“Ana. I’d like you to be my personal maid from now on.” My words made Ana’s eyes grow even wider than before.
“M-me?”
“Yes. I’ve been keeping an eye on you. The staff has said a lot of good things about you. That you’re diligent and capable.” She couldn’t close her mouth, as if she couldn’t believe what I was saying.
“Pardon? No, I…”
“I’m sure you’ll do well.” Ana was so surprised she couldn’t even answer properly, and her forehead broke out in a cold sweat. Just by seeing how she couldn’t hide her true feelings, I was sure she wasn’t the Empress’s spy. I decided to keep her by my side and turned to the head maid. “From now on, if anything happens, inform me through Ana.”
“Understood.”
“Then everyone but Ana, please leave.”
When the head maid and the doctor left, only the two of us remained in the room. Left alone, Ana hunched her shoulders even more and stared at her toes. She must have been thinking, ‘What’s with this sudden twist of fate?’ After all, she, who did the most menial tasks in the kitchen, had suddenly become the duchess’s personal maid.
‘She’s so timid, how did she manage to sneak bread and food out from under the tiger-like chef’s nose?’
Cayla wore the facade of a duchess, but Stella, a mere maid, was treated like a public enemy in the ducal mansion. Stella endured a harsh daily life, facing all kinds of scorn and abuse from the staff. Ana knew Stella’s plight well, yet she stayed by her side.
‘The chef’s cooking is the best, but he’s so scary. Not even the butler or the head maid can stand up to him.’
‘Poor my lady. Why did my lord marry another person when Lady Yerena was here? They’re both unhappy.’
‘It’s so tiring when Her Highness the Princess visits. She’s so fussy and acts like she owns the place.’
‘My lord is finally coming back from the war tomorrow!’
When they shared food, Ana would tell Stella every little detail that happened in the mansion. Thanks to that, Stella, who was in the annex, could get a rough idea of what was going on in the mansion.
“Ana.”
When I held her hand, Ana looked up at me. Unlike the authoritative demeanor I had a moment ago, I spoke to her kindly and intimately. “From now on, don’t be so nervous and afraid in front of me. Just treat me as you normally would.”
She quickly lowered her gaze and replied. “Yes, my lady.”
“You are now a maid who serves the duchess, so you don’t need to be intimidated by the other servants. Understood?”
“I will keep that in mind, my lady.”
“I don’t know the situation here very well yet, so please help me a lot. We’re in this together now, so I hope you’ll tell me and discuss anything that happens.”
Perhaps she gained some strength from my words, because she nodded and replied with a little more force than before. “I will do as you command, my lady.”
“Good. Let’s get along well from now on.” I smiled, looking at Ana with deep trust. She also smiled slightly.
Now that I felt I had a trustworthy person by my side, I felt much more at ease. It was as if I finally had one person on my side in this cold and unfamiliar mansion.
A prayer room, a little deeper inside the Imperial Palace’s chapel.
Delzaya prayed with her hands clasped together in front of a cross, as she always did. The heavy late-afternoon sunlight streamed in through the small stained-glass window, gently enveloping her. Her prayers were earnest: to protect the sickly Crown Prince, and to bestow mercy and grace upon the Lord’s good son. In that moment of reverence, she was not the most powerful woman in the empire, but simply a loving mother. Nox watched her from behind, in the unlit corner, holding his breath.
When she slowly opened her eyes and straightened her back, he quickly approached her and offered his hand. Her face, which had been gentle just a moment ago, was now as cold as ever as she stood up, holding his hand.
“Marquis Guinero went to the ducal mansion to meet with Ricardo.”
The fact must have troubled her mind even during her prayers for her son, as she seemed displeased.
“He probably went to congratulate them on their marriage. Don’t read too much into it.”
Nox’s words did not comfort her at all. She had thought that if she got Ricardo married, that fox-like old man would give up, but it seemed he still hadn’t let go of his ambition. Delzaya had figured it out. Just like the old marquis, his daughter also had a huge ambition. They were not the type of father and daughter to give up easily just because Ricardo was married.
“Stella seems like a clever girl, so she must have already figured it out. Who she should be wary of and who she should rely on to protect her position.”
The faint smile Stella had on her face as she left the Empress’s palace flashed in Nox’s mind again. “The only person she can rely on is Your Majesty. Still, we must not let our guard down and watch her carefully.” Sincere advice came from him.
Delzaya scoffed. “Let our guard down? From what I hear, they didn’t even have a wedding night. She should be worrying about being kicked out right after the marriage. Tsk, tsk. Even if it was a marriage for show, it’ll be a headache if Ricardo decides to divorce her if we just leave it be.”
Perhaps a headache was already starting, as Delzaya gently massaged her temples with her fingertips. “It would be better if she got pregnant quickly. Then that child would try to hold onto the duchess’s position, even by force.”
Delzaya fell into thought, lowering her eyelashes as if looking into the distant future. “If she becomes a mother, she’ll get an instinct to leave this murderous capital where her neck could be on the line at any moment and go to a safe place. Ricardo might also quickly realize the reality and change his mind, thinking he should live up to his station and protect the borders.”
That was merely her wishful thinking. At this moment, even Nox found it hard to agree with Delzaya’s naive hopes.
“I think I need to intervene.” Delzaya turned to look at Nox.
“What do you mean…”
“The hunting tournament season is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
Nox looked at her, curious about Delzaya’s sudden mention of the hunting tournament. “I’m thinking of holding this year’s hunting tournament in a special place. If I recall correctly, the forest in the western resort is lush and suitable for hunting, isn’t it?”
“The western resort? You mean Woodlake Castle? Yes, it is. Though it takes some time to get there from the capital.”
“Exactly. Wouldn’t it be nice to get out of the capital for a while and spend some intimate time? It would be a special time for the newlyweds, too.”
A faint smile appeared on her face, and her eyes sparkled as if she had come up with an interesting scheme.
“Yes, that’s true.”
As Nox slowly nodded, Delzaya sensually held out her hand to him. Nox took her hand and was drawn to her.
“I hope my plan goes well this time too.”
“Of course it will.” Nox kissed the back of Delzaya’s hand. Delzaya’s laughter echoed softly in the prayer room.
The medicine the doctor had given me to ease the pain worked so well that I fell asleep as soon as I took it.
How much time had passed since I lay down on the bed?
When I suddenly opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the ducal couple’s room. It was the studio apartment I lived in back in reality before I was transmigrated. My real room.
“Huh… huh?”
Was this reality or a dream? The world I was just in and the world I was in now were all jumbled up. The ceiling spun, and I felt a terrible dizziness, so I squeezed my eyes shut. When I slowly opened my eyes again, the six-pyeong room was bathed in a dark red light from the setting sun, and I was lying on the bed. I felt like I had a terrible fever; my whole body ached, and I couldn’t even move my fingers properly. The bone-chilling cold was the worst, and I was cold to the core even when I was buried under the blanket.
‘This scene is definitely…’
I had never been seriously ill before, but right after I got my first job, I had a severe fever for a few days, and the situation was exactly the same. I couldn’t understand what was happening. One moment my life was on the line after transmigrating into a novel. Now, had I suddenly returned to the real world without any warning?
Just then, my phone started vibrating on the bedside table. I was so sick at the time that I don’t remember much about it. Just that I groaned and alternated between sleeping and waking. I managed to lift the phone and put it to my ear. It was a call from my mother. She always spoke dryly, said what she had to say, and hung up, leaving her daughter feeling even lonelier after the call.
“…”
— Se-yeon. Hello? Are you listening? Jeong Se-yeon!
“…Oh, Mom.”
After a fit of coughs that felt like my throat was tearing, a long silence followed on the other end.
