CHAPTER 055
Grace’s Annex.
*Slap.*
“Do you think you can ignore me?”
“I-I'm sorry, Miss. Please forgive me.”
“Get out! Get out of my sight!”
Grace shouted as she slapped the maid hard on the cheek for accidentally pulling out a few strands of hair while removing her hairpin.
In a fit of rage, she began throwing whatever she could grab at the maid, who was the same age as her. Not satisfied, she clutched her own black hair with both hands, stomping her feet.
There was no talk of her, the winner of this contest, anywhere.
Praise for Arabelle, the winner of the first contest, had been unavoidable. However, less than two days after the second contest, it seemed to have been completely forgotten.
What was even more infuriating were the whispers of the nobles as she returned to the annex.
“This winning piece isn’t particularly special compared to the other candidates' works.”
“Exactly, I can’t remember it at all once I left the gallery.”
“We expected their skills to be similar, but it’s disappointing. Still, it’s the winning piece.”
It was only natural that her work, displayed alongside her master Belfoi’s ‘greatest masterpiece,’ looked inferior in comparison.
Even in her own eyes, the piece that had clearly stood out in the contest now seemed shabby and crude.
Grace gritted her teeth, biting her nails unattractively, unable to contain her anger.
What she couldn’t bear was that no one dismissed or criticized Arabelle’s work.
The attendees at today’s exhibition seemed to have completely forgotten the still life Arabelle had painted. They were too absorbed in the emperor’s full-body portrait to care about Arabelle’s work. Remarks about Arabelle’s piece were limited to a couple of lines.
“What did you think of Lady Arabelle’s work from the last contest? Oddly, I can’t remember it. I’m sure I saw it.”
“Well, she’s on par with the other candidates. Given that she won the previous contest, she must have ranked high among the candidates' works even if she didn’t win this time.”
Standing in front of the mirror, Grace glared at her reflection. The intellectual and elegant image was gone, replaced by the sight of a woman raging uncontrollably, much like the Lilibet she despised.
I am different from those pathetic women in the annex. They only know how to cry and throw tantrums when they lose. They don't know how to trample the weeds beneath them so that they never raise their heads again.
“You know that the contest isn’t just held in the contest hall,” Grace remembered her aunt, Grand Duchess Caroline’s words, lifting her chin arrogantly.
She spat out the fingernails from her mouth, fixed her disheveled hair with both hands and calmly tied the ribbon on her dress collar. She ordered the maid waiting outside the door in a composed voice.
“Bring Milly to me.”
***
“So, you’re saying you can’t do it…?”
Grace’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the tall Milly standing in front of her.
Milly lowered her gaze, avoiding the crimson eyes, and slowly replied.
“I thought I was only supposed to monitor Lady Arabelle’s movements and report them. That’s what the head maid told me.”
Grace, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, turned to the head maid, Bridget, standing beside her and asked.
“Does Milly not know the situation her sister is in? It seems the head maid didn’t tell her.”
Both the head maid and Milly looked up at Grace.
Grace’s lips curved into a sinister smile as she spoke in a chilling voice.
“There is a young woman who cries out in agony every night in Baron Baron’s bedroom…”
Milly’s face contorted and began to tremble.
A cruel glint passed over Grace’s crimson eyes as she finished with a smile.
“Her name is Adele.”
Milly’s pale, bloodless face turned to Bridget, but the head maid avoided her gaze.
"Well, it's understandable. Being in the Imperial Palace must have made dealing with your sisters outside more of a nuisance. Honestly, not seeing them must lessen your burden too."
"That's not true!"
Milly cried out in a near scream at Grace's sarcastic remark.
During the contest period, maids were prohibited from contacting anyone outside the palace to ensure the fairness of the competition and the safety of the candidates.
Milly had no way of knowing that her sister Adele had been freed with Arabelle’s help and was living safely with their youngest sister.
Arabelle, too, didn't know Adele was Milly’s sister, so she couldn’t have informed Milly. Grace, uninterested in what happened to Baron Baron, was simply spewing whatever came to mind.
Grace knew that Milly’s motivation for helping the head maid was to rescue her sister from Baron Baron. So, she didn’t hesitate to use 'Adele' as Milly's weakness.
“If you want to save your sister from a life of being a plaything and possibly being sold as a slave to a continental kingdom…”
Grace’s eyes glinted maliciously as she snapped.
“Stop talking and hide this deep between that girl’s mattress.”
She dropped a round silk pouch in front of Milly, who stood with clenched fists. In Milly’s trembling vision, the head maid’s stern face silently nodded.
“Two days from now, my maids will cause an uproar, claiming they saw a man leaving the eleventh candidate’s annex in the middle of the night. You and three other maids I can't stand will be interrogated. When you’re beaten a few times, you’ll confess that your lady has had an inappropriate relationship with a soldier.”
Grace continued, her eyes drifting to the maids behind Milly.
“When the bedroom is investigated, the soldier’s underwear you hid in the mattress will be found. Even if the Emperor favors her, it won’t matter. Seeds of doubt will be sown, and vile rumors will spread inside and outside the palace. Arabelle’s honor will be ruined, regardless of the truth.”
She turned to Milly with a sinister smile.
“People love juicy gossip more than the truth. There will be a flood of petitions questioning that girl’s qualifications. My aunt and the Empress Dowager have already made arrangements. Even if His Majesty tries to intervene, he’ll be mocked for being bewitched and used by a woman.”
Grace concluded confidently as she reclined on the sofa.
“Before the third contest starts in four days, that girl will be expelled from the palace.”
The incident of the previous candidate being disgraced and expelled was just a taste. Back then, neither the knight nor the candidate knew what was happening. This time, the handsome soldier, who will be the center of the rumor, has vowed to cooperate.
Because of the cost of his sick mother’s medicine. Nothing is as effective as money for tightening the leash on those who have none.
Grace winked at the head maid beside her and laughed, relieved.
Milly slowly bent down and picked up the heavy silk pouch.
She was sick of nobles… but Lady Arabelle was different. She was warm and kind.
Her kindness demanded nothing from Milly. Her clear eyes soothed and comforted Milly’s wounds. She treated Milly as an equal.
Milly thought it would be nice to stay with the cheerful and kind trio of maids and Lady Arabelle for a long time, forgetting the deal she made with the devil.
Milly bit her inner lip until it bled to keep from crying as she tucked the silk pouch inside her clothes.
***
Lady Arabelle’s Annex.
“H-huff, huff…”
“Oh my, oh my…”
“Oh dear, how could…”
The trio of maids in Lady Arabelle’s bedroom let out a series of gasps and groans.
The sounds were strikingly similar to those coming from the women in the west gallery of the palace a few hours earlier.
Their eyes and mouths widened to their limits as they gazed at the painting hung on the wall opposite Lady Arabelle’s bed.
The life-size portrait of Emperor Maxwell, almost naked, vividly depicted the veins on his outstretched neck as if he were alive inside the frame.
Their eyes respectfully scanned the three lines of sharply defined abdominal muscles that looked as if they could wash laundry on them… Their bodies tilted to the left as they craned to see if they could catch a glimpse of anything under the leopard skin covering the emperor’s lower half.
“Milly, come here quickly.”
Rosa waved her hand to the hesitant Milly at the door. As Milly stepped in and saw the emperor’s full-body portrait, her face turned bright red.
“We’re almost out of scented soap, so I’ll go to the supply room.”
Milly quickly lowered her head and left the room, trying to hide her flushed face. Vera called out to her.
“Milly, come back quickly. Lady Arabelle is going for a walk.”
Milly nodded with her usual sullen expression and left the bedroom.
“She never smiles. What worries could someone so young have?”
“We had plenty of hardships at her age too. Parents' debts, siblings to take care of… We’re just now catching our breath.”
“She keeps things to herself, so we can’t even help.”
“But she’s starting to hang out with us more often now. Especially when Lady Arabelle invites her. She grumbles but always joins us. She’s actually quite endearing.”
The trio of maids chatted, still unable to take their eyes off the portrait.
“Kids like her are usually very gentle and kind-hearted.”
Vera added, glancing at the spot where Milly had left.
***
Late night, a little past midnight, two days later in the annex.
“Help! A man just ran out of the eleventh lady’s annex!”
A woman’s scream echoed through the garden of the annex.
“Catch him!”
“He’s running east!”
“He’s trying to climb the wall!”
The soldiers guarding the annex quickly chased after him and soon surrounded him.
Drawing their spears and swords, they pointed them at the hooded young man trying to climb the wall and shouted.
“Who are you?”
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