Left alone, April stared blankly at the cloth Calsion had left behind. Then, realizing what he had meant, she jumped up in shock.

“I must be crazy!”

As if tossing away something filthy, April threw the cloth and stomped her feet, only to trip over the chair Calsion had left out. The loud crash echoed, but no one came in. While rubbing her aching calf, she grimaced at the pain radiating from her shoulder.

She must have hit her collarbone when she fell, as it was now red and swollen. There wasn’t a single part of her that didn’t hurt.

After her spectacular tumble, April lay on the floor for a while, breathing heavily, then slowly climbed onto the bed.

“So tired.”

It had been such a hard day. She’d been busy preparing herself since morning, and her tension from dealing with Calsion late into the night left her feeling exhausted once she finally relaxed.

Her eyes struggled to stay open, but April soon realized there was no need to force herself anymore and simply closed them.

The next morning came, but April still couldn’t open her eyes. Unlike the old bed she slept on every night, this new one was soft and cozy, and she didn’t want to get up. Even as she heard the distant chatter of maids, she kept her eyes tightly shut.

“My goodness, she’s still sleeping?”

“I heard it was really noisy last night.”

“Oh, look at this!”

One of the maids found the blood-stained cloth April had used to stop Calsion’s bleeding the night before. Waving it openly, the maids blushed and whispered among themselves.

“Should we take this to Her Majesty the Empress?”

“Would she really care about something like this? Let’s just quietly give it to the head maid.”

“Well, you’re right. Her Majesty is actually hoping something’s wrong with the Second Prince.”

“If nothing happened on their wedding night, she’d run to His Majesty and insist the marriage be annulled because there’s a problem with the Second Prince.”

“Exactly.”

The maids assigned to Calsion’s palace were those who had lost out in fierce behind-the-scenes struggles. They had wanted to stay at their original posts for their own safety, but with the creation of the Second Prince’s palace, they were reassigned to manage it.

Just redecorating an existing palace for the Second Prince had cost a fortune, and bringing in the Bright family’s daughter had cost even more.

All that money came from Calsion’s own pocket. The staff could now estimate just how wealthy he was—at the very least, this discarded prince was loaded.

If he managed to settle in the imperial palace and join the struggle for the throne, this palace could become the Crown Prince’s residence. The maids pinned their hopes on that. Otherwise, if Calsion fell, they would all be killed with him.

“…So noisy.”

As April muttered softly and turned over, the whispering maids immediately fell silent. When they saw the dark bruise on her exposed shoulder, their eyes sparkled.

“Oh my, oh my!”

“The Second Prince is rougher than I thought.”

“Look at his face. People who look so ascetic are always the wildest.”

April’s sleep vanished completely at the maids’ bold gossip about their superiors’ bedroom affairs. She sat up abruptly, and the startled maids bowed their heads.

April, adjusting her dress that had slipped below her shoulders, ran a hand irritably through her hair. Her long, golden hair cascaded down her back, shining in the light. The maids couldn’t take their eyes off her radiant hair.

April met the gaze of each maid who was staring blankly at her. As her blue eyes met theirs, the maids quickly looked away.

“You all know what happens to maids who gossip carelessly, don’t you? You’re quite bold.”

“Your Highness! I would never—!”

“Me neither!”

“We only said it because if you and His Highness get along, our positions will improve! We weren’t going to spread rumors!”

The maids protested in unison. April scanned the group, then her eyes landed on a red-haired maid who was holding her head high, unlike the others. April let it go for now, but gave one more warning.

“This is your first time, so I’ll let it go with just a pay cut. Be careful from now on.”

“…Understood.”

Realizing that the new princess consort was not to be trifled with, the maids prostrated themselves on the spot. They had come in claiming to clean, but all they’d done was gossip, so April ordered them out.

“Leave.”

“When should we come back?”

“Don’t come in until I pull the bell cord.”

“Understood.”

April barely acknowledged the departing maids and watched until they were all gone before tossing her blanket aside in irritation.

“What? Rougher than expected? People who look ascetic are wilder?”

Rough? If only something had actually happened, at least she wouldn’t feel so wronged!

April fumed, biting her lip. Her collarbone was still sore and had a deep blue bruise.

“How could this bruise be considered a sign of affection?”

She couldn’t understand it. After punching the pillow beside her for a while to vent her anger, April tried to estimate the time. Judging by the maids’ visit, it wasn’t too early, but she couldn’t be sure of anything else.

“It’s the day after the wedding—what am I supposed to do today?”

Come to think of it, she hadn’t even been assigned a personal maid. Cursing Calsion in her mind for being nothing but a handsome face, April heard someone knock at her bedroom door.

“Your Highness. His Highness the Prince sent me.”

“Come in.”

At her reply, a woman entered. She was far too muscular and tanned to be a maid—she was obviously a knight.

“What is it?”

“I came to inform you of today’s schedule.”

‘He sent a knight instead of a maid?’

Did he only know how to lead knights on the battlefield and not even assign a proper maid? As April pouted, the woman added,

“I am Jarenne, and I will be your new personal maid.”

“Personal maid?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

April couldn’t close her gaping mouth. Sending someone who was clearly a knight to be her maid?

“His Highness sent you?”

“Yes.”

She bowed politely, but no matter how you looked at her, she was a knight.

‘Do knights really obey such unreasonable orders?’

As April tilted her head in confusion, Jarenne prompted her.

“His Highness has invited you to join him for lunch.”

“Lunch? Already?”

“It’s eleven o’clock, Your Highness.”

Her tone was gentle, but there was a sting in her words. April couldn’t say anything back to Jarenne, who had just scolded her for being lazy.

Jarenne pulled the bell cord, timing how long it took the maids to arrive. She took out a pocket watch and checked the time as the door opened and the maids appeared.

“You called, Your Highness!”

“You called!”

The maids, who had just been scolded by April, appeared looking extremely tense. That was fortunate for them, as Jarenne greeted them with satisfaction.

“Dame Jarenne?”

“Not ‘Dame.’ From today, I’m Her Highness’s exclusive maid.”

“But you’re a knight…”

“Does it matter if I’m a knight or a maid? It doesn’t change who I am.”

At Jarenne’s words, the maids’ eyes sparkled. That, they thought, was what a true knight should be like, and they looked at her with adoration. They were already completely smitten with Jarenne.

“His Highness has invited Her Highness to lunch.”

“Oh my goodness!”

“We have to get her ready! There’s not much time!”

The maids fussed as they dragged April away. Her clothes were stripped off in an instant, and she was practically thrown into the bath.

***

“You assigned Jarenne, Your Highness? Do you know how capable a knight she is…!”

“Protecting my wife is important too.”

“Your Highness! She’s the most outstanding knight in the order!”

“That’s exactly why I assigned her.”

Calsion replied as he flipped through documents. His expression was full of irritation, as if to say the matter wasn’t worth discussing further.

“It’s my decision.”

His sharp black eyes flicked in Yulifa’s direction. The warning was clear: don’t bring it up again. Yulifa clamped his mouth shut.

He knew the princess consort came from a powerful family. This marriage was the reason Calsion was allowed to return to the capital.

But still, this was too much.

Despite the camaraderie he and Jarenne had built on the battlefield, he’d sent her to play the role of personal maid to a clueless noble lady. Of all things!

Noble ladies were supposed to flutter their skirts, trying to catch Calsion’s eye, regardless of what happened.

Suppressing his dissatisfaction, Yulifa handed Calsion the next document.

“This is the amount requested by Duke Bright.”