Chapter 9

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 9

Chapter Title: The Crown I'll Steal from You

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"Good thing we smuggled those earrings out before the Princess Palace got sealed off."

"How much did you get?"

"Five hundred thousand gold. I tried to haggle for more, but we had to settle in a rush."

"Hieeek!"

"No joke, huh? A few more hauls like that, and we could pay off our debts and quit this gig."

Greedy eyes sparkled.

The Royal Head Maid's spies had been ordered to torment the princess mercilessly.

But...

'As long as we don't get caught, who cares? The head maid doesn't even set foot in the Princess Palace anyway.'

Like well-trained dogs, they had already been won over by the jewels the princess tossed their way, quietly blocking the malicious "gifts" aimed at Medea from their own ranks.

Meanwhile, the other maids were in much the same boat.

"You all, start wrapping things up. Word's starting to leak outside the palace bit by bit, so this racket's probably coming to an end soon."

"We didn't get caught, right? If the head maid finds out, she'll devour us whole."

"Relax. This isn't our first rodeo—I'm not dumb enough to get myself killed."

The rumors they'd diligently spread had finally begun to ripple outward.

"Heard about it? They say the head maid's sending rotten food to the princess."

"And hiding needles in the bedding!"

The Royal Head Maid was stunned.

"Where the hell did that nonsense come from?!"

"From the royal castle. It's still just whispers among the nobles for now."

She had handled everything discreetly. Nothing sloppy, nothing beyond her reach.

Yet somehow, every detail was leaking out, fodder for the gossip mills.

"Rotten food? Needles?! What bullshit—I've never sent anything like that!"

And they were even embellishing it wildly.

Everyone in the palace knew the princess was being neglected, but specific, brutal acts of torment spreading beyond the walls was another matter entirely.

This struck at the palace's honor itself.

Not all in the Princess Palace were the head maid's spies.

They carried the news discreetly as usual—but more aggressively than ever.

"What? The head maid? True or not, that's worth poking at!"

Some were her rivals.

And then there was Garo.

"Didn't have anything better to do? You just had to stick your nose in."

Ignoring Cezare's icy glare, Garo fluttered a parchment scribbled with tiny writing.

Cezare's handsome brows drooped in a V.

"The head maid's as ruthless as our lady from the west. Poor princess, clinging on by offering jewels—even the ones from the Regent Duke—to her maids. How pitiful."

"Offering jewels?"

Cezare echoed the words, glancing indifferently at the chessboard.

"Yeah. Black sapphires, tears of the lamb... all that pricey stuff. She handed them over without a second thought, and the maids snatched them up happily."

"......"

"Naive or just stupid? Did she really think that would buy their loyalty?"

His long fingers plucked up a white pawn.

"What if she wasn't trying to buy them?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

One square. The pawn advanced to the final rank.

"Promotion. To queen."

The pawn was the weakest, most insignificant piece in chess—but upon reaching the end, it could transform into any piece it chose.

"Whoa, boss! Eating my bishop like that!"

But what it became, and what it devoured... that would only reveal itself at the finish line.

A fierce spark of interest flickered in Cezare's eyes, then vanished.

An unexpected commotion erupted in the Princess Palace.

"Let go! Where are you dragging me?!"

The head maid's people had burst in, hauling out Medea's maids willy-nilly.

"Why? Why are you doing this all of a sudden?!"

"You're no longer part of the Princess Palace staff as of today. Which means you can't stay here."

Not even given time to pack a single bundle, Medea's maids were dragged away.

"How dare lowly servants torment Her Highness the Princess? You must not value your lives."

The lead subordinate from the head maid scolded them sternly.

"What?"

The princess's maids' eyes bulged like saucers.

"The kitchen, laundry, and wardrobe staff all confessed. You colluded to torment Her Highness and then pinned it on the head maid!"

Watching the situation worsen, the head maid aimed to sever Medea's hands and feet while simultaneously erasing the false rumors spreading through the castle.

She had learned that her own Princess Palace maids—who'd been taking scraps from her—had been flapping their mouths carelessly.

"What are you talking about? Lies! It was you—the head maid who—!"

"Evidence in hand, and you still deny it? Drag these wretches away!"

One subordinate whispered low into a maid's ear.

"You should've thought about the consequences before running your mouths."

The maid's face drained of color.

'Caught this fast...? We were so careful!'

Drunk on their sudden windfall, they'd overlooked the head maid's extensive network and influence within the palace.

Sensing doom, the maid sought a lifeline.

"Your Highness! Help us! The head maid's dragging us away!"

Even as they were hauled off, they screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Touch a hair on us, and you think Her Highness will sit idly by?"

They firmly believed it.

The princess might abandon them, but she was soft-hearted and noble—she'd surely try to save them.

Just like she had with Neril.

"Your Highness! It's the head maid! The head maid is—!"

"Shut their mouths!"

Rough arms clamped down brutally, and the clamor died in an instant.

"What is all this?"

That was when the princess appeared. After all her maids had been carted off. The timing was rather convenient.

'Scared now, huh? That's why she's only showing up.'

Even so, the subordinates tensed slightly.

"Your Highness, how you've suffered."

"......"

"These insolent wretches have been sowing discord between the head maid and Your Highness all this time. Our perceptive head maid discovered the truth and sent us to set things right, belated though it is."

The prepared words flowed naturally.

The subordinate's eyes gleamed with smug triumph—as if to say, what could Medea do now without her limbs?

"Insulting royalty is no light crime. They will all atone with their lives."

"......"

"And we've brought new maids. Fresh young girls just entered the palace, pure and untainted, who will serve Your Highness faithfully without ulterior motives. You lot, pay your respects to Her Highness."

The subordinate pushed the new girls forward. Then waited for the princess's reaction.

The palace around her stood empty now, all her allies dragged away.

Aside from Neril, still bedridden, Medea had no one left here.

One Neril she might manage to save—but not the whole lot.

The head maid's judgment had been spot on.

"I see?"

But unexpectedly, the princess was smiling.

"How fortunate. I can trust the head maid's eye for talent."

Medea turned toward the new maids.

"Listen well, all of you. This is what happens to those disloyal to their master."

Her voice fell like hoarfrost, sharp and biting.

"Flit about like bats, and you'll end up dragged off like dogs to die. Got it?"

The new girls' eyes slid past the princess to the floor.

Traces of the old maids' desperate struggles stretched across the ground as they'd been hauled away. Spots of blood dotted here and there.

The fresh maids nodded, eyes wide with fear.

One master only.

Betrayal, not loyalty, meant death.

With the Princess Palace maids entirely purged and hastily replaced, the head maid hadn't had time to win over the newcomers.

Thus, Medea's stern command seared itself deeper into these rookies' minds than ever before.

"Convey my thanks to the head maid. She's saved me the trouble."

"Pardon?"

The subordinate blinked in stupefaction.

"You lot, follow me. Let's go inside."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Medea simply led the new maids away.

"Oh no—we've been had!"

Hearing the report from her baffled subordinate, the head maid nearly fainted.

"That wench used me to clear out all her spies!"

And she'd pinned her own infamy on those maids to justify removing them.

They'd think the head maid had axed her own pawns for some hidden scheme.

She'd only made needless enemies.

A little more thought, and she could've seen it coming—but rage had blinded her.

"Aaaargh! That bitch Medea—!"

"Head Maid, calm down!"

Crash!

Shattering porcelain flew and smashed until dusk fell.