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chapter 71
“Aaah!”
The antique furniture decorating the Peril mansion was scratched and battered. It was the result of a plate Demeteria had thrown. They had been expensive and rare items, carefully displayed in the drawers.
Demeteria had collected them one by one, planning to use them later when receiving royal guests. Beautiful teacups, plates, and teapots rolled across the floor, breaking and scattering everywhere. The maids couldn’t even shout; they could only try to stop Demeteria.
“Miss, the splinters might splash onto your delicate face!”
“Move! I said, move!”
“Demeteria! What’s going on?!”
The Duchess of Peril was at a loss, shocked by her daughter’s sudden outburst after so long. The gentle Duchess of Peril often shed tears when her daughter exhibited these sudden, almost violent fits.
“Who does she think she is?!”
Demeteria ignored the Duchess’s arrival and continued fuming. Then, when her finger was slightly cut, she screamed as if her neck were being torn and collapsed onto the floor.
Seeing Demeteria cry and wail in pain, the maids and servants hurriedly cleaned up the broken pieces. The Duchess approached her daughter. Her lady-in-waiting immediately checked Demeteria’s hand. It was only a minor cut at the fingertip, but a drop of blood was clearly visible. The Duchess asked the maid while examining it.
“Will there be a scar?”
“No, ma’am. There’s nothing to worry about. The cut isn’t deep, so we can stop the bleeding and apply ointment immediately. We’ll treat it so that it heals cleanly, leaving no scar.”
“Good. Quickly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The maid dabbed the blood away and applied the ointment. Demeteria frowned and pushed the maid away as if brushing her hand off.
“It hurts!”
The maid almost fell onto the remaining shards but quickly regained her balance. The maids tried not to murmur, clenching their lips tightly.
“Bring me some lukewarm water.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Demeteria, you need to speak up and say what you want. You know your father hates this kind of behavior most of all.”
“I don’t want it to reach Father’s ears. It’s trivial—completely trivial.”
Demeteria felt ashamed that she had become so angry over a mere scrawny maid. If her father, Andre, found out, he would scold her for letting jealousy blind her. He would surely blame her for not having captured the Emperor’s heart all this time.
The Duchess of Peril couldn’t scold or console her daughter. She herself had been raised pampered in a noble family and married the Duke of Peril like a greenhouse flower. She had never known hardship.
She was never fierce; she could get anything without struggling. Unlike Demeteria, she had never had to scramble for anything, so she could not fully understand her daughter.
The Duchess lowered the corners of her mouth and spoke.
“Then what do you expect me to do? You won’t say a word, and you tell me not to tell your father?”
She looked as though she wanted to leave the room in frustration. Demeteria, seeing this, felt stifled.
‘How can Mother be so utterly useless? She doesn’t even have the will to act. What good is it to be known as the gentlest in the Peril family? Absolutely no help at all.’
Demeteria turned her head sharply the other way, refusing to speak. The Duchess waited for the maid to finish treating her hand and then rose from her seat.
“If you didn’t want your father to know, you shouldn’t have caused such a scene, Demeteria. Today, your behavior was truly disappointing.”
“……”
“Even when angry, never let it leave a scar. It lowers your value.”
The Duchess offered what she considered the best advice and turned away. As she left, Demeteria let out a groan and sank onto the sofa, nearly crying from frustration.
She tried to recall the face of the maid, Lina. The lush platinum bob. Her white skin and her eyes. Though it was hard to gauge her figure in her maid’s uniform, she was neither plump nor heavy. Rather, she was on the slimmer side, tall, and with a well-proportioned frame.
Neat, simple, and proper.
If one deliberately sought only her merits, that would be it. Naturally, she could not compare herself. Lina was a trivial existence, someone of unknown origin who had simply appeared.
But the real problem was Dantes’ gaze. That warm look he had given her. His eyes had not left Lina’s face for a moment, even seeming to smile briefly. The trace of that smile lingered just long enough for Demeteria to intuitively feel it.
‘His Majesty has feelings for that maid. Even if only for a moment! That insignificant girl! Dantes Belkin, the Iron Fortress himself!’
Demeteria could endure a delayed marriage because he treated women like stones on the street. At least he had complimented or escorted her. He had never lingered his gaze on other women.
That was why the old friend, Roberto Brida, had been so infuriating. The Emperor, who showed no interest in other women, had been obsessively fixated on him. Rumor had it that even though he was a man, he had delicate features.
Demeteria had been anxious, though she had never seen him in person. Even after he was captured, she had fretted over not being able to kill him first, going so far as to poison him herself.
‘And now this unexpected problem… and she’s a maid!’
Fuming, she twisted her legs and bit her thumb—a nervous habit. The sound of the door opening made her glare sharply. It was Wakin, her bodyguard and errand-runner.
“Did you find her?”
“Yes. According to Marco Griffin, it’s as he said. The mercenary had a limp but was skilled. He worked for the Griffin family and recently died. His name was Xavier Tilman. He was well-known even among other mercenaries, and his combat record is verified.”
“……”
“She had a daughter, recently discovered, but hidden so it wouldn’t be a weakness. It seems the Griffin family used influence to place her as a maid during her apprenticeship.”
“You already knew all that! Nothing new?”
Demeteria spoke irritably. Apart from the mercenary’s name, it was just a repetition of what she had already learned directly from the Griffins.
“Lina Tilman apparently suffered an accident with her father. Currently, Lady Vanessa treats her morning and evening.”
“Treats? What’s injured?”
“We couldn’t find out. Lady Vanessa’s security is extremely strict…”
“What?”
“Apologies.”
Demeteria narrowed her eyes. However, the strict security was not bad news—it meant that this future instrument of hers would be contained and controlled. Less gossip was better. She continued while staring at her injured finger.
“She looked fine. What could possibly be injured?”
“Since Lady Vanessa didn’t order any special medical supplies, it doesn’t seem serious. Likely minor injuries from following her father.”
“So she’s a loose girl, running around with dirty mercenaries, maybe picking up tricks from the streets?”
“……”
“She probably used that innocent face to flatter His Majesty, learned from the streets.”
Wakin did not contradict her. But he thought completely differently.
There was very little information on Lina. She did not even use the surname Tilman. Dangerous mercenaries often prevent their children from using their name. Among commoners, surnames weren’t particularly important.
Even in the palace, she was not remarkable. More people didn’t know her than did. Those who had worked with her or briefly met her knew only that she was a quiet, diligent apprentice maid.
Her living conditions weren’t lavish, according to other maids who had seen her quarters and luggage.
She was too insignificant to bear Demeteria’s wrath—almost pitiful.
“Is that all?”
“No, one important thing remains.”
“What is it?”
Demeteria’s eyes sharpened.
“She was one of the maids attending when His Majesty chose his attire for the recent social party.”
“What? How?”
“It’s hard to know the details. Chief steward Milan brought her along.”
“Met there, huh? Ha. While His Majesty was trying on clothes, she squirmed alongside him, trying to get noticed!”
“……”
Demeteria bit her finger in thought. Wakin silently waited for her decision.
“Find out more. How did Milan bring that girl? What’s her illness? Find a way to quietly remove her!”
Wakin voiced his concern.
“Now is not a good time. Security has been heightened since the Black Tower incident.”
“Damn it! This is all because of that Roberto!”
Demeteria could no longer contain her boiling anger and shouted, then suddenly opened her eyes.
“She’s still an apprentice maid, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then if she fails the apprenticeship, she’ll be expelled from the palace?”
Demeteria smiled faintly at Wakin. He felt a slight chill but said nothing, waiting quietly. She continued with a smile.
“Bring me the guest list for the social party.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll make sure she’s expelled that very day.”
Only then did Demeteria smile fully, satisfied. Wakin bowed and quickly left the room.
