The Evil Empress Adores Me-Chapter 12

"Of course. 'Rose Unni' doesn't even take proper care of her meals, so Charles, unable to stop worrying..."

"Ah, I know. I'll eat. It's fine, I'll just eat."

The Empress aggressively picked up her fork.

The head maid, who had been watching the Empress with a content smile, suddenly reflected on the title Charles had used to address the Empress.

Rose Unni.

The Empress's real name was Eloise, and 'Rose' was her affectionate nickname.

'The only people who have been allowed to call Her Majesty by that name are family...'

Moreover, she had even gone so far as to approach a mere maid and conceal her identity.

It seemed that the Empress truly cared for the girl.

Just as the head maid had decided to pay more attention to Charlize, the Empress, who appeared to be focused on her meal, suddenly ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ looked up at the head maid.

She threw a casual question.

"By the way, I told everyone to 'treat Charles kindly.'"

"Ah, yes. I remember."

"But earlier, when Charles was entering the Empress’s Palace, it seemed like there was some trouble with the maids."

Ah, she saw the maids.

The head maid furrowed her brows.

However, she couldn't lie to the Empress.

"Actually... the maids don’t seem to like Charlize very much."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, since Charles is a trainee maid from the training center, the other maids seem to be trying to bully her."

"Bully?"

The Empress’s eyes narrowed.

Setting down her dish, the Empress tapped the armrest of her chair with her fingers.

"Bully, you say. How dare they bully someone in my palace?"

"I’m sorry, I must have been foolish. I'll scold them properly from now on..."

"No, it’s not just anyone, it’s Charles they’ve bullied."

The Empress spoke in a rare, harsh tone.

It was clear she was genuinely angry, so the head maid kept quiet.

"I told them to treat that child well, and yet they can’t even follow that one simple request?"

"Your Majesty—"

"Perhaps it’s time to teach them who the real master of this palace is."

The Empress's eyes gleamed sharply.

After a moment, she twisted her lips into a crooked, sardonic smile.

"I also want to remind you that I don’t need servants who won’t follow my orders."

I was walking with Weber, the head maid, feeling like the happiest person in the world.

Why?

Because the meal I had just eaten was absolutely delicious!

I shuddered at the thought of the food I had just enjoyed.

"My goodness, there was meat in the soup! And the vegetables weren't all wilted!"

The chunks in the soup were so hearty, they almost looked like stew.

And surprisingly, the bread wasn’t black!

Having only ever eaten hard, tooth-cracking bread, I had become completely enchanted by the soft white bread.

...Although I did end up experiencing a bit of embarrassment over how immersed I got in the food.

"...Was it really that good?"

When I noticed the head maid’s strange look, I was so shocked that I even dropped the bread I had been holding.

"Ah, did I eat too much?! I’m so sorry!"

Ugh, it’s still embarrassing to think about.

What’s worse is that the head maid hadn’t touched her own meal at all, because she had been watching me.

Unable to bear the embarrassment, I bowed my head deeply.

The head maid waved her hands dismissively.

"No, that's not it...!"

Then, her cheeks flushed as she spoke in a warm, gentle voice.

"Charles, why are you so cute?"

"...Pardon?"

"Your cheeks are so round! They look so soft! Can I touch them just once?"

"Y-You can do whatever you want."

The head maid, leaping to her feet, poked my round cheeks with her fingers.

Each time her finger made contact with my cheek, I felt it bounce back.

After a while, Weber, the head maid, burst into laughter.

"Look! They’re like milk pudding!"

...I was so embarrassed, my whole body twisted in discomfort.

Where’s a mouse hole when you need one? I want to hide!

But, even that embarrassment didn’t last long.

Because the head maid piled all kinds of food onto my plate, and my mind went completely blank.

She propped her chin on her hand and stared at me with sparkling eyes.

"Charles, do you like lamb? How about this pumpkin pie? Should I remove the fishbones for you?"

"U-Um, I do like them..."

I couldn’t shake the feeling that her face had ‘Show me how you eat!’ written all over it.

Was I imagining it?

"I... I can’t eat this much all at once..."

Even I, who had been blown away by all the new food, was horrified by the mountain of food on my plate.

"It’s fine, eat as much as you want!"

But the head maid said this with a sweet smile, and in the end, I ended up eating too much.

Well, at least it was delicious, so it was okay.

After dinner, the head maid even offered to take me to my bedroom herself.

Hehe. I chuckled quietly.

In truth, I still wasn’t used to being cared for so kindly by someone.

I parted ways with the head maid at the door to my room.

"Get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

I bowed and then slipped into the room.

Ah, this room is really mine!

I almost felt like I might faint from joy.

I jumped onto the bed with a bounce.

The soft mattress gently embraced my body.

"Come to think of it, today I was worried about running into the Empress in the Empress's Palace."

But in the end, I didn’t even see a shadow of the Empress.

Thinking that, I shrugged.

Well, what does it matter if the Empress and a mere maid have anything to do with each other?

I’ll just do my own thing.

What mattered more was...

"...The fact that I’m in the Empress's Palace."

My heart felt heavy, as if weighed down by a lump of lead.

My survival plan was to avoid the two sovereigns as much as possible.

If I end up meeting the Emperor too...

I had a lot of worries, but my body was tired.

After all, a lot had happened today.

I moved to a new palace, was bullied by the maids, and met with the Empress again.

"Yawn."

As I yawned, I curled up in bed.

I should really wash up...

But as my eyelids grew heavier, I found myself dozing off.

Knock, knock.

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The sound of a knock startled me, and I jumped off the bed.

"Who is it?"

"Charles, are you asleep?"

When I opened the door, I saw the head maid, Hayden, standing there.

With a gentle smile, she spoke.

"I was going to introduce you to the other maids today, but Weber already took care of it."

"Ah, thank you. You don’t need to worry about me!"

"How was it? Did Weber treat you well?"

"Yes, she was very kind to me."

I nodded vigorously.

After all, she had immediately taken care of the scary maids earlier.

"I'm glad. Actually, I came because I have something for you."

"For me?"

"Yes."

The head maid nodded and placed something into my hand.

When I opened my hand, it was an ointment.

"Ointment?"

"The Empress asked me to bring this for you."

"..."

I felt a lump in my throat at her words.

Did she remember that my hands had gotten chapped while cleaning the hallway?

"Your hands look like they've gotten badly cracked, so Her Majesty asked me to remind you to use the ointment."

"...Please thank the Empress for me."

"Of course, I will."

The head maid answered and then gazed at me thoughtfully.

Her eyes seemed to be filled with something deep.

"During the meal, Her Majesty kept asking about you."

"Really?"

"Yes. From what I observed, it seems like the Empress really cares about you."

...Her words made my heart flutter.

The head maid gently patted the top of my head.

"And no matter how much Her Majesty cares for you, I also like you."

"Ah..."

"So, let’s get along well from now on, okay?"

I felt a lump in my throat, so instead of answering, I just nodded.

The head maid smiled at me again before turning around.

I stared at her retreating figure, clutching the ointment tightly.

Why is the Empress being so kind to me?

After all, Rose Unni has already... disappeared.

I bit my lip.

The next day.

I woke up with a determined expression on my face.

I checked the clock—it was only five in the morning.

Good, I got up early.

I clenched my fists.

Today, I was planning to leave early.

After all, the maids already dislike me, and I shouldn’t give them any more reason to pick on me.

"...I... I’m honestly still a bit scared of the maids."

As I was brushing my hair, I slightly shrank my shoulders.

The maids reminded me of the trainee maids I had met back in the training center.

They were much older than me, and they absolutely hated me...

"No, I’m not going to think about that."

I shook my head, shaking off the gloomy thoughts.

I’m a proper maid now, and they’re my subordinates.