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chapter 03
“W-What are you talking about?! There’s no room left for any more people!”
“…Think carefully. Are you really sure there isn’t?”
Elysia murmured calmly, almost as if she were talking to herself.
Even as she spoke, all kinds of insects continued crawling inside Jilonne’s clothes. At least, that was how it appeared to Jilonne.
“F-Fine! You’re hired! You’re hired!!”
“You said there were no more positions available.”
“Hiiiiiick! The laundry room! I’ll let you work as a maid in the laundry room! Please, I’m begging you!”
“All right. Then I suppose we can stop here.”
The moment Elysia uttered those words, almost as though granting permission, the hallucination of insects covering everything vanished without a trace.
“Hah… hah…”
Covered in sweat, Jilonne panted heavily as she looked up at Elysia with terrified eyes.
“W-Who… who are you?”
“Believe me.”
Elysia picked up the document bearing her number from the stack of papers Jilonne had dropped on the floor and placed it back into her hands.
Then, with a warm smile that made her look like a woman simply doing someone a kindness, she said,
“That’s something I truly can’t tell you.”
The Imperial Palace was still cloaked in silence, as it was the early hours of the morning.
The maids of the laundry room hurried back and forth through the corridors before sunrise, sorting sheets piled as high as mountains. Hot steam rising from the freshly boiled linens filled the enormous laundry room with a hazy mist.
“They had to bring in a new girl now of all times?”
The atmosphere in the laundry room was much more tense than usual.
A special inspection of the entire Imperial Palace was scheduled to take place in a few days. To commemorate one year since his ascension to the throne, Kaiel himself would be making an inspection tour of the palace.
The purpose was to place banners and flags bearing the new imperial crest throughout the palace, but the laundry maids were terrified that even the smallest mistake could cause trouble.
Amidst them, Elysia stood before Greta, the head maid in charge of the laundry room.
“This is the worst possible time. His Majesty’s inspection is right around the corner. If we take in a new girl and she causes even one accident, the entire laundry room could lose their heads.”
Greta deeply furrowed her brow and clicked her tongue.
Her gaze traveled up and down Elysia’s body.
She had a slender frame, a pale face, and wrists so thin they looked as though they might snap at any moment.
“I only accepted you because the head maid personally asked me to, but… just looking at you, you’re so frail. What kind of work are you going to be able to do?”
The maids nearby glanced at Greta and began whispering among themselves.
“She won’t last more than a few days.”
“If she makes a mistake and catches His Majesty’s attention, we’re all in trouble.”
Their voices, mixed with mockery and concern, spread throughout the laundry room like ripples across water.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do now that we’ve already accepted her. Go stand over in that corner and make yourself as inconspicuous as possible. Don’t get in the way and ruin anything.”
Greta pointed toward a corner of the laundry room with an expression that still clearly showed her displeasure.
Just then, hurried footsteps could be heard from outside.
“Head Maid! Head Maid!”
A maid burst through the door, panting heavily.
“What is it? Why are you making such a fuss first thing in the morning?”
“The schedule has been moved up. His Majesty is apparently going to pass through this corridor soon!”
“What?”
Greta’s face went pale.
The inspection had originally been scheduled for the afternoon. That was why no one had even finished cleaning and organizing everything yet.
“No…! There’s still dirty bedding piled up over there! And that stain hasn’t even been removed!”
At Greta’s scream, the maids immediately sprang into action.
They hurried to hide the wet sheets, put away the scattered washbasins, and hastily gathered up the cloth lying on the floor.
“New girl, replace that flag over there with this one. And then crouch down in the corner. Whatever you do, don’t let His Majesty notice you!”
Even in the middle of all the chaos, Greta shoved a banner bearing the new imperial crest into Elysia’s arms and irritably pushed her aside.
Elysia nearly stumbled, but she paid it no mind.
I’m actually going to see that bastard.
She had never imagined she would face him this soon.
Her heart began pounding like the frantic fluttering of a newborn bird’s wings.
Of course, even if she encountered him, there was nothing she could do right now. She couldn’t go after his heart in a palace filled with knights protecting the Emperor.
But at the very least, she could clearly feel that she had taken one step closer to revenge.
“Hurry, everyone!”
Meanwhile, the laundry room was thrown into chaos in an instant.
During this special inspection, Emperor Kaiel was personally touring the interior of the Imperial Palace together with the officials in charge of each area.
There were widespread rumors that anyone who caught his displeasure would not escape unscathed, so everyone was absolutely terrified.
Elysia hung the flag Greta had given her on the wall and then stood behind the other maids who were rushing around.
There was absolutely no way she intended to hide like frightened prey in front of Kaiel.
A short while later, the laundry room door opened.
The Imperial Knights entered first.
When the knights in black uniforms spread out to either side, the maids inside the laundry room hurriedly lowered themselves.
The murmuring that had filled the room only moments earlier died away instantly.
At last, Kaiel stepped into the laundry room with an expressionless face.
With every step he took, the maids’ shoulders trembled slightly.
“……”
Elysia also quickly lowered her head.
But she did not completely avert her gaze.
From beneath her eyelashes, she secretly glanced up at him.
……Kaiel.
Her heart lurched violently.
That face.
The face she had wanted to kill countless times.
The face she had never once forgotten since the Spell of Erasure.
“Over there.”
At that moment, the golden eyes slowly scanning the laundry room narrowed.
“What is that?”
At his cold voice, everyone held their breath.
At the end of his gaze stood Elysia.
I told you not to stand out!
Greta’s eyes darted around frantically.
Realizing that the Emperor might have noticed the new girl, who was not even wearing the proper maid uniform, she hurried forward.
“Your Majesty, th-that is… She only started working here today, so she just arrived and her uniform is still a mess. I’ll have it corrected immediately.”
Greta bowed deeply, then whipped her head around and glared at Elysia with murderous eyes.
But Kaiel continued to keep his gaze fixed askew on Elysia.
“That’s none of my concern.”
He walked slowly toward Elysia.
Then he reached behind her and picked something up.
“This belongs to my dear father and elder brother.”
In his hand was a banner bearing the crest of the former imperial family.
It was something Elysia had failed to hide while replacing it with the new flag.
“So there are still people left who follow them.”
Kaiel gave a crooked grin.
How could a smiling face look so cold and frightening?
The laundry room instantly froze.
“Is it the head maid?”
“N-No, Your Majesty! Absolutely not! It’s definitely not me! The person in charge of that is the new girl!”
Greta’s face turned deathly pale.
She frantically waved her hands in denial before immediately pointing at Elysia.
Kaiel’s gaze slowly turned toward her.
“A new maid, is it? What is your name?”
At Kaiel’s question, every gaze in the laundry room instantly focused on Elysia.
Amid the suffocating silence, she bit the inside of her lip.
“Raise your head.”
“……”
Elysia tensed her fingertips.
Will that bastard recognize me?
Even if the people of the world no longer knew that she existed, there was no way to know whether the Spell of Erasure had affected the Emperor himself.
After all, the Emperor possessed powerful magic that had been passed down through the imperial family for generations.
What if he remembers?
What if he recognizes me immediately?
“What is your name?”
When Kaiel asked again, Elysia slowly raised her head.
