Chapter 39
Chapter 39
‘A child who fled from the East?’
Rosalyn stared at the maid, who stood with her head bowed, her face filled with disbelief. The maid wiped her tears and slowly lifted her head. Her cheek was swollen and red from the slap, yet her face was remarkably beautiful. What stood out most were her rose-pink eyes, like the petals of a blooming flower.
But… she looked so familiar.
Rosalyn stared at her blankly.
‘It’s Annie.’
The female protagonist of the original story.
Rosalyn’s gaze lingered on the maid’s honey-golden hair, glinting in the sunlight. Thicker and more lustrous than Aiden’s pale blond, it had a soft wave that resembled the sunflower petals in the imperial gardens.
She suddenly recalled the portrait she had once seen at the Siporc villa, Theodor’s late mother, the former Empress.
‘Except for the eye color, she looks exactly like her!’
No wonder that emotionally stunted, mother-obsessed Theodor fell for her at first sight. But what shocked Rosalyn more was that Annie was currently working as a maid for a noble family here in the capital.
In the original novel, Annie’s background had never been fully detailed.
It had simply stated that Theodor met a mysterious woman wandering the imperial garden by chance. Her past wasn’t important. What mattered was their passionate romance, the fevered touches, and Theodor’s intense obsession and eventual descent into madness.
‘I had no idea she’d gone through something like this.’
Maybe that was why she had been so understanding of Theodor’s tragic state before his awakening and why she was able to comfort him so naturally.
‘But now that Annie, the heroine, has appeared, what happens next?’
Would she and Theodor fall in love as they did in the original?
But this was still a year before the events of the novel. In the original timeline, Theodor had been confined to the Siphoc villa before his coming-of-age ceremony, so he had no opportunity to meet Annie.
And even now, although Theodor was in the palace, the chances of them crossing paths were slim. He was completely preoccupied with his imperial education, and ever since the incident with the suspicious lavender tea, he hadn’t even gone near the Empress’s palace.
‘At this point, they’re practically strangers.’
But what about a year from now? Would their love story begin just like the novel foretold?
Rosalyn decided it was best not to get involved with Annie if she could help it. Theodor had been moody enough lately, and Annie’s sudden appearance would only complicate things further.
While Rosalyn was lost in thought, Annie followed the other servants into the Empress’s quarters, where the tea party was being held. And it wasn’t just her, the other noble ladies’ attendants were also filing into the palace.
‘…Huh?’
Rosalyn, noticing this, turned to the palace servant beside her.
“Do all the attendants enter the Empress’s quarters as well during the tea party?”
The servant nodded.
“Of course. The ladies can’t take a single step without their maids. And during the tea party, they often need to give instructions.”
From what she gathered, it seemed the noble families of the Empire had become entirely dependent, unable to do anything on their own.
“… I see.”
Rosalyn gave a quiet reply and continued to gaze at the entrance through which Annie had disappeared.
***
Annie stepped into the Empress’s quarters, clutching her cheek. Up ahead, the other male and female attendants were walking in tight-knit groups, excluding her. One of them glanced back and sneered.
“Aren’t you coming? Seriously, you’re so slow. Must be because you’re from some backwater village in the East.”
Another maid giggled nastily.
“Actually, that slap from the steward kind of improved your complexion. You look healthier now. Teehee!”
The mocking laughter made Annie’s chest tighten. Her cheek still stung from the blow. She wanted to run right now to flee but she had nowhere to go. Something strange had happened in her homeland, in the East. Her village was suddenly attacked, people slaughtered. Her parents were among the dead. She had fled with other refugees and ended up here in the capital.
Finding work alone in the capital, with no one to rely on, had been nearly impossible. The only job she could secure was as a maid for Lady York of House York. At the time, she’d felt lucky, as if fate had smiled on her.
But now, she understood why the position had been left vacant.
‘…I have to endure it.’
Clenching her jaw, she bore the servants’ abuse in silence. When it became too much, she forced herself to recall the days before she fled, those sleepless nights filled with fear and terror. At least here, though her mind suffered, her life was no longer in danger.
But still… It was lonely.
She had no one on her side. At times, all she wanted was to collapse into someone’s arms and cry until there were no tears left.
“Annie, give this to the lady.”
A maid handed her a flower basket, filled with an assortment of colorful blossoms, Lady York’s gift to the Empress.
Annie accepted it and walked toward her mistress. She didn’t notice the mischievous glances and stifled snickers from behind her.
Lady York took the basket without suspicion. But moments later, a piercing shriek echoed through the hall.
“KYAA! What is the meaning of this?!”
Furry caterpillars were squirming among the flowers. Annie’s face was drained of color. She had checked the basket before leaving the carriage. The pine caterpillars hadn’t been there.
Someone had clearly tampered with it after she got down.
But Lady York didn’t give her a chance to explain.
“Get this filth out of my sight! Back to the carriage—now!”
Head lowered in shame, Annie carried the basket back out of the palace.
***
“It’s nice to get some fresh air, isn’t it?”
Rosalyn murmured to the brown cat nestled in her arms. Arch lay still in her embrace. Though most of his injuries had healed, he wasn’t quite ready to move around freely. He thought back to the monster from the other day.
That grotesque creature had been unlike anything he’d seen before. It was far more terrifying than the goblins that attacked their carriage. Even with his true form sealed in this feline body, he’d never suffered a defeat like that in a one-on-one battle.
Though Rosalyn’s warmth was comforting, Arch remained vigilant, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, an odd sensation tingled through his front paw.
“Nya?!”
Startled, Arch looked down at it. Rosalyn’s fingers were gently stroking his paw.
“Just look at these adorable pink toe beans! So cute!”
Squish squish.
What… What was she doing?!
Archie wasn’t used to this kind of affection.
“Kaow!”
He yelped and yanked his paw away, but she only hugged him tighter. Wrapped in her warmth, he squirmed awkwardly until her soft voice reached his ears.
“… Meow.”
“…?”
“Thank you for saving me.”
Arch’s eyes widened and he stopped struggling. It was the first time anyone had ever thanked him. Something long frozen in his chest began to thaw.
“If you hadn’t bitten the monster’s arm when you did, I would’ve been in serious danger.”
“……”
He quickly turned his head and began licking his paw, trying to look aloof. He hadn’t saved her for her sake. He had simply followed his master’s orders to protect her.
But then, a vague memory returned of her desperately pressing on his wound to stop the bleeding. The image made him pause.
He glanced down. There was still a faint scar on his paw, the one Rosalyn had treated at the Siphoc villa. She hadn’t been ordered to save him.
So, why did she keep helping him?
As he pondered, the tingling returned. She was playing with his paw again. This time, he didn’t pull away. Then, he heard something odd ahead.
Still cradling Archie, Rosalyn followed the sound.
They had arrived near the parking area for the noble carriages.
‘Annie.’
She wasn’t alone. A group of York family attendants surrounded her menacingly, a textbook case of group bullying.
Rosalyn hesitated, unsure if she should intervene.
Then she heard one of the attendants sneer.
“Hey. Did those pine caterpillars teach you anything?”
Annie gritted her teeth and looked up at him. Another maid pulled out a glass jar, filled with squirming pine caterpillars.
“Know what it means when they say caterpillars eat pine needles? It means people like you, some refugee from a filthy backwater, should know their place.”
“…!”
“We were just teaching you not to overstep. Got it? Know your place!”
With that, the maid dumped the pine caterpillars over Annie’s head.
“KYAA!”
Annie screamed and shook her head, but the insects clung to her hair. The attendants howled with laughter.
“Pfft! You should be thanking us!”
Rosalyn stood frozen, trembling. Their voices echoed in her ears, overlaid with ones from her past:
“You idiot! Know your place!”
“Even if we’re family, someone as slow and stupid as you is beneath us!”
Her siblings had treated her the same way. They mocked her, humiliated her, crushed her spirit. She had endured it all… just like Annie was doing now.
Rosalyn’s body shook with rage.
Then, she stepped forward and shouted:
“Hey, you little bastards! Cut it out right now!”
The ser turned, faces twisted with irritation. Dressed in a simple workout dress, Rosalyn looked like any other low-ranking servant.
“Who do you think you are?”
“Buzz off, mind your own business!”
But then they saw the brown cat in her arms and recoiled in horror.
“Gah! That’s…!”
“A c-cat! A cursed beast!”
The meanest-looking one stepped forward, raising his fist.
“Don’t meddle, and take that damned animal and get lost!”
But Rosalyn summoned mana to her fingers and jabbed the outside of his elbow.
“ARGH!”
The attendant shrieked as his arm went limp.
“W-what… what the hell?!”
She had struck the nerve connecting the elbow to the fingers. A precise hit could cause numbness and weakness. With mana added, the effect was doubled.
The servant now looked at her in pure fear.
Rosalyn declared coldly,
“If you touch this girl again, I’ll make sure your entire body feels the same. That goes for all of you.”
“S-sorry!”
The attendants fled in a panic.
‘Pathetic cowards.’
Rosalyn turned to Annie, who sat on the ground covered in caterpillars.
“Are you all right?”
“Hrk… hic…”
Tears streamed from her rose-colored eyes. Even crying while she was beautiful. Was this the power of the heroine’s aura?
“Even if you’re scared, hang in there a little longer.”
Rosalyn set Arch down. The cat excitedly began batting the caterpillars from Annie’s hair, furry pine caterpillars made perfect prey.
Annie stared up at Rosalyn in a daze. Rosalyn knelt beside her and said gently,
“You don’t have to ‘know your place.’ If those idiots start spouting nonsense again, don’t just take it. Fight back.”
“…!”
Annie’s pink eyes widened.
“I’ll be going now.”
Rosalyn turned to leave. No one had ever stood up for Annie since she arrived in the capital. No one had shown her kindness until now.
Overwhelmed, the emotions she’d held in for so long burst free.
“Hrk… hic…”
“Wait, hey…”
Whump!
Before Rosalyn could react, Annie threw her arms around her in a tight hug.
TN: I mean, honestly, I like Rosalyn’s attitude. So far, the chapters were good and it’s hooking, personally. Something a person would do in real life, I must say.
