I Became a Tyrant’s Maid - Chapter 35

I stared at Aaron, who suddenly looked serious with sparkling eyes.

“Especially if you’re an ordinary human.”

“Oh, what’s this? Are you a fatalist?”

But Aaron frowned for a moment as if confused, then quickly smiled brightly and took my tray.

“Are you done eating, Rose?”

“Why? Keep talking. Is this fate thing from some kind of mythology book?”

Aaron frowned at my question as if troubled.

“Rose, you’re more ignorant than I thought?”

I couldn’t help but frown at that as well.

“Hey, why are you attacking me all of a sudden while we’re eating?”

“You don’t know the contents of the Goddess of Fate’s scripture that every imperial citizen knows?”

I thought it was nonsense.

Aaron grinned as if teasing me.

The cafeteria was starting to get crowded as it was lunchtime.

“The empire has a high illiteracy rate, yet scripture is common knowledge?”

“Um, Rose. Let’s get up for now.”

Aaron sighed and stood up first.

I let out a hollow laugh and stood up, feeling dumbfounded.

“No, what does it mean that fate is predetermined?”

“Rose, I’ll explain once we’re out of the cafeteria.”

Aaron awkwardly said as he snatched my dishes.

Wondering why he was acting like that, I looked around him.

Only then did I notice the gazes directed at me.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t do that.”

“Why, what’s wrong with it?”

And then the whispers. I felt a tingling sensation at the back of my head.

“Um, Aaron. Did something happen at the palace while I was away?”

That’s when it happened.

Just as I was about to ask Aaron,

“Oh no, I’m so sorry!”

Someone spilled soup on my clothes.

“……”

I looked at the maid who was apologizing to me.

Then I raised my head and looked at the table where the high-ranking officials of the imperial palace were seated.

At a large table in the distance, the head maid and others were eating and laughing merrily.

I could hear very faint snickering sounds around me.

‘What’s going on?’

Looking at the group that was giggling, I saw it was Lesha Kate’s group, who often hung around the headmaid.

I examined the maid who had spilled soup on me. Then, smiling broadly, I said in a loud voice.

“It’s okay. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah… Well,”

“It seems someone pushed you because of the crowd.”

I thought it was odd that they were trying to pass it off quietly.

I helped the maid, who had slumped down in her seat, to her feet while running my hand through my hair.

The name “Darcy” was written on her chest.

“I’m fine. Are you not burned?”

I turned my head and looked straight at the head maid. Then I clicked my tongue.

Despite making eye contact with me, she tried to act as if nothing had happened, but it seemed she wasn’t as talented at managing her expressions as I thought.

Her face had become quite stiff.

“I-I’m fine, Lady Estanya.”

“I’m glad.”

I looked around the fallen maid.

One, two, three people with expressions that clearly showed they felt caught.

So, she’s using three of her followers, is that it?

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

I slowly walked out of the dining hall.

“Rose, are you okay?”

Pretending not to hear Aaron’s words, I thought.

“So, they want to play politics, huh?”

Trying to mess with a Korean through political games is crossing the line.

‘Of course, it is.’

As a survivor of dynamic Korean society, I could vaguely guess what the situation was.

When you work, you start to notice the groups. The power structure in the Crown Prince’s palace was roughly like this:

At the top of the power structure for the service side, excluding the kitchen—that is, the maids and servants—was the head maid, and the power dynamics were formed around her.

‘Those who were in the head maid’s good graces and the rest of the outcasts.’

The ones who were snickering at me in the dining hall were the head maid’s closest associates.

“Rose, so about fate…”

“Aaron. That’s not what’s important right now, my friend.”

I covered Aaron’s mouth and dragged him to the storage room behind the dining hall where there were few people, then quickly looked around.

Good. No one’s here.

“You saw it earlier, right? The laundry maid Kate pushing Darcy? Is that her name? Anyway, she pushed her.”

“Puha! What are you trying to say, Rose?”

I swallowed hard and grabbed both of Aaron’s hands.

“Will you help me, Aaron?”

“…I get nervous when Rose talks like that, ow, okay, Rose. Stop glaring at me.”

I was about to give Aaron’s back a friendly pat but held back.

Then I stood on my tiptoes and whispered in his ear.

“Come to my room tonight. Without anyone knowing.”

At my words, Aaron’s eyes widened, and he moved his pupils around as if flustered.

Then, twisting his body and pretending to be shy, he covered his mouth with both hands and said.

“Oh, Roose.”

My thoughts came to a momentary halt.

What is he doing right now?

“I’m not mentally prepared yet…”

“…What are you imagining, you crazy fool!”

“Ack! Rose, don’t hit my back! My back is worth a million gold!”

“Will you shut that mouth right now?”

* * *

“Yes! That’s right. I heard Rose is receiving all of His Highness the Crown Prince’s favor.”

I couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger at Milla’s words.

As expected, that’s how the rumors have spread.

‘The newly arrived bedchamber maid is the Crown Prince’s mistress?’

‘She must have done something for sure.’

It wasn’t entirely unexpected.

What maid would be able to attend the birthday celebration where only the closest confidants of the royal family are allowed?

“That’s ridiculous. What could the Crown Prince possibly see in this pink-haired girl?”

I threw a pillow from the bed at Aaron, who was making snide remarks beside me, with all my might.

“Hey, what’s wrong with me!”

“Why are you hitting me, Rose? I was just stating an objective fact, ow!”

I kindly covered the noisy Aaron with a blanket as well.

Then I started to seriously ponder.

Surely, my rapidly rising position must have seemed threatening to the head maid.

It’s not surprising, after all, if you look at history books, there are many cases where the king’s direct eunuchs seize power and run amok.

If I were to snatch that position, the head maid would be hard-pressed to remain as the duke’s puppet.

Why?

Because I, not her, would become the real power in the Crown Prince’s palace.

To survive without being swept away by the First Prince’s forces until the male lead ascends to the throne, I needed to hone my own power.

“Milla, can you help me?”

I said seriously, holding both of Milla’s hands.

Milla nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

“Of course! What is it, Rose?”

“I need to do some politics.”

“Politics… huh?”

I took Milla’s hand and pointed out the window.

Outside the window was the head maid’s first group, Lesha Kate’s gang, who seemed to have come out for a night walk.

“Today, they were snickering while spilling soup on my clothes, you know?”

“What? How mean!”

Milla’s eyes widened, and she glared out the window with an indignant expression.

I continued speaking while quietly observing them under the window.

“It seems the head maid is trying to keep me in check.”

“Huh? Why would the head maid do that?”

“Because I’ve completely sided with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Milla frowned as if she couldn’t understand at all.

“Why do you think His Highness kills the servants?”

“Well? Because His Highness is a tyrant?”

Milla tilted her head with an incredibly innocent face.

Aaron, who had been here earlier, had somehow crept closer, wrapped in a blanket.

With his eyes sparkling uncomfortably bright.

I gave Aaron a quick smile before focusing back on the conversation.

“His Highness only kills those who have clear reasons to die.”

At my words, Milla and Aaron looked at me as if I were insane.

“…Rose, have you lost your mind? His Highness? Have you really fallen for the Crown Prince as the rumors say?”

Ignoring Aaron’s comment, I continued.

“What I mean is, His Highness only kills those who have clear evidence of attempting to assassinate or betray him.”

“What I mean is, His Highness only kills those who have clear evidence of attempting to assassinate or betray him.”

Milla looked at me with worried eyes.

“Who’s responsible for personnel changes in the Crown Prince’s palace? It’s the head maid.”

Milla and Aaron’s brows furrowed as if trying to understand my point.

“The one who assigned the servants working closest to His Highness until now was also the head maid.”

“So, Rose, are you saying that all the people who died so far were assassins?”

Milla asked.

To which I calmly continued.

“That’s right. It’s already well-known that His Grace the Duke, who follows His Highness the First Prince, is on friendly terms with the head maid.”

“……”

“……”

“Moreover, His Highness the First Prince wants to eliminate His Highness the Crown Prince. Because, unless something special happens, His Highness holds the right of succession to the throne.”

Despite my kind explanation, Milla shook her head as if it made no sense. I spoke, thumping my chest in frustration.

“Look at me! With so many maids dying, why am I the only one still alive?”

“That’s……”

“Because the head maid is a puppet of His Grace the Duke, and I’m not their puppet!”

At my words, Milla finally nodded slightly as if she understood a little.

“Anyway. The Crown Prince’s palace needs an immediate change in power dynamics.”

Milla and Aaron looked at me simultaneously as if I was talking nonsense.

“We can’t keep watching the First Prince’s puppets messing up the Crown Prince’s palace, can we?”

“Rose, are you really in your right mind? Did the Crown Prince brainwash you or something?”

Aaron asked me with an innocent face.

My eyebrow twitched.

“So, what I’m saying is. Let’s invest in the right stocks.”

“Stocks?”

“I mean…… yeah, let’s grab the right lifeline.”

I pointed to the room next to mine. The Crown Prince’s room, that is.

“If we’re going to line up behind someone, shouldn’t it be His Highness the Crown Prince? Rather than a mere head maid “

Finally, Aaron’s eyes widened in surprise as he pointed at me.

“Rose, don’t tell me you’re saying you want to become the head maid or something?”

“Something more high-level than just the position of head maid?”

I whispered with a serious expression.

“We can’t live in the Crown Prince’s palace forever, can we? Soon, the highest power in the Imperial Palace will change, and we need to choose. Who we’ll follow.”

Aaron was looking at me seriously for once.

I smiled brightly at him and said confidently.

“And if I’m going to line up behind someone, well, let’s line up behind His Highness the Crown Prince. That’s what I’m saying.”