26. Without even knowing who’s holding her lifeline.

“Ah, there was a message last time. They said the Detached Palace is quite busy, so they’ll only be sending reports via letters for the time being.”

“Why did they contact only you?”

“Well, because I’m your aide, Your Highness.”

“?”

“It means it’s my job to handle such trivial matters. Surely, you didn’t intend to deal with such minor things yourself, did you?”

At Burnett’s logical point, Kincaid fell silent as if he had nothing to say. Burnett shrugged his shoulders and added,

“They’re doing a thorough cleaning of the Detached Palace all week since the season’s changing, so it makes sense that they’re busy.”

“I don’t know. Who could guess that a cunning mind would come up with ways to slack off?”

“I don’t see that happening.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Well, I’ve been through enough under your command, Prince Kincaid. Believe it or not, I have a pretty good eye for people.”

Kincaid snorted in disbelief at his aide’s playful remark, then returned his gaze to the documents.

“Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager, has ordered the number of maids working in the Detached Palace to be halved.”

“I already know.”

“Is it because of that recent theft incident?”

The capable aide didn’t dare say something as blunt as ‘harboring resentment toward the Empress Dowager,’ however, it remained a fact that the Empress Dowager disliked Duchess Eleonora.

“Terrence went mad largely because his wife lacked virtue. Otherwise, how could a wonderful child turn out like that?”

Kincaid’s eyes narrowed as he recalled the grandmother’s furious outburst when Prince Terrence’s dethronement was decided, shouted in front of everyone.

“Not only the personnel, but also the budget and supplies sent to the Detached Palace are being reduced. They say the Ministry of Internal Affairs officials are being openly pressured…”

“….”

“How about we pull some budget from the Crown Prince’s palace?”

At his aide’s suggestion to support the suddenly struggling Detached Palace, Kincaid lifted his eyes from the documents.

“No, if the Crown Prince’s Palace steps in now, it will only provoke Her Majesty’s backlash.”

“True. That would probably lead to even harsher pressure.”

Recalling the notoriously temperamental old woman in the imperial palace, Burnett nodded.

“Since the Grand Duchess has found a way to manage things herself, we’ll have to watch for now.”

“Is that why you approved the Marion Trading Company’s supply deal?”

Kincaid nodded silently.

“I heard the head of the trading company is the Grand Duchess’s cousin. Do you think they’ll be of much help?”

“Let’s hope so.”

Kassian Grandel Marion.

He appeared endlessly frivolous on the outside, but he had a gaze that was impossible to read. Only after a thorough background check through various channels was he granted access to the Imperial Palace—but he was never someone to be taken lightly.

“By the way, that merchant lord—maybe it’s because he’s the Grand Duchess’s cousin—but wow, he’s incredibly handsome, isn’t he? Even the maids couldn’t stop talking about how good-looking he is.”

“Burnett.”

“Yes, Your Highness, did you call me?” 

“Is your workload so light? Should I double it so you’ll stop flapping your mouth and actually work?”

“No, no, I’m already extremely busy. I’ll shut up and get back to work right away.”

At Kincaid’s warning, Burnett quickly looked ready to flee. But once he returned to his spot, he couldn’t help but speak again.

“Oh, right, Your Highness.”

“?”

“Shall I summon Miss Brooke to the Crown Prince’s Palace?”

“Why would we want that annoying frog?”

“Well… Weren’t you hoping to see her?”

Burnett’s face twitched with amusement as he asked. Kincaid didn’t bother to respond to the absurd joke or even threaten him.

Instead, he picked up a bright red apple from the fruit basket a maid had brought in earlier and hurled it mercilessly at Burnett. But Burnett managed to catch the apple flying at him with surprising ferocity.

“A gracious apple bestowed by His Highness—I’ll enjoy it with gratitude.”

“Ha.”

Kincaid muttered in disbelief and bowed his head back over the documents.

‘That impudent little frog, not even knowing who’s holding her lifeline.’

A subtle wave of irritation flickered across Kincaid’s face, and he furrowed his brow ever so slightly.

***

“There you are.”

As senior maid Roenna entered the break room, the apprentice maids, who had been drinking tea, all rose to their feet at once.

“We greet you, Maid Roenna.”

The apprentices bowed politely, just as they’d been trained, while sneaking glances at Roenna’s expression.

“Sorry to interrupt your tea, but I have an errand for one of you. Someone needs to go to the main palace.”

At those words, the apprentices exchanged nervous looks. Though they belonged to the same Detached Palace and were technically peers, they were all rivals in truth.

Especially those hoping to be assigned to the main palace or the Crown Prince’s Palace after their apprenticeship were desperate to catch the attention of senior maids.

“It’s a simple task—submit a supply request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and bring back the items. Who will go to the main palace?”

“I will go.”

Olga was the first to raise her hand high.

“My cousin works as a maid in the main palace. If I go, she’ll definitely help me out.”

In response to Olga’s confident declaration, Judith, standing beside her, also stepped forward.

“Well, my uncle works in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If I go, they’ll give me twice as much of anything.”

“If we’re talking connections, the head maid of the main palace is my aunt! She absolutely adores me!”

Each of the apprentice maids began boasting about their connections to the main palace. Roenna looked at them with thinly veiled disdain.

‘How can such young tadpoles think they can use these shortcuts…’

Much like the Grand Duchess who presided over the Detached Palace, Roenna despised corruption and had nothing but contempt for backdoor dealings.

“You’re all being ridiculous. Did I ask you to go begging at the main palace? You’re going to collect supplies that we are entitled to—what’s there to bow and scrape for?”

At the scolding tone of the senior maid, Olga and Judith’s expressions stiffened.

“Remember this: every single one of your actions reflects on the honor of the Detached Palace.”

“We will keep that in mind, Maid Roenna.”

The apprentice maids all lowered their heads and shouted in unison.

Just then, Roenna’s gaze stopped on Hailey, who had quietly kept her head bowed the whole time.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you work as an apprentice maid in the main palace until a few months ago?”

As Roenna asked, trying to recall, Hailey answered politely.

“Yes, Maid Roenna.”

“Then you must know the layout well. It makes the most sense for you to go.”

At Roenna’s suggestion, Hailey swallowed hard.

‘I’d really rather not go to the main palace…’

Since it was the main setting for the bloody ending in the original story, she didn’t even want to look in that direction if she could avoid it.

“But Hailey was kicked out of the main palace for being useless. There’s no point in sending her.”

Judith, still red-faced from being reprimanded earlier, interjected bitterly.

‘She really has no sense…’

Hailey clicked her tongue inwardly at Judith’s spiteful tone. In a situation like this, there was no need for her to even defend herself.

“She was kicked out because she couldn’t do the job… So are you saying this Detached Palace is some kind of shelter for useless rejects?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

“Hailey came to the Detached Palace due to personal circumstances, not because she was incompetent. As her peer, you should be understanding of that—not spreading baseless rumors!”

At Roenna’s sharp reprimand, Judith’s face twisted in humiliation.

“Hailey, you go to the main palace. This is urgent, so make haste.”

“Yes, Maid Roenna.”

‘Sigh… These girls were raised too sheltered. They’re completely oblivious.’

Hailey clicked her tongue inwardly and followed Roenna out of the break room. Olga glared at Hailey’s back with cold eyes.

‘Hailey, that wretched girl… I’ll never let her get away with this.’

***

This was Hailey’s first time returning to the main palace since being reassigned to the Detached Palace.

There were countless palaces within the imperial grounds, each with different residents, but the main palace stood out for its scale and overwhelming presence.

‘Well, it’s where the Emperor lives, and all the major departments are located here…’

When she had first entered the imperial grounds, simply memorizing the layout of the main palace had been exhausting. It was vast, massive, and filled with a sense of intimidating grandeur.

‘Soon enough, this massive palace will be soaked in blood.’

Recalling the final pages of the original story, Hailey involuntarily shivered and hurried her steps.

‘The Ministry of Internal Affairs is on the second floor, right? Let’s just get this over with and go back.’

With that in mind, she rushed to the ministry—only to end up waiting nearly an hour just to meet with the person in charge.

‘Sigh… Even here, the Detached Palace gets treated like a side dish.’

Hailey sat in the waiting area, watching maids from other palaces walk away with armfuls of supplies.

“Tch… It’s not like the Detached Palace is the only one in the imperial grounds. When they request this many supplies, what do they expect me to do?”

Patterson, the supply officer responsible for processing each palace’s requests, looked over the document Hailey had brought with a showy display of annoyance.

“Let’s see… Ingredients, spices… oh my… shoes for maids… huh… embroidery threads? What, are you setting up a sewing shop in the Detached Palace? Why is there so much stuff listed here?”

According to imperial protocol, officials were supposed to address maids with formal language. But since Patterson knew Hailey was still an apprentice, he casually dropped the honorifics.

“The maids of the Detached Palace spend their spare time making embroidered goods, which are then donated to local relief shelters. The shelters sell the items and use the proceeds to help the poor.”

“Yeah, and what I’m saying is—why are you bothering with such a hassle? Do Detached Palace maids have that much free time on their hands?”