Normally, Milla would have ignored comments she didn’t want to respond to, pretending she hadn’t heard them. However, her reaction this time was quite different from usual.

Though subtle compared to others, it was clear she was emotionally unsettled.

Sarah quickly noticed Milla’s unusual behavior and continued to provoke her, cleverly pushing her buttons. She didn’t forget to sneer incredulously from time to time.

“Who would have thought she could deceive someone so cleverly? She completely fooled our Princess Annette. And that’s not all. After returning the golden peonies, she came back at night and secretly made them wilt. The princess cherished them so much, yet she showed no gratitude. You have no idea how upset the princess was when she saw the state of the peonies. It was really tough to console her.”

As Sarah shook her head, the other maids standing by her side patted her shoulder to comfort her. It seemed like the saying “birds of a feather flock together” was true. They acted just like a miniature version of Princess Annette’s clique.

Milla turned her attention away from Sarah and focused on her notebook.

This was a deliberate action, but in truth, she couldn’t absorb any of the content. It had even fewer notes to report than on other days.

The problem was that the other maids seemed to believe Sarah’s words.

While Sarah spoke, the other maids, except for Beth, stood at a distance, looking at Milla with eyes as cold as Sarah’s.

They secretly envied and were jealous of Milla, who was recognized by the head maid, so even Milla’s trivial actions seemed annoying to them.

“Anyone would think she’s the princess.”

“She acts so dignified and fake. How can anyone get close to her?”

Their loud chatter pierced Milla’s heart, but she remained calm, reading her notebook without wavering. Unable to stand it any longer, Beth stepped in to block Milla’s path.

“What’s going on? There’s no need for us to fight among ourselves. Sarah, stop it. Why are you doing this to Milla? And honestly, we all saw it that day. Princess Annette asked to discard the flowers, and Princess Stella took them. How is that stealing?”

When Beth sided with Milla, Sarah, unable to contain her anger, shouted with a reddened face.

“That’s where the problem started. It means Princess Stella knew they were golden peonies from the beginning. That’s why she asked for them. She cunningly took them without saying a word, knowing they’d turn golden soon. Our naive Princess Annette didn’t know that and gave away even more seedlings. You shouldn’t betray someone’s kindness like that.”

The other maids murmured as they listened to Sarah. Some of them looked back and forth between Sarah and Milla with puzzled expressions.

“So she took them back, right? She went to Verdura Castle and took all the blooming golden peonies. Why?”

Beth, now with her hands on her hips, was fuming. As she spoke, her anger continued to rise.

“Haven’t you heard? Princess Stella came at night and made all the golden peonies useless.”

“Princess Stella? Is she your friend? How dare you speak so casually about the princess?”

“When did I ever! You must have misheard!”

Since calling a princess casually was a clear mistake, Sarah insisted that Beth had misheard.

“Did you see it? Princess Stella leisurely going to someone else’s garden to ruin flowers? That’s paranoia.”

The argument between Milla and Sarah had now turned into a fight between Beth and Sarah. Milla, looking more tired than before, closed her notebook and stood up.

If Sarah had only targeted her, Milla could have continued to ignore it. But, unwillingly, Beth had intervened, complicating things.

“What? Did you just say our Princess Annette is paranoid?”

“You, yes, you! Are your ears blocked now? Want me to clear them for you?”

Beth had no intention of letting it slide.

After reflecting on how Sarah and her cronies treated her following her previous conversation with Milla, Beth had realized they were using her.

She no longer intended to be manipulated by them.

Milla appeared indifferent, but Beth couldn’t just stand by. In Beth’s view, Milla was far better than those wretched girls.

As Sarah growled, ready to pounce on Beth, the maids beside her urgently held her back.

“What is going on here!”

It was then that the head maid, Anne, appeared. At Anne’s shout, Sarah, who had been ready to tear Beth’s hair out, suddenly became calm.

“Milla, Sarah, and Beth. Each of you will receive 10 demerit points. Write the Maid’s Oath ten times and submit it by tomorrow.”

Anne included Milla, who was standing, in her reprimand.

“Yes, understood.”

“Okay.”

Beth and Milla answered quietly, but Sarah was still fuming, glaring at the two as she huffed.

“Sarah!”

Anne’s stern voice rang out once more, and Sarah reluctantly nodded in response. However, her expression still screamed of injustice. She couldn’t stand Milla, who seemed to choose the most annoying actions just because she was disliked.

“Milla, is this all for your report?” Anne asked with a puzzled expression after reading the noticeably shorter report compared to other days.

The report contained only the information that Sarah had been gossiping about outside. It was purely objective, neither more nor less.

“Yes, Princess Stella rarely interacts with others. She spends most of her time tending to plants, and in her spare time, she reads or takes walks,” Milla explained softly, but Anne’s expression clearly showed her dissatisfaction.

“I heard that during the Rose Hunt, Princess Stella hunted several purple-horned lizards. They say she caught them with just a dagger from there, not with weapons sent from her homeland. Haven’t you found out anything else?” Her tone was sharp, as though she were testing Milla.

Milla truly knew nothing about the hunt, so she could answer more sincerely than ever. It was the first time she felt grateful to be questioned about something she didn’t know well.

“The events of the hunt were really surprising to me as well. I never knew Princess Stella had such skills. She never trained in swordsmanship while staying at Verdura Castle, nor did she bring any weapons from her homeland.”

To prove she was telling the truth, Milla opened her notebook to the page listing the inventory and presented it to the head maid.

Though Anne had already checked the list, she carefully reviewed it again to ensure she hadn’t missed anything.

“It’s true. However, we must consider all possibilities. Even though Princess Stella passed the lineage certification, that doesn’t explain everything. There might have been another reason for sending Princess Stella from Amalrune.”

“What do you mean…?” Milla asked, trying hard not to let her voice tremble.

“We must not overlook the possibility that Princess Stella might be an assassin. No princess has ever shown such exceptional hunting skills.”

“But if there were indeed another purpose, wouldn’t she have hidden her skills? Especially since not only His Majesty but other nobles were present.”

Milla’s argument made sense. As Anne flipped through the notebook, she raised her eyebrows when she found a section.

“Princess Stella gifted you a purple horn, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“Were you happy to receive it?”

“I accepted it because she gave it to me. I didn’t harbor any other feelings.”

Milla recalled the purple horn wrapped tightly in a handkerchief to prevent it from getting damaged.

Anne nodded and closed the notebook, knowing that Milla would readily bring out the gifts she received if asked.

“Milla.”

“Yes, Head Maid.”

“I am considering you as my successor.”

“I will do my best not to disappoint you.”

“Do not give your heart to Princess Stella. One mistake is enough.”

“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”

“You may go.”

Milla quietly stood, bowed, and exited. As the door opened, Anne signaled with her finger to a maid standing outside, who then handed Milla a small pouch from her bosom.

Feeling the weight of the pouch, Milla sighed in relief. It meant Anne was pleased with her report.

* * *

After finishing her report and returning to Verdura, Milla was left speechless by the scene before her.

She had expected Princess Stella to be tending to the garden as usual, but instead, she was intensely practicing dagger throwing at a target.

Whoosh!

Thud!

Each time Princess Stella’s dagger flew swiftly and struck the target, Darren and Brynn, who were watching nearby, applauded enthusiastically.

“My goodness! Princess, you hit it again.”

“It’s even closer to the center than before!”

Milla, who had just reported that Princess Stella didn’t practice, let out a deep sigh. It seemed like growing crops and secretly selling them at the market might have been a better option.

“Princess.”

Stella, about to throw her third dagger after two consecutive throws, stopped when she heard Milla’s voice.

“You’re back?”

Perhaps because she had been moving vigorously for the first time in a while, Stella’s face was beaded with sweat. Her cheeks were flushed, yet the smile on her lips was bright and beautiful.

For someone suspected of approaching the Emperor with ulterior motives, her smile was excessively cheerful.