Chapter 7 – Part 4

When Natalie returned to the room with dinner for two, she exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow, who knew the Crown Prince could give gifts like this?”

“Yeah… really…”

Realizing she had slipped up, Natalie quickly added,

“Please forget what I just said. Pretend you didn’t hear it.”

It was indeed improper for a royal maid to voice opinions about the royal family.

Natalie seemed to genuinely care about such etiquette.

I replied lightly, “Natalie, you didn’t say anything just now.”

“Thank you, Erica.”

Natalie winked at me.

I had a simple dinner with the food Natalie had kindly brought to the room.

Then, with Natalie’s help, I began to open the gifts sent by the Crown Prince.

What was his gift strategy?

‘There must be at least one thing in here that suits your taste’ strategy.

I picked up a jewelry box that caught my eye. It was a heavy wooden box decorated with silver and various colored gemstones.

Inside was a necklace.

It had an oval-cut peridot, similar in color to my eyes, set in gold with a delicate pattern of white stones surrounding it, forming a pendant.

In a small drawer of the jewelry box were two pairs of earrings, clearly designed to match the necklace.

One pair had a simple design that highlighted the large peridot’s color.

The other pair was a chandelier style with intricate decorations.

“This is the work of a famous artisan in the capital.”

Natalie flipped the jewelry box over and inspected the bottom.

“Look here, at the edge. You see the mark next to the guild seal? It means this is a custom-made piece, the only one of its kind, crafted by that artisan.”

I had a rather irreverent thought.

‘Custom-made… If I try to sell it, it’ll be recognized immediately.’

Natalie picked up another gift and said, “This hair ornament is also marked as being made by the same artisan. It would take at least six months to place an order for something like this… But I guess such a wait means nothing to the Crown Prince.”

Listening to Natalie’s comments, I began to wonder.

Even if the Crown Prince used his royal power to cut in line, many of these items would have been impossible to create in just a day or two.

‘When did he start preparing these gifts?’

Had he placed an order in advance with the intention of giving them to me someday?

And how did he know I liked novels? The gift pile included many books that were currently popular in the capital.

Thankfully, one book was missing from the pile: ‘The Emperor is obsessed with the Duchess who was in the marriage of convenience with the terminally Ill Duke’ (shortened to *The Great Depression*), the anonymously published memoir of Her Majesty in that situation.

Oddly enough, some of the gifts seemed to prioritize their monetary value over their worth as jewelry or art.

“This cat statue is… hmm… solid gold.”

Natalie said as she weighed a small, heavy, gold-colored cat in her hands.

And after picking up another gift, she said:

“This gold-colored goblet also seems to be solid gold.”

It was a thick, gold goblet with no intricate decorations, just a large, somewhat plain spinel embedded in it.

‘So, are these bribes?’

Did I just receive a bribe from the Crown Prince of the Empire, asking me to look favorably upon him?

* * *

The rumors spread like wildfire.

It was exactly as the Crown Prince intended.

‘They say the Crown Prince has fallen head over heels for the Empress’s maid.’

Now, no one would dare mess with me, not even if it meant defying both Her Majesty and His Highness.

That much went according to plan.

But then there was another rumor…

‘They say the Empress has fallen head over heels for the Crown Prince’s maid.’

‘That’s not right! You’ve got the important details all mixed up!’

The rumors had splintered into a chaotic mess but seemed to consolidate into one or two versions over several days.

‘They say Her Majesty took a fancy to one of the Crown Prince’s maids and brought her to the Imperial Palace. That’s why the Crown Prince has been visiting the Imperial Palace so frequently these days.’

This version was somewhat close to the truth, though the choice of words was a bit suspicious.

It was true that Her Majesty enjoyed the tea I prepared and was pleased that I was now in charge of the tea storage room in the Imperial Palace.

And I’d also heard that the Crown Prince had turned the Crown Prince’s Palace upside down.

He seemed determined to catch a flea, even if it meant burning down the whole house.

I shook my head and focused on blending today’s tea.

“Wow, this is an exceptionally fine Dazzling!”

Amidst the dark green and yellow-green leaves, silvery-downy hairs glistened. The scent wafting from the tea leaves was extraordinary.

I brewed a cup to test it, and the liquor was a clear, transparent gold with a sweet aroma reminiscent of flowers and tropical fruits, blending pleasantly with the tea’s fragrance.

The taste was light and refreshing from the first sip, with a silky smooth finish—absolutely exquisite.

“There’s no need to mix anything else with such excellent tea leaves.”

As long as the temperature and timing were right, it would taste perfect.

However, Her Majesty, who had spent a lifetime drinking only the finest teas, seemed curious about the teas I was blending. He would send a servant to retrieve the tea leaves for his tea time.

Just like now.

“Her Majesty was very pleased with the tea yesterday. Could we ask for the same tea again today?”

“Of course. I’ll prepare it right away.”

For now, the tea’s name is simply 0427-00. I should ask Madeline to come up with a proper name for it when I see her.

As I sent off the attendant and was blending the tea, Charlotte from the Rose Palace came to visit.

“Wow, Erica! It’s true you moved to the Imperial Palace.”

“Charlotte, it’s been a while!”

Charlotte had been so busy with her romance lately that it was hard to catch a glimpse of her.

She immediately asked me:

“Erica, are you the one at the center of those rumors?”

“Well, whatever it is, I probably am. What rumor are you talking about?”

“You know, the one about a love triangle between Her Majesty, His Highness, and a maid…”

“No, it’s not like that!”

What version had she heard?

Charlotte scratched the back of her head and said:

“Then it must be the other one. There’s also a rumor about a love triangle between Her Majesty, Duke Oscar, and a maid. They say Duke Oscar is spending sleepless nights in tears after losing Her Majesty’s favor…”

“Of course not! I told you, there’s no love triangle in the first place.”

“So it’s just a silly rumor? I knew it! I’m a maid at the Rose Palace, so I knew right away that the idea of Duke Oscar losing Her Majesty’s favor was nonsense.”

Anyone who had ever witnessed the Imperial couple wouldn’t believe such a rumor.

Her Majesty was such a romantic.

After confirming that the rumors she had heard were false, Charlotte moved on to the main topic.

“Madeline used to frequent the tea storage room at the Crown Prince’s Palace, right? I’m in charge of the Imperial Palace now.”

Charlotte cupped her hands under her chin like a flower and said,

“Let’s hang out more often, Erica!”

We shared the candied lemon peel scones Charlotte had brought.

“Charlotte, when I have leftover tea leaves to send to the Rose Palace, should I talk to you?”

“Yep, that’s right. Do you already have some leftovers?”

At Charlotte’s question, I pulled out the tea leaves I had set aside while organizing the cabinet over the past few days.

Most of them were from last spring.

I opened the inventory ledger and carefully noted the details of the tea leaves I was handing over to Charlotte.

As she fiddled with the tea caddy, Charlotte said,

“But Erica, is it true that His Highness likes you?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Wow…”

When I looked up, Charlotte was staring at me with sparkling eyes, full of admiration.

She looked like a fan who had just encountered a celebrity at a café near her house.

After a long while, she stood up, made me stand, and examined me from various angles before pointing at the back of my head and exclaiming:

“I’ve got it! That lace hair ornament—it’s going to be the trend for this social season. I should stock up and sell them!”

So that was why she was excited. But nothing in life is free.

I made a demand for Charlotte.

“Thirty percent.”
“Yes?”

“Thirty percent is my share.”

“Thirty percent of the revenue? Or thirty percent of the net profit?”

“Which do you think?”

Charlotte crossed her arms and thought about it.

“…I can give you ten percent of the revenue.”

“I’ll wear it on top of my head and walk around for a week.”

“Hmm, is it something the Crown Prince gave you?”

“No, I inherited it from my sister.”

The things the Crown Prince gave me were too large and flashy, so I never used them.

Charlotte thought quietly for a moment before she spoke.

“Then, under the condition that you don’t disclose that, I’ll give you twenty percent of the revenue.”

“Deal.”