Chapter 13 – Punishment (1) 

The next day, late at night after the dinner banquet had ended, Betier gathered all the courtiers in the small conference hall on the first floor. The location had been readily lent by Lenoa.  

Most of the courtiers were flustered by the sudden summons and exchanged uneasy glances, while a few, suspecting the reason, swallowed nervously.  

As soon as the head maid, Betier, entered the room, everyone bowed their heads. Aside from Lenoa and Kairan, Betier was their direct superior and overseer. As Lenoa’s chief personal maid, she held the highest rank among the courtiers.  

“Do you know why I’ve called you here?”  

Her voice, unusually cold and sharp, was unlike her usual demeanor as head maid.  

They had often seen Betier’s warm and sisterly care when attending to Lenoa. But now, she exuded authority and discipline, as if she were a completely different person.  

Betier surveyed the group, who shrank at her every word, before continuing.  

“Who do you serve in this royal palace?”  

“…H-Her Majesty, the Queen.”  

“That’s right. Her Majesty. But it seems your loyalty has faltered.”  

Betier’s sharp words pierced the air. She fixed her gaze on those whose behavior seemed particularly suspicious. As expected, some appeared guilty.  

“Answer me. Who is the one pulling your strings?”  

Feigning ignorance, Betier asked the question. The courtiers, all clutching their hands tightly, held their breath.  

Betier’s primary role was to serve as Lenoa’s personal maid and attendant. Additionally, she was responsible for managing the palace servants, maids, cooks, and other staff.  

To Betier’s knowledge, there had been no recent incidents involving Lenoa, especially none involving conflict. Even when someone made a mistake in front of Lenoa, she would forgive them with a kind heart. And if Betier was unaware of something, Lenoa would later calmly inform her—there were no secrets she didn’t know.  

Lenoa’s care and consideration for her subordinates were undoubtedly admirable and deserving of praise. However, when kindness from a superior continued, it often led to entitlement and disrespect.  

Betier didn’t believe that anyone among the courtiers would look down on or betray Lenoa.  

Still, it was clear that someone had secretly manipulated them. Lenoa, being gentle by nature, might have overlooked her own position in the matter.  

Either that, or the mastermind behind this was no ordinary person. It had to be a combination of both.  

Moreover, Betier already had a suspect in mind.  

‘Please, let it not be him.’  

Considering his recent relationship with Lenoa, she could only hope.  

The servants remained silent, with only the sound of nervous swallowing breaking the stillness. Growing angry at their prolonged silence, Betier raised her chin and glared.  

“If you do not answer, I will report this to Her Majesty, and all of you will be expelled.”  

“…!”  

The courtiers widened their eyes in shock. If Betier followed through with her warning, they would not only betray the queen they had sworn to serve but also lose their positions.  

For the commoner servants and maids, dismissal was one thing. But for the noble maids and cooks, being forced to leave the palace would result in a lifetime of scandal.  

After a moment, a maid hesitantly raised her hand. She was responsible for cleaning and managing the first floor of the Queen’s Palace.  

“Head Maid! I… I will speak…”  

All eyes turned to the frightened maid. At Betier’s gesture, the maid stepped forward, bowing her head and trembling as she spoke.  

“H-His Grace the Grand Duke of Blandi… about a month ago, he suddenly summoned me, handed me gold coins, and ordered me to stay away whenever he and Her Majesty dined together…”  

‘Ha.’  

Betier felt her strength drain. Even if it hadn’t been Kairan, she would have been furious. However, Lenoa and Kairan had recently grown closer.  

While their improved relationship wasn’t necessarily a good thing for Betier, if Lenoa found out about this, their relationship might revert to its previous coldness, and Lenoa would be hurt.  

Given Kairan’s intense gaze toward Lenoa and his usual treatment of subordinates, this wasn’t entirely surprising. But she hadn’t expected him to go so far as to bribe them.  

Once one maid confessed, others began speaking up.  

“M-Me too! It happened to me as well!”  

“Head Maid, me too! H-His Grace intimidated me…”  

One after another, they admitted to receiving similar secret orders from Kairan, along with gold coins. Upon checking, all those who confessed were servants and maids from the first floor.  

Betier clenched her teeth, suppressing her boiling anger. She wanted to report everything to Lenoa and have all the first-floor courtiers dismissed, but she knew Lenoa would refuse.  

Lenoa had never expelled a courtier before, and knowing that they hadn’t acted out of malice, she wouldn’t want them punished harshly.  

In the end, Betier decided on a punishment that Lenoa would likely approve of.  

“All courtiers assigned to the first floor will each receive ten lashes. Return here tonight.”  

With that, Betier ended the interrogation and headed to Lenoa’s room.  

***

“What? Really, Kairan did that…?”  

Lenoa’s face turned pale. She covered her mouth and collapsed onto the bed. Even after hearing the truth, she still referred to him as “Kairan.”  

‘She must be deeply hurt… Lady Lenoa…’  

Betier suppressed her pity and spoke firmly.  

“Your Majesty, I will handle the punishment. Of course, it won’t involve expulsion or pay cuts. Please leave this matter to me…”  

She refrained from mentioning the specific form of punishment. Betier continued.  

“There is one matter that requires your decision.”  

“What is it?”  

“It’s about the maid, Rosetta.”  

Lenoa tilted her head at the familiar name.  

Rosetta, responsible for cleaning and laundry on the third floor, shouldn’t be involved in any punishment. Why her? She had even been the kind maid who helped her during her monthly cycle.  

Lenoa genuinely thought so until Betier spoke again.  

“Rosetta noticed your cycle and summoned the court physician, didn’t she? However, it’s strange for a mere maid to know such a thing. Don’t you find it odd?”  

Reluctantly, Lenoa nodded.  

Betier was right. Lenoa had only shared her cycle schedule with her maids and the court physician.  

For a maid, who was merely responsible for chores, to know about it was indeed odd. While it was possible she had heard it from the maids or the court physician, they were of noble birth and rarely associated with commoner maids.  

In fact, they maintained a strong sense of dignity as nobles, unlike Lenoa, who was royalty.  

“This incident has made me even more suspicious. I intend to summon Rosetta again for questioning. Please grant me permission.”

Betier had already noticed during the earlier interrogation that Rosetta had been trembling unusually. She even appeared more frightened than the first-floor servants. Betier reported this observation to Lenoa, adding her suspicions.  

Lenoa listened silently before finally speaking after a long pause.  

“I’ll allow it. However, I will handle this investigation myself. Bring Rosetta to me.”  

Betier immediately went to fetch Rosetta. Left alone in the room, Lenoa pressed her hand to her head, overwhelmed by a flood of questions.  

She had been suspicious since well before yesterday. Why was it that whenever she dined with Kairan, not only the cooks but all the first-floor staff seemed to disappear entirely from the dining area?  

This had been both a curse and a blessing during her monthly cycle. While it was frustrating to have no one nearby to call for help, she couldn’t deny that encountering a servant in such a moment would have been humiliating. Unsure whether to feel relieved or not, she sighed deeply.  

The matter concerning Rosetta also felt strange. Despite having helped her, Lenoa had rewarded Rosetta with several expensive pieces of jewelry. But after hearing Betier’s suspicions, something didn’t sit right.  

To avoid embarrassment, Lenoa had only informed her maids and the palace physician about her cycle. If Rosetta had claimed, “I followed the bloodstains on the floor and guessed the Queen’s condition before summoning the physician,” it would have been less suspicious.  

However, Rosetta had said she deduced the situation and summoned the physician. 

Did she refrain from admitting to following the bloodstains because she feared being seen as rude? 

Lenoa shuddered at the lingering doubts that refused to dissipate.  

‘Please don’t let this incident be related to him as well.’  

At the time, Lenoa had been dining with Kairan. If Rosetta’s account proved false, then Kairan would undoubtedly be involved.  

This would mean he had somehow learned about her monthly cycle.  

For a man—especially Kairan, the Grand Duke of Blandi—to know about it… Lenoa trembled with shame at the thought.  

Knock, knock.  

‘Ha. They’re here.’  

Lenoa exhaled a shaky breath.  

Soon, Betier entered the room with Rosetta. Rosetta’s face was as pale as a sheet.  

Lenoa forced a smile, as she had done previously, and gestured for Rosetta to sit at the table.  

Rosetta, who had expected to be scolded the moment she arrived, grew even more fearful at Lenoa’s unchanged demeanor.  

“Rosetta, I can’t give you cake or jewels today like last time. I’m sorry.”  

Instead of immediately questioning her, Lenoa began with an unexpected apology. Her face was filled with a gentle sadness.  

Rosetta, feeling more intimidated than if she had been harshly reprimanded, immediately knelt and began to plead.  

“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty! The truth is… H-His Grace the Grand Duke of Blandi…”  

‘Ha, him again?’  

Both Lenoa and Betier felt a wave of exhaustion at hearing his name once more.  

Rosetta explained that while carrying laundry to the first floor, Kairan had suddenly stopped her. He claimed that Her Majesty was in distress and urgently ordered her to summon the court physician.  

When she inadvertently started heading in the wrong direction, Kairan had grabbed her firmly and scolded her, forcing her to go the correct way. She recounted every detail, including his stern warning that she would face severe punishment if anything happened to Lenoa.  

Lenoa and Betier were so shocked that they couldn’t even close their mouths.  

Betier, like with the first-floor courtiers, was annoyed that, despite Kairan’s involvement, Rosetta hadn’t told the whole truth earlier. She was already fuming, thinking of adding Rosetta to the list of those to be punished. In contrast, Lenoa’s trembling but calm voice broke the silence.  

“I see. Thank you for being honest.”  

Lenoa gently pulled Rosetta into an embrace, wrapping her arms around the maid’s head. While Rosetta was visibly flustered, Lenoa wore a serene smile.  

Rosetta had never imagined that, even after lying to the Queen, she would be met with such kindness and gratitude. Deeply moved by Lenoa’s motherly forgiveness, Rosetta decided to reveal what she had been hiding.  

She had wrestled with the matter for days and nights after “that incident.” Should she tell the Grand Duke about Lenoa’s condition or not? In the end, she had resolved to speak to him.  

But what came of it was a tragedy.  

“Th-Thank you, Your Majesty. And there is one more thing… I need to tell you…”