The Kitchen Conspiracy
“But Her Highness has already selected all the senior maids who will serve in the princess’s palace.”
“What a frustrating load of nonsense!”
Mrs. Sophinin immediately dismissed Vera’s words as rubbish.
“The maids serving the princess’s palace must be chosen with the utmost care. How can anyone properly attend Her Highness with nothing but untrained girls?”
There was nothing factually wrong with Mrs. Sophinin’s statement. Yet the absence of falsehood did not make it right. Their true aim was clearly to keep Cayena under surveillance.
“And your attitude itself is highly problematic. Do you have any idea how much damage your constant overstepping—flitting in and out of the central palace kitchens—causes the entire department?”
Vera’s eyebrows twitched with open displeasure. Her expression cooled rapidly, all pretense of deference melting away.
“Overstepping?”
“You keep interfering with the head chef’s exclusive authority! The central kitchen has already lodged multiple complaints with the head maid!”
Irritation surged through Vera like a flame. Overstepping?
She had merely inspected the dishes to ensure nothing Cayena was allergic to or disliked was being used. Those were the most basic duties of a maid. The previous staff assigned to the princess’s palace had simply grown lazy; there had been nothing improper about Vera’s conduct.
This doesn’t feel like a simple power struggle. The head maid’s reaction is suspicious too.
Vera’s sharp gaze swept over Mrs. Sophinin and the cluster of court officials surrounding her. She had anticipated their displeasure at the internal affairs authority shifting into Cayena’s hands. But she had not expected them to move against her this swiftly.
Hiding her annoyance, Vera answered with forced calm.
“Her Highness recently suffered a severe allergic reaction to nuts. For the time being, I must personally verify every dish sent to her.”
Mrs. Sophinin pounced on the opening with obvious glee.
“So you’re saying the head chef prepares meals without knowing such a critical detail? Are you truly allowed to cast doubt on someone’s competence and slander them so freely?”
Vera bit down on her lip before replying.
“…That was not my meaning.”
She had been cornered. Though anger boiled inside her, she had no choice but to lower her head in submission. Mrs. Sophinin smiled in triumph.
“The princess’s meals will be brought by these girls from now on. You may leave.”
Vera’s fists trembled. It seemed that locking away Prince Rezef had truly provoked their faction.
I’ve only just managed to grasp a single thread of real authority…
Cayena had only temporarily taken control of the internal affairs department, yet the prince’s supporters had descended like starving wolves. If she continued to lose even these small battles, nothing would change from the days when she had been scorned as nothing more than a paper princess.
The resentment burned bitterly in her chest. Vera could not bring herself to return to the princess’s bedchamber right away.
How does Her Highness remain so composed every single time?
Even this mild oppression left Vera furious and miserable. How could someone who looked so small and fragile possess such unbreakable strength?
Mrs. Sophinin had crushed her with raw power, and Vera had been utterly helpless. Their positions and family backgrounds were too far apart for any real resistance. What use could someone like her possibly be to Cayena?
Vera had never considered herself incompetent. But that belief had been an illusion. The moment Rezef’s influence was stripped away, she had become nothing more than an ordinary, powerless senior maid.
If I don’t act smarter and more decisively, they’ll keep looking down on me.
She had to be useful. That compulsion had haunted Vera ever since she first began working in the imperial palace. To her, Cayena was the only hope she had left—the only salvation. If the people around the princess were replaced by more capable and valuable allies, a maid from a minor family like Vera’s might simply be discarded. She needed to become indispensable.
Alone in the maids’ lounge, Vera sat simmering with rage until she suddenly lifted her head.
“The central palace kitchen…”
The memory of the head chef’s excessive wariness toward outsiders flashed through her mind. There was something there. If she overturned that place, something would surely surface.
“I need to find someone who can help me.”
Vera was biting her nail when—
Click.
The lounge door opened and someone stepped inside.
“Oh my. I didn’t expect anyone to be here.”
“…Lady Olivia?”
It was none other than Olivia Grace.
“Lady Olivia. I’m sorry to ask such a favor when we’ve barely met, but—”
Vera made her request without wasting time. It was not a difficult task.
“I noticed something suspicious in the central palace kitchen and wish to investigate. Could you pretend to be receiving practical training and draw the staff’s attention for me?”
“That’s not difficult at all.”
Olivia glanced at Vera’s labor-maid attire and asked with concern.
“Will you be all right?”
“Labor maids always wear face coverings, so it should be fine. Besides, my eye color and hair are quite common.”
Olivia let out a quiet sigh. She had not expected to witness the palace’s ruthless power struggles on her very first day.
“There is always surveillance posted near the central kitchen’s storage area.”
The storage connected directly to the outside, where all incoming ingredients were kept. When Vera had toured the kitchens before, she had noticed the guards watching the storage door with unusual strictness.
She had once assumed it was simply because of the high-value ingredients stored there. But now that she thought about it, something felt wrong. Heavy surveillance usually meant something dirty was happening behind those doors.
Having spent years in the imperial palace, Vera could easily guess what sort of corruption was taking place. The head chef was almost certainly embezzling. Her eyes gleamed with sharp focus.
“Let’s go.”
At that same moment, Cayena was studying a travelogue.
Milhen in the southwest would be perfect. Appropriately poor and sufficiently isolated.
She had just decided on the place where she would live with her fictional husband.
It is a little close to the Kedrey ducal family, which is unfortunate.
Yet the proximity of the Kedrey family also offered a clear advantage: neither Rezef nor any other faction would dare interfere recklessly.
Knock, knock.
The sound of someone at the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened to reveal Annie. Her expression, however, was strangely tense.
“Your Highness, your meal is prepared. However…”
Cayena set her book aside and asked curiously.
“What’s wrong?”
“Maids I’ve never seen before brought the tray. What should I do?”
“Where is Vera?”
“She’s nowhere to be found.”
Maids other than Vera? Vera would never send strangers without warning. For a brief instant, a razor-sharp light flashed in Cayena’s eyes before her face returned to its usual serene mask.
“Let them in.”
Soon, unfamiliar senior maids entered the room.
“We greet Your Highness the Princess.”
They were among the highest-ranking senior maids in the palace.
Cayena ordered them to set the meal on the table.
“I don’t recall seeing any of you in my palace before. How did you come to prepare my food?”
“We were told the princess’s palace is critically short on senior maids, so we have been reassigned here. From now on, we will personally attend to all of Your Highness’s needs.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Cayena saw through their obvious scheme at once.
Should I simply let them stay?
She had only established order to prevent outsiders from meddling in her palace, yet interference had already begun. Moreover, the fact that they had ignored her authority and forced senior maids upon her was laughable. It proved just how much they trusted the backing of Rezef—or rather, the Evans family.
If I clash with them now, they’ll nitpick every little thing going forward. But if I allow this, it will be no different from before…
The maids she had personally chosen had not yet arrived. Once Susan and Julia reached the princess’s palace tomorrow, their families’ influence might allow her to push these interlopers out naturally.
Their family status is certainly superior.
“Today the central kitchen received exceptionally fresh fish, so they prepared grilled fillets.”
The capital of Elquiem was inland, yet its proximity to a port city made fresh seafood easy to obtain. Still, fish rarely appeared on Cayena’s table. She had never cared for the taste.
…It’s clear Vera never checked the menu.
Vera was not the sort of person to abandon her duties and vanish. Cayena’s suspicion deepened.
She lifted her knife, then spoke to the line of maids standing beside her, watching her every move like sentinels.
“Why are you still here instead of leaving?”
“We were ordered to attend—”
Clang!
The knife struck the plate with a sharp ring. The maids flinched. Cayena kept her smile perfectly in place as she spoke to them gently.
“Did you not hear me tell you to leave?”
Though recent rumors claimed she had grown docile, the memory of Cayena’s past cruelty remained vivid in their minds. One wrong move and the knife she had just set down might fly at them. They retreated hastily.
“…Please call for us if you require anything, Your Highness.”
Once the maids had gone, Cayena immediately summoned Annie.
“Find Vera.”
The villainess is a marionette.