Chapter 41
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Imprisoned Servants
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Philomel was just about to press him on what he meant by that.
Knock knock. Along with the sound came Lady Deless's voice.
"Philomel, are you inside? We've returned."
Oh no.
Philomel whipped her head toward Tower Master Rguin in a panic.
No matter how she looked at it, his outfit didn't resemble the uniform of a court mage.
An intruder in the imperial palace—no, in the inner palace where the imperial family resided—would surely send everyone into a frenzy just on sight.
"Hide, quick! No, turn back into a cat!"
"Ah, got it. Stop shoving me."
As Philomel pushed him toward the terrace, Rguin grumbled and snapped his fingers.
The moment he transformed into a cat, the door opened and people filed in.
"Oh my. You were in here after all. No answer, so we thought you'd gone out and hadn't returned yet."
"Haha, I suppose so. I must've missed it, lost in thought for a moment."
One of the maids tilted her head at a cushion that had fallen in the wrong spot.
"By the way, why did you all go out together like that?"
Philomel quickly changed the subject to draw their attention. But the mood sank immediately.
"Well, actually..."
Lady Deless was about to speak when—
"Your Highness! Please, I beg you. Save the others!"
Maid Nancy burst forward and dropped to her knees.
She was on the verge of tears, and upon closer inspection, her eyes were red—likely from crying earlier too.
"You really... making Philomel worry like this..."
"Sob, but at this rate, they might all die."
Nancy might be a bit scatterbrained and slow on the uptake, but she wasn't one to say or do anything pointless.
Philomel had a gut feeling they were hiding something from her.
"Please, tell me what's going on."
She reverted fully to her princess demeanor and asked Lady Deless.
"So, all the palace servants under me, except for the ones here, have been thrown in prison. That's what you're saying."
"Yes, exactly. They're supposedly under interrogation, but it's already been over a week."
As Nancy sniffled, the other maids offered handkerchiefs and comforted her. But they couldn't hide the worry etched on their faces.
The situation was this: right after Philomel vanished, they'd been arrested for failing to properly attend to the princess.
Lady Deless had been the first to notice Philomel's absence, earning her exemption from punishment.
The three maids present hadn't accompanied her to the detached palace but had stayed to guard the main palace, so they weren't targets for punishment.
And the reason they'd all gone out together just now was to check on the status of those imprisoned.
"I never imagined it would come to this..."
Her escape had gotten innocent people in trouble. Philomel's heart grew heavy.
If she were the real princess, the palace servants would deserve punishment whether her disappearance was voluntary or not. After all, it was the crime of failing to serve their one and only princess properly.
But she'd vanished right after Ellensia's appearance, making it obvious to anyone that she was a fake.
She'd anticipated the servants might face some hassle, but figured it'd end after a few rounds of questioning...
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Philomel let out a small sigh as she asked. Lady Deless answered with an awkward expression.
"My apologies. You returned so late last night that I planned to tell you today, but then the unexpected happened..."
The unexpected?
Come to think of it, the nanny's outburst that morning came to mind.
Right after that, Philomel had visited Ellensia's quarters, then gone straight to see Katrin. Lady Deless hadn't had a chance to inform her.
Philomel reassured them for now.
"This happened because of me, so I'll take care of it. Don't worry too much."
"Your Highness, thank you!"
The maids expressed their gratitude in unison.
It was a good thing she hadn't left holding Rguin's hand just now. Otherwise, she'd have gone her whole life without knowing this mess was because of her.
Nancy, who had been smiling in relief, checked the clock and let out a shriek.
"It's already this late! Sorry! I'll bring lunch right away!"
A short while later, the maids brought in lunch.
Just like breakfast, the meal was filled with nourishing dishes. Philomel pondered how to rescue the imprisoned ones as she ate.
'Should I ask Rguin nicely and bust them all out together?'
No. She couldn't turn them all into fugitives. And if the empire came chasing afterward, it'd be even harder to handle.
The best option was for the emperor to pardon their crimes.
This might even be possible if she accepted Emperor Justis's proposed three-month condition.
'Three months is still too long though. Can't I haggle it down to about three weeks?'
She hadn't said a word yet, but a year had already shrunk to three months.
'If I negotiate well, maybe three weeks... no, even three days?'
That's when Nancy's words reached her ears.
"Hey, kitty. You need to eat too. You skipped breakfast—can't skip lunch!"
Nancy scolded as she set a bowl in front of the cat. It held fresh raw fish, but Rguin didn't even glance at it.
"Why's this one being so picky? Such a pretty cat, but with the tastes of a gourmet."
Nancy muttered, stroking the cat's scruff with a disappointed look.
'Ah, right—Rguin.'
Philomel let out a deep sigh and called to her.
"Nancy."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"It'd be best not to touch that cat from now on. Can you do that for me?"
"Ah, sorry! It was so cute, I couldn't help myself... How dare I touch Your Highness's beloved cat so casually and speak informally to it. I won't ever do it again!"
Her face pale, Nancy apologized profusely and left the room.
"Huh? Ah, no, you didn't have to..."
Philomel mumbled words she hadn't managed to say, staring at Nancy's retreating back.
She'd heard that among nobles who kept pets, some expected servants to show the animals the same respect as their masters. And that touching their pets casually made them jealous.
Nancy must have thought Philomel was one of those types.
It felt a bit unfair. All she'd done was prevent Nancy from unwittingly groping a suspicious man's body.
"Meow."
At that moment, the cat approached her feet and meowed happily.
His utterly composed demeanor was infuriating, but she couldn't let him keep starving. From the looks of it, turning into a cat didn't change his appetite.
She'd worried over a cat that wouldn't even touch fish in the morning, but it was a person, after all.
Philomel took a sandwich from her own meal, portioned some onto a fresh plate, and set it on the floor.
'They say you shouldn't feed human food to cats, but it's not a real cat, so it should be fine.'
Rguin sniffed it curiously, then began eating the sandwich.
Watching him, her feelings were complicated.
'It's a full-grown human inside that appearance, yet no qualms about eating like a beast?'
His earlier words about his luggage heading this way also nagged at her.
'At least it wasn't abandoned. That's a relief.'
Just then, Lady Deless, who had finished eating first and left the room, returned.
"Your Highness, I hate to interrupt your meal, but we have a guest."
"A guest?"
Her return hadn't been announced outside yet—who could it be?
The question resolved swiftly with the figure appearing behind Lady Deless.
"Your Highness."
"...Nassar."
Nassar Averyden stood there, exactly as she'd last seen him.