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Chapter 5
I don’t want to run into that attendant either! I just don’t want anything to do with the Swann Empire!
And you’re saying the prince handles the important guest while I do all the work? I hate that too in its own way!
‘If I throw a tantrum here, will they kick me out?’
Behind her carefully maintained smile, Harriet clenched her fist tightly.
Alright. Let’s cause a scene. I’ll just lie down and scream that I refuse.
Then they’ll say they’ve never seen such an unrefined maid and throw me out. I can use the wages I’ve carefully saved to rent a room again.
I can take on part-time jobs for living expenses while focusing on my next manuscript!
But Harriet neither lay down nor caused a scene.
“It’s confidential, but since it’s already been shared with Count Phaelin, I’ve told him as well. He was overjoyed that the maid he personally recommended would be taking on such an important role.”
Confidential, she said! How is that confidential if you’re telling everyone?!
Harriet stared blankly into space.
And then, absurdly, she laughed. People really do laugh when they’re speechless—but this wasn’t the kind of situation where laughter meant joy. It was just another ridiculous moment piling on top of everything else.
It felt like the day she read the article saying the Emperor had been enraged by Elliot Dark’s novel.
‘If I storm out now, I’ll just get dragged back by Count Phaelin, who said he was “thrilled” about this.’
Would he bury me alive for damaging his reputation?
Between being buried alive and having her skin flayed off while still breathing, she was starting to seriously weigh her options.
At the crossroads of fate, Harriet reluctantly nodded.
These insane nobles. Once this is over, I’m leaving for the countryside.
I’ll go somewhere with good air and water and write while biting all of them like a dog.
“…I will serve with utmost sincerity.”
The world was garbage. And her life was even worse.
‘Right. What could possibly go wrong?’
In the newspapers, she was the one who provoked the Emperor—but in reality, Harriet Brown was just a low-ranking maid who wouldn’t even register in the Emperor’s sight.
‘I was worried when I entered the palace, but nothing bad has happened so far.’
Harriet calmed her restless thoughts.
Of course, it didn’t take long before she realized how wrong that assumption was.
Harriet paused mid-sip of soup, glaring at the newspaper with a dark expression.
Between the stress of the Emperor and the manuscript she had to submit to the weekly magazine, she’d barely slept for days—and now this newspaper was adding fuel to the fire.
“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Highness the Princess: Arrival scheduled for April 3rd!”
‘Who left this trash here?’
She ground her teeth and shoved the paper aside.
Not because of its content—but because it really was trash. It was already four days old.
The Emperor was arriving today. And over the past week, Harriet had been worked to the bone.
Literally worked to death.
“Here’s another crack in the wall! The palace exterior represents the dignity of its owner. Make sure it’s repaired cleanly so it doesn’t show!”
The cracked exterior walls, which had been ignored for a month despite repeated requests, were suddenly repaired flawlessly.
“And why is there no shine? No shine at all! Keep scrubbing until the floor shines like it’s been polished from underneath!”
The gloomy interior that looked like it might summon ghosts was now gleaming so brightly it was almost blinding.
Harriet had been demanding, yes—but the maids were worse.
Even decorative items from the main palace were moved in, and she was speechless.
The dusty corridor floors now shone like mirrors, forcing people to watch their step to avoid slipping. The garden was filled daily with spring flowers and ornamental stones, bursting with color.
Already overwhelmed by the royal marriage and the Emperor’s visit, the other maids reacted like they were half-mad when they heard he would be staying in Sinea Palace.
“Brown? You should know your place.”
“Do you really think you belong in that palace?”
Some even tried to pressure her into giving up her position.
Harriet would have gladly switched with them—but would the palace lady-in-waiting allow that? No. She had dealt with them herself.
The bullying only intensified, but Harriet barely noticed.
She was so exhausted from waking before dawn, skipping meals, collapsing into bed at sunrise, and repeating the cycle every day that she could barely think straight.
On top of that, she had to write her manuscript every night without being seen.
‘Right. Thanks to His “noble” Majesty, I’ve got even more work now.’
Just thinking about it made her grind her teeth.
To make things worse, she now had to encrypt her manuscript before sending it to Penelope.
Security in the palace had tightened, and all outgoing letters were being randomly inspected and censored.
Yesterday, she had wished the Emperor would just arrive already so this hell could end.
But now that the day had actually come—
‘I’m… scared.’
Her spoon froze midair.
A quiet sigh escaped her lips.
‘What if they find out I’m Elliot Dark?’
It was a pointless fear.
A month had passed; surely even the Emperor had forgotten some minor foreign writer by now.
The powerful people always did that—turning ordinary lives upside down, then forgetting all about it.
While the other maids rushed out to watch the Emperor’s arrival, Harriet stayed behind in Sinea Palace for final inspections.
She didn’t know why she, a maid of only one month, had to do what was essentially a manager’s job—but there was no point questioning it.
“Hey! Who put hibiscus flowers in the vase? What? Lady Grace? Throw them away! In the Swann Empire, red is an unclean color! There’s dust in the corner—did you clean the windows properly? Where are the dry cloths? There’s still dust coming off! Sprinkle a few petals here instead!”
The hibiscus flowers Grace had secretly placed as a gesture of affection were thrown out, and she berated the staff over dust on the window frames.
Even after hundreds of inspections, new problems kept appearing at the final check.
Only just before the Emperor’s arrival did Sinea Palace finally finish preparations.
Harriet, drained in proportion to the effort, was already a wreck.
If she could, she would have abandoned her post entirely.
‘And then Count Phaelin would chase me down.’
Damn reputation.
Without Count Phaelin, she wouldn’t even be here in the palace, let alone standing in the front row to greet the Emperor.
Grinding her teeth inwardly, Harriet stood by the door.
All the palace staff lined up, waiting for the Emperor to arrive. They were to bow as soon as the doors opened.
It was a formality usually reserved for kings, but this was the Emperor of a great empire.
How long had they waited?
Just as doubt began to creep in—whether he would come at all—the heavy doors finally opened.
A rich floral scent drifted in from the garden before the Emperor himself, brushing against their noses. There was also a faint foreign fragrance mixed in.
A scent she had never experienced before lingered over the floral aroma.
‘What is that smell?’
Pushing the thought aside, Harriet lifted the hem of her dress at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow. She lowered her gaze appropriately, like every other maid and servant, so as not to stand out.
‘Ah… it’s a fruit scent.’
Like biting into a juicy, ripe fruit, the fragrance filled her senses.
Polished shoes stepped onto the flower-strewn white carpet.
“Your Majesty the Emperor.”
The ruler of the empire had arrived.
A being who could not be defied, who held absolute authority over the continent.
Harriet followed the movement of his shoes with her eyes. They were already right in front of her.
He would walk past and ascend the stairs.
But the shoes, moving so gracefully across the carpet, stopped.
Right in front of her.
