Chapter 153
Ch . 153 …What A Wicked Man
Elena had no intention of making a move at the moment, but now that the Empress had, she couldn’t allow things to remain the same . Elena slowly rose from her seat, her blood-colored eyes shining .
“The maid who brought the plant looks a little suspicious to me . What do you think of her?”
“I feel the same way . ”
“Yes . There can be none of the Empress’ people here . ”
I was sure that Carlisle already knew, but there was a mole hiding among us . From now on, many things would change . I was the mistress of this palace .
After a moment’s consideration, I opened the door to the parlor, and a maid who I recognized approached and quickly bowed to me .
“Is there anything you wish, Your Highness?”
“Get me Sir Zenard . ”
“Ah! Yes, My Lady!”
As expected, the maid seemed to know who Zenard was . After several visits to the palace, he was the one Elena encountered the most among Carlisle’s subordinates save for Kuhn . Zenard was one of Carlisle’s closest aides and she was familiar with him, making him the right person to speak to once she had just entered the Imperial family .
As Zenard’s neat, white-haired appearance floated in her mind, she calculated her future moves in her head one by one .
‘Now, shall we move on?’
Several minutes passed before Zenard arrived to the parlor room . As soon as he saw Elena’s face, he bowed politely .
“Hail to the Crown Princess . Eternal glory to the Ruford Empire . ”
“We will meet many times in the future, so you can omit such formal greetings between us . ”
“Oh no . I must follow standards . ”
While his stubborn tone was similar to Kuhn’s, there was still a distinction in their personalities . Kuhn carried an air of indifference to him, while Zenard was steadfast to convention, and Elena knew not to ask him again to skip the formalities . She nodded knowingly and continued .
“I want to meet the people that work in the Crown Prince’s palace . I’d like to gather everyone together, and I can think only of you who could do this . ”
“Ah, is that so?”
He lifted his head proudly . In the past he had looked at Len with eyes heavy with envy and burden, but his impression of Elena was quite admirable .
‘The difference in his reaction when I am Carlisle’s guard and his wife is enormous . ’
Perhaps that was why there was a strange feeling of distance between them . When Elena was a knight, Morgan was the only one who treated her with a kind smile, contrary to his intimidating looks . She suddenly wondered if he was doing well, but she was pressed for other matters .
“I would like you to arrange a place where I can introduce everyone to my head lady-in-waiting . ”
“Ah…”
Zenard looked at the nanny standing next to Elena with new eyes . The head lady-in-waiting and the head butler always played a large role on their master’s side .
The nanny, who had been keeping a quiet position next to Elena, politely introduced herself first .
“Hello . I’m the nanny who had looked after Her Highness when she was a child . I’m honored to be the head lady-in-waiting, so please take care of me . ”
“I look forward to working with you . As you may have already heard, my name is Zenard . Please feel free to ask me for help anytime in the future . ”
Satisfied with each other’s greetings, Elena continued .
“I’d like to take a look at everyone before I send my regards to the Emperor . Is that possible?”
“Yes . I’ll have as many people as possible attend . ”
“Thank you . ”
Zenard gave another bow in acknowledgment . The final task was to examine the plant Ophelia had sent . If it truly was poisonous to the body, they could feign ignorance and disguise it as a weakness . Elena would have assigned this to Kuhn, but he was still at Blaise mansion . She pointed to the plant on the table and spoke to Zenard .
“This was a gift from the Empress . Can you find out exactly what this plant is from the Sibena kingdom?”
“The Empress?”
Zenard’s eyes flashed . His suspicions also seemed to have been aroused .
“I’ll take it right away and find out . ”
“No, I’ll leave this plant where I pass by often . ”
“But if it’s dangerous—”
“All the more reason to . ”
Zenard stare at her nonplussed, and Elena smiled and spoke quietly .
“With this, we will be able to find out who the Empress’ spies are in the Crown Prince’s palace . They will lower their guard if I appear to act careless . ”
He was stunned at her reply, then he spoke in admiration .
“You truly are a crown princess . ”
Elena smiled sheepishly at his excessive praise .
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Whether it was a favor or a grudge, one had to return whatever they had received . This time however, she planned to act differently .
‘I don’t have to expose my claws yet . ’
Elena needed to conceal her true intent and watch the Empress’ reaction . And if the opportunity came, she would strike first .
“I will go quickly and gather the servants of the Crown Prince’s palace . ”
“Yes . ”
Zenard made to exit the room, but he suddenly stopped and turned toward Elena with a cautious look .
“Ah, Your Highness…”
“Speak . ”
“I’ve threatened everyone to keep away from the Crown Prince’s private training hall, so you don’t have to worry about anyone interrupting you . ”
“…What?”
Elena blinked for a moment, and then her cheeks flamed as she realized what he meant . She thought she glimpsed Zenard when Carlisle kissed her this morning . It had completely slipped her mind after she received the plant from Empress Ophelia .
‘I can’t believe it…’
Outwardly she was calm, but inwardly she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and never leave . Other people might not give second thought to their love affair, but Elena was so embarrassed that she wanted to die . The nanny looked curiously at Elena .
“Training hall? What happened there?”
Thankfully, Zenard had the sense to shake his head .
“Nothing . I’ll take my leave now . ”
Zenard left with a look of satisfaction on his face, blissfully oblivious of Elena’s feelings . Elena fanned her hot face with her palm, and the nanny ventured with her question again .
“What happened at the private training hall?”
“…Nothing, nanny . ”
Elena avoided her gaze and stared out the window . She may have a place to train now, but she suspected that rumors of the two sharing a passionate love life would spread far . She suddenly remembered when Carlisle leaned down to whisper in her ear .
—…Last question . It doesn’t matter what the method is, right?
It seemed that Elena still needed a lot of mental preparation before she could practice sword fighting as much as she wanted . Her face glowed red as she remembered the hot pressure of Carlisle’s lips against hers .
‘…What a wicked man . ’
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Zenard quickly gathered all the servants that worked in the Crown Prince’s palace . An assembly was expected with a new mistress in charge, but it happened much sooner than anyone anticipated, as it was only a day after Elena rose to the position as Crown Princess .
Ungseong ungseong—
There was a rumble of feet as the crowd gathered, and Zenard confirmed to Elena that everyone was present .
“We are ready, Your Highness . ”
“Thank you . ”
They were assembled at an open garden outside the Crown Prince’s palace, as it was difficult to accommodate them all in one place indoors . Elena slowly ascended the high platform Zenard prepared, taking in the view of a larger crowd than she expected . The servants all gathered their voices together in unison .
“Hail to the Crown Princess . Eternal glory to the Ruford Empire!”
The voices sounded quite distant as everyone spoke together . Elena turned her head to survey the group and spoke in a calm voice .
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all . From this day on I will manage the palace, and I hope you will obey my will . ”
“Yes, Your Highness . ”
“Then, I will introduce my chosen head lady-in-waiting . From now on, treat her as such . ”
For the servants of the palace, the head lady-in-waiting was their immediate superior, who they would encounter more than the crown princess . Everyone’s attention turned to the aged woman as she rose to the platform . She had a gracious air about her, but there was a sense she was not to be trifled with either .
“Pleasure to meet you all . From today on, I will be the head lady-in-waiting . If you don’t break the rules, there will be no need for embarrassment, so please do your part well . ”
Everyone bowed to the nanny’s calm charisma .
“Yes, head lady-in-waiting . ”
Elena watched with a look of satisfaction, and she studied each of the servants’ faces gathered there . Some of them she had already met several times before . And…
She spotted the face of the maid who brought her the plant to the parlor room . Elena pointed towards the maid .
“What’s your name?”
“Oh, I am Asabe, Your Highness . ”
“Very well, Asabe . I would like you to serve as my personal maid starting today . ”
Asabe’s eyes widened in surprise, then she quickly lowered her head .
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
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Elena kept her face outwardly smooth, but she had already secretly exchanged glances with her nanny . Elena may be able to find out more about Asabe and if she was secretly associated with the Empress . If the maid was confirmed as a spy, it was not yet known whether Elena would remove her, but the important thing was that she could be useful one day .
‘Even though she may be a spy, it doesn’t mean I have to keep her away . I can bring her closer to me and leak false information . ’
To do so, it was urgent she find out who were her friends and who were her enemies . It was likely that many of the servants here were not only spies for the Empress, but of other nobles and even of other kingdoms .
‘It’s impossible to not be watched at all…’
Elena quietly looked at all the servants gathered here .
‘…The more you figure out who your enemy is, the better you can make your move . ’
First she would look into Asabe, the first to catch her suspicion . Elena had taken her first step in her life as part of the Imperial Family .
In the Empress’ palace, Ophelia lounged in a high-backed chair with a pipe resting in her hand . A spiral of smoke drifted in the air, when someone approached her silently from behind .
“Your Majesty . ”
Ophelia turned her head at the low voice . Cassana, her head lady-in-waiting, stood before her .
“The gift was delivered to the Crown Prince’s palace . ”
“…Is that so?”
Ophelia’s reaction was muted, however, and Cassana spoke carefully .
“They didn’t notice at all, so I don’t believe they’re the smartest type . ”
“We’ll see . ”
“It’s a bit disappointing that she didn’t even notice a simple gift . ”
At those words, the corner of Ophelia’s mouth tipped upward . She wanted to test Elena’s reaction, and so she baited her with the plant . The Empress could’ve tried something more elaborate, of course, but for now a little taste to celebrate the arrival of the Crown Princess would suffice . If Elena didn’t notice anything about the plant, that was fine . It wouldn’t be good for Ophelia if Elena were to get pregnant before Sullivan died . Ophelia wondered how they would have reacted if they noticed the scheme quickly .
She placed her pipe back on her lips and relaxed, like a fisherman waiting for a fish to take the bait .
“…I look forward to seeing what the new family member will be like . ”
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