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Chapter 49
Velly had her own reasons to feel wronged. Who would’ve thought a lie she blurted out to cover being caught eavesdropping would end up trapping her like this?
Dragged almost like a prisoner into the Douglas carriage at dawn, she let out a heavy sigh of frustration.
“Miss Velly. From now on, while Her Highness stays here, you’ll be caring for her without lacking anything.”
At the butler of House Douglas’ words, Velly’s eyes widened.
The missing Princess Erne was here? She couldn’t fully grasp what was going on, but Velly, drawing on her royal court experience, decided it wasn’t the place to ask questions.
So, instead of speaking, she simply nodded. Huger’s eyes narrowed.
A sharp, quick-witted maid, Huger silently assessed, then led her into the drawing room.
With little to talk about, a heavy silence settled between them.
As her eyes scanned the opulent mansion, Velly found herself quietly impressed by the overwhelming grandeur of House Douglas.
This place is even more luxurious than the palace. How much would all this cost?
Having worked near the queen, Velly couldn’t take her eyes off the extravagant surroundings. Then suddenly, her steps slowed.
…That energy.
A familiar yet foreign sensation was drawing closer. Something she hadn’t felt at the entrance of the Douglas estate had started faintly but was now steadily intensifying. There was no way she could fail to recognize it.
A spell.
She concluded. It was faint, but undeniably the same energy she possessed.
But why here, in House Douglas—the wealthiest of noble families in Nesheld? Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“You may wait here.”
Huger guided her into the drawing room and disappeared, likely to attend other duties.
Left alone in an unfamiliar room, Velly bit her lip anxiously.
“What the heck…?”
She couldn’t even explain why she was here. And that mysterious magical energy—no, it wasn’t just magic. It was far more sinister. It was a curse.
Is there even a spellcaster left capable of casting something this malevolent? Velly’s face twisted uneasily.
Soon enough, the energy drew even closer to her. Click.
The sound of footsteps was so close she could clearly hear them, making her mouth go dry with tension.
Eyes fixed on the door, she watched as the Duke of Douglas, whom she had met yesterday, walked in.
“This is the one, Your Highness.”
Windsor stepped aside after spotting Velly. His movement hinted someone else was behind him.
As the large-framed Windsor moved, Princess Erne of Nesheld—whom Velly had seen only in passing—appeared. And she was radiating that foul, curse-like energy.
The magical aura was coming from the princess.
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“Why did you help me?”
“Well… good question. Why did I help you? Haha…”
If the princess had said even one word to Windsor—“That girl isn’t my maid”—Velly’s life would’ve been forfeit.
All her lies would’ve been exposed. But to her surprise, the princess went along with the falsehoods of someone she’d never even met.
Oh, oh, hi there?!
“You don’t seem to remember her name. Was she perhaps not your maid?”
“N-no! Of course she is! It’s just been so long since I saw her—I was surprised and forgot her name for a moment. I didn’t expect to see Velly here!”
Why? Velly couldn’t understand Erne’s behavior.
After Windsor left on urgent business, Erne and Velly were left alone.
“…I’m not your maid, Your Highness.”
Erne’s awkward avoidance of the truth was obvious, so Velly didn’t bother hiding her discomfort.
“Then why did you lie?”
“Well… I accidentally overheard a state meeting.”
Velly confessed honestly. It was a lie born out of pure survival instinct. Just as she was about to explain her curiosity, Erne responded with an unexpected complaint.
“Windsor’s not that scary, though…”
Yeah, right. Velly scoffed inwardly.
The cold and murderous aura she’d felt that day wasn’t a hallucination.
“Anyway, why are you here, Your Highness?”
“Oh? Hmm. It just kind of… happened, I guess.”
“Well, it’s fortunate. It’s better for you to stay out of the palace until things settle down.”
“Is it really that bad back at the palace?”
“Your fiancé is running wild—ah, wait. That’s not what I meant…”
Erne’s eyes filled with surprise at the slip of Velly’s tongue.
She was clearly startled by Velly’s blunt tone. Velly sighed and softened her wording.
“The Babylon family is… quite dominant right now. You understand what I mean, right?”
Finally, Erne nodded. While Velly inwardly scolded herself for her rudeness, Erne was shocked for another reason entirely.
Wow, the heroine is worried about me.
She was moved. Her heart fluttered.
Is this… the start of a bestie plotline with the female lead? That would be perfect!
With the heroine’s support, she could easily become a powerful, unbeatable character! Erne felt like she had a god-tier ally backing her.
That was why she had gone along with Velly’s lie.
Because Velly was the female lead.
Besides, wasn’t Windsor’s initial interest in the heroine also based on a common second-male-lead misunderstanding trope?
Whether it was her clever improvisation or her silver-tongued deception, Windsor would come to feel both sympathy and curiosity toward Velly—falling hopelessly in love. A tragic but intense sub-male-lead. A dark figure.
His misunderstanding about her being ill eventually twisted into love, then into obsession—a frightening possessiveness.
Thinking of the tangled dynamics, Erne decided to let Velly’s small lie go.
It’s not like she’s out to hurt me…
Weighing pros and cons, Erne chose to let it slide. She already had more than enough problems to deal with. She didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about heroine/male lead/sub-lead drama.
The only thing that really nagged at her—
Windsor and Velly met.
The sub-male-lead. The dark character. And the heroine. Was this encounter okay?
Of course, it was all for the sake of avoiding Nesheld’s destruction ending.
Anyway…
After all this effort to find the heroine, now that she’s in front of me, I just want her to live happily ever after with someone. Anyone.
People were fickle. Erne offered a bitter smile and quietly gathered her thoughts.
She didn’t know how far the novel had progressed, which made her a bit uneasy—but she quickly shook off the thought.
“By the way, Your Highness. Are you feeling unwell?”
“Huh? No? I feel perfectly fine. Why?”
“No strange symptoms?”
“Hmm? No? I’m totally fine.”
Erne answered dutifully despite a strange sense of déjà vu.
Velly studied her suspiciously, then slowly lifted her gaze.
“That’s strange. That shouldn’t be possible.”
“Huh?”
She asked again, confused, but no answer came.
Velly merely rose from her seat, picked up the teapot, and said she would reheat the now-cold tea.
There wasn’t a trace of deception in her clear eyes.
Then… is the princess really unaware of her condition?
A malicious spell should’ve already started showing physical signs. Velly was puzzled, but decided she needed to observe more closely.
And to do that, being by Erne’s side was the best way. She quickly changed her mindset.
Until just a moment ago, she had resented her situation—being forced into the Douglas estate, trapped when she needed to be out searching for her child. But now…
It’s worth investigating.
Velly focused on the complex web of magical symbols tangled around Erne’s heart.
Familiar, yet foreign. A composition she’d never seen before. And one too dangerous to tamper with lightly.
Definitely a curse. Then who? Who in the world harbored such malice against the princess to cast something so reckless?
That was what Velly needed to uncover.
“Since things turned out this way, I’ll do my best to serve Your Highness. After all, you backed up my lie without hesitation.”
“You really don’t have to…”
Sensing something oddly resolute in Velly’s attitude, Erne waved her hands in protest, but Velly didn’t budge. Her determination blazed like fire.
“With the royal situation the way it is, and your fiancé stabbing you in the back… At the very least, having a maid at your side should bring some comfort. Don’t worry. I didn’t get this position through connections or family ties. I have no one to tell.”
Her face, firm with conviction, made Erne’s expression twist strangely.
Oh god, even here—those damn connections and family ties…
As Velly rambled on, Erne’s face soured, and she bit into a crunchy cookie, shaking her head.
“It’s okay. Looks like you were dragged here by Windsor anyway.”
“Once I say something, I see it through.”
“You’re really going to be my maid?”
“If Your Highness will have me—until you safely return to the palace.”
“…”
The heroine’s kindness was sweet—but awkward. Erne scratched her cheek awkwardly and shrugged.
This is…
Anyone would say it—a crow repaying a favor.
