The Abandoned Princess’ Secret Bedroom - Chapter 40

“Princess!”

 

Rosalie’s bright voice echoed through the dark palace. Llewelyn didn’t respond.

 

“Princessss!”

 

“…”

 

She wanted to focus on reading. However, she didn’t say anything because she knew that if she did, Rosalie would apologise profusely with tears in her eyes.

 

“What would you like to eat? I’ll bring it!”

 

“…”

 

“You must be thirsty!”

 

What was more annoying was that Rosalie knew surprisingly well what she needed. Still, she was angry at being bothered…

 

“Fine, give it here.”

 

Rosalie handed her a cup and smiled. Her cheek still sported a black bruise. No matter how hard she tried, Llewelyn couldn’t ignore it.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Llewelyn forced herself to drink the water. It was cold this time. She didn’t say she preferred cold water, but somehow Rosalie knew.

 

When Llewelyn downed the whole glass, Rosalie laughed. The maids murmured as they watched the scene unfold. Sir Paulo watched amidst the maids.

 

It was peaceful and cute.

 

After Rosalie’s safe return, the maids felt indescribably complicated. Some of the maids had followed Llewelyn and saw the ‘scene’ unfold, and the servants who heard the story fell into deep thought.

 

Since then, they had been watching Llewelyn closely. Because they thought they had to come to a conclusion.

 

The gracious Rosalie was acting bold… Although she could not cross the line, Llewelyn was strangely not opposed to her behavior.

 

Then, someone whispered.

 

“You know, the Princess may be a better person than we think.”

 

They were words that everyone was thinking, but dared not speak. The servants looked at each other. It seemed they all felt the same way.

 

“Come to think of it, she never scolded us, even when we were lazy.”

 

“There was never any corporal punishment.”

 

“Her words always made me hate her, but she never complained.”

 

“When you look at it, it’s our fault…”

 

“No, even if we did something ‘wrong’ in the first place, the fact that we are here in perfect health…”

 

It was then that they realized Llewelyn’s consideration. Maids in the main palace were frequently executed, but Llewelyn’s villa was very peaceful. Even a gentle lady of a noble family would not be as gracious as her.

 

“It is said that long ago, you got down on your knees because of maids…did you really?”

 

“She said it was true. The Princess and that crazy woman acknowledged it.”

 

Paulo interjected himself into the chatter.

 

“Ah, but the Princess? It must be an exaggeration.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

“I don’t think so!”

 

Paulo had a look of disbelief.

 

“You really believe it?”

 

“Well, Princess. Is it true?”

 

The maids asked with anticipation. Paulo, who had entered the conversation just to be around cute maids, answered for Llewelyn with a sullen expression.

 

“Do you know how much the White Knights talked about it? The Princess prayed for a maid.”

 

“Wow!”

 

“The Queen executed all the maids she cherished, taking advantage of the former Queen who was executed.”

 

“Oh my!”

 

The maids in Llewelyn’s palace were too lazy to keep an eye on the Queen. They trembled, realizing they had something bigger to fear. They looked at each other nervously.

 

“To recap, the Princess was thinking of us… and we acted like this?”

 

“The truth is that she values us.”

 

“Actually, we also value you, Princess, but we pretended not to.”

 

“We are precious to her…”

 

In reality, Llewelyn didn’t pay any attention to her maids, but they came to their own conclusions. She thought they wouldn’t ever give her any respect, but now she was loved. Bitterness flowed between the maids.

 

“…Then, if we make a mistake, are we going to die by the Queen?”

 

That was what they were most worried about.

 

“No, you won’t.”

 

Paulo intervened again.

 

“At that time, the previous Queen had committed heresy, and the late King was still alive… As you know, the relationship between His current Majesty and the Princess is not bad.”

 

“Ah!”

 

“Right! The relationship between the siblings is fine! Didn’t His Majesty appoint the Princess as the Golden Raven for Founding Day this year? The Princess has the backing of the King. So we can’t die!”

 

The maids were very happy.

 

“From my point of view, the Princess is actually very kind…”

 

Paulo leaned towards Llewelyn and whispered, as if telling a great secret.

 

“… but you pretend not to be and hide it.”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

“Well…”

 

Paulo answered proudly.

 

“Hasn’t the cold leader of the Red Knights opened his heart to her? He’s her private knight and escort after all.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Ahhh!”

 

“Come to think of it, that is what Sir Jayad said! We used to call him hogu*!”

[*E/N: a hogu is a piece of chest protection used during sparring]

 

Paulo laughed heartily.

 

“Wow, so do we. But I’m not sure if he’s really a hogu…”

 

Tristan walked up behind Paulo, who was making a lot of noise. The maids covered their mouths and shook their heads. Paulo forcibly lifted the corners of his lips.

 

“Is he behind me?”

 

As if he did not want to admit the cruel reality, he did not lose his smile. The maids nodded and began to step back. As soon as they rounded the corner, there was a loud popping sound. It was painful to hear.

 

“Traitors!”

 

 

“What happened?”

 

Llewelyn asked, not taking her eyes off her book. The man in front of her stood tall. The knight commander, who was dressed neatly, was looking at Llewelyn calmly.

 

When Llewelyn glanced at Rosalie, she bowed her head and walked away. Llewelyn lowered her voice with a serious expression.

 

“What did the Queen say?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Llewelyn was relieved. Still, she did not let her guard down.

 

‘He isn’t hiding something, is he?’

 

“I came to see if you are feeling well.”

 

“…”

 

“Didn’t you run into a lot of trouble?”

 

Llewelyn kept her mouth shut. However, a blush spread across her face. Llewelyn recalled the night she had spent with Tristan. She had to remind herself that it was just lust created by her stigma. Their night didn’t mean anything more.

 

“It’s been a few days now, right? We were training Coco, and then you didn’t see me for days. Why now?”

 

After speaking, Llewelyn narrowed her eyes. Really, why was he asking about her condition all of a sudden? They should have been training Coco daily to make sure he was in good shape.

 

“Forgive me for my negligence. Sir Ratan’s sister passed away suddenly and was absent for a while because of it.”

 

Tristan seemed to have accepted her doubts, though Llewelyn did not press. It was regrettable that the sister of an unknown knight passed away suddenly.

 

“Did she? It is not under my jurisdiction, but please take care of it.”

 

“All right.”

 

Silence fell between them. Llewelyn looked up.

 

Tristan’s mood was serious. Why? Also, what happened with Pamela? Was their night leaked? Her heart began to pound. She unknowingly gripped her book, crumpling the pages. Seeing this, Tristan quickly spoke, as if he read her mind.

 

“I will not speak about that night. I have no intention of telling anyone. Do not worry.”

 

“Okay…”

 

Tristan didn’t say anything more, but his gaze was so heavy that it was burdensome. Llewelyn glanced up at him.

 

“Princess.”

 

“Yes.”

 

His red eyes deepened. Tristan hesitated a little, then said.

 

“If you ever want to have pleasure with a man in the future, please call me.”

 

Llewelyn was startled. So, he wanted her to call him to sleep together? Llewelyn almost let her mouth fall open in shock.

 

To be honest, it was an unpleasant topic. When she thought of last night, she felt ashamed. Hands grabbing her waist, lips gently falling all over her body. Even though he was clumsy and only cared about himself, he had an attractive body.

 

Tristan’s body was like a hot stone. When it touched her… Llewelyn’s face flushed red.

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

Llewelyn bowed her head and answered. Tristan was behaving in such an incomprehensible way. Surely she didn’t force him to say this, did she? Maybe…

 

Llewelyn started reading her book again, but couldn’t process any of the words on the crumpled pages. When an uncomfortable silence fell over them, a maid rushed in.

 

“Princess! The Duke of Biserk is here to meet you.”

 

“Tell him to come in.”

 

At Llewelyn’s words, Tristan bowed his head and tried to escape. Llewelyn suddenly grabbed Tristan’s hand. He flinched.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Will you escort me?”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

Tristan’s eyes widened and he answered politely. Perhaps it was because of the angle, but it seemed as though a smile formed on the corner of his lips as he lowered his head slightly.