31. The Crown Prince’s Most Likely Fiancée Candidate?

Meanwhile, Baroness Priya desperately pleaded with the Emperor.

“Your Majesty! Please, believe me. I truly knew nothing about this.”

Cornered and desperate, she turned to the only one who might save her—the Emperor. Yet, he looked at the Empress Dowager with his usual indifferent expression and spoke.

“Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager, is right.”

“Your Majesty!”

The Baroness cried out in despair, but the Emperor said nothing more. The Empress Dowager glanced at the Countess, who looked quite pleased.

‘Now that I’ve helped save your face, you won’t forget this favor, will you?’

The Empress Dowager had no real interest in which concubine received the Emperor’s favor.

‘In the end, they’re just common flowers blooming in the palace. Once they lose favor, they’re worth less than weeds…’

The only one who had survived long in the palace was Countess Bellamier, who knew how to act like the Empress Dowager’s very own tongue. Last time, she had offered a rare black pearl necklace, currying favor—so today, the Empress Dowager chose to stand by her side. And conveniently, there was a good excuse as well.

“There are strict rules stating that budgets and supplies are allocated according to the rank of each palace mistress. I don’t believe Baroness Priya has anything more to say. Now, let us calm down and enjoy our tea again.”

As the Empress Dowager tried to settle the situation, Kincaid quietly raised his hand.

“Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, I have something to say about this matter.”

‘What’s he going to nitpick about this time?’

Though she was inwardly annoyed, the Empress Dowager kept her face pleasant.

“Oh my… And what might the Crown Prince have to say?”

***

“According to the spy planted in the Empress Dowager’s palace, Her Majesty instructed that the budget for the Detached Palace—which she had claimed had to be cut—should actually be reinstated.”

Burnett reported excitedly, but Kincaid remained impassive, showing little reaction.

“Miss Brooke was right, after all. How did she know both those ladies would run to the Empress Dowager?”

“If you have a brain, it’s easy enough to deduce.”

“Oh, come on! Even you didn’t think that far ahead, Kincaid!”

At his aide’s retort, Kincaid could only give a wry smile.

“According to what Her Majesty the Empress Dowager just said, the regulations of the Imperial Palace state that the status of its resident determines the budget and supplies for each palace.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then may I ask why the budget for the Detached Palace, overseen by Her Grace Eleonora, Grand Duchess of Brontes, has been reduced?”

Kincaid’s timely question left the Empress Dowager without a proper answer.
No matter what excuse she came up with, it would contradict her own earlier claim that budgets are determined by status.

After all, the Grand Duchess of Brontes held the highest rank in the palace, second only to the direct royal family.

And the one objecting was none other than Crown Prince Kincaid himself.

“There must have been some sort of mistake. I’ll look into it.”

In the end, the Empress Dowager had no choice but to reply with a scowl.

“Anyway, the conclusion of this matter seems to be that we shouldn’t be petty about food. If that Mr. Pattersson had just supplied the chocolates properly, none of this would’ve happened, right?”

“Hmph.”

With a short scoff, Kincaid turned his attention back to the documents—only to notice a plump hand subtly reaching toward his desk.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, I thought if you weren’t going to eat Miss Brooke’s cookies, maybe I could have one.”

“Leave them.”

“Huh?”

“Who knows if they’ve been poisoned? I’ll have a maid dispose of them later.”

“You’re still saying things that are heartless?”

Clearly baffled by the response, Burnett protested—only to be met with Kincaid’s steady gaze. Facing those ominously glowing red eyes, Burnett quickly realized his mistake and backed off.

“Ah, no. Haha… Well then, I’ve got business in the archive room, so I’ll just…”

Faced with a master whose nerves had been visibly frayed for the first time in ages, Burnett chose the fastest escape route. He knew all too well, from experience, how dangerous it was to stay near Kincaid in this state.

Once Burnett had left the office, Kincaid leaned back in his chair with a relaxed air.

“So you dared to use me, huh?”

A hollow chuckle escaped his neatly shaped lips. He had truly never encountered a maid so brazen. No—even beyond her status as a maid, this was the first time he met someone so audacious as to manipulate the Crown Prince of the noble Empire.

“Didn’t you tell me to serve Her Grace, the Grand Duchess, loyally last time?”

Recalling the moment when she had met his eyes without fear and spoken those clear, direct words, Kincaid let out another hollow laugh.

But this time, the laughter was not bitter—there was a touch of emotion, even warmth, behind it.

“She really is like an impudent little frog.”

Lush red curls and those boldly shining blue eyes. For some reason, the image of that cheeky apprentice maid lingered stubbornly in Kincaid’s mind.

As if to wipe it away, he reached out and picked up a piece of cookie from the plate.

Flick—

The cookie piece flew lightly and landed straight into his mouth.

Crunch, crunch.

As he bit into the crispy chocolate cookie, an uncontrollable smile crept across Kincaid’s face.

***

“Now, take a good look at these teacups. See how each one has a different design suited to a particular season and mood?”

Senior maid Maria showed a tray to the apprentice maids, holding it in both hands. As she said, the tray was full of teacups, each with its own unique pattern and style.

“Of course, brewing delicious tea is important. But using tea sets that match the season and atmosphere to enhance the tea time experience is also one of the virtues a maid should possess.”

“We’ll keep that in mind, Senior Maid Maria.”

“As you know, a grand ball will soon be held in the Imperial Palace. Depending on the circumstances, some of you may be assigned to serve the guests, so never neglect your training.”

After giving the apprentices a stern reminder, Maria pulled out one special teacup she had prepared separately.

“Do you see this teacup?”

Hailey looked closely at the cup Maria was holding up.

‘That’s a teacup with a lily design, isn’t it?’

The lily was the emblematic flower of the Brillouen imperial family. Within the palace, only direct members of the royal family were allowed to use teacups adorned with lilies.

“This teacup is used by members of the royal family, including Her Grace, the Grand Duchess. But one day, you too might be able to use this teacup.”

“Oh! How could that happen?”

“If you work hard and become the head maid of the Detached Palace, you could use this cup during tea time with Her Grace, the Grand Duchess.”

‘So it’s a privilege only the head maid can earn…’

Hailey didn’t particularly care about the teacup itself. But the thought of sharing tea time with the Grand Duchess meant being one of her closest confidantes.

‘If I can get that close to her, I could follow a safe survival route and finally escape this palace…’

Unaware of Hailey’s true thoughts, Senior Maid Maria looked over the apprentice maids with a warm and encouraging gaze.

“Your apprenticeship period will be ending soon. Once you’re promoted to full maids, even the position of head maid may be within reach. I hope that one day, each of you will have the chance to use this teacup.”

“Thank you, Senior Maid Maria.”

The apprentice maids bowed politely and thanked her for the encouragement. But the moment Maria left the room with the teacups, a disgruntled voice grumbled from one corner.

“Ha, who would even want to become the head maid of the Detached Palace?”

The one who openly scowled was Olga. As always, her little group echoed her discontent in unison.

“Yeah, if I were to become head maid, I’d want to be one in the main palace or the Crown Prince’s palace, not in some detached one.”

“Exactly… It would take at least ten years to get there, and you expect us to stay in this dreary place that long?”

“I’d rather quit being a maid entirely.”

Lately, Olga’s group had gotten on the bad side of Maria and the other senior maids, and now they were basically staging an open rebellion.

“Ugh, and look at those idiots getting all excited just because there’s going to be a ball.”

“Just leave them be. Those country bumpkins have probably never even seen a ball at the palace.”

“Hmph. We’ll enjoy the ball while those country bumpkins are stuck serving plates.”

After spouting off whatever they pleased, Olga and her group stormed out of the room without even bothering to clear their teacups.

“Ugh! Those horrible girls!”

Linda ground her teeth in frustration, but then quickly changed her expression, speaking in a dreamy voice.

“It’s my first time experiencing a ball in the Imperial Palace. I bet it’s going to be amazing!”

With her hands clasped and eyes sparkling, Linda looked thrilled. Hailey, on the other hand, remained skeptical.

“I don’t know… I have a feeling our workload’s going to explode. I’m not exactly excited.”

After all, what role could a background character like them possibly have at an imperial ball? Exactly—background tasks suited for background characters. And a mountain of them that would seemingly never end.

‘Besides, the senior maids said we have to give our best at this ball… Could this be some kind of performance evaluation?’

“Oh, by the way, did you guys hear?”

Lemoni, still sipping her tea, quietly spoke up.

“Apparently, this ball is actually being held to choose the Crown Prince’s fiancée.”

“Ah! I heard that rumor too!”

Susan, sitting next to her, chimed in excitedly.

“They say the ball is being held to decide the Crown Prince’s consort as soon as possible… That’s why invitations were sent to all the most prominent noble ladies of the Empire.”

“So what? It’s obvious that Duchess Adelaida Sevaron is going to be the main character. The other ladies will just be background decoration.”

“Duchess Adelaida Sevaron?”

Hailey tilted her head, unfamiliar with the name, and Susan gave a slight chuckle.

“Hailey, you don’t know her? Lady Adelaida is rumored to be the most likely candidate to become the Crown Prince’s fiancée.”