CH 5

(It’s more than I imagined….)

What’s more, the Royal Castle is corrupt.

After finally arriving at the Kingdom of Diresias in a rickety carriage, my brother took me to the royal capital. It has been several days since we were introduced to the others and to the residence. Still, the rottenness I have seen in the Royal Castle over the past few days is beyond my sight.

First, King Gray and Queen Tia, once great lovers, do not get along.

They are arguing with each other about their lovers.

(I don’t mind the king, but what about the queen?)

I was astonished at the fact that he was okay with a situation where he surrounded himself with mistresses in a dignified manner.

Where was the mouth that dumped Rosemary, saying, “Tia gave me true love,” or something like that.

(And then there’s the bleak domestic politics.)

There was a blatant factional war between the dukes, who served as prime ministers, and the marquises, where the ministers gathered.

The duke’s daughter was proposed as the crown prince’s fiancée, and the second daughter of a famous marquis was said to be suitable for the crown prince.

(No wonder they called me. I’m not a threat…….)

Although my position is that of a royal maid, there are many similar daughters gathered in the castle, where they seem to be gathering prospective fiancées.

They decided that an open introduction of a fiancée would only irritate the factions.

However, to remain static, the crown prince’s age has reached the appropriate age, and as a result, the current situation has most likely been formed.

In a royal castle full of ladies summoned from all over the country, everyone is doing their job properly, and the daily competition of making tea for the crown prince, bringing food to the prince, and preparing his clothes was a horrifying scene.

As for me, I was working without a hitch with the members who did not want to be involved in such a conflict.

“It would be a great place to work if it weren’t for the fiancée fiasco.”

Lady Niki Tazilia, Count Tazilia’s fourth daughter, who was cleaning the study with me, started the conversation.

She is higher in rank than I am, but we hit it off because she is also from the countryside, and we became close enough to chat in between jobs.

She was also one of the maids called to serve as a potential fiancée, but she seemed to have a secret lover back home and worked as a maid with me instead of taking part in the fiancée fiasco.

“The royal maids are treated well, and they get good food. You can even see the latest dresses and go to the theater on your days off.”

“But I don’t have a lover.”

I laugh at Niki’s honest words about her desires.

Her lover seems to be a trooper from her hometown.

“Yes, but! If you’re going to go through all this trouble, you might want to dress up a lot while you still can. I won’t have time for that after the baby is born.”

A year younger than me, Niki just turned seventeen and still wants to have fun. Even so, I like the way she does her job without cutting corners.

“Oh, by the way, have you met the prince?”

Niki asked as she wiped the window, and I shook my head.

“I haven’t seen him since the first day when I saw him from a distance.”

The prince never showed up, perhaps to protect himself from the attack of many maidens in name only.

The sight of the women, breathlessly searching for their betrothal, is like a beast stalking its prey, and it’s terrifying!

(I pity Prince Risel…)

Parents are having an affair, women pressing for engagement.

No wonder he hates women.

Now that I remembered Rosemary’s memory, I was uncomfortable visiting the Royal Castle.

I was anxious about what would happen to me if I met the king who had condemned Rosemary and what would happen if I met the queen.

But it ended in a melancholy.

When I saw the king, my fiancé, before my death, from a distance, I thought nothing more than, “So that’s Rosemary’s former fiancé?”

I saw his face, and I thought, “Oh, he has aged.” I felt that time had passed, but no feelings of resentment or longing arose.

(Rosemary didn’t love her fiancé, did she? ……)

If I had loved him, I would have resented him and regretted it.

There were none of the heartaches I had foreseen when we met.

On the contrary, I did not even feel the resentment of being killed, and I could accept it as someone else’s problem.

Rosemary is Rosemary. I am not Rosemary.

Oddly enough, I arrived at such an answer and was satisfied.

Still, I indeed want to keep as much distance as possible.

I am not so foolish as to have a liking for the person who murdered me in my previous life, with whom I have a connection.

And even more so when I see the rotten politics in the Royal Castle.

I want the prince to find a fiancée here and return to my estate quickly.

Until then, I put more effort into polishing my desk to get on with the task at hand.