Thus, Marquis Winston Zenon’s position as Princess Rebella’s knight was secured.

Kristin spent several days at the palace following the head maid’s lead.

Having received instructions from Selena Scarlet, the head maid assigned Kristin to carry out all duties as Princess Rebella’s maid.

Although Selena had assured the head maid of Kristin’s excellent manners and embroidery skills, she wanted to verify it with her own eyes.

To test Kristin, the head maid gave her tasks to evaluate her abilities, and after the tests, she asked for Kristin’s name—something Selena hadn’t mentioned.

Caught off guard, Kristin gave the alias “Lianna” and continued her work while wearing a hat and mask.

Typically, palace maids would reveal their faces while working, but Selena’s orders allowed Kristin to keep her face covered, avoiding unnecessary suspicion.

Additionally, Princess Rebella, impressed by the skillful embroidery Kristin demonstrated, had already become half-convinced of her value.

—

While carrying out her duties in the palace, Kristin took the opportunity to infiltrate Princess Rebella’s room secretly.

Princess Rebella had expressed interest in meeting Selena Scarlet to offer thanks and out of curiosity.

Outwardly, she planned to express gratitude for Selena’s provision of a maid and knight. Still, internally, she wanted to assess Selena as a relative of the Emperor—someone who could pose a threat.

Rebella harbored a quiet intent to eliminate Selena, suspecting her of being a potential danger.

On her way to meet Selena, accompanied by her attendants, Rebella encountered Kristin, who was preparing an embroidered handkerchief for the princess.

Kristin assured the princess she would finish the embroidery and deliver it to her room later.

—

Despite her growing familiarity with the palace, Kristin found it challenging to sneak into the princess’s room, given Rebella’s status as a princess of a neighboring empire.

However, she felt she couldn’t delay any longer and decided that this moment was her chance.

After leaving the embroidered handkerchief on the table, Kristin searched the room for a hiding spot.

Having already spent days working on the handkerchief, Kristin had enough duplicates to avoid suspicion.

Observing Princess Rebella’s habits over the past few days, she knew the princess enjoyed spending time at the table or balcony, so she avoided those areas.

To ensure her concealment, Kristin decided to hide under the bed.

Though cramped, the bed’s long mattress cover provided adequate cover, allowing Kristin to conceal herself safely.

‘If I wait a little longer, I might learn something. But what if things go wrong?’

Kristin’s concerns weighed on her, but she resolved to stop the Praga Empire from overtaking the Union Empire, no matter the cost.

Hesitating now would endanger not just herself but the lives of other Union nobles.

‘I just have to endure a little longer. Even if something goes wrong, I still have my pocket watch.’

Gripping the pocket watch tightly, Kristin steeled her resolve and held her breath, awaiting Princess Rebella’s return.

—

“Selena Scarlet? I heard she’s a teacher at the Noble Academy, but nothing is awe-inspiring about her. I thought she’d be…special or something,” Princess Rebella remarked to her maids.

The maids accompanying Princess Rebella were her attendants and female advisors, tasked with aiding her in critical matters or correspondence with the Praga Empire.

While male advisors were present in the palace, they primarily served the Crown Prince and were useless to Rebella.

Rebella found it inconvenient to change clothes in the presence of her attendants, who were usually silent and reserved. To avoid discomfort, she hired her maids as personal aides and publicly introduced them as her attendants, responsible for dressing her and performing various tasks.

“How do you find the new maid? Do you like her?” asked one of the maids.

“She came to this room earlier to deliver an embroidered handkerchief. Oh, it’s placed right there on the table.”

Rebella glanced at the maid dismissively before turning to the handkerchief on the table. Her lips curled into a satisfied smile as she examined it.

Meanwhile, Kristin, hidden under the bed, held her breath. She covered her mouth, careful not to make any noise while watching the faint movements of their feet through the slight gap beneath the mattress cover.

“An embroidery maid, huh? After observing her, I can see her skills are far beyond what I expected,” Rebella remarked, lifting the handkerchief to inspect it.

“Look at this—an embroidered design of bees and flowers. It’s stunning. With skills like this, I almost want to bring her to the Praga Empire. Hiring such a maid for me is truly impressive. Oh, and last time, do you know what I saw? They introduced a so-called personal knight for me but didn’t even bother to have him remove his helmet!”

“A personal knight? For you, Your Highness?”, one of the attendants inquired.

“There are already enough knights in the palace; why would they assign another specifically to you?”

In truth, when Rebella met Selena Scarlet, she had dismissed her maids from the room. She didn’t want them to make any mistakes, nor did she wish to create an uncomfortable atmosphere for her private conversation with Selena.

“They claimed that with the frequent threats to the Union Empire, even I needed protection. So they assigned me the smartest and bravest knight among Selena’s retainers.

Honestly, it felt more like they wanted someone to spy on me. But then again, they have yet to hear about our plan, right? Not even His Majesty realizes what’s in store for him,” Rebella said, smirking.

Her aide said, “Are you finding everything provided by the Union Empire to your liking?”

“Surprisingly, I’ve been enjoying the food here more than I expected,” Rebella replied.

“It’s almost a pity this country will soon be reduced to a vassal state. Ha, ha, ha.”

Kristin seethed with anger as she listened to Rebella’s words, but she forced herself to remain hidden and silent.

“If you’re so pleased, why not take Lianna—the maid—as part of your entourage to the Praga Empire?” the aide suggested.

Rebella paused to consider before replying, “Why not? After all, the Union Empire will soon belong to me. By the day after tomorrow, it will be mine.”

‘The day after tomorrow?’ Kristin’s eyes widened in shock.

If what Rebella said was true, Kristin had no time to waste. She needed to get a message to Duke Raphael immediately.

That meant she had to escape the palace tonight.

“Congratulations in advance, Your Highness. If anyone can become Empress of the Praga Empire, it is surely you. You’ve already taken control of the Union Empire more quickly and easily than any other princes. His Majesty will have no choice but to acknowledge you once you secure this territory.”

At that moment, Kristin felt a sneeze coming on due to the dust under the bed. She hurriedly shifted her position to suppress it, causing a slight disturbance.

One of the aides froze, her eyes darting around the room. “Did you hear that just now?”

“What? Hear what?” Rebella asked.

“It sounded like someone was here,” the aide replied suspiciously, glancing around the room.

Rebella looked under the bed but saw nothing. “Strange. I don’t see anything.”

However, one of the attendants had heard Kristin’s movements and began to approach the bed to lift the mattress cover cautiously. Just as the attendant reached to pull it up, a knock echoed through the room.

Knock, knock.

The door opened, and the voice of Empress Leli Aedon filled the air.

“Your Highness, I heard you’ll be leaving the Union Empire the day after tomorrow. How about joining me for dinner this evening? Since you’ll need to rest tomorrow night, tonight would be better. I’ve also arranged a separate dining area for your maids. Please join us.”

Empress Leli Aedon had been wary of Rebella for some time and wanted to keep her close. She had orchestrated Rebella’s meeting with Selena Scarlet and now arranged this final dinner to stay in control.

Startled by the Empress’s sudden visit, Rebella scrambled to respond.

“Oh, yes, of course. I’ll get ready right away and join you.”

“Take your time. I’ll see you there,” the Empress replied.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Rebella answered.

Kristin realized this was her chance to escape from the palace. She waited quietly until Rebella and her maids left the room.

Once the coast was clear, Kristin carefully lifted the mattress cover and slipped out. She swiftly made her way toward the palace’s rear gate.