along well with Harriet.”
“Your Majesty…”
“That’s why I kept only you in this palace. You are my one and only loyal confidant. Isn’t that right?”
Harper found this situation, where she felt forced to be moved, utterly uncomfortable.
Inwardly, she wanted to drag that Harriet girl away and slap her soundly right then, but she couldn’t.
“So, I hope you two get along well and continue to serve me faithfully from now on.”
Josephine took Harriet’s dark hand with her other hand.
“I am deeply honored, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“If there’s anything you don’t know from now on, ask Harper. Harper, teach Harriet well. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”
“Yes…”
Harper answered reluctantly, though it went against her will.
“I may be lacking, but I look forward to working with you from now on, Miss Harper.”
Harriet bowed politely to Harper as well.
Between chief maids of equal status, bowing to each other was an excessive gesture.
But Harper didn’t point it out and just silently snorted to herself.
‘Who does this commoner think she is, aiming for the chief maid position?’
The more she thought about it, the more her anger boiled.
Josephine had dismissed all the noble-born maids without even consulting her, and it seemed she had been planning this from the start.
Although nothing was to her liking from start to finish, she forced herself to answer calmly.
Because she had noticed Josephine watching her and Harriet intently since earlier.
“Yes, no. Speak comfortably. I’ll do the same. Harriet.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Harper.”
Only after watching the two exchange greetings did Josephine release their hands.
“Well then, go and rest now, Harper. You must be tired from the long trip.”
“Ah, w, wait a moment. Your Majesty.”
Harper cried out urgently. Was she going to leave her now and keep only Harriet by her side?
She couldn’t bear to see that.
“Do you have something else to say?”
But Josephine asked back indifferently.
Harper hesitated, searching for an excuse, and then belatedly remembered the gift the Marquis had given.
“The Marquis, feeling apologetic for being unable to visit Your Majesty today, sent this tea set as a gift.”
Harper clapped her hands to call the attendant waiting outside the door.
The attendant placed the box containing the packaged tea set on the table so Josephine could see it well.
“It’s a premium product from the Lemon continent. The Marquis must clearly think highly of Your Majesty the Empress.”
Josephine acted as if she were half-listening to Harper’s flattery as she slowly opened the box.
However, beneath the tea leaves in the box, a single white envelope was buried.
Josephine subtly lifted it, hidden by the large lid of the box.
‘It’s the invitation.’
The real reply sent by Marquis Dallen to Josephine.
Several days later.
To the capital of the Empire, Baccalia, unwelcome guests arrived a day early.
“Oh my goodness! Barbarians.”
“What’s happening so early in the morning all of a sudden?”
The commoners who saw the guests whispered amongst themselves and hid in their respective homes.
“They say it’s the chariot of the sea. How terrifying.”
It was none other than the envoy procession from the Norden United Kingdom.
