🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 76
Betty had been completely overwhelmed for a while.
In fact, “overwhelmed” alone might not even be enough to describe the sheer amount of things that had been happening all at once.
“Lady maid, does Her Majesty the Empress have any additional preparations she wishes for?”
“No. I think this will be fine as it is. If she says otherwise, I’ll let you know right away.”
“Understood.”
At first, Betty had thought the biggest problem would be learning her way around the imperial palace.
But that turned out to be nothing at all. After walking here and there every day, she’d naturally memorized the layout.
The real cause of her constant mental exhaustion lay elsewhere — everyone wanted to confirm the Empress’s intentions through her.
Finding and pointing out the smallest issues around the Empress was part of Betty’s authority and duty.
“Can you move that cabinet over there? Her Majesty’s gown hem keeps catching on it when she walks by.”
“Yes, understood. I’ll have it taken to the storage room?”
“No, just move it. To the opposite wall will do.”
Up to that point, she’d managed to keep things under control — though having such wide authority and so many people waiting for her instructions was starting to feel heavy.
At least she didn’t have to personally oversee every single matter in the palace. Most of what she did was to confirm or correct small things.
“This is the patrol schedule for the Empress’s palace. Please check if there’s anything that needs correction.”
What still made Betty nervous was that everything that needed to go directly to the Empress had to pass through her hands first.
It was too cumbersome for the Empress to personally receive each and every document, yet too serious to entrust to anyone else.
“A lady-in-waiting to the Empress is no different from a counselor, Betty. Everyone will watch your every word, believing you speak the Empress’s will.”
Thankfully, Marchioness Prowell, her godmother, had warned her kindly but firmly.
“That also means many will try to reach the Empress through you. You’re easier to approach. Stay sharp.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Beware of opportunists. Always act so that nothing feels off afterward. Think of it as—everything must be rechecked by you personally. That’s how you’ll avoid trouble.”
It wasn’t nagging — it was concern born of affection. Betty held those words close to heart.
To be thorough in every task, to review again, to keep her balance without wavering — that was what she constantly reminded herself.
“Thank you for always being so meticulous, Sir Heath.”
Betty quickly skimmed through the patrol list. There were no changes from the previous one, not even small names.
“Think nothing of it.”
The knight with sandy blond hair gave a polite nod.
The knights who had been stationed throughout the Empress’s palace had been replaced by soldiers for regular patrols, but Sir Heath remained.
They needed someone to command the guards and issue orders — neither the Empress nor Betty could handle that themselves.
In that sense, as fellow “administrators,” she and Sir Heath naturally grew familiar. They constantly had to communicate regarding security deployments.
“…You seem very busy lately.”
“I’m organizing a small tea gathering with the noble ladies in a few days. I’ll send you the guest list later today.”
“Another one?”
“Some ladies weren’t invited last time.”
Betty could only smile awkwardly.
It wasn’t as if the Empress could completely halt her public activities forever.
“This is my new lady-in-waiting — my cousin.”
“Your cousin, Your Majesty? I don’t recall hearing that before.”
“It’s been a long story; we hadn’t met for years. I thought this was a good chance to have her by my side.”
It seemed the Empress intended to give Betty a chance to make an impression on the influential noblewomen.
Whatever gossip happened behind her back, the Empress openly praised Betty so often that everyone now looked at her with curiosity.
“Please tell Her Majesty I wish for a private audience.”
“Yes, understood.”
“As expected of the Marchioness’s granddaughter — flawless manners. I do hope we meet again at a formal occasion.”
Whether it was praise or something else, Betty wasn’t sure. When she mentioned it to the Empress later during another report, the Empress explained:
“They’re guessing I plan to formally introduce you at the next imperial banquet.”
“…Me?”
“Of course. Where else would I introduce you? That’s the kind of event where people will truly see how much I favor you. Saying they hope to see you again there — it means they want to get close to you.”
With a half-amused expression, the Empress had muttered that she really should host a banquet soon.
“It seems there might be a banquet soon,” Betty said now.
Nothing had been decided yet, but since it had been quite a while since the palace held a major event, Betty was sure that once the Empress mentioned it, it would happen quickly.
‘And when it does, I’ll have a mountain of work again…’
Whenever the Empress gave a brief order, the look that followed — asking Betty to handle all the specific details — was always the same.
Not that she disliked it, but the thought of summarizing opinions, reporting to the Empress, and relaying new instructions again and again already made her weary.
“I suppose I’ll have to attend as your personal guard that day,” said Sir Heath.
“Must you? There’ll be other guards in the hall. You don’t need to—”
“It’s my duty, is it not?”
His gaze shifted to something behind her. Betty turned to see a maid hurrying toward her.
A small sigh escaped her lips.
“I suppose I’d better go fulfill my duty now.”
Lenid Heath gave her a light nod of farewell, watching “Lady Beatrice” as she left.
When he first met her, he had thought her delicate and frail. But after getting to know her, he realized she wasn’t like that at all.
Rather…
That gentle exterior hid a backbone of steel.
The way she firmly dismissed noblewomen who came uninvited or tried to use her to curry favor with the Empress was strikingly resolute.
And though she sometimes winced afterward, worrying she’d spoken too harshly — she always made sure to say what needed to be said.
A perfect attendant for Her Majesty, he thought.
The Empress was a person of integrity. Naturally, those who served her should be the same.
Perhaps it was that contrast — compared to the former maids who had either used their positions for self-gain or even betrayed the Empress — that made Betty shine all the more.
The maid who had come for her hadn’t brought any serious issue. Just another small matter to confirm.
But the person who approached her next was unexpected.
“…The gardener?”
The Empress’s palace gardener was someone she almost never met — nor had much reason to give orders to.
The Empress herself wasn’t particularly interested in horticulture, nor picky about how the gardens were maintained.
Recently, as summer approached, Betty had merely informed the Empress that the gardens would be slightly reorganized — and that had been the end of it.
The gardener, elderly and experienced, usually handled everything on his own without any problems.
Yet now, he was walking toward her, carrying something in his hands.
“My lady-in-waiting, I found this in the garden. I thought you should see it.”
In his hands was a dirt-covered book. The worn leather cover looked on the verge of falling apart.
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure. There’s writing in it, but I can’t read well — and the letters are so small.”
He must have brought it because something about it seemed suspicious.
Betty carefully brushed off the dirt. Beneath it was a plain, unmarked cover.
There were no titles or symbols on either side.
‘Then this isn’t an ordinary book…’
As soon as she opened the cover, a folded piece of paper slipped out, fluttering to the ground.
When Betty bent to pick it up and saw what was written on it, she nearly dropped it in shock.
The contents were anything but ordinary.
