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chapter 05
In an instant, the air inside the laundry room froze.
Splash.
A rag someone had dropped slipped from their hand and fell into a bucket of water. Dirty water splashed in every direction, soaking the floor, but no one dared make a sound. The maids stared at Elysia with expressions mixed with shock and disgust.
“What did you just say, you newbie?”
Greta let out a hollow laugh. Yet her sharply narrowed eyes were trembling.
“You were spouting crazy nonsense even to His Majesty the Emperor, and now you’ve really gone insane, haven’t you?”
“That’s right. If I’m willing to say crazy things to His Majesty the Emperor, you don’t honestly think I’d be afraid of the likes of you, do you?”
Elysia gave her a faint, amused smile. Her calmness and confidence only made Greta and the other senior maids go pale.
“So let’s act like adults and each take care of our own work. We’re both busy.”
With that, Elysia turned around and walked out of the laundry room. A smile kept creeping onto her lips.
Now, all she had to do was figure out how to get revenge on Kaiel.
It was a perfect victory.
At least, it was for the moment.
However, the Imperial Palace was not such an easy place to deal with.
The maids who had been defeated in a direct confrontation soon began showing their nasty and petty true colors.
“There’s been a new room assignment. Your room is the one at the very end.”
“Suddenly…?”
“Just follow me quietly.”
Following a maid with fox-like, slanted eyes, Elysia arrived at the deepest and dreariest basement room in the maids’ quarters.
“Ugh…”
The moment she opened the door, a musty smell of mold and a wave of cold air hit her.
The window was barely the size of a palm, allowing not even a ray of sunlight inside, and the walls were damp with moisture.
In winter, the cold would seep into one’s bones. It was infamous as the worst room in the entire maids’ quarters.
So this is how you’re going to play it.
They were blatantly trying to make her miserable.
The maid who had brought her there glanced at Elysia, apparently expecting her to despair or burst into tears.
“It’s wonderful.”
Elysia smiled as naturally as she could.
“Perfect. It’s exactly the room I wanted.”
“…What? The room you wanted?”
“Yes. It’s so quiet here that it’ll be perfect for thinking. Thank you, Senior.”
The fox-eyed maid’s face twisted with disbelief and disappointment.
“Is she really crazy?”
She muttered under her breath before angrily slamming the door shut and leaving.
Why should I give you the reaction you want?
She had a goal she absolutely had to accomplish. She had already endured Kaiel’s horrific rebellion and brutal execution.
Compared to that hell, this level of hazing was nothing more than a cute little children’s game.
But when she calmly considered the reality of the situation, it was still troublesome.
In the darkness of the room, Elysia quietly thought of Kaiel.
…There’s no opening.
He was always surrounded by layers of elite royal guards on high alert. There was no opportunity for some mere laundry maid to break through that tight security and approach him.
First, I need to survive here.
Elysia pulled the damp, musty blanket over her head.
The cold seeping in from every direction made her bones ache, but she could endure it because the flame of revenge burned fiercely deep within her heart.
And so, her first night in that hellish room passed.
The bullying and hazing, however, truly began the following morning, the moment she arrived at work.
BANG!
The laundry room doors burst open, and a line of enormous baskets was carried inside.
Every single one was filled with heavy, damp laundry covered in stubborn grime.
“What is all this…?”
When Elysia asked, Greta, who had seemed to lose her fighting spirit yesterday, once again put on a shameless expression and curled her lips into a smirk.
“What do you think it is? It’s your workload for today.”
“All of this?”
“Oh my, what happened to all that confidence you had yesterday? Don’t be such a baby. We all did this much when we were newbies. If you’re unhappy about it, go complain to the head maid who got you this position. Ah, though, I doubt she’ll even listen to you.”
At Greta’s words, the surrounding maids eagerly joined in with mocking laughter.
“While she’s at it, the ballroom carpets are overdue for washing. Give those to her, too.”
“The laundry room drains still need cleaning, and the basement storage room hasn’t been organized yet.”
“Oh, right. And all those thick winter blankets that came in today. Let’s put those on her list, too.”
Petty orders came flying at her from every direction.
Since they couldn’t beat her head-on, they intended to crush her under an overwhelming amount of work until she became exhausted and quit on her own.
“…Yes. I’ll finish everything.”
Elysia silently retied her apron.
There was no point in arguing at length. All that would do was entertain them.
Maybe this is for the best.
By piling all this work on her, they had actually given her a way to avoid wasting time dealing with their petty harassment.
Instead, she could focus on the plan to bring down Kaiel on her own.
However, as time passed, the bullying became increasingly blatant and childish.
They deliberately poured dirty water at Elysia’s feet to make her slip and fall, and they repeatedly kicked piles of freshly folded clothes onto the dusty floor.
“Oh my, I’m sorry~ My hand slipped.”
“You’ll have to do it all over again. Oh, what a shame.”
Their voices were filled with laughter and not the slightest trace of remorse.
As Elysia picked up the clothes scattered across the floor, her fingertips trembled.
It wasn’t because she felt humiliated.
She was trembling because she was furious, calculating exactly when and how she would twist the necks of these sewer rats.
Time flowed like a river as she washed the clothes she had already finished all over again.
Before she knew it, darkness had fallen outside the window, and Elysia was the only one left in the laundry room.
“Haa…”
Damn this hazing.
Elysia let out the rough breath that had been building in her chest and finished arranging the last pile of clothes.
The skin on her palms had been rubbed raw and was red and oozing.
And just as the stinging pain was becoming unbearable—
Creak.
Greta entered the laundry room with several other maids.
She narrowed her eyes, apparently surprised that Elysia had finished the work earlier than expected, then casually spat out her words as though it were laughable.
“You’re only finished now? You’re slow at your work. We have to change the bedding tomorrow, and at this speed, you won’t stand a chance. From now on, do it twice as fast. Got it?”
“Yes.”
If you hadn’t been getting in my way, I would have finished ages ago.
Instead of saying that, Elysia hid her reddened hands behind her apron.
Greta then gave her a cruel, snake-like smile.
“We’re out of scented oil. Go to the basement storage room and get some.”
“…Now? That storage room should be locked at night since it contains many valuable items.”
“I said I need it now. How dare a newbie argue with me? Move. Now.”
“Yes, I will.”
When Elysia obediently agreed, two maids standing behind Greta snickered.
A smug smile also spread across Greta’s lips.
What’s going on?
With an uneasy feeling, Elysia headed toward the basement storage room.
The entire body of the person kneeling on the floor was trembling violently.
“…I apologize, Your Majesty. We lost the trail.”
Kaiel’s hand stopped.
The temperature in the room seemed to plunge dozens of degrees in an instant, filling the air with an icy chill.
“You lost him.”
Kaiel quietly repeated the words.
“You squeezed every information network in the Imperial Palace and even sealed the borders, yet you couldn’t catch a single rat.”
“T-That’s because… the remnants who followed the Crown Prince risked their lives to divert our attention. They also moved as though someone had leaked information beforehand. There must definitely be an insider helping them…”
“An insider.”
Kaiel leaned deeply against the back of his chair.
“You mean you haven’t even figured out who that insider is.”
“I-I’m sorry! If you give me just three more months—”
“No excuses.”
He lightly tapped his fingers against the desk.
Tap. Tap.
The steady rhythm made the heart of the person kneeling before him tighten with fear.
Alix.
He was the Crown Prince Kaiel had personally brought down, but it wasn’t over until he had completely severed his head.
If he did not cut off his breath for good, Alix was the kind of venomous snake who could rise again at any moment and sink his fangs into Kaiel.
Therefore, mercy or complacency was a luxury Kaiel could not afford.
“I’ll give you one month.”
“Y-Your Majesty…!”
“Next time, don’t bring me a report. Bring me his head.”
Kaiel’s voice was utterly devoid of emotion.
“If you fail, the head that will take your place will be yours.”
