WARDV 48

CHAPTER 48

Sensing something was instinctively wrong, I quickly opened my mouth.

“Oh my.”

Only then did the maid notice my presence and stop in surprise.

“You’re here, maid.”

Rudian, who turned around belatedly, brightened up and greeted her.

“Kanna?”

“Y-Your Highness. I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”

“It’s okay. But what about Velita? Does her stomach still hurt?”

“Well…”

The maid looked a little flustered by Rudian’s question but quickly nodded and continued.

“Yes, that’s right. Chief Maid Velita said her stomach hurts too much to come for you herself, so she sent me in her place.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“But the person beside you…?”

It seemed she hadn’t seen my face properly in the darkness.

I stepped out of the shadows.

“It’s me, Leticia.”

A regular commoner might not recognize me, but a palace maid wouldn’t possibly fail to recognize the former Duchess.

“Oh, you’re the Duchess. But what brings you here…?”

“I just came out for a short walk and found His Highness alone. I was worried, so I stayed by his side.”

“I see. Thank you. I should have come sooner.”

The maid named Kanna, though somewhat displeased, bowed her head politely.

Then she took Rudian’s hand.

“Shall we go back now, Your Highness?”

“Aww, but I want to play more…”

“You have to sleep early so you can grow up big and strong.”

Rudian clearly didn’t like Kanna’s suggestion, but still nodded obediently.

“Then, I’ll take him back now.”

Kanna turned to leave, holding Rudian’s hand.

Rudian pouted but waved his little hand at me.

But I couldn’t bring myself to return the gesture.

‘Was I imagining things just now?’

Just a moment ago, I had felt like Kanna had tried to push Rudian into the pond.

Was it just a misunderstanding?

And now, the way she was trying to take Rudian away felt more like she was trying to escape—from me.

A baseless sense of unease began to gnaw at me.

Watching Rudian repeatedly glance back at me, I eventually stopped the two of them.

“Your Highness.”

Kanna looked at me with annoyance in her eyes.

I smiled gently and made a suggestion.

“Would you like to come meet your uncle with me? You said earlier that you wanted to see him.”

At my words, Rudian’s eyes sparkled.

But in contrast, Kanna’s expression noticeably hardened.

“Madam, His Highness needs to sleep now. Please don’t give him false hope.”

“It won’t be a problem to sleep a little late just this once, right? Besides, His Highness seems eager to attend the festival.”

“Are you trying to use His Highness to win His Majesty’s favor?”

The moment I insisted on taking Rudian with me, Kanna’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

It was as if she could no longer suppress her true feelings.

‘Oh? That’s… a perspective I hadn’t considered.’

Well, sure. With my current reputation as a villainess, it wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.

A logical one, even.

But her sudden shift in attitude only deepened my suspicion.

It was as if she had been trying to act normal at first but snapped when I got too close to the truth.

‘Then I should dig deeper into whatever it is she’s hiding.’

I decided to deliberately provoke her more.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but… I guess that wouldn’t be so bad either.”

“What did you say?!”

“Anyway, what I meant is that since His Highness will one day lead this empire, it wouldn’t hurt for him to become familiar with its foundational ceremonies.”

“His Highness’s education is entirely the responsibility of the Crown Prince’s Palace. It’s not something you should interfere with.”

“But if I become the Grand Duchess of Delrua, I could offer suggestions as his aunt, couldn’t I?”

“Duchess!”

Smiling sweetly at the fuming maid who had fallen into my trap, I proposed something else.

“Then let’s do this.”

“What kind of scheme—”

“Since the nanny isn’t around right now, the person who cares for His Highness most closely in the palace is Chief Maid Velita. So let’s go ask her permission. How about that?”

At my suggestion, Kanna’s eyes began to tremble violently.

But logically, there was no reason for her to panic at this point.

‘Sure, she might find my behavior annoying and stubborn… but that’s not enough to explain her reaction.’

That told me everything I needed to know.

‘So she really does intend to harm Rudian.’

She needed to get rid of Rudian while Velita was out of the picture. If we went to her, she’d lose that chance.

After a long silence, the maid finally spoke.

“If you truly won’t yield… then I’ll go ask Chief Velita myself.”

…Surprisingly agreeable?

I thought she’d make up another excuse, but she just left Rudian and walked away.

It all went too smoothly—almost suspiciously so.

‘Is she trying to wait for another chance?’

Then, in that moment—

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly, her back turned black.

Startled, I blinked—and by the time I did, the maid had stepped into the shadows of the night, disappearing from view.

‘What was that? Did I imagine it…?’

As I watched her retreating figure with growing doubt—

“Leticia.”

Rudian’s subdued voice called to me.

He was watching the disappearing maid with anxious eyes.

‘He must feel uneasy, thinking we fought because of him.’

Now I felt guilty for clashing with her in front of the child.

I gently took Rudian’s hand, knelt to meet his gaze, and said softly:

“I’m sorry for acting on my own, Your Highness. But please believe just this one thing.”

“…”

“I came here to protect you. From a very, very long way away.”

It sounded absurd. I knew Rudian wouldn’t understand what I meant.

But I believed my sincerity would reach him.

Sure enough, Rudian stared at me, not quite comprehending, but gave a small nod—as if saying he trusted me.

I smiled to reassure him and gently held his small hand.

‘Now’s my chance. Let’s take Rudian to Idris.’

I may have forced my way into staying with Rudian, but I couldn’t protect him all night.

Like Kanna said, others might believe I was using him to curry favor with the Emperor.

It would be better for Idris, his uncle, to protect him instead.

‘And next, I need to find out who’s behind that maid.’

There was a real possibility that whoever gave her orders was the same person who framed Idris for treason.

“Shall we go see your uncle now?”

“Yeah…!”

At the mention of Idris, Rudian’s face lit up, forgetting all his earlier fears.

And just as we were finally about to leave the pond together—

“Ugh…!”

A sudden, powerful gust of wind struck me.

No—it attacked me.

There was no way a natural wind could be this concentrated and forceful.

‘Magic…?’

And it was aimed directly at me.

Staggering from the impact, I fell backward—toward the pond behind me.

Rudian, still holding my hand, was pulled along with me as I toppled.

At that moment, I saw her.

Far off in the distance—the maid who had cast the spell.

That’s when it all clicked.

Why she had looked black earlier when turning away.

I hadn’t imagined it.

‘That was the moment she decided to kill me…!’

It meant she was a threat. A genuine danger.

But I’d realized it too late.