Are You Planning to Abandon Me?

At Baroness Priya’s fussing question, Hailey made a displeased face. In high society, making someone attend a gathering in an outfit of a different color from everyone else’s—so they stood out and became the target of ridicule—was a long-standing method of ostracism. Sure enough, the faces of the other concubines and royals at the picnic wore openly amused expressions.

‘So this is an attempt to put me in my place.’

Hailey, aware of the eyes on her, calmly reached that conclusion. She also knew perfectly well why they were being so aggressive toward her. It was a mix of resentment toward a Crown Princess of common birth, and the fact that the budget for the concubines had recently been reduced—and they seemed to have decided to pin that on her.

‘Honestly, they should be saying this to the one who actually cut the budget, not me.’

Sighing inwardly, Hailey answered the day’s hostess, Baroness Priya, in a composed tone.

“It seems I’ve spoiled the mood of this pleasant gathering. I was not aware there was a dress code.”

“Oh dear… I’m quite certain I told one of the Crown Princess’s maids to have you wear a green dress. There must have been some mistake.”

At her brazen lie, the faces of the maids attending the Crown Princess hardened. Baroness Priya even took it a step further, speaking with feigned ease.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. With Your Highness the Crown Princess gracing us, what does the color of the dress matter? We are honored you came at all.”

The Baroness raised her hand to guide Hailey to her seat. Just as Hailey was about to sit at the place of honor at the tea table set in the White Lily Palace’s famously beautiful garden…

“That shabby dress looks like it’s years out of style, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Adding lace over a skirt like that went out of fashion when I was a child.”

“Could it be that Her Highness can’t even afford to have a new dress made?”

The blatant slander reached Hailey’s ears—deliberately timed so she would hear. It was pure malice, but Hailey simply looked around calmly before speaking in a light tone.

“So this is where all the green silk in the capital’s dress shops went. They said it was sold out everywhere—what magnificent dresses to match this beautiful garden.”

At the Crown Princess’s words, the attendees flinched almost imperceptibly. The Emperor had recently decreed: “This year’s drought is severe. Think of the people and refrain from excessive luxury.” But the concubines, accustomed to lavish living, had ignored the decree and bought new dresses and jewelry to their hearts’ content.

‘Surely she didn’t know we all had new dresses made.’

What they didn’t realize was that the Crown Princess didn’t enjoy commissioning new dresses—not that she lacked an eye for fashion.

‘I thought she’d be demoralized with divorce looming, but she seems perfectly fine… Or is this just bravado?’

Baroness Priya felt an inexplicable surge of irritation at Hailey’s composure. She had originally only intended to humiliate her with the dress code trick—but changed her mind.

“I apologize, but Your Highness, is your maid in charge of attire present today?”

At the baroness’s sly question, Hailey replied immediately.

“Milla, who stands behind me, serves me as my senior maid…”

“Then would you permit me a word with her?”

Instead of answering, Hailey simply nodded. When the Emperor’s favored concubine stepped before her, Milla’s heart pounded.

‘This is unfair. I truly knew nothing about any dress code.’

She hadn’t been this nervous even when she was caught snooping in the Crown Princess’s office a few days earlier. She might have envied the Crown Princess’s luck in being served by someone like her despite being a mere maid herself—but she had never intended to publicly humiliate her.

“To make such a blunder as the maid of our noble Crown Princess—where on earth was your head?”

At the baroness’s icy reproach, the maid’s face twisted.

“This is unjust, Baroness. I knew nothing about any dress code.”

“Silence. How dare you—”

The baroness raised her hand and slapped the maid across the face.

Slap.

The sharp sound was followed by Milla’s cry as she collapsed to the ground.

This unexpected scene at a picnic supposedly meant to foster camaraderie didn’t surprise the concubines in the least. This was a well-known palace tactic: punish a close servant for a trivial offense, thereby disgracing their master.

‘Now then—how will Her Highness respond?’

Having made her display, Baroness Priya turned to Hailey with a triumphant air. In most cases, the master would beg for the servant’s forgiveness, bowing her head.

“?”

Instead, the baroness was startled to see the Crown Princess calmly pick up her teacup.

Sip.

Hailey took a graceful drink, as though utterly unconcerned whether the baroness scolded her maid or not.

‘Is the Crown Princess really this cold-blooded? That’s not what I heard at all.’

Her demeanor was nothing like the rumors of the Crown Princess who took careful interest in every maid of the Crown Prince’s household. Ignoring the maid who had been slapped and humiliated, she finished her tea, set the cup down, and smiled elegantly.

“Thank you for scolding the maid who made such a mistake. You’ve saved me the trouble.”

“Ah…”

The baroness trailed off, caught off guard, and the surrounding noblewomen also looked unsettled.

‘She’s genuinely pleased to be rid of a nuisance.’

That wasn’t all. The Crown Princess stared coldly at the senior maid, who had sunk to the ground in tears, and spoke in an icy tone.

“A maid who can’t even prepare attire for a picnic has no reason to remain at my side. I think this is a good opportunity to overhaul the entire staff of the Crown Prince’s Palace.”

At that statement, not only Milla but also the other maids of the Crown Prince’s Palace turned pale. Though it had recently been the subject of gossip, the Crown Prince’s Palace was currently the most coveted workplace in the Imperial Palace. Being expelled from there to serve in another palace was tantamount to a demotion.

“As you all already know, there’s no one in the palace more well-versed in its maids than I am.”

Even a light joke, when spoken by the Crown Princess, became a weighty warning.

‘She’s absolutely not someone to be underestimated.’

The concubines, who had intended to manipulate her by exploiting her youth and her commoner origins with no powerful family behind her, were left speechless by this unexpected turn of events.

“It seems I’ve been speaking too harshly. Since we’ve all gathered here, we should be enjoying ourselves.”

Glancing around at the concubines, all of whom now wore stiff expressions, Hailey spoke again as if something had just occurred to her.

“In fact, I felt it would be a shame for us to enjoy this pleasant picnic alone, so I’ve invited a special guest.”

“A guest? Who could it be…?”

“They’ve just arrived in the garden.”

Hailey waved broadly toward the garden. Following the Crown Princess’s gaze, the attendees let out gasps of shock.

“His Highness the Crown Prince!”

At the entrance to the White Lily Palace’s garden appeared the Crown Prince—who was supposedly away on an inspection tour of the border for over a month now. The seated guests scrambled to their feet to offer their respects.

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince, who had always disliked such social gatherings, approached the table wearing his characteristic scowl.

“To think the Crown Princess would summon me all the way here… What business could you possibly have with me?”

His blunt tone, making no effort to hide his displeasure, silenced the gathering. But the Crown Princess, completely unfazed, replied with a calm expression.

“There’s a matter I’d like you to clarify, so I asked you to come.”

“A matter to clarify?”

“There’s a rumor spreading throughout the palace that you and I are to be divorced… I thought everyone here would be curious about whether it’s true.”

No sooner had the Crown Princess finished her clever remark than the Crown Prince’s face twisted in annoyance.

“Divorce?… Is the Crown Princess planning to abandon me?”