Maids and servants were assigned to the 3rd Prince's palace annex only this morning.
Since claims had been raised that the 3rd Prince's companions might have colluded with an evil mage,
Under normal circumstances, they would have been in no position to properly receive meals, let alone maids or servants.
In such a situation, the 3rd Prince did his best to protect those who had shown loyalty to him,
And since they had achievements in the east, at least the maids and servants who had been used in the 3rd Prince's palace were allowed into the annex.
But what the maids and servants who entered the annex actually saw,
Were the 3rd Prince's guests who had been gathered together talking about something but hastily cut off their conversation.
Well, high-ranking people often had conversations that shouldn't leak out to others.
Since they had suddenly moved to the annex, there were quite a few inconveniences. The cramped space and unfamiliar structure.
Not only the 3rd Prince's guests but also the maids and servants inevitably felt some degree of stuffiness.
However, among the 3rd Prince's guests, the pink-haired young lady with the most outstanding appearance was particularly vocal about the discomfort.
As far as the maid assigned to the pink-haired young lady knew,
The woman called Cellinne was originally of commoner origin and had no special characteristics other than her excellent fighting skills.
Yet because of her inhuman beauty, she sometimes felt like a tomboyish lady from some distinguished family.
For instance, right now, even while eating and dropping bread crumbs on the bed, she seemed more like a childish princess than lacking in dignity.
Cellinne swept her vivid pink hair over her shoulder and flicked the crumbs on her fingers onto the plate.
"You know, when can we get the things we left in the 3rd Prince's palace?"
"Miss, I'm sorry, but it will be difficult for a while. The knights have strictly forbidden entry."
"Ah."
The green-eyed woman openly showed her disappointment.
The maid, feeling somehow as if it were her fault, asked cautiously.
"Did you leave behind something important?"
"There's nothing unimportant among what we left behind."
"Perhaps it might come in quickly if it passes the knights' inspection at the royal castle."
"Mm. So we can't bring it directly without passing inspection?"
"Probably not."
"Isn't there any way? Would we get in trouble if we secretly bring it? Of course, I'm just saying."
"You're having dangerous thoughts, Miss. Since you've finished eating, shall I clear it away? I'd like to tidy up the room, would that be alright?"
"Please do. Oh, I'm a bit tired, so could you tidy up quickly?"
"Of course."
The maid stacked the empty bowls neatly and placed them on the tray.
As she left Cellinne's bedroom, she could see the door of the adjacent room opening as well.
A fellow maid holding a tray still full of food exchanged glances with her.
"That young lady finished eating everything. Primavera Viscountess doesn't eat enough."
"She's a real noble viscountess, you know? Doesn't a viscountess eat quietly? I'm having a headache because of bread crumbs that fell on the bed. What use is being quiet? She just looks at food thinking it's such a waste. And I'm not the one who cleans the bed anyway."
"True, that's also right."
The maids who whispered in small voices and giggled went downstairs through a private passage not visible from outside.
Kitchen, laundry, rest area. Opening doors that led anywhere, they put down their trays anywhere and said.
"Who's cleaning the fighter and viscountess's rooms? Who was in charge today?"
"Ah, they went to wash curtains right now."
"Then tell them to come quickly! The 3rd Prince's girlfriend wants to clean up and sleep quickly."
"Who's the 3rd Prince's girlfriend?"
"Pink-haired beauty. Fighter. 3rd Prince's palace power!"
Loud laughter burst out.
The 3rd Prince's hidden lover. It was a nickname given to Cellinne, who couldn't hide her characteristic recklessness even after coming here.
It was half a joke, but the other half contained the meaning 'isn't she acting arrogantly for a commoner because she has a reliable person like the 3rd Prince?'
The maids who had passed off cleaning to others brought over old chairs from the corner and sat down.
While they were catching their breath for a moment, laundry staff with soaked aprons returned to drink water,
And were hurriedly looking for cleaning supplies for the young ladies and gentlemen upstairs.
Suddenly, scolding could be heard from somewhere.
"You! How many months have you been in charge of cleaning and you're still so clueless? The duster for cleaning beds and the duster for cleaning curtains or carpets are all different! Do these look the same to you?"
"S-s-sorry."
"Would you want to sleep in a bed with carpet dust on it? That's why you've only been going back and forth between the laundry and cleaning until now. I'm afraid someone like you would make a big mistake if I put you in front!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
"Who on earth let someone like you in as a maid... If you understand, don't just stand there stupidly and bring a different duster!"
The somewhat older maid threw the duster on the floor.
The thoroughly intimidated maid in front of her hurried to run to the storage room and even tripped over her own feet.
The maids watching this scene laughed silently.
"When will she ever become helpful?"
"I think it's a miracle she even got into the 3rd Prince's palace. Soon she'll probably be transferred to manage some closed building."
"Did you hear? When she was doing laundry in the laundry room before, she confused clean water with dirty water. That's why the kids in charge of laundry all went crazy and threw fits."
"How could she not distinguish that? This is the first time I've seen someone this stupid working in the royal castle."
Whether she heard the giggling sounds, the maid who got up from the floor had a completely red face.
The maids ignored her and started chattering among themselves again.
Anyway, everyone pampered that pink-haired young lady. Even today she said there was definitely something she wanted to bring from the 3rd Prince's palace, how troublesome. But she really is pretty. You don't even get angry in front of her, right? So it's understandable that His Highness the 3rd Prince would melt.
The story of the particularly radiant-looking 3rd Prince and the beautiful fighter was enough to ignite the maids' hearts.
But the cleaning staff had to leave the rest area behind the small screams of "kyaa, kyaa."
* * *
That night.
The annex where everyone had gone to bed was quiet.
A place where only the sounds of insects could be heard occasionally. The place itself, having finished its busy daytime routine, seemed to be in deep sleep.
However, footsteps that had completely muffled their sound appeared through the darkness.
A human shadow that had shrunk to avoid drawing people's attention quickly slipped out of the annex's back door.
The shadow wearing a dark gray cloak checked that no one was following nearby and hurriedly moved forward.
-Step, step.
Passing through the small garden surrounding the annex, the 3rd Prince's palace could be seen beyond.
The torches of the guards standing to surround the 3rd Prince's palace and annex flickered in the distance,
And the suspicious shadow would briefly hide behind trees to avoid their gaze whenever it saw the torches.
Its movements were very agile and quick, making almost no sound of rustling clothes.
Having arrived without drawing attention, the place was between the tower and the 3rd Prince's palace.
The tower that had once been a place for confining political prisoners but was destroyed by a mage commanding suspicious creatures was one of the places palace people didn't approach.
There was nothing to find in the pile of collapsed stones,
And there were no other special buildings in this direction.
However, the shadow waited for a moment while hiding behind the pile of stones.
How much time had passed like that?
From far away, in the direction where the Royal Guard training ground was located, the sound of someone approaching could be heard.
"Hey."
Psst. Are you there? The man who newly arrived at the collapsed tower looked around with a clearly tense expression.
As soon as the man's voice was heard, the suspicious shadow rose from behind the pile of stones.
"I'm here. My goodness, did you get out of the 3rd Prince's palace in the meantime? I thought the servants who entered the mage's bedroom were still in prison."
"Thanks to Her Majesty the Queen, no, now it would be Her Majesty the Queen Dowager giving advance notice to the Captain of the Royal Guard. I'm in charge of organizing the knights' quarters there. Anyway, how is it over there?"
The shadow took off the gray cloak. She was the maid who until morning had become like a wet mouse,
And had been scolded for not being able to distinguish between dusters for beds and carpets.
Where had that frightened appearance gone? Only a sharp and irritated attitude could be seen in her.
"It's the same. The 3rd Prince seems to cherish his people quite a bit."
"Is there no other news? Any special actions or anything? I have to report tomorrow."
"Nothing. They seem to be having some kind of meeting after dismissing all servants and maids, but there won't be any opportunity for them to do anything."
"Really?"
"If you saw the number of guards surrounding the annex and 3rd Prince's palace, you'd think the same. Ah... no, there's one thing I remember."
"What? Please tell me quickly."
When the man pleaded desperately, the woman laughed coldly.
"The pink-haired woman seemed to have left something in the 3rd Prince's palace."
"Is it important?"
"I don't know that. But at a time like this, she wouldn't be longing for clothes or something she left in the 3rd Prince's palace, would she?"
"It's likely something that shouldn't be discovered at this time."
"I think so too. But the flaw is that I don't know what it is yet. I'll make contact with the pink-haired woman soon."
"What? But orders haven't even come down yet..."
"Of course they wouldn't. Right now they think both the mage and the 3rd Prince are all caught fish! But listen carefully, we can't be satisfied here. The way for you and me to survive is to definitely stick to that side. You want to become a servant who serves a 'person' for sure, not a building, right? Right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Then we need to produce results beyond what was instructed. Tomorrow morning, I'll put spoiled potatoes in a fellow maid's meal to give her a stomachache. I'll be the one to bring food to the pink-haired woman's room."
"And then?"
"The pink-haired woman is quite emotional, so if I stimulate her sympathy a bit, she might designate me as her personal maid. From then on, I'll quickly build a friendship, and when the time comes, I'll incite her to bring things from the 3rd Prince's palace."
"And then?"
"The pink-haired woman will try to make me do it instead of herself. Because it would be big trouble if she got caught. I just need to pretend to obediently follow orders until I enter the room the pink-haired woman used in the 3rd Prince's palace. And once I enter the room, I'll leave behind letters that the 3rd Prince and pink-haired woman exchanged."
"Wow, did the Prince and pink-haired woman really exchange letters?"
"Of course it's forged. Idiot. After that letter is discovered by the knights, the pink-haired woman and her companions will be suspected of actually accepting the mage's opinion and pretending not to know about the poisoning of Her Majesty the Queen Dowager."
"So you'll eliminate all of the 3rd Prince's close associates and eastern heroes?"
"Right. Then it becomes much cleaner, doesn't it?"
"Wow. It's really a meticulous plan. Then the people in the annex will have their heads cut off one after another without knowing why?"
"Well, wouldn't they-"
The maid who was about to answer "wouldn't they" suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
This voice shouldn't be here.
The maid and servant froze in place and slowly turned their heads to the side.
There, a beauty was sitting on the debris of the collapsed tower, grinning.
With a face that was clearly too alert to have just woken up, Cellinne looked at the maid and servant and said.
"Our cute little thief cats. How adorable are your surprised expressions too? Well then, shall we have some intense conversation time with this big sister now?"
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