TBATL 11

Chapter 11

“So… that story is true? His Majesty personally offered y-you the position of bedroom maid?”

The head maid, who had finally lost her composure at the mention of the Emperor, stammered in disbelief.

“I had the honor of guiding His Majesty to Cynia Palace after he lost his way the other day. Thankfully, he looked favorably upon someone as insignificant as me and graciously made the offer.”

Harriet lowered her head, pretending to be shy.

The moment she did, her expression instantly turned cold.

An offer? It was coercion, that’s what it was.

It was such a flawless change of expression that even Asura would have admired it.

Harriet believed her anger was completely justified. After all, if not her, who else would dare be angry with the Emperor?

There were countless maids who deliberately dropped handkerchiefs, slipped him love letters, or even pretended to faint just to create the slightest connection with him.

Harriet, however, belonged to none of those groups.

If possible, she wanted nothing more than to stay out of the Emperor’s sight.

No—she had never even wanted to become a royal maid in the first place!

The head maid’s expression grew stranger by the second. Her gaze, filled with utter disbelief, only made Harriet’s emotions more complicated.

Part of her felt satisfied, as if she had landed a successful blow.

But at the same time, she felt hurt.

Is that really how she’s always seen me?

This is all the Emperor’s fault!

If only he hadn’t read her novel…

She would already have received a handsome royalty payment, returned to her hometown, and happily thrown copies of her book into her relatives’ faces.

She fumed with resentment…

…only for it to fade just as quickly.

What’s the point? No matter how angry I get, I’m the one who suffers. It’s not like I can draw a sword and fight him.

The most I can do is make him into a pathetic villain in my novel.

Even that tiny act of revenge was only possible because no one knew the true identity of Elliot Dark.

After a long silence, the head maid finally regained her composure.

“I understand. You must be busy, so… ah… you may go.”

Normally calm and collected, she stumbled over her words again at the end. The shock clearly hadn’t worn off.

Praying only half-heartedly that the woman would recover quickly, Harriet hurried out of the room.

The moment she opened the door, every person gathered in the hallway turned to stare at her.

Ignoring the eyes sweeping over her from head to toe, she quickened her pace and slipped through the crowd.

“Why her?”

“No way…”

Whispers brushed against her ears from every direction.

Only one night had passed, yet the entire palace already seemed to be buzzing with rumors.

It’s not what you’re all thinking.

If even one of them had seen the Emperor’s expression while asking her to clean his bedroom…

They would know she hadn’t become a bedroom maid because he had taken a romantic interest in her.

He had been looking toward Cynia Palace…

But his eyes had wandered somewhere impossibly far away.

He even looked… lonely.

Like a lonely ghost standing there, envious of the living.

Her steps gradually slowed until she finally came to a stop.

Standing in the middle of the corridor, Harriet gazed at the distant outline of Cynia Palace.

Honestly… lonely?

If he wanted company, he could surround himself with people anytime.

How could someone like him be lonely?

And even if he was…

Wasn’t that simply punishment for treating other people’s lives however he pleased?

Yesterday he had used his status to push her around however he liked.

His fatigue, his headache—they were all just excuses.

…

Although…

He had apologized.

Grumbling under her breath as she continued criticizing the Emperor, Harriet pulled out her notebook and quickly jotted down the ideas that had come to mind.

She had no intention of using them in her novel.

But ideas were still ideas.

I’m definitely not going to use them! The Emperor is still going to become a pathetic, miserable villain!

She scribbled furiously across the page like she was doodling, only to suddenly freeze.

She had even started writing excuses…

As though trying to justify herself to someone.

Letting out a long sigh, she tore the page from the notebook, ripped it into tiny pieces, and threw them into the trash.

It seemed that dealing with a crazy Emperor had driven her a little crazy as well.

* * *

Even after allowing Harriet into the Emperor’s bedroom, Elvin still didn’t fully trust her.

He watched her every move.

Quite literally.

“I’m sure you’re already aware,” he began.

Harriet focused on his metallic, emotionless voice.

“His Majesty granted Miss Brown permission to enter this room out of pure goodwill. I hope you won’t misunderstand his intentions or interpret them in any other way.”

“I absolutely won’t.”

There wasn’t the slightest chance she would misunderstand.

Nor did she want to.

The Emperor hated Elliot Dark, who was practically her alter ego.

There was every possibility he disliked Harriet Brown herself as well.

He had bestowed this honor on a whim today…

Who knew when he might take it away?

“You probably won’t encounter His Majesty,” Elvin continued. “Whether by accident or not, make sure you never leave any of your belongings behind. The moment they’re discovered, His Majesty will throw you out.”

Harriet’s ears perked up.

She absentmindedly touched the ribbon hidden in her pocket.

There was certainly a risk.

She might not only be expelled from the Emperor’s bedroom, but from the royal palace altogether.

And an enraged Count Phelan might even bury her alive.

Still…

The condition that she would never have to meet the Emperor was incredibly tempting.

Unfortunately, that meant her original plan—to casually “accidentally” drop the ribbon while no one was looking—was impossible from the start.

So Harriet worked diligently.

Far too diligently.

Once she became absorbed in organizing something, she often forgot both the time and her original purpose.

She searched every corner of the room, gathering scattered documents and notes into neat piles.

She collected the pens strewn everywhere and arranged them neatly on a tray.

Then she noticed stains here and there.

She was horrified.

I cleaned Cynia Palace so thoroughly, and there are still stains?!

Unable to tolerate it, Harriet fetched a rag herself, scrubbed the floor vigorously like an ordinary servant, and finally wiped the sweat from her forehead with satisfaction.

Only then did she remember why she had come.

…Oh. The ribbon.

Watching her completely forget both the Emperor and her own mission in favor of enthusiastically cleaning everything in sight, Elvin forgot his suspicions as well.

Instead…

He applauded.

“How can someone be this diligent!”

She had worked with such passion that Elvin’s heart completely opened to her in just three days.

She showed none of the excitement of entering the Emperor’s bedroom.

She never looked around for valuables.

She didn’t appear nervous about possibly running into the Emperor.

She focused solely on her work.

How could a loyal attendant not be impressed?

Elvin silently admired the Emperor’s keen judgment.

To think she was such a hardworking talent!

Clap. Clap.

Hearing the applause, Harriet gave an awkward smile.

“You flatter me. Haha… ha… ha…”

Inside, however, she was crying tears of blood.

I should’ve held back a little!

But what could she do?

Whenever work was right in front of her, she simply couldn’t ignore it.

That was just her nature.

When she had first entered the palace, she had felt a little nervous about entering the Emperor’s bedroom.

That feeling had quickly disappeared.

She was more than familiar with Cynia Palace.

She was sick of it.

Who had supervised its cleaning, polishing, and maintenance every single day?

She herself.

Harriet was confident that no one in the imperial palace knew Cynia Palace better than she did.

I know exactly where everything is.

So what if the Emperor was messy?

Once she cleaned it, it became a room she knew.

She had personally chosen that sofa.

She had fought to select and install those curtains.

She was more familiar with Cynia Palace than with her own dormitory room.

That said enough.

Still… I wish he’d keep his room a little cleaner.

She wasn’t exaggerating.

The Emperor really was incredibly messy.

I wonder how bad the bedroom is today.

How many documents are scattered all over the floor this time?

Almost looking forward to it now, Harriet stepped into the bedroom.

Since she had been coming in every day for the past few days, no one stopped her anymore.

Even so…

Today felt strangely awkward.

Because Elvin wasn’t there.

He had gone off on an errand.

Harriet briefly considered coming back later, but one of the Emperor’s guards stepped aside and allowed her through before she could decide.

Well… I guess it’s fine even if I’m alone.

Whether Elvin was there or not, she was only going to clean.

Besides…

She wasn’t truly alone.

Someone unseen was surely watching her every movement.

So what did “alone” even mean?

She had no intention of doing anything suspicious, whether anyone was watching or not.

But the instant she entered the bedroom—

Harriet nearly turned around and fled.

Inside her mind, she desperately called for the absent Elvin.

Because…

Why is the Emperor here?!