Episode 7
“Your Majesty. I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes, go ahead, Hestia.”
That might have been the first time he ever called me by name. While his face seemed pleased, calling me so gently, I felt like bugs were crawling on my skin.
Once again, I realized how frightening one-sided affection can be, and I forced myself to endure that moment.
“I would now like to have a lady-in-waiting chief who can pledge loyalty to me.”
“Of course. That makes sense.”
“So… I would like to ask you to appoint Beatrice as my chief lady-in-waiting.”
“Beatrice? You mean the prisoner Duke Meidern captured from the enemy nation?”
He asked with a curious look.
“Yes, Your Majesty. You saw her here yesterday as well.”
“Ah, I remember. She probably has the shortest hair among all the women in this palace. Even among the men, I bet her hair is the shortest.”
He was talking about something completely irrelevant.
“She didn’t cut it by choice. Her father cut it off, so she had no choice but to keep it that way.”
“I see. But does that have something to do with why your hair is short too, Hestia?”
I couldn’t figure out what he meant by that.
I just wanted him to say what was necessary and leave, but he was far too chatty.
“Seeing Beatrice’s short hair made me want to cut mine too. It was a bit impulsive, but I asked the hairdresser to cut mine.”
“The queen made such a drastic decision for a meaningless commoner. I don’t know what you were hoping to achieve with that, but perhaps I do. If the chief lady-in-waiting had been so disrespectful to you, others must have been too. Maybe you wanted to rely on a lowly prisoner from an enemy nation… That thought made me feel sorry. It was my fault for not noticing sooner.”
Unbelievable.
I had no idea why the king was suddenly blaming himself.
It wasn’t helpful or appreciated.
“Very well. Let’s do that, Hestia. I didn’t expect you to ask for this, but it might turn out to be quite entertaining. A prisoner becoming the chief lady-in-waiting… especially in the Queen’s Palace. Things are going to get interesting, especially when Duke Meidern is released from prison.”
I thought I understood what the king was implying.
“Hestia. Then I suppose you’re very thankful I had the old chief lady-in-waiting executed.”
That confirmed my suspicion.
“I thought about it only after Your Majesty made that decision.”
“Very well. Then let’s say it’s settled. I will appoint Beatrice as your chief lady-in-waiting. If you want a formal appointment ceremony, that can be arranged too.”
It wasn’t necessary for me, but I thought it might help Beatrice.
If we held a formal ceremony, she would be seen and treated not as a prisoner from an enemy nation but as a royal-appointed chief lady-in-waiting.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. I would appreciate it.”
“Good. It’s not a difficult task, so I’ll make it happen quickly. Since the position is vacant, it should be done soon.”
And it was done swiftly.
News of Beatrice becoming the new chief lady-in-waiting spread not just in the Queen’s Palace but throughout the palace grounds.
Those who had been involved in tormenting Beatrice likely felt as if the gates of hell had opened.
Beatrice came running to me when she heard the news.
Although I had spoken to her first, hearing it from others must have made it even more overwhelming.
“Your Majesty!”
Beatrice covered her mouth with both hands as she entered.
“Beatrice. You heard the news?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The King is appointing me as the chief lady-in-waiting for the Queen’s Palace!”
“That’s right, Beatrice.”
I hoped that one day she would be moved by something even more meaningful than this.
“Congratulations, Beatrice.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Your Majesty.”
Beatrice beamed, and I decided to gift her a dress.
Since she was busy preparing for the ceremony, I had the maids visit a dress shop outside the palace to get a few dresses tailored.
I wanted to surprise her, so I didn’t take her measurements—but Beatrice seemed to have a similar build to the Hestia I had possessed, so I ordered them based on my own size.
The maids worked hard to meet my expectations.
It was obvious they were putting more care into this than usual.
The appointment ceremony was simple but conducted by the king himself.
Because it came after the public execution of the previous chief lady-in-waiting, everyone watched with tense expressions.
It became very clear that no one could treat the new chief lady-in-waiting, Beatrice, carelessly.
Beatrice couldn’t hide her joy and smiled at me often.
When I first saw her, I had been struck by her mysterious beauty—and now, anyone would likely fall for her.
Yet the king, as if blind to everything else, continued to only look at me.
That, truly, was maddening.
With Beatrice’s new position, her status rose significantly.
Rumors about the king’s affection for me began to spread among the servants and officials, and that only amplified her newfound power.
To be favored by the absolute ruler—that alone was enough to wield significant influence.
I worried that if I grew too comfortable in this life, if I kept solving problems through the king, I’d become someone completely dependent.
With Beatrice’s rising status, more people began to seek her out.
Now, almost no one seemed to look down on her as a mere prisoner from an enemy nation.
Beatrice told me more people were trying to bribe her—and she brought the bribes to me.
To someone like me who planned to eventually escape the palace, it was quite tempting.
But I knew those bribes came from wealth squeezed from the blood and sweat of the people.
So I had no choice but to refuse.
“Beatrice. We can’t accept this. If we take it, when they fall into the mud, we’ll go down with them. We shouldn’t take anything in the first place—not even to return it later.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’m sorry.”
“No. I understand. You only did it because you wanted to help me. It’s okay up till now, but send those back and don’t take anything in the future, Beatrice.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After that, Beatrice became firm in her refusal, and even high-ranking officials realized they couldn’t treat her lightly.
There was one man in particular who began visiting Beatrice frequently.
There was a vendor that had an exclusive contract to supply goods to the Queen’s Palace, but their products were low-quality and overpriced.
Beatrice began making personal transactions with a merchant group in the capital.
That man was the young master of that merchant group.
The quality was better, and the prices were lower.
When I warned her not to place too much burden on them, she said they were still making enough profit.
It turned out the official procurement agency was inflating prices after taking bribes, and those in charge were all close to Lotron.
No one dared raise the issue because most officials were benefiting from the corruption.
The young merchant, Cassian Jeiphron, brought samples, and Beatrice tested them all before choosing the best and negotiating prices.
I thought this would be useful to Beatrice later.
If she had to embrace her fate and forge her own path, this kind of experience would build her abilities.
Fortunately, Beatrice enjoyed the work, and I sometimes accompanied her to the negotiations.
If I left the palace one day, those skills would be even more necessary for me.
Cassian Jeiphron, the young head of the Jeiphron Merchant Guild, had ash-gray hair tied at the back and a perpetually friendly smile.
He was incredibly handsome, and though he always appeared kind and gentle, Beatrice often said that probably wasn’t his true nature.
I agreed.
Still, many people were charmed by that smile he wore for business.
The Jeiphron Guild, run by the prestigious Jeiphron family, was the second-largest in the kingdom.
Cassian was the heir to a count, and it was unusual for an heir to run a business. But he had been interested in the field from a young age and even traded with neighboring countries.
The largest guild in the kingdom belonged to the Meidern family, which seemed to have its hand in everything.
While Lotron was imprisoned, Cassian and the Jeiphron family were busy expanding their influence.
At first, they were unsure whether dealing with us was safe or a trap. But once they realized the feud between me and Lotron was real, they gradually increased their trade volume.
As more people saw how competently Beatrice handled things, their trust in her grew—and so did their wariness.
