Chapter 21
It was suspicious no matter how you looked at it, but Lilfey had only been here for a month. She’d recently earned my trust and been promoted from a maid to a lady-in-waiting. She’d even helped me get dressed this morning. At that time, her status window hadn’t said she belonged to my sister.
“W-Why have you returned so early, Your Highness? Weren’t you with His Majesty at the training grounds?”
“Yes, I was.”
I tried to see what she was hiding with her body, but there was nothing particularly out of place.
It didn’t look like she had been rummaging through anything either.
“She seems suspicious.”
“Ah!”
She jumped, startled—probably because she hadn’t realized Francis was standing so close behind her. He reached out a hand to steady her so she wouldn’t fall.
“Wh-What do you mean, suspicious?”
“Now, now, Sir Francis. How could you suspect someone like that so easily?”
But his suspicion wasn’t unfounded. Being in my room without permission, her surprise when I entered, and the way she kept trying to hide something behind her back—those were all reasonable signs.
She didn’t seem to be holding anything, though. Then why?
“But I trust Sir Francis’s instincts.”
[Francis Patella
: Captain of the Imperial Guard / Affection toward Gracie Fletcher Gabriella Bastian – 41%]
“I’ll summon an attendant to investigate.”
“Wait.”
I stopped him before he could call someone from outside. In this game, my allies were limited to the Emperor and his close aides—and even they weren’t entirely trustworthy.
“Lilfey. You’re someone I want to trust. If you tell the truth right now, I’ll pretend this never happened.”
Her brown hair and eyes weren’t particularly striking, not compared to other ladies-in-waiting. Still, because of how she’d behaved so far, I wanted to believe in her.
She’d come from an orphanage—just like me.
“N-Nothing happened! Really, Your Highness! Please believe me!”
I sighed before I realized it. She was trembling all over.
So, without hesitation, I pressed the small arrow beside her status window to recheck it.
[Lilfey
: Lady-in-waiting to the Second Princess / Lesser noble
▼ Belongs to Kiira Fletcher Gabriella Bastian]
“I’ll ask one last time.”
“Y-Your Highness!”
“Lilfey. What were you doing in my room?”
Francis gestured toward the door, and I caught the subtle signal.
Oh, Francis—you’re my sister’s man too, and yet you’re helping me interrogate her person?
“I-I didn’t do anything! Truly, I didn’t! Please, Your Highness!”
“…Whose person are you, Lilfey?”
“I—I belong to Her Highness, Gracie Fletcher Gabriella Bastian!”
“Liar.”
Guards rushed in from behind, grabbing her arms and forcing her face-down. Other maids appeared, and soon there were whispers and gasps at the door as people gathered to watch.
“Find out what she’s done.”
My sister really was impressive.
Even the maid standing beside me—she’d managed to turn her into her person.
How utterly irritating.
“Your Highness.”
The servants and attendants searched the room but found nothing.
“Your Highness, I swear I’m innocent!”
Nothing was found. Which meant, as the villainess of this game, I was now playing the part of someone who falsely accuses and torments an innocent maid.
“The princess again…”
“She’s been quiet lately, and now this…”
“Poor thing.”
The murmurs annoyed me. What if I was wrong?
That couldn’t happen.
“Who’s assigned to clean my chambers today?”
“M-Me, Your Highness!”
Three maids stepped forward—one with darker brown hair and freckles, another with the same hair color and a red ribbon, and a third with her hair tied to one side.
“Are you under Lilfey’s supervision?”
“No! We’re under the head maid, Your Highness!”
“Then when you’re not here, who handles my room?”
“His Majesty said we must take special care of Your Highness’s chambers! No one else is allowed to clean them!”
Right. I was the villainess of this game.
And this game wanted me to win.
Winning meant deposing my sister—so that Gracie, not Kiira, would become the Empress.
The Emperor wanted me to be the crown princess. This whole scheme was probably meant to show that the “recovered princess” was not so stable after all.
The game board hadn’t even begun to move yet.
“Ah!”
Lilfey was face-down, so I stepped on her hand—not hard, just enough to press my weight slightly.
“Ow—ah, it hurts!”
“You dare enter the princess’s chambers without permission as though it were your own? Do you not know that’s a beheading offense?”
“P-Please spare me, Your Highness!”
The air grew heavier. Everyone seemed used to this kind of scene.
Fine then—I would play along.
“Attendant.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I ordered him to bring that special medicine.
“Go fetch it.”
Until he returned, I didn’t lift my foot from her hand. She trembled so hard I thought she might speak before he got back, but instead she only grew more desperate.
“You’ll have to drink what he brings.”
“N-No! Please, Your Highness! P-Please have mercy!”
Francis frowned and called for more guards to pin her down. He was watching me, trying to judge my intent.
Good. Let them think what they want—the real game was only beginning.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you disappointed?”
He didn’t look away. His gray eyes were as dazzlingly clear as ever, shining like light through glass.
“No, Your Highness. I’m sure you have your reasons.”
Even as he said it, his clenched fists betrayed his doubt.
“Your Highness, I’ve brought what you requested.”
The attendant handed me a small vial filled with liquid. Lilfey turned pale at the sight.
“Seems the maids haven’t cleaned properly. Since you’re here, you’ll do it yourself.”
“N-No, Your Highness, please!”
They lifted her from the floor, arms bound behind her. Two guards held her head and forced her mouth open.
“This is for your own good. You should be grateful.”
“N-No! Please!”
Her tear-streaked cheeks almost made her look pitiful. Francis glanced at me again, eyes full of reproach—as if asking whether I was really going to kill a maid.
“Stop!”
Ah, here comes the protagonist.
“Sister Kiira.”
Beside Kiira stood the two attendants the Emperor had personally assigned to her—Lady-in-waiting 1 and Lady-in-waiting 2. I could never remember their names.
“What on earth are you doing, Gracie!”
“I’m dealing with my servant, Sister. Why do you care?”
“I heard everything! You’re trying to kill her because she’s suspicious!”
Heard everything, my foot. I know this trap was your setup.
“Are you enjoying this, Sister?”
“What are you talking about, Gracie? Please, show mercy to that poor girl. If you’re angry because of Lilfey, then I’ll apologize on her behalf. Just please…”
Her saintly act only made me more irritated.
“P-Please save me, Your Highness… hic…”
Lilfey turned toward Kiira, sobbing. Kiira looked at her with pity—and it was almost laughable.
“Sister, do you really think I’d kill her?”
“I know you were about to. The potion you ordered must be poison.”
“Why would I do that?”
“You’ve done it before. Every servant who so much as spoke with me ended up punished. Do you hate me that much?”
“That’s my line, Sister.”
I didn’t want to argue anymore, so I gestured to the attendant. The knights bound Lilfey tighter, forcing her mouth open again. She trembled so violently her jaw shook.
“Gracie!”
“Yes.”
“Then… then kill me instead! I’m the one you hate, not her! So—”
“Alright then.”
“What?”
I snatched the vial from the attendant. Inside was a long, clear glass bottle filled with a rich red liquid. It gleamed beautifully—like a philosopher’s stone I’d seen once before. The color was so mesmerizing I almost laughed, imagining another head growing out of the back of Kiira’s perfect one.
“Drink it.”
“Y-Your Highness! Please don’t!”
Lilfey’s loyalty was deeper than I thought.
“I’ll drink it instead.”
Oh, Leonil. Trying to score points with my sister, are you?
“No, Nil! Don’t do it!”
Pathetic.
“Fine. Then drink it.”
“Gracie!”
So she gets to call me by a nickname, but I’m supposed to use her full name? Annoying.
“What are you waiting for? Drink it already.”
He clearly hadn’t expected me to call his bluff. He took the bottle from me, glaring. Even then, he looked gorgeous—pink hair, blue eyes, delicate like a fairy.
“If you’re going to drink, hurry up. Your whining is getting on my nerves.”
At my goading, Francis’s disappointed expression was almost funny.
So, he’s on her side too, after all.
“Your Highness, may you live long.”
He closed his eyes and poured the liquid into his mouth.
“Pffft!”
It was so ridiculous I couldn’t help bursting out laughing.
“Puhahahahaha!”
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