RPL 33

Chapter 33

Even though they were both princesses, they were worlds apart.

Lydia let out a long sigh as she recalled the brief glimpse she’d caught of Kiseira.

“Kiseira said she’d come back for tea next time.”

As if she’d somehow read Lydia’s thoughts, Regine suddenly brought up Kiseira.

“What if she gets angry because the tea tastes bad again? Is good tea expensive? Can I not afford it with my money?”

Both were princesses, yet one lived surrounded by the finest luxuries without a second thought, while the other had to worry about the price of tea.

And Lydia was the maid serving the princess who couldn’t even afford decent tea.

She had chosen to become Regine’s maid for a purpose, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t thoroughly sick of her current situation.

“I’ll take care of it myself, so you don’t need to worry about it, Princess.”

At Lydia’s curt response, Regine smiled in relief.

“Kiseira really feels like a real princess. How can she tell whether something is good or bad just by tasting it?”

Of course she could.

A wild beast wrapped in the skin of a princess couldn’t possibly compare to a genuine princess like Kiseira.

I wish I’d ended up serving her instead.

Lydia thought of Kiseira—confident, dignified, elegant, carrying herself with natural grace.

Kiseira was still an ordinary child in many ways, but compared to the extraordinary disaster sitting across from her, she seemed almost regal.

At the very least, Kiseira would never bury her face in a plate and smear food all over herself while eating.

“But I do feel a little sorry for her.”

At that moment, Regine casually stirred her food with her fork.

Lydia’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt.

“What do you mean?”

Regine’s eyes widened in surprise.

Judging by that reaction, the words had clearly slipped out without any real thought.

“Sorry for Princess Kiseira?”

Lydia pressed the question.

After a moment of hesitation, Regine finally answered.

“I went to Kiseira’s palace once, and the people there were really scary.”

“Scary?”

“They kept yelling at me. And they even scolded Kiseira for bringing me there.”

“They scolded Princess Kiseira?”

Regine nodded while absentmindedly sucking on her fork.

The combination of that filthy habit and the unbelievable story left Lydia stunned.

It was common knowledge that Kiseira had been the one to free Regine from confinement.

Apparently, she’d witnessed all of this while visiting Kiseira’s palace afterward.

“They were so scary they almost looked like monsters.”

Regine mumbled through the fork still hanging from her mouth, shrinking her shoulders.

She looked frightened just remembering it.

For the first time, Lydia began to understand some of Regine’s recent behavior.

The moment she’d escaped confinement, she’d been greeted by palace attendants behaving however they pleased.

It wasn’t entirely unreasonable that she’d immediately started driving them away.

Still, that doesn’t make sense.

Kiseira wasn’t like Regine.

There was no way the attendants had bullied Kiseira badly enough to terrify Regine like this.

And the Kiseira Lydia had met certainly wasn’t the kind of person who’d quietly endure such treatment.

“The people there kept mentioning the Empress over and over. They were Kiseira’s attendants, but they acted like they only listened to the Empress.”

That explanation immediately answered Lydia’s question.

The attendants serving in Kiseira’s palace had undoubtedly been handpicked by the Empress herself.

It made sense. Kiseira was still young.

But that arrangement may have created another problem.

Perhaps those attendants had mistaken who their true master was and treated Kiseira like nothing more than a puppet.

And since they were her mother’s people, Kiseira might not have been able to scold or dismiss them freely.

Now that I think about it, it never made sense for the princess to be coming here alone in the first place.

Though where she kept appearing from without warning remained a mystery.

“Then…”

A thought suddenly crossed Lydia’s mind.

“So the reason you asked me to keep Princess Kiseira’s visits a secret…”

Regine nodded.

“Those people told Kiseira she shouldn’t spend time with me. If they find out, they’ll just yell at her again.”

She lowered her head gloomily.

“Kiseira helped me get out, so I don’t want her to get into trouble because of me.”

It was an incredibly childish reason.

And at the same time, it was perfectly understandable.

The Empress hated Regine, so of course the Empress’s people would try to keep Kiseira away from her.

That was only natural.

The Empress certainly wouldn’t approve of Kiseira visiting Regine.

But how has she managed to keep coming here without getting caught?

Lydia had kept her mouth shut because she wanted leverage over Regine.

She’d even hidden the visits from Mary because she didn’t want to lose the opportunity to earn Kiseira’s favor.

Yet somehow, Kiseira had continued slipping in undetected.

As Lydia fell into thought, Regine continued.

“So I feel kind of sorry for her. I don’t think she has anyone she can really trust or depend on. Just like me.”

Someone to trust.

Someone to rely on.

Perhaps Kiseira truly didn’t have anyone like that.

The Empress’s faction supported Kiseira, but strictly speaking, they were still the Empress’s people.

Wasn’t Lydia’s own family exactly the same?

And if Regine was telling the truth, then even Kiseira’s palace was filled entirely with people loyal to the Empress.

…Was there even a single noble family that had pledged loyalty directly to Princess Kiseira?

The thought sent a chill down Lydia’s spine.

What if she could serve Kiseira directly instead of going through the Empress?

What if she could become Kiseira’s very first loyal retainer?

The rewards might be far greater—and far more secure—than continuing to risk herself while dealing with this beast.

“Well, I guess I’m lucky to have you, at least.”

Regine suddenly grinned.

The greasy sheen on her lips immediately caught Lydia’s attention.

Her stomach turned.

“You agreed to my request without hesitation. And even when I kept telling you to quit, you still stayed and kept taking care of me. That must mean you like me, right?”

Completely oblivious to Lydia’s thoughts, Regine continued her nonsense.

“Let’s just stay here quietly together. I won’t tell you to quit anymore.”

Those words finally lit a fire beneath Lydia’s wavering resolve.

What’s the point of using her weakness to make her obedient?

If she kept following the Empress’s orders, she’d still have to remain beside this beast and continue watching this spectacle every single day.

I need to convince Father. Serving Princess Kiseira directly would be far better than this.

Steeling her resolve, Lydia stood.

“I’ll be leaving early today.”

“Huh?”

“I’m tired. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“All of a sudden?”

Without answering, Lydia walked out.

She left so quickly that she never even noticed Regine grinning at the closing door.

* * *

The Empress’s Palace

Kayenne looked at the young noblewoman standing before her with an expressionless gaze before finally speaking.

“So you’re saying Princess Regine is such a disaster that you couldn’t even carry out such a simple order?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Lydia hurriedly lowered her head.

“Or perhaps it was you who failed to carry out my instructions properly.”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Lydia immediately raised her head in protest.

But the moment she met Kayenne’s icy gaze, she quickly bowed again.

“Princess Regine is like a wild animal, Your Majesty. A true beast of the wilderness that refuses to listen to anyone.”

Cold sweat poured down Lydia’s back as she desperately tried to explain herself.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’ll find another way to prove my loyalty—and my family’s loyalty—to you.”

Kayenne stared at the crown of Lydia’s bowed head while lightly tapping her fingers against the armrest of the sofa.

“…”

Assigning a maid to Regine had never been anything more than a public performance.

The moment Kayenne read the newspaper article claiming she’d reduced Regine to tears, she’d immediately realized that no matter how she handled the situation, her reputation would suffer.

And once a person’s reputation began to decline, even the smallest things became grounds for criticism.

Something as trivial as whether she’d assigned a maid to her stepdaughter could suddenly become a scandal.

That was why she’d appointed one in the first place.

Even if it wasn’t part of the original plan, I could still make use of it.

The order she’d given Lydia had been simple.

“Put a leash on Princess Regine. Make sure she becomes incapable of disobeying you.”

Once Regine became completely dependent on Lydia, Kayenne intended to begin controlling her through the maid.

She wanted Regine to continue attacking her publicly with the same uncivilized behavior she’d already displayed.

She wanted everyone to witness exactly what a disgrace Princess Regine truly was.

She wanted to prove, beyond all doubt, that Regine was utterly unfit to become Empress.

Though my original objective has changed.

Before that newspaper article had been published, Kayenne had intended to torment the girl continuously, never allowing her anger to cool.

But then the Emperor began paying close attention to everything related to Regine.

Under those circumstances, it was wiser not to create any unnecessary opportunities for criticism.

So Kayenne had changed her strategy.

Instead of tormenting Regine, she would simply control her.

Even without this girl, accomplishing that won’t be difficult.

Her dark eyes slowly traveled over Lydia’s trembling figure as she knelt before her.

“Hmm…”

Just as Kayenne had expected, her reputation had suffered.

And many noblewomen who were stepmothers themselves had begun openly voicing their dissatisfaction.

After all, this incident reflected poorly on them as well.

“We’re already subjected to unfair criticism simply because we’re stepmothers, and now this happens?”

“It’s those wicked stepmothers who abuse their stepchildren that cause respectable women like us to be judged.”

“What’s the point of caring for a child who isn’t even related to you by blood if one incident like this causes everyone to condemn you?”

Recalling the conversation she’d overheard among the noblewomen, Kayenne’s brow furrowed slightly.

What if the maid who had personally attended Regine for an entire month were to speak publicly?

What if she went around telling everyone what a terrible princess Regine was?

How impossible she was to serve?

Then the newspaper article I released would gain credibility.

The corner of Kayenne’s mouth curled into a faint smile.

People would believe that all she’d done was mildly scold an ill-mannered princess.

Not only would her reputation recover, but she could also strengthen her relationships with other stepmothers by sharing their mutual frustrations over being unfairly judged.

“Very well. How do you intend to demonstrate your loyalty to me?”

After considering the matter, Kayenne decided to accept Lydia’s resignation.

There were countless other people who could tame Regine.

It didn’t have to be this particular noblewoman.

“I intend to become Princess Kiseira’s maid and devote myself to serving her.”

At Lydia’s unexpected answer, Kayenne let out a quiet laugh.