Calix couldn’t help but be astonished.

His mind was filled with thoughts. About the identity of the new chambermaid.

He could only say he was lucky.

Thanks to her, he’d managed to capture the duke’s spy and Ruel’s stable boy alive.

Comparing it to the invitation from the Third Prince, it was a more profitable deal.

It seemed that the First Prince was much more dangerous than the Third Prince.

“Here’s the invitation.”

Calix frowned deeply as he looked at the white paper handed by the chambermaid.

He hadn’t asked her to do anything or assigned her a task.

That’s why this situation was extremely uncomfortable.

It was the result of unnecessary temper tantrums. He should have just picked the right one.

Calix couldn’t resist adding.

“Did you just get one?”

“Just in case, I secured three copies.”

Calix remained silent.

And he thought to himself.

What is this?

This was impossible.

A mere chambermaid?

From what he could gather, Rose Estanya was born to an insignificant baron on a country estate. 

When her parents died of an epidemic, she came to the palace and began serving as a maid.

So, it was almost impossible for Rose to do as he asked and obtain an invitation to the Third Prince’s secret party, to which only certain people were invited.

No, to put it differently, there was nothing that couldn’t be done.

When you’re desperate, you’ll do anything.

Desperation was the one thing that had kept him alive all these years.

Still, there was something strange about it.

‘A spy?’

But what kind of spy would work so diligently and make it obvious?

Calix let out a hollow laugh.

The desire to crack that uncharacteristically rational facade boiled inside him.

He had already witnessed the face hidden behind Rose’s mask, after all.

In that aspect, it was an undeniable truth that Rose Estanya was the most peculiar among the human figures he had ever encountered.

Calix tapped his desk with his fingers.

Tap, tap.

How should he make use of this incredibly unpredictable woman?

He didn’t know enough about her to trust her yet.

Calix shifted his gaze to the pure white invitation. These stupid brothers.

Then he looked back at his chambermaid, Rose.

“Very well. You will accompany me on the day of the party.”

* * *

For a moment, I almost cursed at that sculpted like face with all my heart.

Has he finally learned how to fart through his mouth?

No matter how inexperienced I may be in the service industry, I’ve had plenty of experience dealing with difficult guests.

But even so, I’ve never encountered anything like that.

‘Do you think I’m your secretary?’

I vowed to myself that if I ever went back to Korea, I wouldn’t even look at any secretarial jobs.

I brought three invitations just in case he made a fuss, and the conclusion is that we’re going to the party together.

I rolled over and thought about it, but it was a mystery.

No, I’m just a chambermaid. Why am I running around?

Are you out of your mind?

‘If you’re going to make me do this, at least pay me more!’

But unfortunately, in this unfavorable situation, I had no choice but to be a yes man/accept.

Damn it, I couldn’t care less about dying right here and now. I wanted to attach a rocket launcher to the head of that stupid protagonist´s head and shoot it off.

If he really had to personally attend the Third Prince’s secret party, he should have brought the invitations himself.

A ruler who runs with his own feet.

What a true symbol of a ruler in this era, impressive.

“Damn it, nothing goes my way.”

I lay on the bed, tearing my hair out.

I might as well tidy up the room and bring breakfast. That would be better.

A party, for heaven’s sake.

“Argh!”

I screamed and jumped up from my seat.

Then I glared at the letter sent by Mr. Crimson.

Mr. Crimson was quite a remarkable source of information.

Information about the Duke having an illegitimate child would have been extremely difficult to uncover, considering how secretive the duke is. Yet, he found it in just a day.

Moreover, he effortlessly obtained invitations that are almost impossible to get.

‘Isn’t the second one a bit too easy compared to the first?’

Of course, when I went back to the bookstore to retrieve the invitations, I heard a lot of grumbling, but when I told them that I pay him about 2.5 times more than the first request, he even provided additional information with a wide smile.

It was a relationship diagram that contained detailed explanations about the various imperial powers.

“Oh, crazy.”

I doubted my own eyes.

The most splendid name written on the side of the prince, ‘Duke Tianel’.

It was the name of the duke who had tried to kill the male lead. And it was also the name of the female lead’s father.

I couldn’t help but panic.

What am I missing? What kind of a shitty situation is this?

Surely, I knew that the nobility’s ranks had been reduced after the male lead became emperor.

There’s no reason for the male lead to keep a duke alive who used to be an enemy to him.

But why is the name Tianel here?

In the original story, the male lead wants to consolidate his power as soon as he ascends to the throne, so he is betrothed to the eldest daughter of the Duke of Tianel, the most powerful of the noble families.

But it’s love at first sight when the male lead sees the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Tianel at the coronation banquet before the betrothal.

I clenched my fist.

So, let’s summarize: the current Duke and the Duke in the original work are the same person.

And the current duke and the male lead are definitely not working together.

But in the near future, before the male lead ascends to the throne, could they become allies for some reason? I lightly drew an X at the place where it says Third Prince.

The answer was obvious.

The male lead must have killed the Third prince and brought the Duke to his side.

If not, the original work wouldn’t make sense.

“Now is not the time for this.”

I jumped up from my seat. The party is in two days.

I had no weapons or abilities at my disposal here.

To survive in this trashy novel, I had to stick close to the male lead, the culprit who turned this world into trash. That was the only way.

It wasn’t a pleasant solution, but I had no other choice.

I racked my brain.

How to survive the next day, and the next, and the next.

* * *

“What?”

Unfortunately, Rose, who had been in the palace for only a year, had a very, very limited circle of friends.

The only friend she had was Milla, who was sympathetic and broad-minded.

In a moment of desperation like this, I had no choice but to use my meager connections.

Even thinking about it made me feel ashamed. I should never have let our paths cross… but…

“Will you help me?”

The orange-haired man, who had been diligently slicing carrots in the kitchen, looked up with a frown.

My clothes? On you?”

“Of course, I understand it would be quite surprising to see me suggesting that, but I find myself in a desperate situation.”

I asked seriously. When the protagonist asked me to follow him to the party, he was basically telling me to present the invitation myself and get in.

It seemed that infiltrating would be easier for a man than a woman, and I planned to assume the role of a servant.

So, by wearing Aaron’s clothes, I could sneak in through the back door.

“You’re not stealing from the laundry today?”

“Because I need a commoner’s outfit.”

I grabbed his hand and held it gently, giving him a redeeming glance.

“As you can see, my connections are extremely limited, and you’re the only person I can rely on… What should I do?”

Perhaps my pitiful plea got through to him, as he calmly put his knife back on the cutting board. He pulled me closer and whispered.

“Why on earth do you need that to clean up a bedroom?”

Due to unfortunate circumstances that I couldn’t explain, I simply smiled and lightly pushed the man, who had come too close, with my finger.

Back off, you’re getting too close.

“So, will you help me?”

“Well, I can’t refuse to help….. but will my clothes fit you?”

He glanced up and down at me.

And I, in turn, scrutinized his physique.

He appeared to be at least about thirty centimeters taller than me, and naturally, he had a more robust build.

“I can just say that I got it from my brother, so can you lend it to me quickly?”

* * *

The perfectly fitted clothes made the protagonist look undeniably like the main character, leaving me in awe.

The flowing black hair and vivid ruby eyes were simply captivating.

He was undoubtedly a drop-dead gorgeous individual.

I stood before the protagonist, dressed in Aaron’s clothes.

Although the sleeves were a bit long, I folded them, so it didn’t seem noticeable.

With a confident expression on my face, I stood by the protagonist’s side, and upon seeing me like that, he raised an eyebrow and said.

“What exactly do you plan to do like this?”

It was a question with an air of disbelief.

What do you mean, what am I planning?

Can’t you tell just by looking?

If you can’t, it’s only fair to explain it kindly!

“I’m going undercover as a servant to serve Your Highness.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

That’s something I should be saying, so why is it coming out of that guy´s mouth? I stared at him silently.

The protagonist seemed genuinely dumbfounded.

Then he sighed, furrowing his eyebrows a few times, and pulled out a dress from the wardrobe, tossing it at me.

No, seriously, why does this guy keep throwing things at me……….

Phew.

I took a deep breath and examined the dress he had thrown.

I couldn’t help but wonder what this was about.

It looked quite expensive.

“Instead of being a servant, you´re supposed to go as my partner, so clean up this mess.”

I wanted to shout back.

Are you even in your right mind?

There was a party for the Third Prince at 6 p.m. tonight. It was already 5 p.m.

First, I accepted the dress the protagonist had thrown at me.

“Leave the palace by 6 p.m. Meet me under the blue roof in front of the temple.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Click, several accessories were laid out on the protagonist’s desk.

Then he gestured with his chin as if to say, “Take them.”

I felt quite offended by his arrogant attitude, but I forced a smile and picked up the accessories that were casually thrown at me. Just by looking at them, I could tell they were quite expensive.

Jewelry is innocent. 

You punk.

“What are you doing, not going out when you’ve got this?”

“Then I shall see you at 6 p.m.”

Since the protagonist’s room and my room were close by, I could quickly run to my room.

“You dirty, despicable scumbag.”

Despite the tight schedule, it didn’t matter.

After all, I had gone to serve breakfast with a full setup in just 10 minutes, waking up every day until 5 a.m.

This was a piece of cake.

At this point, I could tell that the bastard was very intent on picking on me.

Let’s see if I fall for it.

I stood up and pointed the middle fingers of both hands in the direction of the protagonist’s room.

By the way, going as the protagonist’s partner.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand his way of thinking.

Isn’t this a society based on social status?

It was difficult to put on the dress, but I managed to squeeze my body into it somehow.

And then I began searching the room.

There should have been cosmetics, at least. But the maid’s room was a mess and there was no sign of any cosmetics. I also needed to do something with my hair.

I let out a deep sigh.

‘This isn’t some Cinderella story.’

With a sigh of frustration, I searched through the room, but after 5 minutes of searching and finding nothing, not even cosmetics, I started to worry.

I had to go to the location the protagonist mentioned by 6 p.m., but how on earth was I supposed to go out looking like this?

In vain, I turned my attention to the diary. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I opened the diary and on the very first page, it was as if someone had written exactly what I desperately wanted right now.

It was the one-of-a-kind cosmetics and a few tools that Mellory had said she’d obtained from a passing merchant.

Stored them away in the second drawer on the left side of the closet.

I couldn’t help but drop the diary on the spot.