Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Take Her as You Please
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The Empire's Empress had died.
The national mourning period lasted ten days. The Imperial Palace workers were all mobilized for the massive event, leaving Daphne and the others no time to even catch their breath.
Instead of the palace's ornate decorations, black cloth draped every corner, adorned daily with fresh white roses.
Priests and foreign dignitaries visited the palace, and the more guests there were, the exponentially more work piled up for them.
Daphne, pushed from pillar to post, ended up stuck with cleaning the guest rooms—the task everyone avoided. She tidied the rooms every day for the visitors.
As she did, she glanced around.
Noel was nowhere to be seen. She'd heard the stable hands complaining bitterly—had he been assigned there?
It felt oddly empty that the one person who'd kindly spoken to her had vanished so quickly.
'Well, that's how it always goes.'
Daphne had occasionally encountered people who were friendly to her. But they all disappeared sooner or later. It was par for the course in the Imperial Palace, with its frequent staff reassignments.
Daphne was swamped. She didn't even have time to sit, let alone chat with anyone kind. She would have needed four bodies to keep up, and like all the others who'd approached her before, she soon forgot about Noel.
Her growing worry for Asherad overshadowed some guy she'd barely spoken to once.
Poor Asherad, having lost his mother.
But Asherad would always remain dignified.
He was a superior being, unlike her. He'd conduct the funeral with composure, as if draping his grief like an elegant veil over his face.
He'd asked her to stay by his side.
She wanted to be there for him right away. Was he struggling too much?
Was he crying alone somewhere?
Daphne's lips turned down as she thought of her own mother, whom no one mourned. After her mother passed, she'd wept alone in hidden spots. She pictured Asherad sitting solitary in the Crown Prince's garden, a place no one else was permitted to enter.
She wanted to go to him. But the rule was she couldn't approach unless he summoned her first.
Still, she missed him.
Was he shedding tears alone at the end of his grueling schedule, grieving his mother's loss?
"You lucky bitch."
Daphne whipped her head around at the sneering voice. She realized she was wiping the window. It was a girl her age with deep navy hair and blue eyes.
Amanda. Daphne's body stiffened with tension. During her time in the palace, she'd mentally sorted people into groups: those most hostile to her, those less so, and Asherad.
Amanda was one of the most hostile. As their eyes met, Daphne hurriedly bowed her head. Amanda narrowed her eyes further.
"You've got time to slack off alone like this?"
"Knock it off, Amanda."
The one standing beside her was Sara, one of the less hostile ones.
Sara always looked at Daphne with pity in her eyes but never took any real action.
Amanda ground her teeth.
"You're the seed of disaster."
"Amanda!"
Sara shouted hastily. Tears welled in her eyes as she did, but Daphne had no idea why and just felt puzzled.
Amanda yelled at Sara.
"Why? Why can't you say anything!"
"It's all over now."
"It pisses me off that you don't know anything!"
Daphne had no clue what they were talking about. Amanda sneered.
"Hey, do you know what happened to Noel?"
Daphne blinked in confusion. Why bring up Noel all of a sudden? She mustered her courage to speak.
"Knock it off, Amanda."
Sara's voice was unusually firm. The normally calm Sara could stand up to even Amanda when she got angry.
As expected, Amanda flinched at Sara's intervention. Sara grabbed her hand.
"I'll handle it, so stop."
"......"
Amanda stared at Sara, incredulous. Sara gave a small smile.
"Sorry, did we scare you, Daphne? It's nothing you need to know. Just Amanda venting like always."
She was still kind. But her face trembled faintly. Daphne didn't notice and asked.
"...Where did that Noel guy go?"
Daphne summoned her courage to ask. Sara bowed her head briefly, then looked up with an even brighter smile.
"No, it's nothing."
This time, Daphne got it. The smile was too forced. As she tried to probe further, Sara spoke.
"Oh, Daphne! You should finish cleaning the window quick. His Majesty is coming soon."
Her eyes widened. As Sara and Amanda left, she hurriedly wiped the window. If the Emperor spotted her, who knew what trouble she'd face.
The moment she picked up her bucket and rag to leave, a murmur of voices rose.
Daphne peered down the hall in surprise. Just as Sara said. Luckily, he didn't see her, so she could slip away.
'Did Sara... help me?'
In the midst of that baffling exchange, one thing was clear: Sara, who always hung back with just pitying looks, had helped her.
* * *
"What the hell is that vermin?"
Things weren't going well. Daphne's eyes widened as she trembled. Guest room cleaning usually happened when visitors were out.
"Does the Pheneios Empire only have basicless trash?"
The visitor kicked the bucket of dirty mop water she'd brought.
"Your Highness! Please calm yourself."
"We were told the room would be done after breakfast!"
The furious shout was quite irritable. Daphne squeezed her eyes shut. Looked like today was the day.
Managing foreign guests' rooms was one of the jobs no one wanted.
Do it well, and it was just your job. Mess up, and your head rolled. It was inevitable that Daphne, the palace pariah, got stuck with it.
Daphne dropped to her knees.
"P-Please, f-forgive..."
Her voice wouldn't come out right. From what she'd heard, the Pindus Prince occupying this room had a full schedule all day.
Daphne bit her lip. Someone must have given him the wrong time. But excuses like that wouldn't fly with him.
She meant to beg properly. As she started to lift her head from her bowed position, a kick flew at her.
"Who told you to raise your face!"
Her shoulder took the blow, sending her tumbling across the floor. The hair tie holding her bun snapped, sending her hair spilling everywhere.
"Wait."
It hurt. So much. The kick to her shoulder, crashing into the floor.
She'd endured bullying, but she'd been lucky enough to rarely face direct violence.
This pain, inflicted without care if she lived or died, was unbearable. Agony coursed through her body. Gasping, she looked up. Daphne's blue eyes finally met the prince's.
Not all princes were like fairy-tale princes like Asherad. This young man was pudgy, embarrassingly so compared to Asherad.
He scanned her face, then grinned cruelly and grabbed the shoulder of the knight who'd kicked her.
"Who told you to kick her?"
"......"
"Right, Pheneios isn't that foolish a nation. My mistake."
The prince crouched beside her prone form, lifted her chin, and examined her face this way and that, like appraising artwork. He smacked his lips with his tongue.
It sent chills over her skin, as if he'd licked her.
"We can't be too harsh with a beauty who's erred just once."
"......"
"Come now, stand up. Go on."
His words were soft, but she knew another kick awaited if she didn't.
Daphne steadied herself and cautiously rose, facing the crouching Pindus Prince. Meeting the intent in his eyes made her want to vomit.
"With your hair down, your beauty really shines. I love it loose like this, but they all tie it up here. Dull, isn't it?"
"Your Highness, better to execute her..."
A knight ventured carefully, but the prince bellowed.
"Shut your mouth!"
"......"
Daphne, right in front of him, flinched violently at the menacing tone.
"Oh, not yelling at you, dear."
The prince forced a gentle tone and reached out, stroking Daphne's slender, exposed wrist. His thumb rubbed teasingly, like bugs crawling on her skin.
"I won't punish your cute mistake."
"......"
"But there needs to be some compensation, right?"
His hand wandered from her face, past her ear, caressing her shoulder and back. Her face paled.
She'd never heard rumors of the Pindus Prince being a lecher, but instinct told her exactly what he wanted.
Ah, Asherad.
Daphne called out silently to the man in her heart. She knew he was busy, with no time for someone like her.
Still, seeking him in this moment felt as natural as calling on a god. The prince's breath quickened. As Daphne sensed his foul heat, he shouted.
"Everyone out!"
At his command, all turned to leave. It's over now. She squeezed her eyes shut. But no footsteps followed.
"Tch."
The prince clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. As Daphne wondered, a voice came from behind.
"Is there a problem, Prince of Pindus?"
Daphne's heart soared. Never had those words felt like a beam of light before.
The one who'd entered the messy room was surely Asherad. She gazed at her man like a puppy seeing its master.
In mourning, he wore all black, which suited his dark hair and sharp features terrifyingly well. His keen face and shadowed eyes radiated menace.
Asherad's sharp gaze swept the room, grasping the situation, then narrowed on the prince. He had a knack for tensing the air with silence alone. Pressed by it, the prince fidgeted and spoke.
"This wench messed up. Lazy thing, hasn't finished cleaning even with me here."
"Is that so?"
Daphne looked wronged, but no one would heed her.
Asherad smiled his usual soft smile. Seeing it, the Pindus Prince smirked too.
"So, how about I forgive her crime in exchange for taking this maid? What say you?"
Daphne nearly screamed. She hadn't expected the prince to demand her body outright.
"I trust you'll allow it, Crown Prince Asherad. You have no choice."
His tone toward the Empire's Crown Prince was utterly insolent. The Pindus knights sweated coldly, watching their prince's brazen rudeness. As Asherad didn't reply, the prince prodded again.
"To stay in your father's good graces, that is."
In that instant, Asherad's eyes flashed coldly. But the glint vanished. He turned to look at Daphne's face. Her desperate, tear-filled gaze met his; amusement flickered at his eyes, and on that beautiful face...
"Take her as you please."
He uttered the cruel words.