Chapter 18
At those words, Seydin opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it tightly.
‘If I hadn’t helped Luan from the beginning, maybe he wouldn’t have fallen for me.’
Seydin fell into a gloomy train of thought. Though she knew she couldn’t stabilize Luan’s divine power on her own, she still couldn’t bring herself to treat him like a complete stranger, which left her feeling unsettled.
At that moment, as if to drive the point home, Klein’s eyes sparkled as she spoke up.
“Besides, His Majesty said it himself.”
She trotted up in front of Seydin and cleared her throat dramatically. When the petite girl puffed out her chest, Seydin suddenly realized she was impersonating someone. Of course—Klein launched into a clumsy performance.
“『She is my trusted friend and beloved. All who dwell in the Imperial Palace and are under the goddess’s grace must serve the Princess with true sincerity.』”
“Kyaa!”
‘No, stop…’
Seydin clutched her chest in distress.
Completely unaware of the princess’s inner turmoil over being unrequitedly loved by the emperor, Emila blushed and cupped her cheeks, then spoke passionately.
“I was even more convinced after seeing your face. Ah! You must be the one His Majesty secretly longed for…!”
“…What? What do you mean, ‘secretly longed for’? What are you talking about?”
As the others chattered away, making her dizzy, Seydin blinked in confusion at the sudden revelation. Just then, Rozen, who had been sitting next to the maids and eavesdropping, chimed in.
“Oh, you didn’t know? After His Majesty ascended the throne, he ordered the restoration of the goddess’s mural. And once it was completed—guess what? Your face was there. As a tiny little angel.”
“…Huh?”
Seydin’s jaw dropped at how strangely the story was unfolding.
‘What? Someone’s face? My face?’
“The goddess’s mural?! What is that now?!”
Hearing about the long, painful history of Luan’s unrequited love, Seydin was horrified. Seeing her bewildered expression, Rozen quickly spoke up, spilling her words in a rush.
Excited by someone else’s romance, Rozen had clearly misunderstood. She thought the princess wanted to hear all about the emperor’s love life.
“That’s how I immediately recognized your identity, Princess! I thought, ‘Ah! She must be His Majesty’s angel!’”
“……”
“It’s a tradition among the royal family of the Holy Empire to place symbols and buildings dedicated to their lovers or wives in visible places.”
Seydin was speechless. And before she could respond, the maids who had realized her identity earlier clenched their fists and declared with excitement.
“If His Majesty just manages to propose properly, then the Holy Empire will finally have an empress!”
“Kyaa!”
Finally snapping out of her stupor amidst the whirlwind of nonsense, Seydin widened her eyes.
To rein in the rampaging maids, she quickly interjected.
“Ladies, I’ve already told His Majesty. I’m content to be seen as a friend who stood by him in difficult times.”
“……”
A strange silence settled over the excited crowd. Seydin continued, her gaze passing over each of them in turn.
“I’ll stay here as his servant. I hope you all understand that.”
“Ah…”
The maids shrank back, feeling as though they had overstepped in their excitement. The healers and even Rozen exchanged nervous glances. Sensing the shift in mood, Seydin spoke slowly.
“Unless it’s official business, I won’t be seeing him. So please, don’t spread strange rumors.”
“……”
“After the fall of the kingdom, I temporarily sought asylum in the empire under His Majesty’s grace. But I haven’t officially submitted my application for allegiance. So, my status is still…”
Seydin cleared her throat. If she submitted the application, she could be registered as an imperial citizen—but she hadn’t found anyone yet who could formally vouch for her.
Of course, it would be simple if Luan did it. But that would cause even more trouble. She had no intention of prodding Luan, who was already consumed by a feverish crush.
‘So I need to be more firm.’
Since she had agreed to work as Luan’s healer, she shouldn’t confuse him any further.
Just as Seydin prepared to say more with a determined look, Jadin, who had been watching her quietly, suddenly raised her hand and shouted.
Seizing the moment—
“Princess! You mean your status as His Majesty’s secret lover, right?”
“We’ll make sure to keep it hidden! We promise!”
“Don’t worry about the servants leaking it! We’re His Majesty’s closest aides, after all!”
Seydin responded firmly, as if pouring cold water over them.
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Eek!”
Startled as if a catastrophe had occurred, the maids quickly covered their mouths. Seydin continued, like scolding children.
“Ladies! If you keep acting like this, I won’t let you stay by my side anymore! Actually, come to think of it, isn’t it strange that you’re even serving me? What kind of empire assigns servants to a foreigner who hasn’t even submitted an allegiance application?!”
“Why would you need to apply?! You’re clearly a noble foreigner with a recognized status!”
The maids flailed in protest. They raised their voices proudly to protect the dignity of the princess, who was unfairly belittling herself as an unrecognized foreigner.
“You’re someone His Majesty personally guarantees!”
“No! How could you say such things? We’d be hurt if you did. You’re the very person who’s painted on the mural we pray to every morning!”
“The mural was restored three years ago, so technically, your identity has been established for three years now!”
‘Ugh. This isn’t working. I can’t reason with them.’
Of course—they were Luan’s maids.
Afraid she might get swept up in their bizarre logic, Seydin stepped back. Just as she pondered how to break their line of reasoning, Jadin, her eyes shining with a subtle madness, spoke gently.
“But we understand your concern. If you want to prove your status, then you should attend the banquet His Majesty is hosting.”
“He said he was inviting all the healers anyway.”
“And we’d love to formally welcome you as His Majes—”
“Jadin!”
Just as Jadin was about to say “future Empress,” Klein cut her off sharply. Emila, quicker with her hands, clamped Jadin’s mouth shut. Jadin, realizing her mistake, spoke with a hint of regret.
“The banquet, I think, will serve as the occasion to officially introduce you as His Majesty’s healer.”
“…So you’re saying the banquet is being held to introduce me?”
Seydin massaged her temple. Oh, come on. Who hosts a full-scale imperial banquet just to introduce one healer? Even if Luan really liked her…
“That’s not it. His Majesty hasn’t hosted a single banquet since ascending the throne.”
Klein nodded seriously and added:
“Even his coronation was held very simply, and he went straight to work.”
Agreeing, Emila chimed in with her sweet voice.
“That’s why everyone’s really looking forward to the winter banquet. Since it’s the first official one, not just the healers but many nobles have been invited too.”
Finally, after inadvertently biting Emila’s pinky finger that had been covering her mouth, Jadin spat it out and said:
“Since the daughters of noble houses usually join the palace as senior maids, the banquet guests will mostly be firstborn daughters or married ladies. My sister—who’s just lounging around lately—was so happy to get an invitation.”
“……”
Seydin looked away, embarrassed that she had briefly believed the banquet was being held just because Luan liked her. Right. No way he’d throw a grand imperial banquet just to introduce a single healer.
‘I really got ahead of myself there.’
She reflected on her mistake. Just then, Klein, who had perfectly read her conflicted expression, leaned in and asked brightly:
“Oh my! Shall I tell His Majesty that the Princess wishes to be introduced as his healer?”
At that, Emila and Jadin clapped and chimed in:
“I’m sure he invited the other healers too so you wouldn’t feel pressured!”
“Not that the other healers matter much…”
“‘Not that they matter’?!”
Rozen pouted, clearly thinking, ‘Even if the others don’t, I do!’ Alarmed that she had said that out loud, Emila quickly covered her mouth.
“Oh no, I’m sorry. I tend to be a bit too honest…”
“Too honest?!”
“That’s way too honest!”
The healers all raised their pickaxes in protest.
Just like that, a brewing conflict between the rising “commoner” healers and the “bourgeois” palace maids was about to explode.
It was like that buzzing hum in your ears after getting water in them—overwhelming and relentless. Seydin’s already overworked mind rang with the noise. Finally, she stepped in to mediate.
“Stop! All of you, stop right now!”
“Princess! I mean, the healers won’t acknowledge us! They won’t even admit they’re crashing your invitation… and it just breaks our hearts…”
“Ohhh, Princess! How could you say such things?! We just wanted to enjoy ourselves for once at a banquet!”
