Chapter 18
Riv curled into a ball as she agonized.
Then, for a moment, she had a dream.
It must have been the day she was chosen as Queen Selina’s handmaiden. She had just arrived at the palace.
She was a timid and clumsy maid, however one day, eyes were on her.
The queen summoned Riv.
Looking at the tall and skinny Riv in a black dress, the Queen said.
[You’re as skinny as a stick. You’re also tall and have fair skin. You’re the kind of girl my husband would like.]
The queen ground her teeth.
[How old are you?]
[I’m fourteen.]
[You’re young. Even if you look terrible right now, you’ll blossom in a few years.]
In fact, Queen Selina was the type of person who could not stand to see the beauty of her maids.
[Count Katana sold you for a very high price. I heard he spent all that money on gambling? Regardless, he has given us all your rights.]
So Riv’s life became the property of the royal family.
Queen Selina whispered to Riv as if she was hypnotizing her.
[You have to look much uglier than you do now. That way my husband and sons won’t look at you.]
The queen’s maids had Riv wear a huge, puffy black dress.
She was covered with bizarre black rags with piles of cotton overlaid to such an extent that it was impossible to tell that she had a skinny body.
[You are now Madame Katana. Forget who you were.]
The queen’s maids looked at Riv’s clown-like appearance and giggled.
[You will be known as the ugliest girl in this palace.]
[Never take your clothes off, and don’t even think about going back to your original appearance. You must be an ugly b*tch to the bone.]
Hearing someone laugh, Riv opened her eyes.
She seemed to have slept for a short while. When she woke up, her head felt heavy.
‘Memories of the day I became Madame Katana. I haven’t thought of that day for a long time.’
Ever since she started being called Madame Katana, she had forgotten what her true form was.
“Ah.”
All of this was after she died and came back to life, after meeting the Duke of Sentorren. Was it because he knew her true appearance?
“Ha.”
Wiping away the cold sweat, Riv crawled out of bed. It was then that she heard someone approach her room and knocked gently.
Riv didn’t take off Madame Katana’s dress, so she didn’t need to put on her disguise.
When Riv opened the door to the room she had locked herself in, she found the maid El, who had an unusually pale face.
“Why are you here El?”
“Madam Katana, the princess has called for you. Follow me.”
She had an ominous feeling.
“The princess? Why? I have a cold.”
“Nonsense.”
“I-It would be difficult if the princess catches a cold……”
Riv croaked at her, recalling Anna’s advice.
El looked at Riv with annoyance.
“If you do not follow Princess Marianne’s orders, you will be severely punished tomorrow. Hurry up.”
“But.”
“Princess Marianne told me to bring Riv even if I have to mobilize the soldiers. Do you want to be dragged out?”
Riv followed El reluctantly.
***
Lionel grabbed the red handle and opened the door.
The room was dark and had a large bed. It was one of the rooms reserved for the guests of the royal family.
Since the room was engulfed in darkness, it was difficult to discern what was inside. He didn’t notice that every window had planks nailed over them.
“Ha.”
Lionel’s eyes widened. He remembered the wine that Marianne had insisted on having him drink.
The wine was the only thing he consumed at Marianne’s coming-of-age ceremony in the palace.
“I guess dr*gs had been mixed in there.”
Lionel’s pupils gradually dilated. Any object that should have been one appeared as two or three afterimages.
“This.”
Lionel was pushed by someone onto the bed.
He didn’t notice that men were approaching him, and that they were trying to subdue him.
They suppressed Lionel with all their might.
“Go, hold him down!”
Lionel tried to get up, but it wasn’t easy. Two heavy men crushed his body, making it difficult to even lift his head.
“Quill! Hurry up!”
“This guy is amazing, he’s powerful alright!”
“Don’t rush me!” Another man shouted.
“You said the Duke would be unconscious!”
“Shut up! Hold him tight!” There seemed to be more than two men in the room.
Two men were holding him down and there was a man standing over Lionel.
One of the men who suppressed Lionel made him raise his head. And another poured bitter medicine into his mouth.
His head was angled in a way that he couldn’t spit it out.
It was unlike Lionel. He was completely helpless.
So he was forced to swallow it.
The men who were pressing on Lionel’s body cheered then stepped away.
“Success!”
Lionel realized that one of them was the palace’s troublemaker, Marquis Quill.
“Duke of Sentoren, the princess will bring you a nice present. Tomorrow, the honor of the Duke will fall to the ground.”
Lionel didn’t know what he was talking about. He was in pain and it felt like his throat was burning.
He was very thirsty. He needed water. A lot of it.
In the meantime, only the voice of Marquis Quill echoed.
“Your Grace, Duke of Sentoren, it seems that the effect of the dr*gs did not work well, so I added more than usual.”
“……”
“If you are lucky you will live, but if you are unlucky then you will die.”
The Marquis Quill was talented in mixing alchemy and poison.
The reason he was able to stay active in this palace was because he manufactured and supplied powerful drugs.
“I’m looking forward to how long the Duke of Sentoren’s life will last.”
Marquis Quill laughed out loud. Quill’s medicine could easily turn into a deadly poison when mixed with paralyzing drugs.
Without the Duke of Sentoren, Quill would be able to take Princess Marianne for himself.
“Let’s go.”
The Marquis Quill left the room with his conspirators.
Shortly thereafter, one of Princess Marianne’s exclusive maids pushed a huge black form into the room.
“El, El? El!”
It was loudly knocking on the door calling El’s name, but no one heard it.
‘I’m trapped! Marianne’s prank!’
Riv desperately knocked on the door.
“El, El? El!”
Even when she heard the sound of El’s footsteps moving away, Riv couldn’t let go of her hope.
After knocking on the door for a long time, her hands felt bruised and sore.
Riv eventually ran out of energy and sat down by the door. Her throat was dry. When she looked around, she saw a dimly lit room.
“What’s in here?”
The long legs of a man in a suit were also visible on the bed in the room.
“Who are you?”
Riv cautiously moved.
She felt for the furniture in the room and found a lamp with kerosene.
Riv, who barely managed to light a fire, illuminated the man using the lamp.
“……?”
Riv forgot to breathe. She spoke to him.
“Duke of Sentoren…?”
Marquis Quill walked away with a languid gait.
He killed the Duke of Sentoren, who would have become his enemy.
He was also thrilled to have dealt with Princess Marianne’s hated maid at the same time.
They won’t be alive tomorrow morning.
“Princess.”
Marianne, dressed in a black robe, ran to Quill. She quickly asked.
“What did you do with the Duke of Sentoren?”
The Marquis Quill leaned his head onto his hands, which were clad in jeweled rings.
“The Duke of Sentoren is lying in that private room. The princess’ handmaiden took the ugly maid and locked her in that room as well.”
Marianne didn’t want to hear any more about Riv from Marquis Quill.
“What happened to Lionel? The dr*gs I gave him, did it work?”
“The princess did a very good job.”
“What now?”
“The Duke was given more dr*gs than usual, and Madame Katana was locked in there with him. By tomorrow morning, the Duke will surely be dead.”
“What?”
Marianne’s body stiffened, but the Marquis didn’t care. They had similar goals, after all.
“Princess, don’t worry, the concoction’s effect is reliable.”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you tell me to deal with the Duke properly? Didn’t you want to deal with both?”
Marianne tried to grasp the situation.
“You mean Lionel is really going to die?”
At Marianne’s shriek, Marquis Quill giggled.
“We are in this together, princess.”
The Marquis smiled bashfully and stroked Marianne’s small, smooth face. His touch terrified her. Marianne’s body trembled.
“The Duke will spend the night with Madame Katana. And they will both die.”
“W-What? I didn’t want Lionel to die. I just hoped he would get rid of that terrible Riv!”
“Madame Katana will die at his hands if she’s lucky.”
“Huh?”
“Princess Marianne wished that Madame Katana would die. Even if she does not die at the hands of the Duke of Sentoren, she will be accused of the Duke of Sentoren’s murder and will be executed.”
Marianne was speechless.
Marquis Quill laughed. Everything seemed easy after the princess lost her spirit.
He hugged the princess and said goodbye.
“Princess, don’t be afraid. Just wait for tomorrow.”
Marianne tried to open her mouth, but she couldn’t speak anymore.