29. There is something you must do, Your Highness.

As expected, the Crown Prince had noticed. Smiling slightly at how things were unfolding just as she had predicted, Hailey spoke.

“If we trace it back, it’s all because of the chocolate cookies.”

“What?”

“First, why don’t you try one? They’re made with the precious chocolate from the Dalanta region, so I’m sure they taste wonderful.”

Hailey offered the basket she had brought and pulled back the cloth covering it. Inside were delicious-looking chocolate cookies, baked to a rich brown color.

“I baked these myself. I made them for Princess Lysa, but they turned out better than expected, so I brought some extra.”

“Oh, Miss Brooke, they look absolutely delicious!”

Burnett, who had been watching the situation with great interest from behind, brightened.

“Do you like chocolate cookies too, Sir Burnett? I brought plenty just in case.”

“Of course! I love them!”

“Burnett!”

Kincaid sharply scolded his aide, who looked ready to grab the cookies immediately. Then he turned his fierce gaze back to Hailey.

“Don’t think you can dodge this with some cookies. Confess — what cunning scheme you used?”

“In that case, could you first promise me one thing?”

“What is it?”

Facing Kincaid’s stern glare, Hailey calmly said,

“Promise you won’t get angry after hearing it.”

“!?”

“If you promise, I’ll tell you everything that happened that day.”

“Ha?”

Letting out a scoffing breath, Kincaid glared at her sharply. But seeing Hailey stubbornly keeping her mouth shut, he eventually nodded begrudgingly as a sign of agreement.

Only then did Hailey begin to speak lightly about what had happened.

“Well, here’s how it really went….”

“….”

Lucy, the senior maid of Moran Palace, hurried out of the embroidery room to find the head maid. Hearing the circumstances from Lucy, the head maid predictably furrowed her brow deeply.

“It doesn’t make sense that Lily Palace would receive more supplies than our Moran Palace. Our mistress, the Countess, holds a much higher rank than the lady of Lily Palace.”

“But the apprentice maid from the Detached Palace didn’t seem like she was lying. If she were caught lying, she’d be severely punished — why would she risk that?”

The head maid recalled Hailey’s face she had seen earlier.

‘She looked smart and quick-witted.’

She had even shown remarkable composure by keeping her mouth shut despite the Countess’s harsh words.

“Indeed, she didn’t seem like the type to lie.”

“If what she saw is true, then it’s certain that Severin silk really was delivered to Lily Palace.”

“If that’s the case, it means Lily Palace received preferential treatment over us…”

The head maid furrowed her brow once again. As the person responsible for managing Moran Palace’s affairs, her pride was wounded.

‘A commoner who only recently earned her title, Baroness Priya, is receiving more supplies than our palace? This is unacceptable!’

Of course, it didn’t cross the head maid’s mind that Moran Palace was also receiving preferential treatment due to the Emperor’s favor.

“Head Maid, I’ve been thinking — could it be that someone at the Ministry of Internal Affairs is embezzling the supplies?”

“You mean to say an official is pocketing them?”

“There have been rumors before — that Mr. Patterson adjusts supply quantities at his own discretion. Apparently, the amounts change depending on his personal connections with each palace, regardless of the official requests.”

At Lucy’s words, the head maid’s thoughts caught on something.

‘Come to think of it, the amount of chocolate that was supposed to go to the Detached Palace seemed unusually small. It’s suspicious for the residence of a princess to be treated that way…’

The head maid’s brow creased even deeper. If this wasn’t just a simple distribution mistake but a case of embezzlement by an official…

“Head Maid, should we report this?”

At the senior maid’s question, the head maid shook her head.

“No. Until we’re absolutely sure, it’s better to stay quiet. It could end up harming our palace instead…”

“Harming Moran Palace? What are you talking about?”

Without a sound, Countess Bellamier of Moran Palace appeared before the head maid.

“What exactly were you whispering about, like a bunch of rats? Speak!”

At the Countess’s sharp questioning, the head maid and the senior maid both turned deathly pale.

“….”

Crunch.

The sound of a cookie breaking in Burnett’s mouth echoed through the otherwise silent office.

“…Haa.”

Kincaid let out a sigh of disbelief, brushing his hand through his hair.

“So, all this chaos… it was because of you, you little frog.”

Earlier that morning, before the sun had even risen, an outrageous incident had erupted at the imperial palace. Countess Bellamier of Moran Palace and Baroness Priya of Lily Palace had gotten into a brawl, grabbing each other’s hair in front of countless maids and attendants.

“You thieving little cat! First, you stole His Majesty’s affection, and now you’re stealing my share of the silk too!”

“Who’s stealing what?! It’s not my fault His Majesty prefers me over a shrill shrew like you!”

The two most favored concubines in the palace were now shamelessly locked in a fierce, hair-pulling brawl. Even in a palace rife with schemes and conspiracies, it was a rare and absurd spectacle.

“…So that’s how it all happened.”

Kincaid let out an exasperated sigh. Because of the uproar, he had spent the entire morning cleaning up the mess — silencing the servants who had witnessed the concubines’ disgrace, and mediating between the two furious palaces.

“I told you not to wag that sly little tongue of yours so recklessly, didn’t I?”

Kincaid growled in an angry voice, but…

Clink, clatter.

The very culprit who had caused this disaster calmly poured tea into a cup, showing not even a shred of guilt.

“Sweet snacks do go better with black tea from the Uda Mountains, after all. Would you like a cup too, Lord Secretary?”

Despite the polite offer, Burnett shook his head.

‘If I accept that tea now…’

He instinctively sensed that if he did, his superior might just grab the teapot and force it down his throat.

“Your Highness, would you like a cup of tea?”

With a bright, innocent smile, Hailey approached, holding the teapot. Kincaid glared at her fiercely.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you laced it with poison.”

“While I may not know about other things, I would never play tricks with food, Your Highness.”

“Instead, you’d bewitch people with that sly tongue of yours.”

“But I didn’t lie, did I?”

While she had been sitting in the waiting room at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, treated with disdain, she had seen the handmaidens of Lily Palace receive armfuls of precious Severin silk.

‘And not just that…’

She had witnessed with her own eyes how all sorts of ingredients, supplies, consumables, and luxuries — items meant for the Grand Duchess and her daughter, direct members of the imperial family — were being siphoned off to the concubines.

“I couldn’t just stand by and watch while they were even stealing the ingredients meant for making snacks for the young Princess.”

“If the official was embezzling supplies, you should’ve reported it to your superiors or protested! Not cause this kind of mess!”

At Kincaid’s scolding, Hailey answered calmly.

“Even if I had reported it, who would believe the words of a mere apprentice maid?”

“That’s—!”

“I would either be ignored or, worse, punished for upsetting my superiors — just like what happened to one of my fellow trainees.”

At her firm rebuttal, Kincaid found himself at a loss for words. Because Hailey was absolutely right.

Now that the Emperor’s favor determines the power in the palace, it was all too easy to imagine the suffering a mere apprentice maid from the side palace might face for saying the wrong thing.

“Last time, you told me to be loyal to Her Grace, the Grand Duchess,” Hailey said.

“And what about it?”

“I don’t believe a maid must simply stand by and watch as Her Grace and Princess Lysa are mistreated and disrespected by mere concubines.”

“…”

Every single word that came out of this impudent trainee’s mouth was correct. And yet, it was still too outrageous to simply let her off the hook.

“I’ll let it slide this time because of the circumstances. But if you cause another uproar like this again—”

“You’ll have my head, of course.”

“!?”

“Pfft, haha!”

At Hailey’s nonchalant reply, Burnett, who had been secretly munching on a cookie, couldn’t hold back and ended up spitting out crumbs.

“Oh dear, Lord Secretary, it seems something got caught in your throat. Here, please drink this tea,” Hailey said sweetly, holding a teacup right up to his mouth. Burnett shamelessly gulped it down.

“Miss Brooke, you even brew tea beautifully,” he said, brightening up.

Turning to Kincaid, who was still fuming, Burnett added, “Come now, Your Highness, at least have a cookie. A little sweetness might lift your mood.”

“I won’t bother. I can already tell it’ll taste terrible,” Kincaid snapped.

“You’re so prickly…” Burnett grumbled under his breath before turning back to Hailey with a curious expression.

“By the way, why did you make the cookies yourself instead of leaving it to the chef? I mean, these cookies are delicious, but it must’ve been a hassle to make them yourself.”

“Because this way, I can score more points with Princess Lysa.”

After all, no one could fail to be touched knowing someone had personally baked cookies just for them, regardless of how they tasted.

At her answer, Kincaid scoffed, but Burnett spoke in a serious tone.

“Miss Brooke, you’re definitely going to succeed. I’ll bet on it.”

‘I have to. I must become a senior lady-in-waiting so I can finally escape this palace.’

“Anyway, the official who embezzled the supplies has been dismissed and is under investigation, so from now on, you’re to remain silent about the matter,” Kincaid said.

“I understand, but, Your Highness…”

Glancing at him cautiously, Hailey spoke up.

“There’s sitll something you must do, Your Highness.”