Your Majesty, Please Don’t Kill Me Again - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Yes? What do you mean?”

The mister asked in confusion as he wondered what Rupert was talking about. As I watched his long hair flutter like fine gold threads, I regained my composure.

Damn… things got messy.

My mouth was dry.

“A dumpling thief.”

He frowned and spoke grumpily. The mister felt bad that Rupert, who had probably just met me for the first time, was hostile to me.

“Dumpling thief? Who would do that?”

“Her.”

I looked at the finger Rupert pointed at me.

“What do you mean dumplings, Your Highness? I don’t like them. I’m allergic to dumplings.”

“What?”

“I can’t even stand the smell of dumplings since I was a child. Maybe it was someone else.”

I innocently opened my eyes and pretended I didn’t know what was going on. Rupert’s distorted face relaxed but turned into a creepy, expressionless look, like a wax figure.

“You hate dumplings?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“So, I’m at fault?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I replied calmly and quickly added,

“People always mistake me for others because I have a common face, and I’m not implying that Your Highness is blind; I’m just explaining the circumstances.”

The mister patted me on the shoulder with a smile as if he was supporting me with my excuse to not offend Rupert.

“She’s a good kid, isn’t she? Based on the recommendations, I felt she didn’t need additional training.”

It meant that a certain level of education was normally needed for this position. That’s a good thing since I disliked studying. I briefly had a look of dissatisfaction at the thought of more lessons.

Rupert, who was staring at me with indifference, waved his hand as if something was bothering him and dismissed the mister.

“Bellua.”

While I was contemplating whether or not to leave as well, Rupert climbed on the bed and spoke in his usual indifferent tone, further insinuating he didn’t really like me.

“Yes, I’m from Bellua, Your Highness.”

“You’re the daughter of Count Bellua, the leader of the Southern aristocrats?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I politely answered and bowed my head. In order to look as obedient as possible, I couldn’t even straighten my back when I entered the room. But Rupert didn’t even look at me, making all my efforts pointless.

“I know that Count Bellua has a daughter, but how will I know that you’re really his daughter?”

“I gave the necessary requirements to verify my identity, Your Highness, such as my health certificate and an artifact that is only passed amongst Bellua’s descendants. Even though my father is in the South, Viscount Hamel and Count Vincent are in the Capital. They can confirm my identity.”

“Do you think I could call them just to verify a maid’s identity?”

Rupert’s voice was mixed with a lot of irritation. Princess Nigelle could also vouch for me, but I decided not to mention it. Rupert would never see me in a friendly light if I told him that I had a personal connection with the other princess.

So I decided to just stick with Marian Vincent and Sasha Hamel instead. Also, when I told him the names of those nobles, he didn’t pry anymore.

No fool would dare go to the Imperial Palace and try to falsify their identity. No matter how young the noble was, as long as they were a direct descendant of a Count, the Imperial family would receive a detailed portrait of them.

“Why would someone like that steal dumplings?”

Really though, Rupert was the one who was trying to steal them. My feelings were hurt, but I made it look like I didn’t know what he was talking about by opening my eyes wide. Even if I’m not particularly adept at lying, it seems that in a crisis, individuals can do everything they couldn’t accomplish before.

I looked up at Rupert, who was lying on his side, with a look of surprise.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you mean.”

Rupert laughed as I continued to feign ignorance. He didn’t really believe what I said, so he changed the subject.

“Was it the Count’s will that you entered the Imperial Palace?”

“No, I chose to come here on my own.”

“It was your will to come to the Imperial Palace… and to me, specifically?”

The small and thin Rupert was buried in the huge bed, and only his voice could be heard. I held my breath and tried to listen to his voice, but the blanket muffled his words.

“Why?”

As expected, this is a question that would come up. Rupert is the last person anyone would want to support in the Imperial Family. He can’t obtain the throne because he’s a princess. His mother is the Empress, but he lacks support.

I cleared my throat and recited the answer I had prepared.

“My father told me good things about you that made me want to come and work for Your Highness.”

“Count Bellua spoke about me?”

He lifted his head from his pillow and looked very surprised by what I said.

His bright blonde hair shined through the wrinkles in the white sheets as the sun shined on it. He looked a little confused. I was surprised when he said something that sounded like what a child would say for the first time. For a second, he looked like Lehan, but a normal child wouldn’t look at me with such anger that he wanted to kill me. I smiled as I felt my fear lessen a bit.

“Yes, Your Highness. My father praised you greatly, saying that Your Highness was so beautiful and intelligent that it was almost a shame that you aren’t a prince… you have all the best qualities.”

Of course, my father never spoke fondly about Princess Lapertte, let alone utter such praise about her. But I couldn’t back out now. I had to convince him that I wasn’t lying. I had to convince him that my father favored him more than anyone else.

Rupert was quiet for a moment, and then he went back under the covers. His small voice could be heard through the piles of fabric.

“I don’t remember ever meeting Count Bellua.”

“Just because you don’t know my father doesn’t mean he doesn’t know who you are.”

“No, I know your father. But I didn’t know he was that crazy.”

Even though it was rude, I didn’t say anything. In the future, if he said my father was crazy, I would agree, and if he said he was good, then I would also agree with that. I couldn’t breathe, maybe because of the fact I didn’t want to offend him.

I saw a child’s hand sticking out from under the bed. He was probably smaller than me and had small hands because he grew slowly. It looked like a white, soft hand belonging to a young child. It was almost impossible to think that this child with such a small, soft white hand had annihilated Bellua.

It made sense when I thought about it, but I found it very strange. Why does the cold-blooded killer have such a small and fragile hand? That’s the hand of someone who is pure and innocent and only uses them to make herself look pretty.

When I realized that he was still a small child, the rage that was suppressed by fear grew stronger. Right now, I could run towards him and strangle his thin neck with my bare hands or maybe smother his white face with a pillow to kill him and escape quickly.

For a moment, I really wanted to.

But I shook my head, shocked at how angry I was. If I killed Rupert right now, Bellua’s downfall would happen anyways because killing a member of the Imperial Family was different from being a traitor.

Even if the Imperial Family was actively ignoring him.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

Rupert called, oblivious to the cruel thoughts racing through my head. I stopped envisioning such things not because I felt horrible about it but because my wicked imagination is simply impossible.

He was still buried under the thick duvet, so I answered while staring at the large white cloth.

“You helped Tori.”

I tilted my head for a second.

When did I help her?

I thought about Marian Vincent, but I didn’t think that insulting her helped Tori in any way. Rupert’s voice, though, was a little off when he said Tori’s name, so I frowned.

“I don’t think I helped much, but I have met Miss Tori Fassbender.”

“Then it’s fine.”

“What do you mean?”

“I forgive you for being a dumpling thief.”

That’s not what happened, you dumpling thief.

I held in the rising desire to argue in my throat and just frowned and bowed my head. The Emperor at this time seemed to care a lot for Tori.

It was surprising.

It was absolutely surprising that he knew how to care for others and treat them well.

“I’m not familiar with what you’re talking about, but thank you anyways.”

Rupert laughed momentarily at me as I feigned ignorance till the very end.

“You’re only here temporarily, so it’s fine with me.”

We don’t know yet if that would be the case.

I thought to myself and bowed my back in front of him, which I must have done a few times.

When I left his bedroom, the manager was waiting for me. He gave me a brief lesson on a few things I should be aware of, but in reality, it was all just simple warnings that I didn’t even need. That’s because the ‘education’ that many young noble girls receive included how to behave in the royal court.

Still, he thought it was excellent that I could speak the court language, which was usually difficult for someone my age, and for knowing manners and proper etiquette. He assured me that I wouldn’t need additional lessons like this in the future.

“Perfect. You’ll be a good attendant. You can work for Her Highness Princess Lapertte for half a year, and after that, if there’s an opening, you may work for Her Highness Princess Nigelle.

He showed me to my room and explained that sometimes, noble girls would temporarily work for Rupert until a position with Princess Nigelle or Prince Arnulf became available.

My target was Rupert, not Princess Nigelle, but I didn’t want to raise suspicions by refusing, so I let my intentions be misunderstood.

I looked around the old-fashioned and sat down on the bed. The olive wood walls made me think of the room where I had to atone for my disobedience when I was a child. I used to be afraid of that room and trembled when I was confined and scolded. The scariest thing now wasn’t that old, dark attic, but rather being a maid in the Imperial Palace.

It’s such an unexpected, considerable change that even though I was the one who made the decision, I’m still shocked about the progress of my situation. Getting a position and a room in the Imperial Palace is like being officially registered as a soldier, so even if my father wanted to make a fuss, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. I reached for my baggage and thought about what I would do if my parents came to the Imperial Palace.

As I was putting away the few clothes I had brought, I noticed the Imperial Pass that had been thrown roughly next to the bundle. It was a form of identification that only high-ranking maids and attendants could receive to allow them to enter the Imperial Palace. It was engraved with a serpent, the symbol of the Imperial family.

Even though I’ve only been here for half a day, I was able to become Rupert’s attendant without having to go through a trial period. This quick promotion was not something light or something easily obtainable, given the heavy burden of working under the Imperial Family’s name. It was a big deal being the princess’s attendant.