Me, a Princess? My Lord! - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 81

“Your hair has grown long again.”

Before bed, Sheila said as she gently arranged Heidi’s hair with soft touches.

“How can even your hair be so beautiful? Tomorrow I’ll braid it prettily for you. The garden is full of blooming flowers, so it would be nice to pick some and decorate your hair with them.”

“…Yes.”

“You must be tired, right? Please go to sleep now.”

Sheila pulled up the fluffy blanket to cover her, then neatly arranged the bedding.

Her face looking down while holding the candlestick was as loving as a mother watching her daughter.

“Sweet dreams, Princess.”

Sheila smiled gently and left Heidi’s bedroom, and as soon as the sound of the door closing was heard, Heidi pulled the blanket over her head.

“Haa.”

Heidi let out the breath she had been holding. She pressed her chest firmly with her fist, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart.

‘How could she make such an affectionate face…’

From the moment she first came to this place, Heidi had relied on Sheila.

Sheila had devotedly helped Heidi adapt to the unfamiliar environment. She taught her the minor court etiquette that wasn’t even written in books, and dressed her appropriately.

‘I didn’t realize it was strange that a mere maid like Sheila knew such royal protocols. I was too careless. How foolish!’

Heidi’s eyelids grew hot. She roughly wiped around her eyes with the back of her hand.

She knew that in the Royal Palace, she had to suspect and doubt everything. Deshion had reminded her of this countless times.

But Sheila’s kindness and affectionate words had easily disarmed Heidi’s heart. Because she was lonely.

Without Deshion or Eloise in this Royal Palace, Heidi was thoroughly alone, and Sheila had cleverly exploited that gap.

‘So foolish…’

To think that all the people surrounding her throughout the day were Anastasia’s people, her eyes and ears. Realizing Anastasia’s thoroughness, all the hair on her body stood on end.

If Anastasia had decided to eliminate her, it wouldn’t have been very difficult. She could have secretly snuck into her bedroom or simply poisoned her food.

Betrayal, fear, loneliness… All sorts of emotions mixed together and consumed Heidi.

‘I want to go home. To my real home where Mom and Dad are.’

On this particularly long and dark night, Heidi curled up and swallowed her tears for a long time.

* * *

But she couldn’t keep crying forever.

The next morning, Heidi secretly called for Mabel.

When she asked if Mabel knew that Sheila was Anastasia’s person, Mabel turned pale and dropped to her knees with a thud.

“I’m sorry, Princess. Please forgive me.”

“…So you knew too.”

Heidi let out a deep sigh.

“You said it yourself. That you would never forget my kindness. That you would do anything for me.”

Mabel nodded tremblingly.

“Yes, Princess.”

“If those words were truly from your heart, then from now on, tell me everything you know. Leave nothing out.”

“I’ll tell you everything, everything I know.”

Mabel bowed her head deeply while kneeling.

“Most of the maids working here now are those who used to work in the Eastern Palace where Princess Anastasia resides.”

“…”

“I also worked there briefly.”

Heidi, whose legs had given out, sank into the sofa as if collapsing.

After catching her breath for a moment, Heidi asked.

“Was sending her maids here also Anastasia’s will?”

Mabel shook her head while shedding tears like chicken droppings.

“I don’t know that much either. I’m just a lowly maid who has to go wherever I’m told to go.”

“…”

“Usually, high-ranking people carefully select their maids, but in this case, there wasn’t time for that. We were sent without knowing why. Most of them are probably maids who were pushed here like me.”

Heidi sighed. So they were just drafted because there was a shortage of workers – should she consider this fortunate? Heidi asked.

“Then what about Sheila?”

“Sheila Emmett ranked higher than even the Housekeeper. She was favored by Princess Anastasia. Since I was just a maid who helped with menial tasks like laundry, I didn’t have many opportunities to see the Princess. But whenever I did see her, I remember Sheila was always by her side.”

“The fact that such a Sheila came to my palace can only be seen as Anastasia’s will.”

But Mabel’s story didn’t end there.

“There’s more you need to know, Princess.”

“…More?”

Mabel raised her head and met Heidi’s eyes. Her lips trembled.

“Sheila had the maids monitor your every move, Princess.”

“…What did you say?”

“She made them report everything – where you went, who you met, what conversations you had with them. Because she couldn’t always be by your side, Princess.”

Mabel said through tears.

“Sheila gave money to the maids whenever they brought information about you, Princess. It wasn’t a lot of money, but maids are usually in desperate need of every penny. And if they got into Sheila’s good graces, they could sometimes get easier positions.”

The back of her head felt numb from shock and betrayal. Heidi closed her eyes tightly while holding her throbbing forehead.

The faces of the maids who had approached her with bright smiles passed through her mind one by one.

Heidi had been genuinely grateful for their hearts. So she tried to provide even slightly better environments and conditions. She wanted to return their kindness somehow.

‘But behind my back, they were receiving money for passing my information to Anastasia.’

Heidi opened her eyes. Her gaze turned to Mabel, who was still kneeling and crying.

“Did you do that too?”

At Heidi’s question, Mabel shook her head vigorously.

“No, Princess. I never did that, not even once! Really. I can swear on my family’s lives.”

Heidi sighed.

“Alright, get up.”

“…”

“I believe you. I’ve seen you get scolded harshly by Sheila more than once or twice.”

Mabel, who had been hesitating, carefully stood up. Heidi met her eyes and spoke.

“But that doesn’t make your fault disappear. Staying silent while knowing all of this was a deception toward me. Sometimes silence becomes a lie too.”

At Heidi’s words, Mabel hung her head low.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I’m truly sorry… I thought I should tell you, but I couldn’t find the courage. And recently, things have changed a lot too.”

Things have changed? Heidi frowned.

“What do you mean? What changed?”

Mabel clasped her hands together and answered.

“You took special care of the treatment of the maids here, Princess. After that, the maids stopped selling information about you, Princess. At least as far as I know.”

Heidi smiled bitterly.

“Did they feel sorry belatedly?”

“I’m sure that feeling was there too. But I think there was a more practical reason.”

Heidi’s eyes narrowed.

“A practical reason?”

“This place serving you, Princess, became the dream job that all maids aspire to.”

Mabel lowered her eyelashes and explained in a calm voice.

“In the past, working at Princess Anastasia’s palace was every maid’s dream. The work was hard, but once you caught her eye, life became easy from then on.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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