CHAPTER 15
“How will you help me?”
As soon as I said it, I realized it was a stupid question. She was the Queen — the highest person in this kingdom.
Even the Countess had many maids. So of course, the Queen had a lot of money and people. With her power and resources, she could do almost anything.
The Queen noticed my changing expression and smiled a little as she said,
“I have more skilled people under me than you think.”
Then she suddenly brought up something unexpected.
“I heard you almost fell off a horse. Carla never made mistakes like that.”
She even let out a short laugh. The way she raised only one side of her lips looked really elegant.
I clicked my tongue. Life really wasn’t fair. If I had to be possessed by someone, why couldn’t it be someone like her?
I pouted.
“I heard Carla wasn’t that great at riding horses either.”
“But she never fell off.”
I muttered to myself. I had never ridden a horse before, so I thought I did well enough. Besides, no one here had seen me fall.
“Well, I never fell either. Look, I’m fine, aren’t I?”
I lied without shame. Then I heard someone laugh behind the Queen. I looked past her and glared at the man who had laughed.
He tried to act like nothing happened, looking far away, but his lips were twitching. The Queen looked very amused.
“Your Majesty, are you going to let that rude knight stay?”
“You’re not Carla, but you sure act like her with all that pride. How else would I know you fell?”
That’s when I finally looked closely at the knight’s face. He seemed familiar. Bright blue eyes, young face, pale skin… I suddenly remembered. He looked like the knight who saved me when I fell off the horse.
“But… the knight back then had blonde hair.”
The man who caught me had bright blond hair, not dark black like this. I shook my head, and the knight spoke hesitantly.
“Your Majesty, if you allow, may I explain to the lady?”
“Go ahead.”
“My black hair stands out too much… so I usually wear a wig.”
I didn’t really understand why black hair was a problem, but one thing was clear. The man I bragged in front of was the very one who had saved me.
I felt so embarrassed my face turned hot. The knight, however, spoke calmly.
“I was patrolling because there was a tip that holy knights were doing indecent things with noble ladies. It was to protect the temple’s dignity. I swear, I haven’t told anyone except Her Majesty.”
“Holy knight?”
That word stood out more than anything else. A holy knight meant he worked for the temple. So why was he next to the Queen?
The Queen stopped laughing and explained,
“Theodore is a holy knight gifted to me by the temple. I guess they were afraid of me. He’s been quite useful though, right?”
She spoke gently, even though she called him a gift. But what bothered me was that the temple was scared of the Queen.
Wait, if she worked with the temple, how did a third princess become Queen?
“We offered royal blood to the temple, so it was just the temple returning the favor,” the knight replied bluntly.
From that, I guessed the Queen had probably killed all her siblings. The temple must have placed a holy knight next to her just in case. Maybe I really could’ve died earlier…
That thought made my neck feel cold.
Even if they wouldn’t kill a Queen, Carla was just a count’s wife. If they wanted to kill someone secretly, they’d get rid of the people around her first.
“Ahahaha! Don’t make it sound so scary,” the Queen laughed.
“I’m a generous person. I just asked if they wanted to serve God or go be with God. Most said they’d serve, so I let them.”
She said it so casually, but it was basically a threat: Serve the temple or die. It was more shocking than just killing them.
Not shedding blood was harder than spilling it — even I knew that, and I wasn’t into politics.
“Carla helped a lot.”
The Queen smiled like she wouldn’t say more.
“Theodore, protect the Countess for now.”
“What?”
“Holy knights can’t be poisoned, since they’re blessed. He’ll be very useful when things get serious.”
That meant she was letting me borrow him. A holy knight the temple gave to the Queen.
This was both a gift and a warning: she had many people watching me. This wasn’t a simple show-off — she really meant to kill the Count.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
I looked at the holy knight, Theodore. He showed no emotion at all. I suddenly wondered how many people in this world were actually sane.
He placed his hand on his chest and bowed politely. It was the most respectful greeting I had ever received in my life.
“It’s an honor to serve you, my lady.”
My heart fluttered. I had no resistance against handsome men. I quickly looked away and changed the subject.
“Is black hair really that noticeable? I have black hair too. Should I start wearing a wig? Carla never wore one, right?”
The Queen didn’t reply. Instead, Theodore answered.
“Black hair with blue eyes is rare. To stop rumors that the Queen’s knight goes to… inappropriate places, I wear a wig.”
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“And for you, my lady… I think your hair is too beautiful to hide.”
Oh. I let out a small sound. Handsome and smooth talker. After saying that, he looked down. The Queen spoke again.
“Anyway, take him. He’s useful enough.”
“But… shouldn’t we ask him what he wants?”
I appreciated the offer, but bringing him to my house was a different matter. What if people thought he was my lover?
It wasn’t that I cared what the Count thought. I just wanted to keep the moral high ground.
Did countesses even have personal guards? I didn’t know the original story well, so I couldn’t be sure. But Carla never had one, so it probably wasn’t normal.
“Theodore.”
“Yes?”
“His name. Don’t say ‘that knight,’ say Theodore. He’s not someone you need to speak formally to.”
“Still… shouldn’t we ask what Sir Theodore thinks?”
I awkwardly tried to be polite, and the Queen’s mouth twisted. I quickly changed my tone, realizing I had to be careful with her.
“Of course, I was just being polite! Thank you for introducing me to such a great knight.”
Only then did the Queen’s face relax. I couldn’t afford to mess up. One wrong word, and I might really lose my head. Well, not me — Carla.
Better not joke with the Queen again.
“You can call me Carla, not ‘my lady,’ Sir Theodore.”
“It’s an honor.”
His polite reply made me choke up. I picked up my teacup to drink, but it was already empty.
“Let’s move to another room.”
“Yes.”
Finally, something good. As the Queen stepped outside, all the maids in the hallway bowed deeply.
Watching it from right behind her was overwhelming. I couldn’t move. If Theodore hadn’t gently pushed me, I wouldn’t have taken a step.
With just one step, all the maids moved smoothly like a wave. Even Liza was there but couldn’t say a word to me.
Everyone we passed bowed deeply. Walking behind the Queen, I tasted real power — and it was sweet.
The fancy walls and ceilings were dazzling. The dining room was even fancier. I didn’t even know where I was sitting.
“Don’t look at it like that. You know this isn’t my taste.”
The Queen said that as if aware of the maids watching. I tried my best to copy Carla’s tone.
“I thought your taste had changed for a moment.”
This time I must’ve done it right, because the Queen smiled.
“You weren’t here. Whenever I see the old King’s decorations, I remember you knew my taste best.”
Oh my. If she weren’t Carla’s close friend, I might’ve thought she was flirting with me. But I was mature enough to understand the meaning behind her sweet words, so I smiled and nodded.
“You know me best too, Your Majesty.”
We both smiled like partners in crime.
