The Opposite Of Indifference - Chapter 11

Actually, it was a little close when she took off the hat. She almost broke her oath with Uncle Mulally*. (Rubert’s father)

Millicent was most afraid of losing control of herself. It was something that happened from time to time, even if it wasn’t uncommon.

Still, there was a saying that all is well if it ends well. Fortunately, today was the day she planned to take off her hat.

She left the lively banquet hall. She did not even return to the kitchen. It was not a day she wanted to finish as a maid.

Still, as soon as the poison moistened Charlotte’s lips, the hat was quickly put back on. It was a shame, but it had to be done.

That was the rule.

She just walked without a destination. Just as she was about to pass the grand ballroom garden, someone called from behind.

“Millicent!”

It was Frederick.

She was perplexed. It was not just because she was reunited with the king. It was more because she hadn’t noticed any sign of him following behind her. Millicent swallowed as this had never happened before.

She was agitated. The aftermath of the hat removal still hadn’t subsided. She must calm down. She drew a breath to concentrate and tightened the string under her chin.

“I wondered if you were okay.”

Frederick, who was right in front of her before she knew it, said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that Lady Charlotte would take out her anger on you.”

His tone changed. It was much lighter. It was as if he was treating her like a maid, not a lady.

And yet Frederick did not look like the confident king he had been earlier. He looked like the hunter Millicent had stumbled upon at the gate.

“What’s wrong?”

He asked, staring as Millicent didn’t reply.

“No.  It’s a bit strange that Your Majesty apologizes to a maid.” She immediately came to her senses. “I am all right, Your Majesty. Everyone is waiting for you in the banquet hall. Please go.”

Millicent wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone. She bent her knees and bowed to signify that he should go quickly.

“Why are you wearing your dirty hat?” But she has already piqued Frederick’s interest. “It must be wet. Wouldn’t it be better if you took it off?”

He reached for her wine-stained hat. Millicent reflexively backed away from him and slapped his hand.

Frederick’s face hardened. He was not a man accustomed to rudeness.

“I’m sorry.”

She had no explanation at the moment. Therefore, Millicent had to come up with an assortment of good excuses right away.

“So why did you lie to me?”

Fortunately, there was a subject to blame him.

“I mistook Your Majesty for a hunter. That is why I still habitually treat Your Majesty as Frankie, not as a king.”

Millicent said.

“It is purely Your Majesty’s fault that I behave like a rude maid.”

She thought it was quite a nice strategy, but when it came time to spit it out, the rudeness doubled.

“My fault?” Surprisingly, Frederick did not seem offended. “You really are a crazy young lady. No one in the world treats me like that.”

Instead, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

“And I didn’t deceive you. You alone beat the drum and blew the trumpet.”

“Ha, I may have played the drums, but Your Majesty blew the trumpet.” Millicent fired without losing.

“All right, all right. I am sorry.”

Eventually Frederick apologized again. He seemed to have completely forgotten that he had been hit by a maid. The situation went better than Millicent expected.

“…because it had been a really long time since anyone had not treated me as a king.” And the added words were more meaningful.

“Looking at it earlier, you seemed to be enjoying the fact that you are a king.”

Frederick laughed at the rude criticism that came back.

“They were all masks. Everyone at court uses them.”

“If you’re already wearing a mask, you should have worn it better.” Millicent said. “How can you treat a Duke’s daughter like that in the middle of the court?”

“Lady Charlotte needed a little lesson.” Frederick replied indifferently. “She left the poor Tevi on the street a few times. The dog gets scared and whines when he’s separated from his owner.”

“All because of a dog?” Millicent raised an eyebrow.

“No, actually it was your fault. Millicent.” Frederick said. “You appeared right at that time (at the banquet), so I didn’t even notice Lady Charlotte.”

“I beg your pardon?”

He must be playing with her again. Millicent’s eyes widened.

“It was an impromptu act I did, and it went surprisingly well.” Frederick continued talking, completely unconcerned. “….. everyone was rolling their heads and guessing my true intentions.”

He laughed.

“The Duke of Hamston was particularly funny. When I ignored his daughter, it looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Still, when Lady Charlotte took out her anger on you, he laughed again, as if he thought he had his revenge.”

“What made Your Majesty think so?”

The only victim was herself. Millicent asked bluntly.

“Because I jumped up when I saw you covered in wine.” Frederick said. “But since I stood up and sat back down without saying a word, he must be elated because I lowered my tail.”

His eyes glowed cold as ice. A far more fitting description of the king, whom others had spoken of as the scary one.

“Did you really stand up for me?” (Millicent)

Millicent had no idea. She didn’t have time to examine her surroundings earlier.

Now that she thought about it, she wondered if the strange silence at the banquet hall when she was wined down was Frederick’s effect. Given the aristocratic propensity for scandal, a noble lady pouring wine on a maid’s head should have been regarded as a pleasant pastime with dinner parties.

Yes, it was probably because of Frederick. Everyone must be worried that he would take Charlotte’s behavior as a challenge to the king and be offended.

“Yes.” (Frederick)

“Then, why did you sit down again?”

“That was your fault too, Millicent.” Frederick’s eyes were strangely affectionate. “Precisely because I was mesmerized by your expression.”

A different emotion soon appeared in his eyes. “”It really passed by in an instant, but I saw it clearly. The look on your face that no words can describe.”

It was truly a dangerously explicit interest.

He continued, “And then I realized that I’d seen that expression before. Of course, I didn’t recognize it exactly then.”

Frederick’s eyes lit up.

“It was the day you called me an impostor. You said I didn’t give you the proper price for the venison, and I told you I was only trying to match your rhythm.”

Indeed, Millicent also remembered.

“That’s when your expression changed. When you peeked into your pocket, I didn’t know what you were looking for.”

At that time she was frustrated, so she searched for her knife, thinking of killing him.

Millicent recalled tastelessly. She certainly wasn’t going to kill him if he was a normal person.

“There’s something unusual about you, Millicent.”

Frederick leaned forward. He grabbed Millicent’s shoulders. He wanted to get a closer look at her face, even bending his tall back.

“So I’m curious.”

The whole world went silent. Not even the chirping of grass insects could be heard. All that reached her ears was his voice.

“Tell me, Millicent. What were you thinking?”

She didn’t give it any thought. The truth was that succinct.

Every time someone frustrated her, Millicent was not deeply bothered. She just became intoxicated with the blind goal of correcting a very troubling situation. And the easiest way to achieve that goal was elimination.

But Uncle Mulally taught her. Other people don’t think that way.

She was never impressed by the normal way of thinking he taught her and the universal values they abide by in society. But she was persuaded by his insistence that this must be respected in order to appear normal.

So Millicent meekly put on the hat to appear normal.

May the soul of the poor butcher, Ronald Mulally, rest in heaven.

For it was he who compromised with the virtues he had believed in all his life to protect Millicent.

“How can I make you have that face again?”

As her silence lengthened, Frederick’s eyes slid down. He stared at Millicent’s tightly closed lips. When there was still no response, his hand moved from Millicent’s shoulder to her collarbone.

“What other expression can you make?”

It was fortunate that she had buttoned her collar properly. If he had touched the helplessly exposed bare skin, her mind would have been really messed up.

“I’m not sure what you are talking about.”

In fact, Millicent felt a very unfamiliar emotion.

Frederick saw her true self and wanted to tear her apart. What a feeling it was to meet a predator who looked like each other, only very different in kind.

Dangerous. Predators should not overlap in territory. There would be a terrible clash until one of them died.

Millicent took a step back. She didn’t hit his hand like she did earlier, but her intention of refusal was fully communicated.

“I see.”

Frederick let her step back. He could attract as many maids as he wanted, as he was the King of Trump cards.

“Then can you at least tell me why you are wearing your dirty hat?”

He asked cheerfully, as if nothing had happened.:“It looks really uncomfortable.”

“I must wear a hat.” Millicent spoke like a swan on a calm lake.

“I don’t want to show my hair.”

“Why not?”

“Because Your Majesty’s kingdom has some outdated customs.

It’s a country where religion inevitably has a strong influence.”

She mentioned the social values that Uncle Mulally had taught her in good faith.

“In the past, a woman who exposed her hair was considered promiscuous. That’s why everyone covered it with fancy hats and hoods. Modesty must have been the fashion.” Millicent shrugged. “I just follow the fashion.”

“But fads have long since changed.” Frederick argued. “These days, ladies tend to style their hair colorfully, saying that covering it up is rather unfashionable… So only women who were truly as solemn as nuns remained and covered their heads.”

“Trends come and go.” Millicent replied flatly. “I’m sure the fads I’ve been fascinated with will be back soon.”

“You don’t seem to be of the modest kind.”

Frederick said, as if deliberately trying to scratch her nerves.

“You have a good eye for people, Your Majesty.” Still, Millicent was not swayed. “I am not of the modest kind; I am of the kind who stays in the past.”

Millicent stared at the bloody, tenacious ghost. Indeed, the past could come back like a cynical joke no matter how much she tried to let go.

“Are the two different?”

“It is completely different.”

Millicent smiled as she thought of her knife that a quiet woman would never have had in her pocket in the first place.

“…A very unusual maid.”

Frederick, on the other hand, did not laugh. Only a dangerous glint shone in his gray eyes that seemed to absorb all the laughter, even a smidgen of it.

“I’ll find out one more thing about you next time we meet, Millicent.”

“It would be a great honor to serve Your Majesty once more.”

She replied like a true maid. She was a beat late, but hoped it would work.

“One thing I know for sure about you right now…”

Frederick responded with a smile that implied no nonsense.

“You’re not a maid at all.”

Millicent had a hunch that she would fail to follow Rubert’s advice to stay as far away from the king as possible. It was unfortunate. She had never had a good look at Rubert’s words because she had always ignored them.

“If you must wear a hat, wash your face and find a clean one.” Frederick said. “For the sake of your king.”

Then Millicent disappeared, leaving her alone in the darkness, as she wished.

She walked again. It had been a gruesomely long day, but she did not return to her quarters as the King wished.

She wanted to rid her chest of the unfamiliar influence Frederick had left behind.

So she decided to ponder the ghostly past again. There was no more effective diversion than that.

Where to begin to remember? No need to bother, the answer was already in place.

Ann Belvard. Everything started with that name.

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